Nature Moncton Nature News: September 20 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

September 20, 2023

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**A very sincere thank you to Pierre Janin and Sam Legresley for coming to Nature Moncton on Tuesday evening with an incredibly enlightening presentation on the value of planting native plants in our personal spaces. Their information was very solidly backed by research and kept a full room of attentive participants glued to their comments.

Pierre and Sam stayed after the break to continue answering questions for a full hour before President Fred had to clear out the lodge as rental time was up!

Unfortunately, this presentation did not go out over a Zoom connection. However, they have given a link to their PowerPoint presentation, and the audio was recorded, so hopefully, we will be able to share these two links so this great presentation can be shared with naturalists anywhere in an upcoming blog edition.

(Editor’s note: it is unfortunate many of us in attendance could not have been exposed to this presentation 40 years ago!!)

**A second major event took place for Nature Moncton on Tuesday when the incredible work being done by Cathy and Evar Simon on the Nature Moncton website was completed and went live. The new website can be viewed at

www.naturemoncton.com .

This masterpiece can be explored and enjoyed by naturalists anywhere. There are many new features, some of which will be quickly tweaked as appropriate to make them even better if indicated.

A very sincere thank you to Cathy and Evar for directing their efforts to this upgrade and to Brian Stone, who will continue to be the webmaster.

** Louise Nichols checked out Slack's Cove on Monday along Rte. 935. The tide was approaching high, so there were not a lot of birds on the shore, and the area of the cove was quiet. Louise captured a photo of a late Peck's Skipper butterfly and a Salt Marsh Moth Caterpillar. On her way out of Slack's Cove, she noticed some bird activity on the side of the road and stopped to check it out. A bit of a warbler fall-out was happening, and Louise was able to get some photos of Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, and Palm Warbler. Some of these birds have different fall plumages, which can be seen in the photos.

Back in Sackville, Louise stopped behind the town garage looking for shorebirds, and she spotted a flock of about 10 birds flying around the muddy field. She suspected plovers and noted that these birds did not have the black armpit of Black-bellied Plovers. They landed in a spot where it was possible to observe them, and they were indeed American Golden Plovers. Note the delicate look of the birds, the smaller bill, the long primary projection (seen in some of the photos), and the overall golden plumage, especially the gold cap, which is visible on some birds. Louise includes a photo (unfortunately a bit blurry) of one bird that has remaining black breeding plumage on its belly. It's evident that the black markings extend into the undertail coverts, as opposed to the Black-bellied Plover, which has white undertail coverts even in breeding plumage.

**Brian Stone shares a few more photos from his outing to St. Martins and the area on Monday. On his way to St. Martins, he noticed a rather large lawn ornament in someone's well-groomed yard and slowed down for a closer look. When the lawn ornament turned its head and looked at him, Brian realized that he was in the presence of a large, healthy-looking cow Moose that was seemingly just standing at rest about 10 feet from the side of the road. The moose contemplated Brian for a few minutes as the photographer exited the car and began taking pictures (while keeping the car between himself and the quite large subject) and then the moose nonchalantly ambled across the lawn and disappeared into the yard behind the house.

At St. Martins a short time later, Brian was watching the water at the shoreline on the rocky beach when a large Grey Seal swam lazily by and gave him a glance before continuing along its way.

A Ring-billed Gull landed nearby, and then Brian's attention was taken by a Monarch Butterfly that flew in from the direction of the water right over his head, and he left the beach to follow it, hoping for a photo. Sadly, it vanished behind some homes, and Brian was left with only photos of a Cabbage White Butterfly, a Syrphid Fly, and a Water Strider.

(Editors note: take note that Brian’s photo of the Ring-billed Gull shows that it no longer has the clean white head of summer but has taken on the blotchy head markings of winter plumage.)

A few photos from the Quaco Head Lighthouse show a Peregrine Falcon and a Great Blue Heron perching on the rocks of Quaco Island.

Upon his return to Hampton, Brian saw a large group of dozens of Turkey Vultures circling above an area north of the town and noted a group of more than 5 White-tailed Deer grazing on a grassy hillside behind his sister's condo building.

                     Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER (SOME BREEDING PLUMAGE). SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

MAGNOLIA WARBLER. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

NORTHERN PARULA. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

PALM WARBLER. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). SEPT. 18, 2023. VERICA LeBLANC

GREATER YELLOWLEGS. SEPT. 18, 2023. VERICA LeBLANC

PEREGRINE FALCON. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

GREAT BLUE HERON. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

TURKEY VULTURES. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

PECK'S SKIPPER. SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

CABBAGE WHITE BUTTERFLY. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

GREY SEAL. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

WATER STRIDER. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

SYRPHID FLY. SEPT. 18, 2023.. BRIAN STONE

SALT MARSH MOTH CATERPILLAR (SUSPECTED). SEPT. 18, 2023. LOUISE NICHOLS

MOOSE. SEPT. 18, 2023., BRIAN STONE

WHITE-TAILED DEER (DOE AND YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). SEPT. 18, 2023., BRIAN STONE

WHITE-TAILED DEER (DOE). SEPT. 18, 2023., BRIAN STONE

RING-BILLED GULL. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

MARITIME SUNBURST LICHEN. SEPT. 18, 2023. BRIAN STONE

Nature Moncton Nature News

Editor & Proofreader

Wednesday, 20 September 2023

September 20 2023