Nature Moncton Nature News: May 6 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 6, 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

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Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

** Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins was alerted by a neighbour on Main Street that he had a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, plus a male Baltimore Oriole. She went down several hours later and did see the Oriole and got a beautiful photo.

**John Inman in Harvey also had his first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season arrive on Sunday and it posed beautifully for a photo.

**Greater Yellowlegs are still moving via Hay Island.

Aldo Dorio noted five present on Sunday and got a photograph of one, showing it in breeding plumage with the all-black bill and more heavily barred flanks.

**Brian Stone showed Cathy Simon the many trails behind Crandall University on Sunday morning. They saw Pennsylvania Sedge, Trailing Arbutus, and Spotted Salamander eggs.

(Editor’s note: it is interesting to note the green algae in Cathy’s photo of the salamander eggs which appear to be those of the Yellow-spotted Salamander. Some of the newer literature suggests the algae associated with the eggs provides oxygen to the developing embryo during photosynthesis.)

Some interesting spring flora and avian life were seen and some managed to get photographed. A good number of spring arrivals were seen and heard, and it was very pleasant to hear so many birds singing and calling finally after such a quiet season earlier. Some of the many birds heard were Winter Wren, Broad-winged Hawk, Hermit Thrush, Vireos, Brown Creepers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Northern Flickers.

Some of the birds that were caught by the camera were Black and White Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, Green-winged Teal Duck, White-throated Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Downy Woodpecker. Along with the patch of small but beautiful Mayflowers (Trailing Arbutus) and the Pennsylvania Sedge, a few Painted Trilliums were seen soon to be flowering. Pyrola and Partridgeberry were present and ferns were popping up and beginning to unfurl. The beaver ponds along Gorge Creek were calm and beautifully reflective and were hosting a few birds such as a Great Blue Heron and several Red-winged Blackbirds.

**Gart Bishop, Mark Connell, Denis Doucet, and Nelson Poirier made a very impromptu outing to look for early spring plants on Sunday afternoon when everything seemed to be taking advantage of the sun and warmth of the day.

If the list of emerging plants observed was included here, it would compete with the newspaper. To avoid that scenario, photos of some of the highlights are featured.

The ephemeral plant, Dutchman’s Breeches, was advanced, but some blooms were found to show how it got its name. The bloom is shaped like a pair of breeches hanging out to dry.
Carolina Spring Beauty was in perfect bloom flashing its beautiful candy-striped blossoms.
Trout Lily was in full bloom with its drooping striking blossoms above its leaves that are spotted like the back of the trout to give it its name.
Bloodroot was blooming as hard as it possibly could with leaves unfurled so the bloom could get all the sun it needed.
Red Maple blooms were at their best. Red Maple is one of our earlier blooming trees along with Silver Maple which can bloom even earlier which we did not see.
One of the sought-after highlights was a patch of Wild Leek. This plant is very common in some states along the eastern seaboard, but is only known at a few sites in New Brunswick with the locations not published to protect them. Many of the early plants photographed could be seen among the Wild Leek plants as they favour a similar habitat.

Nelson took note of the immature Bald Eagles hanging out on the summit of mounds of earth soaking up the sun but no sign of adults that have family matters in mind with no time to soak up the sun.
Nelson was also able to get some quick photos of a piebald White-tailed Deer. The photo had to be taken with deer fencing in the foreground and unfortunately, the deer was not particularly impressed with being photographed and made for a quick exit.