Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 18 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Oct 18, 2022 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**The October Nature Moncton meeting is on tonight with a change of venue due to illness. Neil Vinson will give his presentation on developing a pollinator garden similar to the one he gave to the New Brunswick Botany Club this past summer that was enjoyed so much.

Kendra Driscoll will give her presentation on lichens at the November meeting.

Neil’s presentation will be given in-person at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge and available virtually as well. The write up is below:

NATURE MONCTON SEPTEMBER MEETING
Tuesday October 18, 2022, at 7:00 PM
Mapleton Rotary Lodge
Building a Pollinator Garden

Presenter: Neil Vinson

We are fortunate to have Neil Vinson present us with the information to develop a pollinator garden at our homes. Nature needs all the help we can give to support this basic need in the ecosystem of our yards and beyond.

Originally from Halifax, NS, Neil Vinson has been living in Moncton since graduating from the Maritime College of Forest Technology in 2014. Shortly after graduation, Neil started working in resource conservation at Fundy National Park, where he is now into his ninth year. Neil’s love of plants and birds started in school but flourished during his time spent at Fundy. In his day-to-day work, Neil conducts forest bird monitoring, battles with invasive plants, and measures forest growth in permanent sample plots.

Neil has been involved with Fundy’s 400m2 native plant pollinator garden since its inception in 2019 – adding new species, knocking back overly-aggressive ones, weeding, and performing general maintenance. Through this work Neil has developed a passion for gardening with native plants and spreading the word on the importance of reintroducing our native species back into our urban landscapes.

This will be a hybrid meeting with Neil presenting at Mapleton Lodge. Those who wish to join in virtually on Zoom can go to the attached link at 6:50 PM. (which works even though date has been changed)

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

**George Brun captured a special photo showing the reflection on where the earth and sky meet with the Petitcodiac River Tidal Bore as a value-added bonus.

Surely would be special if a similar scenario could happen on Petitcodiac River Appreciation Day circa 8 AM as the RCMP Pipe and Drum Band serenades the arrival of the Tidal Bore!

**Nelson Poirier left a query about some Red Oak trees showing red and yellow tones instead of the expected rusty brown in fall. Julie Singleton shares some excellent information on that and am going to quote Julie below so we all can learn:

“Leaves on mature Red Oak trees tend to turn rusty-colored, although some may have dark-gold highlights during the transition phase.
Young oak trees and seedlings can be much more colourful with bright red, pink, orange, or gold leaves.
At least that's what I notice about the trees in our yard. It probably has something to do with the amount of leaf pigments in the leaves and perhaps whether the trees are growing in full sun or shade. Often - young trees and seedlings are growing in the shade while large trees have full sun exposure.”

**Lynn Dube got a photo of a Spring Peeper that was attached to her back door on Sunday evening. Note the sucker toe pads that make it so easy for them to attach to vertical surfaces.
It is not unusual to hear them vocalize at this time of year and one individual sounds very different from the group cacophony heard in spring.

**Brian Stone walked two trails on Monday, one at Mill Creek in Riverview and another at Mapleton Park in Moncton (and yes, he got very tired). Wildlife was generally quiet and hidden in both areas and the only photos he got at Mill Creek worth sharing were of a group of small Puffball Mushrooms maturing and dehiscing spores and a "cloud" of Woolly Alder Aphids which did not turn out as well as he had hoped. (Editor’s note: Nice to see these photos as we will also be seeing these pretending to be the first snowflakes as they head to overwinter on their alternate hosts.)

At Mapleton Park Brian found only a Hairy Woodpecker and a Red Squirrel that posed for photos. (Editor’s note: Brian mentioned to the squirrel that it would take an effort not worthwhile to penetrate the entrance hole guard of a Nature Moncton bird nest box!)
Brian also photographed the elderly Mill Creek Dam as a backdrop to colourful fall foliage.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton