NATURE
MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE, Oct. 11, 2021 (Monday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Info Line
# 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**Yvette Richard was another to capture
the waxing crescent moon on Saturday night. It will be at its
first-quarter phase on October 13.
**Lois Budd went on a fall drive on
Sunday in the Mount Eagle area. She noticed a group of Eastern Bluebirds
on the hydro lines and in the trees below. There were two adults and several
juvenile birds. They seemed nervous and not staying long enough for photos,
but Lois did manage one. Vicky McKnight was also delighted to see
one on the pole checking out her Nature Moncton nesting box. Vicky
is hoping he/she will return next spring before the Tree Swallows do and take
up residence. Lois’s White-breasted Nuthatch has also
arrived at her feeders and enjoying peanuts and suet. She expects
it will stay all winter.
**Gordon Rattray paid a Sackville visit
on Sunday afternoon. The Lorne Street water retention pond was a bust assuming
something had scared off the normally lively community of patrons there.
He dropped by the Sackville Waterfowl
Park to find some male Gadwall (in this Gadwall photo, note the large chestnut
patch ahead of the white speculum. This is the chestnut-coloured portion of the
inner median and lesser wing coverts that is very pronounced in this photo. We
usually see this area evident in flight more so than in the sitting bird) and American
Wigeon well on the return to breeding plumage. The ever-present Canada Geese
provided a nice flight photo. A bright red Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly showing
its signature brown legs posed.
**A few photos scheduled to go
yesterday got accidentally misplaced. One was Cathy Simon’s photo of the Wilson’s
Snipe at the Sackville Waterfowl Park. Photos that are inserted after the
blog is made lose quality. Cathy’s photo is reinserted properly today. I also neglected
to add some great photos Brian Stone got of a Yellow-rumped Warbler at
Petit cap. It nicely shows the yellow rump, yellow patches ahead of the wing,
split white eye ring, and white throat area that are signature field marks for
this common warbler.
**Brian Stone went for a scenic drive on Saturday and ended up walking a short section of the Dobson Trail off the Prosser Brook Rd. The weather was great, and the woods were pristine and wonderfully quiet. A few SHADOW DARNER DRAGONFLIES were out and flying and one female paused in flight long enough for Brian to get a clear flight photo. It was very nice of her to hover so steadily long enough for the camera to find focus before landing to lay some eggs. Brian also photographed some of the aging mushrooms along the trail along with brightly coloured RED MAPLE leaves and similarly bright HOBBLEBUSH leaves.
Brian got photos of the Honey
Mushroom with one photo showing its true spore print colour of pale yellow
as the spores fall on caps below in the group. In the bright light, the spore
print appears as white as it is falling on a yellow brown surface, but the
shadowed area shows the true spore print of pale yellow (arrowed). One of his
photos also shows the Elizabethan collar style partial veil nicely. Brian also
photographed the Scarlet Waxy Cap Mushroom. The waxy cap group
fruit late in the season and are a very waxy texture when hand crushed.
**On the Nature Moncton visit to
the Sussex Bluff, we noted many small white elongated objects on the blades of
some grasses and sometimes on the mid-vein of leaves to wonder what they were
as per the attached photos. John van der Linden from BugGuide explained as
below
“This is the pupal case sticking out of its cocoon.
The caterpillar built the cocoon and pupated inside of it; when it was ready to
emerge, the pupa thrust itself out of the cocoon and the adult broke out of the
pupal skin. What's left behind is the pupal skin partially extruded from the
cocoon. One group of moths is known as the "ribbed cocoon-maker
moths" for their habit of constructing textured shelters for pupation like
what you've got here. Your find may belong to this group - family Bucculatricidae
- although I can't say that for sure. Amazing how many there are on that clump of grass”
**As a
reminder, bags of Black Oil Sunflower Seed from New Brunswick farmer Mike
Dickinson can still be ordered by leaving your name and the number of bags you
want with Susan Richards by email at susan_richards@rogers.com
or telephone 334-0100. Price is $17 for a 15 kg bag and delivery is expected in
November.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature
Moncton