NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
April 16,
2024
Nature
Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are
invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to
build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News
To respond
by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
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The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can
be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**The Nature Moncton meeting is coming up tonight Tuesday, April 16, and will be a double bill with all details below:
** NATURE MONCTON APRIL MEETING
Topic:
“Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Maritimes”
Tuesday,
April 16, 2024, at 7:00 PM
Mapleton
Park Rotary Lodge
Presenter: Denis Doucet
Did you know that
- New Brunswick has over 140 species of dragonflies and damselflies,
which is more than is found in all of Europe!
- A species of dragonfly that occurs in New Brunswick and is
widespread globally actually has the longest migration of any insect, even
further than the Monarch butterfly.
- The order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) is one of the
oldest groups of insects found on the planet. They have been around for
more than 300 million years!
Come learn more about this fascinating and very important group of
insects in a rich presentation using imagery, notes, quotes, and anecdotes.
Denis Doucet, a naturalist and long-time Odonata enthusiast, will undoubtedly
grant us with an engaging, visually stunning, and thought-provoking talk.
This will be an in-person
presentation at the Rotary Lodge with a Zoom link for those who want to join in
from home.
All are welcome, Nature
Moncton member or not.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86288656653?pwd=NWREdStjWGZxVU9sMnhhaEY1ajhYUT09
After the break, Brian Stone will give a
presentation pointing out the many observations folks saw
during the total solar eclipse that we have never seen before and will not be
seeing again.
Brian will
show a series of photos demonstrating these items so we can all get one last
look to add to the memory bank of the special occasion. Both portions will be recorded and
available live during the meeting at the Mapleton Lodge and online virtually at
the above link for those who cannot make the live presentation at the lodge.
**Norbert
Dupuis was fortunate to get a photo of a double rainbow that
suddenly appeared Monday evening after a sudden shower in Memramcook. He was able
to see 2 rainbows at once for the price of
one. Interestingly, the second bow is fainter and more pastel, and also the colour
sequence in the second bow is reversed to that of the main bow as it is
indeed a reflection. Double rainbows may not be particularly uncommon but they can
disappear as fast as they form to make it hard to capture a photo.
Norbert
also captured some spectacular views of a female American Kestrel, catching
it in flight to show her beautiful plumage and then a perched view. This is our
smallest falcon and Norbert was fortunate to get photographic observations of
this fast-moving bird.
**Lynn Dube
was able to get a nice photograph of a perched Joker Moth (Felalia jocosa).
This is the
time of year we can see this colourful moth. It overwinters as the adult, able to escape predators with its cryptic colours and incredible antifreeze
capabilities. It will soon be laying eggs to produce equally colourful larval caterpillars that forage from the newly emerging buds of conifer trees. It is single-brooded to accommodate this mission to feast on freshly emerged buds.
**Jane LeBlanc sat patiently beside her St. Martins yard
pond Monday afternoon and managed photos of Wood Frogs.
There were at least 5 present and egg masses were seen as well.
**Aldo
Dorio noted Bufflehead still present near the shore of Hay Island on
Monday. They appeared to be predominately paired off and assumedly ready to
head off on their northerly migration soon.
**On Monday
afternoon Brian Stone revisited the Salisbury lagoons and wetland ponds to
check on the large patch of Unequal Cellophane Bees and any other newly
arrived wildlife that may have shown up. This time he noticed some of the
Cellophane Bees were frequently mating and managed to catch some of the action
in photos. Brian also noted his first sighting of a Tree Swallow
checking out one of the nest boxes on the fencing around the lagoons.
A small
raptor that Brian suspects was a Merlin flew past so fast that it almost
avoided the camera as did a male Northern Harrier Hawk in a local field.
Several male Red-winged Blackbirds had moved into the marshy area and
were staking their territories. Along the river beside the ponds, a
pair of vocal Bald Eagles called to each other in the close vicinity of
the old eagle nest. Back at home, Brian photographed the male Ring-necked
Pheasant once again in his back yard but this time he was accompanied by a
female companion that he kept a close watch over.
Nature Moncton