Nature Moncton Nature News: March 23 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 23, 2022 (Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins cut some Pussy Willow shoots several weeks ago and brought them inside and put them in water. Now they are blooming and rooting. She will use them for riverbank erosion control when the ground is thawed.

The pussy willow is a monoecious plant meaning male and female parts appear on different plants. The bursting catkins in Jane’s photo are all male plants showing as bright yellow which will produce pollen and disappear. Female plants will produce green catkins that will form clusters of seed when fertilized.

Willows are among the first wild plants to burst into bloom in spring and the pollen laden male catkins are a major welcomed pollen source for early emerging bees.

**Brian Stone went for a short drive on Tuesday morning and happened upon a Red Fox crossing the Homestead Road in front of his car. He got out to take some photos and the fox obliged him by catching a small rodent prey during the photoshoot. A fortunate photo moment!

Back at home Brian saw a White-breasted Nuthatch foraging on his back yard tree, which is an uncommon sight for him in his yard. He was only able to get photos through the kitchen window as the nuthatch flew when Brian tried a stealthy sneak out the back door.

While Brian was looking around after the bird left, he noticed his Eastern Chipmunk had left its winter den and was searching for nourishment beside his back deck.

Brian also took the moment to photograph some gulls circling over his home. (Editors note: adult gulls have white spots usually called ‘mirrors’ at or near the tip of the primary feathers, and the placement of these mirrors on P9 and P10 are often helpful in identification. Two of Brian's photos show the window on P10 to be elongated but not to the feather tip with the window on P9 to be much shorter and not extending to the feather tip. This tends to be the typical arrangement of the Herring Gull with the Ring- billed Gull being the only one arranged similarly).

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton