NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
September
10, 2023
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Edited by
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**
Jane LeBlanc and a friend hiked through the Irving Nature Park in West Saint
John on Friday. They found small groups of 'peeps', several yellowlegs,
and many Great Blue Herons.
At home in
St. Martins, Jane (helped by Brian Stone and Nelson Poirier) found a newly
hatched Monarch Butterfly. Its wings never unfurled properly, and it did
not survive. On Saturday, in heavy fog and drizzle, she found a second
hatchling, also with oddly shaped wings. It was a female. Jane set it in the
greenhouse to help it dry. On the way to the greenhouse, she found a third
hatchling. This time a male, which looked perfect, so she left it alone.
One of the
two chrysalids that Jane found, high up on the milkweed plants, had the leaf it
was attached to die and fall to the ground. Jane found the leaf, chrysalis,
still attached, so she set it in the in greenhouse to hopefully hatch soon. An
eventful weekend in St. Martins!
**Aldo
Dorio found a Great Egret at Hay Island on Saturday. This may be a new one,
but chances are it’s the same one that was not seen for a few days and could
not resist returning.
(Editor’s note: We have several species of Crane Fly in New Brunswick. There are some small ones, but most are large and fit Pat’s description.
They are harmless to people and animals, but many species lay eggs in the soil that become grubs to interest grub connoisseur wildlife.)
**A bright green bug caught the eye of Christine Lever and her camera lens. It appears to be the Pale Green Assassin Bug.
(Editor’s note: editor stands to be corrected on identification.)
**Brian Stone and Nelson Poirier had the pleasant
opportunity to spend 2 days sleuthing the area from St. Martins to Alma via the
Fundy Parkway. It was an action-packed few days with hundreds of photos, some
of which will get shared over upcoming editions of Nature News.
The Parkway is now completed from St. Martins to Fundy
National Park, and those who have constructed this Parkway have done a
fantastic job of allowing the public to absorb this beautiful part of New
Brunswick with little disturbance to its natural state.
Brian Stone shares some of the photos taken in today’s
edition.
Anvil Rock is a huge sea stack that can be seen
on the road to the Quaco lighthouse. This rock mass made its final separation
from the land approximately 40 years ago. Ed and Jane LeBlanc commented they
heard the loud booming sound from their home the day it happened.
A stop-by
visit to the yard of Ed and Jane LeBlanc had lots to sleuth, enjoying the
wildlife that joins them in their naturalized property. While there, a Monarch
Butterfly emerged from its chrysalis to start the process of becoming an
airborne adult that Brian photographed. Unfortunately, this individual did not
survive the completion of its mission, possibly due to the cool night ahead of
it. Several chrysalids were noted, as well as an adult Blister Beetle.
The Blister
Beetle is so called because of its defensive secretion of a blistering agent called
cantharidin when it is disturbed. Cameras don’t initiate that! The adult forages on a
variety of leaf crops, landscape flowers, plant blossoms, and hay crops.
A Spring
Peeper hesitated long enough to catch the camera's eye.
Lots more
photos of a few fantastic days to follow.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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