Nature Moncton Nature News: July 19 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 19, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The write-up for tonight’s Wednesday’s Nature Moncton walk is below:

**NATURE MONCTON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WALK

JULY 19, 2023

OGDEN LOOP TRAIL, SACKVILLE at 7:00 pm, guided by Louise Nichols

This Wednesday’s walk will be at the Ogden Loop Trail in Sackville, part of the beautiful Walker Rd trail system which is maintained by the Tantramar Outdoor Club for snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter. The loop begins with a brook and then enters the woods, eventually coming out at what used to be the town’s water reservoir before going back into the woods. The loop is 2.6 kms, but there are ways of making the walk shorter if we wish. The walk is rated moderate, on fairly flat ground with some areas of tree roots.

To get there, take the Trans Canada highway toward Sackville and exit at Walker Rd. Turn right off the exit ramp and follow Walker Rd until it becomes a gravel road. Just after that happens, you will see a parking area on the right. Park there or on the road (not much traffic). The trail we will take is across the road from the parking area.

Lots of nature activity on this trail which passes through some different habitats. Hope to see a good number of you there!

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins went for a bicycle ride Tuesday morning when the fog lifted slightly. She found the Red Eft stage of an Eastern Newt on the side of the road, as well as a male and female Common Yellowthroat laden with groceries for youngsters.

(Editor’s note: the Red Eft is the land stage of the Eastern Newt. The adult Eastern Newt is aquatic and lays its eggs in water; however, the hatched larvae come to shore and remain on land for 2 to 3 years before returning to water as adults and losing the red colouration.)

**Marguerite and Bill Winsor came across a colorful small wasp of the Pimpla genus.

This 1 cm+ wasp is parasitic, often on Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). There are many species in this genus that are quite similar in appearance.

**On the Nature Moncton Gagetown Island foray, many wondered about the history behind the ruins of Mount House. These were obviously well built homes however the history behind them seems to be shrouded in mystery. It is thought that many records were destroyed during some of the conflicts going on at the time they were built and used. The link below explains some of the possibilities based on some of the facts that are known. A few photos are reattached of how one of the structures remains today.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0pwspbenpundlli1ygf36/The-Mystery-Of-Mount-House.docx?rlkey=dipnr57i2f5b0tiabjom2xrs0&dl=0

**Spruce Budworm has been a very serious problem in the province of Québec and has led to large swaths of forests dying and becoming standing kindling for forest fires.

The Maritime provinces have taken a different stance of placing pheromone traps in forested areas to assess where infestations may be imminent. When the pheromone traps indicate Spruce Budworm levels are significant, spot treatment is done.

So far, this has been very effective as no sizable infestations have created damage.

Nelson Poirier maintains a pheromone trap near his little Southwest Miramichi River camp. Any moths attracted are collected once weekly and frozen for assessment by the budworm tracker team after August 14.

Gordon Rattray photographed the trap set up as the weekly sample was being taken.

Many people are involved in this effort, but Emily Owens leads the budworm tracker program.

**Brian Stone visited Upham on Friday, July 14th, and sends a few photos from the area and the Hampton lagoon. At Upham, he photographed a Red-eyed Vireo and Christmas Fern before checking out the lagoon and taking pictures of a Great Blue Heron, a male Ruddy Duck, an Osprey overhead, a Common Goldeneye Duck family, some Ducks and Ducklings, a White-tailed Deer, and a Red Admiral Butterfly.