NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
July 20, 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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** Verica
LeBlanc's yard in Nelson still has an abundance of Red Admiral butterflies.
Joining them in numbers were the Clouded Sulphur butterflies. These were very active, continuously on the move, but this year they do
land for a short time as well. After looking at the photos, Verica noticed
that there was an orb weaver spider busy creating its web. This Red
Admiral Butterfly was dangerously close to it but was preparing to take flight.
A Monarch Butterfly also visited for a few hours. The following
day, a Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly visited as well.
(Editor's note: it is interesting to note that all the butterflies in Verica's photos are coming to the very popular nectar source plant Coneflower.)
**Lisa Morris comments she finally had her first
Monarch Butterfly visit her yard
Swamp Milkweed on Friday.
(Editor’s note: it must be safe to say that we are
having a great year for Monarch Butterfly numbers. What a difference from 2023!
Brian Stone and Nelson Poirier recently returned from a three-day mission of
visiting special places in New Brunswick and saw dozens of Monarch
butterflies.)
**On their way to their "island tour" (Deer
and Campobello) and an amazing stop at St. George Marsh on Thursday, Brian
Stone and Nelson Poirier stopped off on Friday at New River Beach to explore the walking
trail there. It appeared to be newly renovated and offered some breathtaking
views from several vantage points along the way. Just a few meters in at the
beginning of the trail they heard several Winter Wrens calling, one of
which lost its anonymity when it popped up in a small clear opening in the
dense forest, and they continued to hear more of them at several spots on the
trail. A very fresh and bright Red Admiral butterfly joined a similarly
fresh and bright Least Skipper in being the second-best flying things
photographed. Flora noted were Broad-leaved Helleborine, Wood Sorrel,
American Fly Honeysuckle, Bunchberry, Chokeberry, Pinesap,
Ghost Pipe, and some others that Brian somehow forgot to remember the
names of. At a second stop, in Black's Harbour, they noticed a surprising number
of Barn Swallows flying around and noticed they were coming from under
the main wharf at the harbour. It appeared as though they might have been nesting there though the location would be more typical for Cliff swallows than Barn swallows. Some were perching
on wires and got their pictures taken.
(Editor’s note: New River Beach trail (not to be
confused with New River Beach site) is a very recommended destination for
naturalists. It is just one more of those amazing places in New Brunswick along
with St. George Marsh, Deer Island, and Campobello Island that will be featured
in upcoming editions.)
Brian made a video link to capture the vocalization of
the Winter Wrens which vocalize their presence so adamantly but are masters at
staying out of sight. Take a listen to their chatter at the link below:
Nature
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