Nature Moncton Nature News: June 6 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

June 6, 2022 (Monday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

** Jamie Burris photographed some recent bird activities in their Riverview backyard. A flock of 10 Cedar Waxwings came in and cleaned up last years Highbush Cranberries. They are normally gone before the leaves open but this year the bush was in bloom!

A male Purple Finch was singing loudly while displaying his courtship dance of flapping wings, jumping up and down while showing his crown and puffing up his feathers. It was very impressive to witness this courtship so close to the action.

A female then quickly descended on him knocking him off his dance platform (Editor's note: tough love!). She must have been very impressed as she kept chasing after him. She must have been thinking there's nothing like a man who can cut a rug! This went on for about 5 minutes before they departed.

**Fred Dube recently photographed some 2 cm red worms in his yard commonly called Blood Worms that are actually midge larvae and there is indeed a reason they are red.

The literature states “some midge larvae are bright red and are called bloodworms. The chemical that makes them red helps them get oxygen when levels are low. The chemical is hemoglobin, just like in our blood. The larvae like to snack on tiny bits of dead plants floating in the water and tiny, microscopic animals.”

They’re harmless to humans.

**Nelson Poirier continues to gather fish offal and compost and place it in a clearing in a wooded area. It now has up to a dozen Turkey Vultures and a few Bald Eagles putting the run to Ravens who try to share the booty. The birds now recognize Nelson’s truck when it drives up and the circling of birds in the sky above is amusing!

The only other seemingly consistent visitor is a few Black Bears that work the night shift.

**Rheal Vienneau has 4 Groundhogs in his Dieppe backyard. Two juveniles were picking at his birdseeds. When an adult, not the mother, came over, one of the juveniles attacked it and chased it away. Rheal comments he would have thought the adult would have the upper hand? Check out the action at the attached link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/twxk2nb2rldg8h1/IMG_0363.MOV?dl=0

**Susan Richards shares some photos from the Festival of Nature events she attended this past weekend in Fredericton.

First was Friday, June 3rd ‘A trip to New Brunswick's largest Chimney Swift roost evening outing attended by about 25 people. It was amazing to watch those little birds fly around and around in a clockwise direction then all swoop downward into that chimney.

Susan took part in the 'Spring Birding in Odell Park' on Saturday June 4th at 8:45 a.m. There were almost a dozen participants prepared with bug spray to go into the beautiful park of mixed woodland and old growth trees. The birds were plentiful, and they saw or heard or found on MERLIN by sound, dozens of different species. Susan’s highlight was seeing a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker come to a close tree with a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in its wake. Hummingbirds often fly with Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, not for the sugary sap but for the bugs that are stirred up. Susan found (upon looking down) a group of Jack-in-the-pulpits that were quite tall having found an open space among the grass and trees.

In the afternoon of June 4th Susan was at the Fredericton Botanical Gardens in search of wild bees. The knowledgeable leader was energetic in her scooping insects in her net and securing them in a vial for closer observation, while telling about this particular insect’s life. Many plants were flowering; so were many species found by the leader Jess Vickruck, and a young participant in the outing who also scooped insects for inspection.

Susan comments “I am very glad I went to the event!”

**David and Anita Cannon also share a few photos taken Sunday while on a Festival of Nature outing to Grand Lake.

Out on the water were at least 3 Common Loons, with two swimming together as a couple.

Inland, they heard what sounded like two cats fighting, but what were actually two Porcupines up the same tree.

Anita found the Barometer Earthstar Puffball Mushroom with a photograph of this less encountered puffball.

**On Sunday Brian Stone visited the Tankville School walking trail on the Irishtown Rd. for a short outing in the dim, drizzly, cloudy weather. While fighting with mosquitoes and flies he managed to get some decent photographs of a few of the birds present. Just a short distance in on the trail a Least Flycatcher was calling loudly low in the trees and remained in range of the camera lens for as long as Brian chose to stand there. Further along the trail an Ovenbird, one of several close by, also got close enough for a photo. A Northern Parula Warbler clung interestingly to a small sapling and others could be heard calling in the nearby woods. Also heard, but not seen, were a Blue-headed Vireo, a Veery, an Alder Flycatcher, and a Blackburnian Warbler. At the end of his walk Brian was lucky to see a Black-throated Blue Warbler feeding on caterpillars near the trail. Some non-avian subjects photographed were Bluebead Lily (Clintonia) in flower, Wild Sarsaparilla, and a wandering Eastern Tent Caterpillar.

**Nelson Poirier checked a swallow nest box that had been used by a Flying Squirrel nesting last season. It apparently did it again this season as the nest was cleaned out in April, but when Nelson inspected it on Sunday, he found the empty nest of a Flying Squirrel. Nelson is assuming the nesting was successful.

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com