NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 19, 2022 (Sunday)
To respond
by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
Please
advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the
website at www.naturemoncton.com
Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**A heads up on Nature Moncton June
meeting this coming Tuesday night, June 21. The presentation will be on
moths by Jim Edsall and Jim will be at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge in person. The
presentation will also be available virtually but many may want to come
directly to the Lodge to speak with Jim in person. Jim was a long-time member of
Nature Moncton before moving to Dartmouth and seeing him again in person along
with his amazing knowledge of moths will be a treat. The write up for the
presentation is below:
Nature
Moncton June Meeting
Tuesday
evening, June 21 at 7:00 PM
Mapleton
Park Rotary Pavilion
The World
of New Brunswick Moths
Speaker:
Jim Edsall
June is that
time of year when many of the beautiful creatures of the night, particularly
moths, get their seasonal missions underway.
We have
hundreds of moth species resident to New Brunswick. Some may be small and drab,
but many are strikingly beautiful, both large (very) and small. And moths are extremely important pollinators
for many of our plant community.
When it
comes to identifying moths, Jim Edsall is one of the top experts and Jim will
join us on Tuesday, June 21, to share with us how to attract these creatures of
the night to our yards, where to find them away from our yards, and some
helpful ways to identify them.
This
presentation will take place at the Rotary Pavilion of Mapleton Park but will
be live streamed virtually as well for those who cannot participate in person.
Let’s all go
on the night shift to fly with the moths!
Jim Edsall
will be at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge to give the presentation in person but
those unable to attend can join virtually at the highlighted link Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
All are
welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.
**This summer Nature Moncton will be having weekly walks
again but they will be on Wednesdays.
The first will be held on Wednesday June 22, 2022, at 6:00 PM and will
be along the Riverfront Trail in Riverview and led by Fred
Richards. We will meet at the pavilion
just down the river from the Chocolate River Station. The walk will be along the Riverfront to the
park beside the new bridge and then back.
This will be a total of 1.2 km. on good gravel and boardwalk. The Tidal Bore should be coming along about
the time we start so you might want to be a few minutes early as the Bore timing can
vary a little. While the Tidal Bore is
the main event, I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the variety of
things to look at, even in the City.
These walks are free to members and $2.00 for non members. Fred hopes to see some of you there.
**Word got out on Wednesday evening that a WOOD
STORK had been spotted in New Harbour, Nova Scotia and had been around for
a few days according to Stephen Flemming who spotted the bird. Naturally (!)
our own Andrew Darcy had to go on a road trip to see him.
He had missed one at Pt. Pelee in Ontario about five years ago, and have always wanted to see this species in Canada. They are fairly abundant in Southern United States, but not so much the case this far north.
This is a first confirmed record for Nova Scotia for this species,
although there is a potential historical record from Brier Island. Quite an
amazing find and fantastic bird for the Maritimes. Andrew spent the day
watching the bird forage and move around the causeway for most of the day and
had some great views! Well worth the drive and it was a lifer for him. Andrew includes some videos to get a look at
the foraging and some very interesting video of a pair of Willet who had
babies, divebombing the stork! The stork was not impressed and would snap at
them when they approached too close. Andrew comments he wouldn’t want to get
stuck in that bill if he were them.
VIDEO OF
WILLET DIVEBOMBING STORK
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3cw8rrsgy357vqg/DSC_9357.MOV?dl=0
VIDEO OF
STORK FORAGING
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j7wu6kkimn8roiz/20220616_175433.mp4?dl=0
VIDEO OF
STORK
https://www.dropbox.com/s/evx1zdx5ny8bvzw/20220616_175048.mp4?dl=0
A Wood Stork visited Musquash Marsh near Saint John many years ago that many New Brunswickers were lucky enough to have an audience with. I am not aware of any that have visited since then unless this one decides to take a little side trip. Andrew’s beautiful photos will have us ready!
Thank you for sharing your day with us Andrew. The photos and videos are almost as good as being there.
**Lisa Morris spotted green worms in salt water in the Richibucto River recently. At first, she thought it was a baby Eel and picked it up to photograph but it was feather light and flat (vs a round eel or snake body) and immediately broke in two… with both pieces seemingly swimming away. There were three in total with feathery sides (similar to a centipede). Lisa had never seen these before in the river (but not always walking in it in early May). They were approximately 6-12 inches in length and have stumped us as to what they were until a consult with Alyre Chiasson.
Alyre comments “This is not a leech but a Polychaete worm because each body segment has a pair of bristles, technically know as parapoda. Leeches do not have them. However, freshwater polychaetes are limited to only about 50 species world-wide and none that Alyre could find inhabit our region. However, some are brackish water tolerant, like members of the family Nereididae, which we do have in NB. Perhaps this one was seen in the lower reaches of the river within tidal influence.”
Lisa’s curiosity made for an interesting finding.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
