August 16, 2022 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Directions and details of tonight’s Nature Moncton outing are repeated at the end of this edition.

**Mac Wilmot’s grandson Lewis Stultz is in northern Canada heading for Greenland. Some scouting was done from a helicopter from the icebreaker Henry Larsen on Saturday, August 13th at Bellot Strait near Fort Ross, Nunavut. Lewis shares some wonderful photographs from that day. Lewis reports that the whales in the pictures are a Narwhal and Beluga whale pod blend, which is quite unusual he explains for them to be travelling together. They were certain some were Narwhal as they were able to see the ivory tusks (unicorn style) on at least a few individuals. The darker ones in the photo would be Narwhal or young Belugas. The young Beluga Whale takes several years to take on its all-white pelage.

Lewis was also able to capture a photo of a herd of Muskoxen with the photo showing their impressive horns.

Lewis also got a photo of a Polar Bear on its mission as well as a beautiful skyscape photo from the ship.

The abandoned Hudson’s Bay post would certainly have some stories to tell.

It is very appreciated to be able to share these photos of an area of Canada many of us do not get to see.

**Last Monday, Andrew Darcy tagged along with Roger LeBlanc while he did his annual Atlantic Shorebird Survey. They visited 2 different sites, and saw 9 species of shorebirds, including WHITE-RUMPED, LEAST, and SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER.

At the 2nd site (Riverview Marsh) they got good views of all 3 species flying and foraging together which is very helpful for trying to learn the individual identification features. As they were leaving the marsh, an adult female PEREGRINE FALCON came bombing in and grabbed a sandpiper out of the pond. While they were discussing whether it had actually gotten one, they heard a cacophony of vocalizations from above. As they looked up, there were 3 young Peregrines performing aerial acrobatics while they attempted to steal the sandpiper from the adult female's talons. Andrew is assuming this was the mother and 3 fledglings from the Assumption building nest box. What an exhilarating interaction to witness!! Andrew will not soon forget those sounds and visuals for some time. It was quite extraordinary!

Andrew also got a pleasant photo of the Common Wood-nymph Butterfly on a Pin Cherry shrub.

**John Inman photographed what appears to be a juvenile Northern Mockingbird on Monday. John was hoping it would have come farther into the yard for a better look, but it went the other way.

**Aldo Dorio photographed another Black-bellied Plover at Hay Island on Monday again showing remnants of breeding plumage.

Aldo also photographed Jewelweed a.k.a. Touch-me-not in bloom which is a hummingbird magnet this time of year.

**Chris Antle got a photo of a content looking group of Indian Pipe.

This interesting plant has no chlorophyll and does not depend on photosynthesis so is therefore able to grow in the darkest of forests with no requirement for sunlight. It does have a bloom and is pollinated by small bumblebees. Once the bloom is pollinated, the ‘bell’ creates a seed capsule that eventually releases tiny seeds into the wind. It will soon cease to bow its bloom and become straight and darken. That feature is starting to appear in some of the plants in Chris’s photo.

**Fred Dube and Nelson Poirier were able to briefly watch a group of Grey Seals going about their mission lounging away a warm day in Pictou Harbour, NS last week. Their moaning chatter to each other was very audible. Due to shallow water the boat could not navigate, it was not possible to get close, but documentary photos were achieved to distinguish features of these large sea mammals.

The head is conspicuously long, broad, and flat with no obvious forehead in comparison to Harbour Seals. Adult males are up to 3 times larger than adult females, with a proportionally larger head and a longer, fleshier snout. Mature males develop a robust neck and chest with prominent folds or wrinkles. Adult males are generally uniform dark grey, brown, or black with scattered light spots and blotches on most of the body. Adult females and juveniles are mostly light silver or grey with dark brown, olive, or black blotches. The ventral coloration, especially of females and juveniles, may be lighter. The documentary photos show these features.

**Mother Nature’s forecast of rain for Wednesday has the regular Nature Moncton evening walk on the run. It is rescheduled for tonight, Tuesday, August 16 with a much more favourable forecast. All details and directions below:

Nature Moncton Walk for Tuesday Night, August 16

Bis Marsh in Dieppe a shorebird mecca

This week’s outing is to Bis Marsh in Dieppe. The sides of the Petitcodiac River estuary from Shepody Bay to roughly Salisbury are occupied by extensive brackish marshes. Here and there natural ponds have formed in these marsh habitats and one of the most extensive is located in Bis Marsh on the Dieppe side of the river. Covering several acres this pond system is quite shallow and because of this is favoured by several species of ducks, water-loving birds and at this time of the year a great diversity of shore birds. Upwards of a dozen species of shorebirds should be findable there and our own Roger Leblanc will be our guide to find and recognize them.

How to get there:

From the corner of Main and King St., In Moncton go East on Main St, cross the bridge on Halls Creek into Dieppe and keep going on what becomes Champlain St or route 106. At the third set of lights in Dieppe (2 km from corner of Main and King) turn right on Acadie Avenue (still route 106). Keep going for about 2.3 Km to the parking lot of Wee College on the right at 281 Amirault St. We will meet there at 6:30 PM and proceed from there to a trail head of the linear trail that will bring us to Bis Marsh. The walk will be about 2 km on very level ground so classified as easy going.

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com