NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
November 29, 2024
Nature Moncton members as well as
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**All appreciation to Sue and Fred Richards for opening their home and beautiful
property for the finale of the Nature Moncton Wednesday night walks last evening. It was raining at start time to suddenly burst into clear sky and stunning
sunset with lots of highlight moments.
In the dying moments of the evening, David Cannon spotted a beautiful
Monarch Butterfly caterpillar that was 5.5 cm long, the complete length of
the Swamp Milkweed pod it was on. Chances are it will be going into its chrysalis
today.
Brian Stone took a few photos at the
final Nature Moncton Wednesday Night Walk. Treats and snacks were had and a walk along Fred and Susan's trails was
pleasant as the skies cleared and late evening sunlight lifted spirits. The
blueberry shortcake was divine and so were the date squares. A shrew
joined the group briefly on the trail before making a quick exit and Fred's
swarm of honeybees was still occupying its spot behind his backyard
shed. A colourful red sunset finished off the evening and sent the
participants home with a similar glow inside.
**On
Wednesday, Brian Coyle went to investigate his small milkweed patch for any
sign of Monarch Butterfly activity but was surprised to see dozens of Milkweed
Tussock Moth caterpillars.
(Editor’s note: if this colourful
caterpillar is able to build up in significant numbers, it can completely
consume foliage of milkweed plants very rapidly.)
**Louise
Nichols did her shorebird survey on Ann's Acres Beach on Tuesday at low
tide. She found nine species of shorebirds, including the three expected sandpipers,
both yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers, Black-bellied and
Semipalmated Plovers, and Willets. Most of the birds were feeding
heavily and not concerned at all with Louise's presence. She attaches
some photos.
She also observed an odd bit of action
on the beach -- a Salt Marsh caterpillar being chased by some sort of
fly. Louise took a video of the action and it can be viewed at the
link below. She would be interested in knowing why the fly would be so
interested in the caterpillar.
(Editor’s note: this is an interesting
video! One would have to wonder if this is a parasitic fly trying to lay an egg
on the body of the caterpillar to parasitize it and just maybe the caterpillar
is aware of that.)
**This time
of year, Eastern Bluebird families flock up just as swallows do earlier.
They also tend to stay with us much later in the season than do swallows.
Aldo Dorio
spotted a flock of 10 Eastern Bluebirds in Neguac on Wednesday. Aldo had one
successful nesting earlier in the season in his yard. Aldo comments that most of the 10
were young-of-the-year birds still showing the distinct spotting feature.
**On Tuesday, Brian Stone stopped in
at Calhoun Marsh, just past Riverside Albert. He wanted to get photos of the group of Great Egrets that
have been reported there and he managed to see four of them. Also in the same area,
a Great Blue Heron was near and a juvenile Northern Harrier hawk was
gliding over the marsh hunting for food.
**Nelson Poirier has a ‘birth
announcement’ to make!
After noting several Monarch
Butterfly caterpillars go to the apparent final instar, one decided to go
into the chrysalis stage attached to one of the milkweed leaves making it easy
to locate. The fresh chrysalis was placed in a cage. It started turning
dark and showing signs of the colourful creature inside at approximately 11-12
days as the photo shows. It only seemed to take a few hours for the adult butterfly
to emerge. The breakaway must have happened very fast as it was watched
frequently but the actual event was missed.
Hopefully, it will be a candidate to eventually arrive at that mountain in Mexico to overwinter.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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