Nature Moncton Nature News: October 11 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

October 11, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The Philadelphia Vireo is a bird we don’t see very often in southeastern New Brunswick. It seems to be observed more frequently in northern New Brunswick and Todd Watts reports it in the St. Andrews area. It also has the propensity to favour the upper canopy, which again makes it harder to spot.

John Inman had a Philadelphia Vireo visit his Harvey yard on Tuesday at a nice level to get an excellent photograph.

John also had a Baltimore Oriole which immediately had an orange section that was put out for its dining pleasure; however, a Hairy Woodpecker appeared to be less impressed when it investigated the oriole menu.

** John Massy shares a photo of a large mass of bright green Lung Lichen looking like it has enjoyed soaking up the recent rain. The lung lichen attaches to trees, especially enjoying Sugar Maple, but does no harm to the tree. It simply uses it as a substrate to let its algal and fungal components complete their mutualistic mission.

John also photographed a group of Turkey Tail Mushrooms on one side of a tree stump with a group of Multicolor Gilled Polypore Mushrooms on the other side. Both of these species perform the very important function of recycling dead wood.

**Shannon Inman photographed the top and underside of a Scarlet Waxycap Mushroom. We have several species of waxycaps that tend to like fruiting in the fall. However, the Scarlet Waxycap may be the most colourful.

**Anna Tucker looked out her window at 2 AM on Tuesday morning to spot the pleasant waning crescent Moon that needed a pleasant photographic memory of the moment.

**Brian Stone saw a report of an American Avocet on Tuesday afternoon, and he dragged himself out of his lazy chair and zipped over to Bis Marsh in Dieppe to try his best to get a photograph of this rare visitor. The birds in Bis Marsh are generally quite far from the viewing spots, and on this occasion, it was no different. The bird was a lovely sight in a scope but a nightmare to try and photograph at that distance. As usual, Brian did his best and sends his results.

He also sends a photo of a closer Northern Pintail Duck and a Green-winged Teal Duck for a little variety and consolation prize.

(Editor’s note: note the bright green speculum and the brownish-grey wing coverts of the Green-winged Teal, which show so nicely in flight in Brian’s photograph.)

**Nelson Poirier recently photographed a group of the brightly coloured Cinnabar Polypore Mushrooms busy performing their mission of recycling dead wood.

Nelson is also noting a significant number of Caddisflies on their nocturnal flights at the moment on their mating mission, seemingly defying the cooler nights, as well as the large 6 to 8 cm White Underwing Moths with one photo showing the showy underwing of broad black and white bands.
(Editor's note: the delta-winged Caddisfly adults, although very numerous, are seldom noted due to their nocturnal lifestyle. They are exceedingly important members of the wildlife community as they lay their eggs underwater, with the hatched larvae being very important forage for many species such as dragonfly, damselfly, and many other underwater larvae, as well as small and immature fish. The presence of caddisflies tends to indicate a nearby unpolluted water source.)

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton