Nature Moncton Nature News: May 8 2023

May 8, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** John Inman had his first White-crowned Sparrow arrive to his Harvey, Albert County feeder yard on Sunday morning. John comments it could be an interesting week if we get some southern winds.

(Editor’s note: we will only see this sparrow for a short time window as it stops to refuel on its migration to the north of us for its breeding season. It passes through later than the Fox Sparrow, which also was en route to the north of us.

The striking fluorescent white bands on the head and the large pink bill are easy to spot with the White-crowned Sparrow).

**Lynne Renton came across 4 Red Fox pups on a path along the St. John River in Rothesay on Sunday.

This family is obviously developing very fast and doing well traveling around outside the maternal lair enjoying the warm day and looking quite pleased to have their antics photographed.

** On Saturday morning, while Brian Coyle was out to check on his trail cameras, he noticed a Skunk coming towards him in a field. He managed to get some ‘threat’ behaviour on his camera as a video before the Skunk disappeared into the ground in its den. Brian plans to set up a trail camera near the den to potentially get some very interesting footage of Skunk family life.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s22qm5luczk9c67/Skunk%20..%20Brian%20Coyle.MOV?dl=0

Brian also has some River Otter vocalization videos to share from one of his trail cameras.

(Editor’s note: we don’t tend to often see the River Otter in the wild and are much less likely to hear it vocalize as it normally goes about its mission silently. Brian got a special video that caught the surprising variety of vocalizations the River Otter can emit when it chooses. When heard, it can be a very surprising sound as most of us are just not accustomed to hearing it).

Take a listen to these vocalizations on Brian’s videos at the links below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xww6ab85pcudliu/Otter%201%20..%20Brian%20Coyle.mp4?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6oplentwnmixxng/Otter%202%20..%20Brian%20Coyle.mp4?dl=0

**Louise Richard reports they have been seeing Mourning Cloak Butterflies in the vicinity of their Acadieville cabin for a few weeks.

(Editor’s note: as mentioned yesterday, the Mourning Cloak Butterfly overwinters as an adult and can be seen in very early spring. Louise was fortunate to get a photo as I as well have seen a number of Mourning Cloak Butterflies, but all were very wary of being photographed).

**On a bird outing with the Fredericton Nature Club to Dorothy and Tony Diamond’s property on April 30, someone pointed out the tiny blooms of the Beaked Hazelnut. Judith Dewar checked her own hazelnut trees in the backyard to see these minute blooms.

(Editor’s note: these blooms may look large in the photo but are very small and intricate and easily overlooked. It’s a great time to take a closer look at Beaked Hazelnut shrubs to see the minute intricate female purple blossoms).

**Brian Stone sends some photos from the White Rock Recreational Area in Hillsborough on Saturday. The weather was pleasant, and the woods were fresh, and the walking was comfortable.

Several Blue-headed Vireos were singing in spots along the trail, and an American Kestrel flew from its perch in a distant treetop. Dozens of Bee Flies were hovering and occasionally landing to make photography a little bit easier. On the way out of the park, just before the parking lot, a Brown Creeper decided it wanted to be featured on the Nature Moncton blog and posed for a couple of images.

**Nelson Poirier had a first visit of the season from several Red-bellied Snakes seeking the warmth underneath black boot mats placed about the yard.
One cooperated nicely for a few photographs. The Red-bellied Snake is dimorphic in the sense that some are brown on the dorsal surface and others are slate grey. The brilliant red belly area is normally only seen when they are picked up. They seem to enjoy the warmth of a human hand. Note the broken pale line at the base of the head. The less common Ring-necked Snake would have a solid yellow line at the base of the head. These are small snakes, usually maxing out at 12 in., and are totally harmless to humans.

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**With the arrival of a few warm days, Nelson Poirier’s several bee houses are buzzing with activity from the early emerging Mason Bees. He was able to photograph one male that was busy doing its masonry task of cementing its hole with packed mud. Each hole will be packed with five divided cells that will end up with one egg deposited by a female, along with a cache of pollen for the young larvae to feed upon when hatched. Note the green glint on the abdomen. The photograph is a male as it is showing a white-collar, which the female does not.

Nelson took a video of one of the bees at work. Take a look at the activity at the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ubwjgurh7cmo00z/DSCN4683.MP4?dl=0

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton