Sept 22 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

 Sept 22, 2022 (Thursday)

 

 

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

 

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

 

 

 

**Elaine Gallant spotted a trio of Great Egrets in the St. John Street marsh in Pointe-du-Chene at noon hour on Wednesday and got photos. They later moved to the area behind the beach volleyball nets.

 It’s pleasant to see 1 or 2 Great Egrets at one spot in New Brunswick but a trio is a bonus.

 

 

 

**John Inman’s photo of the strikingly marked Calligrapha Beetle did not make the photo section of yesterday’s Nature News edition. It is attached today from two angles.

 

**David Cannon took the cover off their yard pool Wednesday afternoon and discovered more than 50 (live) salamanders in it - all from the rain Tuesday night. One was a Yellow-spotted Salamander, about 12 were large (adult) Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, and over 40 were one-inch-long baby Eastern Red-backed Salamanders. David shares a photo of the 3 types. They are certainly thriving around the Cannon’s pool. David comments he is confused: why would salamanders running from the rain willingly jump into a pool? The little ones certainly didn't go there to propagate.

 

**Bev Christie sends photos of excavated earth suddenly appearing on her lawn. Some of these are piles of earth while others are in lines looking like aboveground tunnels. These are the typical tailings from the excavations of the Star-nosed Mole. Each year at this time, our only native mole starts digging holes to overwinter below the frost line. We would very rarely see Star-nosed Mole as they strictly work the night shift.

These amazing mammals have an incredible set of front claws that make digging in their underground tunnels very easy and quickly done. The tailings that we see aboveground are simply earthen mounds they send back to the surface in the process of cleaning their tunnels.

If folks find the ‘molehills’ unsightly, simply rake away the earth to smooth the area as the moles will not mind at all!

I’m attaching a link below to a newspaper column published in 2007 that gives a light version of the life and times of the Star-nosed Mole.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/joozc93gg95w0sp/MOLE%2CSTAR-NOSED%20MOLE...PUBLISHED%20OCTOBER%2020%2C2007.doc?dl=0

 

**Lisa Morris sends a photo of the creeping plant Twinflower trailing across a bed of moss.

Lisa notes how the stem of this plant turns red in the fall.

 

**Nelson Poirier recently spent 3 days camping in the hinterlands of New Brunswick between St. Quentin and Edmundston with 3 comrades. It is a very remote uninhabited area beyond the reach of Internet and cell phone; however, the 3 days were packed with wildlife observations.

Seeing Moose roaming about on their feeding and courting missions was a treat. They tended to be active morning and evening predominantly. The massive antlers on some of the mature bulls was impressive, especially when realizing these huge headpieces were made from scratch starting six months ago and will simply be allowed to drop off in a few months. As it is mating season, occasional trees were noted to be severely macerated by bulls using them as antler rubs scent marking to advise other males of their dominance.

The Moose Fly is a fly very much restricted to life on the Moose. It creates lesions on the hindquarters of the Moose that look angry but actually cause little serious damage. A photo of Moose Fly lesions is attached. The Winter Tick which is also host specific to the Moose and will be attaching onto the Moose in a few months is more significant to the well-being of the Moose.

One large Black Bear allowed us to watch unnoticed from a long distance as it sought out berries. Only the one was seen as the Black Bear tends to work the night shift but with hibernation looming, some daytime feeding is necessary to build up fat reserves.

Many Ruffed Grouse were seen going about their daily missions but were not impressed with close encounters.

Another very special bird moment was when a Winter Wren perched in a small lone Spruce Tree a mere 6 feet away from the 4 of us to get a good observation of the 4 strange visitors! The memory had to be visual only as the wren was not about to allow photographs.

A small shrub that none of us recognized was photographed and sent to Gart Bishop for his comments. Gart advised that he felt it was Red-berried Elder that had been browsed by Moose causing the shrub to send out odd looking tufts of miniature leaves. Photos are attached.

Some photos of the boreal terrain are attached and a view of States Lake, one of the larger lakes in the area.

New Brunswick is a beautiful piece of the world!

 

 

 Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 

GREAT EGRETS. SEPT 21, 2022.  ELAINE GALLANT

GREAT EGRETS. SEPT 21, 2022.  ELAINE GALLANT

RUFFED GROUSE. SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER 

STAR-NOSED MOLE TAILINGS. SEPT 20, 2022.  BEV CHRISTIE

STAR-NOSED MOLE TAILINGS. SEPT 20, 2022.  BEV CHRISTIE

MOOSE. SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

MOOSE. SEPT 18, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

MOOSE. SEPT 18, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

MOOSE FLY LESIONS. SEPT 20, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

MOOSE ANTLER RUB. SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

MOOSE ANTLER RUB. SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

BLACK BEAR. SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

EASTERN RED-BACKED SALAMANDERS AND YELLOW-SPOTTED SALAMANDER. SEPT 21, 2022. DAVID CANNON

CALLIGRAPHA BEETLE. SEPT 19, 2022. JOHN INMAN

CALLIGRAPHA BEETLE. SEPT 19, 2022. JOHN INMAN

RED-BERRIED ELDER (MOOSE BROUSED). SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER 

RED-BERRIED ELDER (MOOSE BROUSED). SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER 

TWINFLOWER. SEPT 21, 2022. LISA MORRIS

STATES LAKE AREA. SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

STATES LAKE.  SEPT 19, 2022. NELSON POIRIER