Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 30 2022

August 30, 2022 (Tuesday)

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

**Louise Nichols was out for a walk on Saturday evening around the area of her Aulac home and she discovered a patch of Nodding Ladies' Tresses orchids growing in a wet area. These orchids are similar to the small patch Louise has on their Aulac property which have been identified as Yellow Ladies' Tresses except that Louise's orchids grow in a dry spot whereas the ones she found were almost standing in water. Louise includes some photos of the orchids she found and one photo of an orchid from their property for comparison.

(Editor’s note: the Nodding Ladies’-Tresses and the much more rare Yellow Ladies’-Tresses both bloom late in the season. We had an orchid expert from the New York Botanical Gardens who is recognized as an expert in Ladies’ Tresses orchids advise he was fairly confident the one Louise has in her Aulac yard is indeed Yellow Ladies’-Tresses while other photos we sent him, he felt were Nodding Ladies’-Tresses and to complicate things further the possible presence of the similar Appalachian Ladies’-Tresses. All Ladies’-Tresses are striking and a pleasant reward to encounter)

**Yet more egrets!

Jamie Burris spotted 2 Great Egrets behind 1841 Coverdale Road on Monday afternoon. If one is on route from Riverview to Salisbury, they were on the right-hand side down on the marsh. Jamie did not have his camera with him which I expect he deeply regretted.

**On a walk-about her Memramcook yard on Monday, Yolande LeBlanc spotted a large Monarch Butterfly caterpillar on Butterfly Weed. Leaning over to get a closer look, she saw at least 7 of different sizes. Yolande checked the Swamp Milkweed and found more. Some were quite small and she hopes it is not too late to make the migration.

**Brian Stone sends another batch of photos from his Keji trip with the participation of mentor Nelson Poirier. Young Dark-eyed Juncos were foraging in the parking lot of the old showers building.

In the Grafton Lake area many photo subjects were located including the Carolina Grasshopper (a Band-winged Grasshopper), a Swamp Sparrow, some Chicken Mushroom (Laetiporus sulfureus) (Editor's note: an excellent edible at this young stage but they remained in situ as per park regulations), and a bouncy Spotted Sandpiper. On other trails a couple of young Garter Snakes crossed the trails at opportune times to be temporarily held up for photos. Two beetles seen were the Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle and the Twelve-spotted Tiger Beetle. A patch of Woolly Alder Aphids was found and investigated for the possible presence of the Harvester Butterfly Larva.

A very small, orange, and brown butterfly was observed at two sites and was determined to be a difficult photo target captured with the camera after some moderate exertion on the part of the photographer (Editor’s note: watching a determined photographer get his target would have made an amazing video!) while his camping partner was calling him to photograph more examples of the fascinating Groundnut Flowers. It was later identified as the Least Skipper Butterfly after a look through a guide.

The low water levels at the edge of Lake Keji allowed the close-up photography of the rare Water Pennywort Plant (with Pipewort plants peeking in) at one of its only two sites in Canada (Editor’s note: the only other location is in Nova Scotia at nearby Wilson’s Lake).

**Nelson Poirier had a Sharp-shinned Hawk do a fast arrival to his yard on Monday to take a Mourning Dove as prey. Am assuming the hawk had to be the larger female bird as the prey was almost as large as the raptor. It mantled the prey for some time while dispatching it. While doing that, it was constantly dive-bombed by an American Robin which appeared very unimpressed with this scenario taking place. It was eventually able to take a short flight with its prey into nearby dense bushes.

Nelson also attaches a photo of a Partridgeberry plant showing a ripe berry. This is a creeping prostrate plant. Note the pale-yellow midrib on the leaves. The flower in the spring is paired arising from one common calyx. The ovaries of the twin flowers fuse together, so that there are two flowers for each berry. The two bright red spots on the berry are vestiges of this process and are helpful in identifying the plant.

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com