Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 4 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Oct 4, 2022 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Peter Gadd had a bit of a sparrow flurry Monday morning at Miramichi Marsh. In true keeping with sparrow demeanor, they were not as cooperative as a photographer would like, but Peter was fortunate to get photos of some of them: A Lincoln’s Sparrow (a real treat) and a Swamp Sparrow, which was unusually cooperative.

For Peter, the most challenging identification was a warbler, (attached). The Merlin App gave him mixed results between a Tennessee Warbler and an Orange-crowned Warbler. When Peter submitted to E-bird it considered the Tennessee Warbler as “rare” and no argument if he submitted as an Orange-crowned Warbler! He submitted it as the former as this species was at the Miramichi Marsh for a week or more in the spring. Photos are clear but there may not be enough information from them to give a definitive answer.

(Editor’s note: a consult with Gilles Belliveau added these interesting comments “Tennessee Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler can indeed look very similar at this time of year and identifying from a single photo from one angle is challenging.

That being said, that bird does look better for a Tennessee Warbler to me (Gilles) due to the bright white undertail coverts (Orange-crowned should have at least some yellow in the undertail coverts). The tail also looks quite short and the underside of the tail also looks like it may have some white but really hard to judge both of these features from this particular angle. I’m not 100% certain of the ID as it’s a single photo but I would lean strongly towards Tennessee Warbler.

The reason Tennessee Warbler would come out as “rare” when submitting to eBird at the moment is just because of the date but I’ve seen Tennessee Warblers later than this before (Orange-crowned Warbler is more or less expected at this time of year so likely wouldn’t get flagged as rare anywhere in NB at the moment)."

** Brian Stone walked a couple hours on the Hall's Creek Trail off the Crowley Farm Rd. in Moncton (Editor’s note: a reminder to all of us of this nearby easily accessible trail) on Monday and found very little in the way of bird life to photograph. Along the creek area he saw several White-throated Sparrows foraging and he photographed one, but most of the few other birds he saw were deep in the trees and not near enough to the camera to be recorded. He heard 2 Blue-headed Vireos and distantly saw a Golden-crowned Kinglet but not much else. He satisfied his photo requirements with pictures of male and female Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonflies, the interesting but tiny colourful Skullcap Skeletonizer Moth (Prochoreutis inflatella) (Editor’s note: the caterpillars of this moth skeletonize the skullcap plant so a good reason to be sleuthing any skullcap plants encountered at the moment for these caterpillars), some Tree Fungus, and a bit of scenery.

**A heads up to remind everyone of the special and potentially spectacular Nature Moncton field trip to Mapleton Acadian Forest this coming weekend. The activities committee will be keeping a close eye on weather to try to make sure the rain day is used if indicated. Details below:

NATURE MONCTON FIELD TRIP TO THE MAPLETON ACADIAN FOREST TRAIL IN ELGIN

Date: Saturday October 8^th (Rain date: Sunday Oct. 9^th)

Time: 9:30 AM

Meeting Place: The Elgin Country Kitchen and General Store (from there, we will go together to the entrance of the trail)

Mapleton Acadian Forest Trail

Last spring, we enjoyed an outing on this trail, but it’s worth a visit in every season. October will bring highlights not seen in May, especially an abundance of wild mushrooms and the beauty of the fall colours. This will be a full day outing, so bring a lunch. As some of you may remember, the trail winds through a superb example of a mature Acadian Forest characterized by a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees growing in a relatively humid environment. This creates fertile soil and good habitat for all kinds of living things that will be waiting for us there, and much to investigate for mushroom lovers.

The Mapleton Acadian Forest Nature Preserve was established in 2016 to conserve in perpetuity this otherwise endangered habitat in the province. The preserve is the result of a partnership between The Elgin Eco Association and the Nature Trust of New Brunswick. It covers 160 acres and boasts an excellent 3 km nature trail with several interpretive panels which will help us understand the natural beauties and also historic aspects of the preserve, like an old manganese processing plant from the 1930’s, a sugar camp, and some remnants of old-time forestry. On the nature side there will be much to see like huge mature trees of several species, in particular a stand of towering hemlocks several centuries old.

How to get there and difficulty level

The entrance to the Mapleton Acadian Forest Trail is located 4.4 km down the NB-895 after turning off the NB-905 just before Elgin. We will meet first at the Elgin Country and Kitchen General Store in Elgin which is located at # 4 River Rd. Take exit 233 from the Trans-Canada Highway onto NB-905 and follow it down until it changes to River Rd. From the store, we will all go together to the trail entrance, so no one gets lost.

The trail is rated as moderate with difficult sections. There are some hills to be climbed, so please be sure you are in good physical shape. Appropriate footwear and clothing are advised.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton