Nature Moncton Nature News: July 30 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 30, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**We are all very protective of our milkweed plants.

Rheal Vienneau recently noted a beetle on Swamp milkweed and got a photograph. It is identified as the Red Shoulder Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva).

Fortunately, this beetle forages on nectar and pollen and is no harm to the Monarch Butterfly or humans. No control is needed

**Aldo Dorio got photos of shorebirds at Hay Island on Saturday. One photo is of a Willet, while the other photos needed consultation with Gilles Belliveau.

Gilles felt one may be a Sanderling but was not certain.

The photo with the bird facing directly toward the camera looks like it could be a Pectoral Sandpiper based on the dense streaking on the chest and throat and what he could make out of the facial pattern, and the legs look like they could be a dull yellowish colour but the lighting makes it hard to say for certain. Gilles just can’t be certain based on this one photo.

**Fred Richards and Brian Stone visited Joggins, N.S., and the surrounding area last Tuesday, the 25th, for a scouting trip to set up a possible future Nature Moncton outing. Fred was an excellent tour guide and offered many interesting facts and stories to build a comprehensive historical background of the local area surrounding the Joggins fossil cliffs. They then visited the fossil museum and joined a guided tour of the beach and cliff areas. The Joggins Fossil Center guide added many interesting and educational details to Fred's history lessons, and then Fred and Brian explored the beach on their own for an hour or so. The Fossil Center guide was excited to show a newly exposed fossil tree trunk in one area of the cliff wall, and Fred and Brian noted many smaller plant stem and horsetail fossils littered along the beach as they walked along. Some fossilized tree trunk sections were on display on the beach, and the center up on the ridge had an excellent selection of fossils on display.

Several photos are attached, and stay tuned for the announcement of a group Nature Moncton visit to the Joggins site.

**Brian Stone also got photos of the berries now being formed on the Common Sarsaparilla plant

**Nelson Poirier spotted a Monarch Butterfly and a Painted Lady Butterfly visiting a Common Milkweed patch near the Via Rail Station in Miramichi on Saturday.

Both were uncooperative for good photographs. The Monarch Butterfly appeared to be a female but acting like a male flitting from one site to another and not settling down on a milkweed plant. No evidence of caterpillars or eggs was found.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton