Nature Moncton Nature News: June 16 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

June 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

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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 Peregrine Falcon nest box atop Assumption Place experienced some very significant activity on Saturday.
Fred and Lynn Dube reported they saw a bird outside the nest in late afternoon.
Brian Stone and Nelson Poirier got to the parking lot circa 6:00 PM and spotted the bird. Despite the very cloudy dark day, Brian was able to get photographs to clearly see it was a juvenile bird. It hopped around the nest box and edge of the building roof, very frequently flapping its wings. When Brian and Nelson got home, they checked the live view and all four nestlings were in the nest box to show they obviously can come and go.
Brian Stone adds a few screenshots of activity during the day.
This could signal the beginning of a very significant week in raising teenagers!

**Richard Blacquiere reports that on Thursday evening there were two male Ruddy Ducks back on the 3rd (largest) Hampton lagoon. At that time, they were too far away for photos. However, on Friday evening they were closer to the trail and Richard was able to get a few images.
On Saturday morning, another Snapping Turtle was briefly out on the trail. It eventually made its way back into the pond. In a second documentary photo, you can see just the snout of the turtle out of the water. This Snapping Turtle was smaller than the other two recently seen on the trail. That makes 3 different Snapping Turtles that have been in and around the lagoon in the last few weeks.
(Editor’s note: this must be very good habitat for this species of turtle with three known adult females, which would have to lead to the possibility of even more.)
At the lagoon Thursday evening, Richard was lucky enough to catch a Northern Shoveler duck with her brood. He was watching the Pied-billed Grebe tending the eight young grebes and she nearly slipped past unnoticed.
The next morning, Richards's luck continued when he had his camera ready in time to catch a Sora walking across the lagoon trail. A Sora is usually present at the lagoon in the spring, calling for a week or two, then disappearing, presumably departing for a larger, better marsh. The presence of this one is a puzzle.

**Leon Gagnon shares some interesting observations from Miscou Island.
Leon photographed a Piping Plover on its nest near the La Malbaie lagoon South on June 10, 2024. As the nest is placed on a small amount of gravel, the rare walkers on foot or by mountain bike are less likely to crush the eggs.
Leon also observed two individual Eastern Kingbirds on different days, one of which was on June 10, 2024.
Leon also photographed an Olive-sided Flycatcher on Saturday morning, a species with numbers in decline.
A group of male Wood Ducks in eclipse plumage were in the marsh near his Wilson Point cottage on Saturday.
Leon reports that Canada Geese are very abundant on the island as well as many broods of waterfowl with the American Black Duck being the most abundant species.

**On Thursday (June 13) Deana and Peter Gadd had a parent Hairy Woodpecker feeding peanuts to a fledgling from a nearby peanut dispenser just outside the window. Although, of course, they were unsalted peanuts, perhaps the little one developed a thirst.

Saturday evening a little one (perhaps the same bird) landed on the edge of the bird bath and tentatively dipped the tip of its right wing in twice as if to check out what water was, or perhaps just checking the temperature? (I know, no nerve endings in feathers!) It jumped onto the pool so to speak … looked quite curious and then decided to give it a go! Fun to watch and place a human interpretation to the sequence!

(Photo number sequence is significant.)

**Lynn Dube photographed the colourful Olive Angle Shades moth with the less colourful but equally striking Baltimore Bomolocha moth nearby.

**The food of the Red Admiral butterfly caterpillar is the Stinging Nettle plant.
Rheal Vienneau has had Red Admiral butterflies visiting his Stinging Nettle patch in his Dieppe yard. First and 2nd instar larvae were found in curved leaves and Rheal transferred them to plant clippings for rearing. The link below shows two still photos and two short videos of the very young larvae.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r6pau9xf0n2bw6jzv2dod/AA58zTeUlO2REeWrABusIO8?rlkey=wq7iv5rsegvf95wghtlsv5mtx&dl=0

**Lois Budd is watching her cultivated Haskap berries being savoured by Cedar waxwings. They do enjoy these berries and Lois usually manages to eat a handful herself but mostly they are for these beautiful birds. They enjoy the berries and Lois enjoys watching them.