NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

June 26, 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

**JUNE 26 WEDNESDAY NIGHT WALK

Mapleton Park

Start time: 6:30 pm

Host: Brian Stone

Starting Location: The parking lot P2 on Gorge Road, next to Highway 2. (There will be a Nature Moncton sign at the parking lot.)

Join us for a Wednesday Night Walk at Mapleton Park. Our walk will cover about 3.5 km, over an estimated 1.5 hours. Walkers can expect the trail to be groomed, with wide and flat paths of dirt and fine gravel. The walk is mainly easy, except for one short but steep hill.

Bug spray and protective clothing are recommended. Don’t forget to wear your name tag too!

All are welcome, Nature Moncton members or not.

**Georges Brun saw a Harbour Seal in the water of the Petitcodiac near Chateau Moncton on the 24 of June; then he got even more lucky and saw a Harbor Porpoise. Georges had been seeing the seal popping its head out of the water the last few weeks but no luck in getting a decent photo. The porpoise was a short distance behind the seal.

(Editor’s note: there is a spawning run of Gaspereau that has been on the past few weeks which may have piqued the interest of seals and porpoises.)

The Great Blue Herons were downriver of the Gunningsville Bridge in a soldierly lineup.

George also noticed the Peregrine Falcon family still present on Assumption Place on June 24.

**Barbara Smith's husband spied a handsome brown-and-cream-coloured Round-headed Apple Tree Borer (Saperda candida) beetle under a red currant leaf in a friend's garden in Riverview. Barbara thought the beetle looked a lot like a humbug, those old-fashioned sweets that come in a tin.

**On Monday Brian Stone joined Cathy Simon on a walk behind Crandall University. It was damp and dim but the rain held off until they finished their walk and most photos were taken with cell phones as the light was poor for big lens cameras.

Cathy was practicing her woodland plant and fern identification, and she spotted many fresh specimens to examine and classify. Many ferns were studied, and some interesting small plants and fungus got the photo treatment. Found (mostly by Cathy) were Pyrola just beginning to open, Wood Sorrel, Pinesap, Lung Lichen, lots of Partridgeberry, Elderberry, Bur Oak, and Sarsaparilla. A few small critters seen were a White Admiral Butterfly, a Northern Crescent Butterfly, and an Eastern Chipmunk on the back deck before leaving.