Nature Moncton Nature News: July 2 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 2, 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 .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The write up for this coming Wednesday evening’s Nature Moncton walk is below:

JULY 3^rd WEDNESDAY NIGHT WALK

This week’s Wednesday night walk will be in Hillsborough on July 3, starting at 6:30

Host: Gordon Rattray

We will meet in the large parking lot on Steeves Street in Hillsborough, left turn just after the Post Office. We will group by the plane display at end of the parking area. (There will be a Nature Moncton sign at the parking lot.)

The walk will be on fine gravel dry paths and a very flat terrain; this will be classified as easy. The distance is 2 km through treed areas and open areas, and much of the walk is along ponds.

This is a summer walk so water should be taken, as well as any bug repellent that you need.

See you on Wednesday. All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

** Gordon Rattray joined the Botany Club of NB trip to Crock’s Point on the weekend. This site near the Mactaquac Dam has many unique plants as well as many interesting common plants. Here is a partial list of the plants Gordon was able to photograph. Gordon will send more over the following days. There are 3 S1 plants in this list.

Bladder Campion - Silene vulgaris

Blue Vervain - Verbena hastata

Bog Hemp S1 - Boehmeria cylindrica buds

Canada Anemone - Anemone canadensis

Canada Garlic S1 flowers - Allium canadense

Canadian Tick-trefoil - Desmodium canadense

Crown Vetch - Securigera varia

Dodder - Cuscuta gronovii_

Early Saxifrage S1 - Saxifraga paniculata

Marsh Bellflower - Campanula aparinoides

Moneywort - Lysimachia nummularia

**For a number of years Verica LeBlanc has had Hens and Chicken plants in her front yard in Nelson, Miramichi with the unflowering plant only. This year they surprised her as one started to produce a tall stalk; she soon realized it was a flowering stalk which is interesting in its growth and bloom.

Verica took today’s attached photos a week ago before the rain and wanted to wait to see what the open flower may look like.

**John Inman photographed a colourful False Crocus Geometer moth day perched at his Harvey home along with a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. John comments as a few others have this season that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds seem to be lower in number than other years.

John also had a White-tailed Deer with a fawn in tow pass through his yard.

**Brian Stone and Nelson Poirier continued their round to a few sites of interest in Northumberland County in northern New Brunswick on Monday.

A Monarch Butterfly was spotted on Common Milkweed at a site in Miramichi to be their first spotting of this species of the year. It appeared to be a male and was very active and did not settle down for a photo. The not common Northern Cloudywing skipper was also observed at the same site.

A stop at the Allardville bog was very lively with Bog Copper butterflies, and many bog plants were observed that will be shared later.

A stop at Tetagouche Falls near Bathurst gave a photograph of a Least Skipper and an abundance of Royal Ferns showing their liking for having their feet wet and their sporophyte stalks showing what looked like a flower. Folks were out in the water below the huge falls enjoying the July 1 holiday.

A stop at Grande-Anse gave a panoramic view of the Black-Legged Kittiwake colony there which is the only land-based colony in New Brunswick other than those on Grand Manan Island. A Black Guillemot was very cooperative at that site nicely showing its bright red legs.

Many other photographs were recorded over the day that will be shared in the days to come.

**Bob Blake maintains weather statistics of daily morning low temperatures, daily high temperatures, and monthly precipitation from his Second North River home.

Bob submits a chart comparing his statistics of June 2023 with June of 2024.

It is interesting to note we experienced the very high temperatures in June of 2023 that we did this past month.

Rainfall was also significantly less in June of 2024.

2023

2024

morning temperatures

daily highs and rainfall

morning temperatures

daily highs and rainfall

+21-2 days

+20-2

+19-3