Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 7 2022

August 7, 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

**Leon Gagnon shares some observations from Miscou Island.

Bonaparte’s Gulls are swelling in numbers as they traditionally do at this time of year in New Brunswick. One of Leon’s photos shows a large group off Wilson Point while another close-up photo shows individuals still in/near breeding plumage with a few birds that appear to be first winter birds.

Leon also saw a grouping of 38 Turkey Vultures in Miscou Centre suspecting a food source nearby to see that many in one group.

Leon also photographed a Bald Eagle that appears to be in its last molt to mature plumage.

**John Inman photographed a warbler in his Harvey, Albert County yard that is suspected to be a young-of-the-year Black- throated Green Warbler. It can be a tricky time of year identifying young warblers.

John photographed a molting male Purple Finch. The male Purple Finch does not take on its reddish male adult plumage until the second fall of life.

John also photographed a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that stayed perched on his deck and wondered if it may not be heat stressed.

**Annegret Lamure shares a photo of a very content looking Green Frog that has taken up residence in her yard Goldfish pond.

**Aldo Dorio photographed some of the first adult Semipalmated Plovers to arrive at Hay Island on Saturday.

**Pat Gibbs got a surprise when she looked at her window on Saturday morning. At first. She thought the Blue Jay she saw was just eating seeds on the ground but then realized it had feathers in its mouth and was standing on a lump of something dead. It turned out it was a Mourning Dove it was eating. The dove was 1 ½ times larger than the Blue Jay. Needless to say, Pat was very surprised. She only saw the jay eating so she doesn’t know if it killed the dove or if something else killed it and the Blue Jay was only taking advantage of a free meal. Pat wonders if anyone knows if Blue Jays do this kind of thing?

(Editor’s note: there were Blow Flies on the carcass which would suggest the dove’s death was several hours earlier at least so the cause of death could be from something other than the Blue Jay, especially as only one was present. Blue Jays are known to be aggressive with the nests of other birds preying on the eggs. Eating flesh would seem unusual).

**Jamie Burris photographed that special moment when an adult Monarch Butterfly is about to emerge from the chrysalis (flag in the bag!) Jamie could see on Saturday morning, looking at this pupa, that the butterfly would soon emerge. It emerged at 1130 am and only stayed until 1320pm. Two away and 6 to go!

**This week’s Wednesday night Nature Moncton walk will cover a portion of the Irishtown Nature Park with details and directions below to be repeated on Tuesday:

Nature Moncton Walk for Wednesday, August 10^th, 2022

Tankville School, Malcolm’s Way & Vince’s Walk

This week’s Nature Walk is meeting at the Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Drive, at 6:30 p.m. The Tankville School is 3 km north of Costco on Elmwood Drive, and 2 km of north of the main entrance to the Irishtown Nature Park.

We are beginning the evening with a tour and short talk inside the Tankville School museum (the upper floor). This one-room schoolhouse was used from 1868 to 1967 and is a designated historic site rarely open to the public.

Afterwards we will enjoy a 3 km walk, beginning through the woods along Vince’s Walk to the old artesian well. After that we will start and continue along the Malcolm’s Way board walk. This board walk is over mixed brush and wetlands until it reaches the forest at the north end of the board walk. Here we will see the ‘cathedral’ of red pines planted by Boy Scouts in the 1940s. These pines are now 80 feet tall.

**Brian Stone photographed distant Broad-winged Hawks that showed a dark anterior half of the wing in the photo that made us wonder if identification was correct. Gilles Belliveau to the rescue pointing out that it was shadow appearing in the photo and close observation of the photos does indeed show that.

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com