Nature Moncton Nature News: May 15 2023

May 15, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Tomorrow night, Tuesday, May 16, is Nature Moncton May meeting night, with the write-up at the end of this edition and upfront tomorrow.

**John Inman’s oriole troupe swelled to an amazing 12 on Sunday, 5 Orchard Orioles and 7 Baltimore Orioles. One of the female Orchard Orioles has a bit of a rusty forehead which John has not seen in the past. John sent several photographs and all are being posted because we will not continue seeing these for much longer in all their various stages in one spot.

(Editor’s note: note some of John’s orange and grapefruit halves are filled with jam! Is that the secret?)

**Jane and Ed LeBlanc took a drive to St. George Marsh on Sunday morning. They were dismayed to find gale-force winds blowing when they arrived. Warblers were plentiful but would not come out. The exception was a male Northern Parula Warbler, who sang his heart out for them.

Returning home to St. Martins, Jane visited her friend on Main Street to find a mature male Orchard Oriole, as well as female Baltimore and Orchard Orioles. Other stars included a White-crowned Sparrow and White-breasted Nuthatch. None were photographed.

**The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are advancing northward as Aldo Dorio was able to photograph a female in his Neguac yard at the nectar feeder with her tongue out, sweeping in the nectar.

**Many of us have challenges identifying the comma species of butterflies. Jim Edsall helped us with the identification of 2 different comma species Brian Stone photographed on Saturday. The photos are added today, one of the Green Comma and a second one of an Eastern Comma.

**We are having both Interrupted Fern and Cinnamon Fern emerging at the moment, and we put the question to Gart Bishop as to how and when we can differentiate them at this point.

Gart’s response was, “As for the differences between Interrupted Fern and Cinnamon Fern, good question ... it is tricky often with mature sterile fronds. Once the ferns mature and exhibit their spores, it is very easy, and perhaps if one searched for the fertile frond of Cinnamon Fern you might find it at this point, or the fertile ‘interruptions’ of the Interrupted Fern – mind you, I’ve never looked this early in the year, but will this afternoon. Once fertile plants are 30-40 cm high, you can usually find the spores.

One of the best indicators is habitat. Cinnamon Fern is almost never in dry upland settings and Interrupted Fern is uncommon in real wet areas.”

**As Brian Stone was getting ready to leave Upham to return to Moncton on Friday, a very vocal Ovenbird appeared in a tree beside the driveway and demanded to be photographed for the Nature Moncton blog. Brian obliged and got the clearest photos he has ever had of this frequently heard woodland bird.

(Editor’s note: Brian’s photos nicely show the russet crown bordered by dark stripes, a bold white ring with bold streaks of dark spots on the breast and chest, and the pinkish legs).

**Several years ago, Fred Richards built several Eastern Phoebe nest shelters as a trial run to see if they would attract that species to nest. To my knowledge, we have had none taken by Eastern Phoebes, so it was a pleasant surprise on Sunday to note that one I had attached to a neighbour’s camp under the roof eave had a pair of Eastern Phoebes nest-building. A distant photo is attached.

I have had 2 attached to my home in Moncton, and every year, they have hosted American Robin or Mourning Dove.

**Nelson Poirier was always amazed at the incredible number of pollinators that were spring visitors to a huge male willow tree in the yard of Anne Marsch, a former very active Nature Moncton member. Anne gave Nelson a few branches of that tree to place in his camp yard. Nelson was assuming the branches did not take root as no willow tree appeared. Suddenly this spring, a six-foot willow shrub appeared laden with huge pollen-laden catkins that became a magnet for pollinators.

Anne said this was a cultivar willow, the Korean Willow. It grows into a large tree, and the catkins are huge.

Unfortunately, Anne has passed.

** Nature Moncton May Meeting

May 16, 2023. 7:00 PM

Mapleton Rotary Lodge

Online Photo Identification Guide to the Plants of New Brunswick

A very significant website is under construction that will be dedicated to botany within the Province of New Brunswick.

There are several websites available to help naturalists identify plants but so far, none have been developed specifically to New Brunswick. This is about to change!

Jim Goltz and Andrea Flemming will present on the progress to date on the website the Fredericton Botanic Garden is creating, with support from the Environmental Trust Fund. The multi-year project will cover the vascular plants found native and endemic to New Brunswick. Using Hal Hinds' Flora of New Brunswick as a starting point and photos collected from the New Brunswick plant community including Jim Goltz and the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, they will share ways that you can participate in the project as well.

This will be an in-person presentation from Andrea and Jim (Jim will be virtual from Ontario, where he is stranded, but Andrea will be with us in person) at the Mapleton Lodge; however, anyone can join in from anywhere virtually using the link below:

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

As always, all are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton