Nature Moncton Nature News: September 12 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Sept 12, 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 the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com 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

**A heads up to an evening event taking place this Friday evening (tomorrow) that many naturalists may want to put on their calendar:

“A Little Bird Told Me…”

Friday, September 13, 2024

Resurgo Place

20 Mountain Road, Moncton

Doors open: 7 pm

Event start: 7:30 pm

FREE

Resurgo Place is thrilled to host an extraordinary evening where music, nature, and language come together in perfect harmony. “A Little Bird Told Me…” is a unique bilingual event that explores the fascinating world of birds through songs and melodies.

Highlights include:

Live Performances - Enjoy captivating music by composers Emily Doolittle, Jason Noble and James Kalyn with the talented woodwind quintet, Ventus Machina, who will bring sounds of nature to life.

Bird Names and Etymology - Learn about the origins and meanings of bird names with Professor Gabriel Arsenault.

Language of Birds - Discover the musical secrets of avian communication with insights from Alain Clavette, local ornithologist.

“Swallow Finds a Nest” - Delight in a live reading and musical performance that enlivens the text and illustrations of a beloved children’s book by Émilie Demers.

Whether you’re a bird enthusiast, a music lover, or simply looking for a delightful evening out, “A Little Bird Told Me…” promises to be a memorable experience for all.

Light snacks and refreshments will be served.

This event is made possible thanks to the New Brunswick Bilingualism Support Program and the City of Moncton, in collaboration with Symphony New Brunswick, Université de Moncton, Bouton d’or Acadie and the Gaia Project.

**With pelagic trips happening at this time of year, Phil Riebel shares some excellent flight photos of some of the birds that tend to be more pelagic. These include the Great Shearwater, Red-necked Phalarope, Common Tern, Northern Gannet, and Great Cormorant (note the yellowish throat pouch and white throat area of the Great Cormorant to help differentiate it from the Double-crested Cormorant.)

An excellent flight photo of a Black-headed gull (not considered pelagic) is added.

**Anita and David Cannon saw two bumblebees mating Wednesday afternoon. The drone clung to the queen for two hours, although David comments he was told the actual mating only takes a couple of minutes. Finally, the queen pushed the drone off of her with her back legs and flew off. The drones (male) was approximately one-third the size of the Queen.

(Editor’s note: it is that time of year when the queen bee leaves the hive to go on a mating mission. With wild colonial bees, the Queen is the only one that will survive to overwinter with that precious cargo of fertile eggs that will be responsible for a new hive next spring when she emerges to seek out a new site to start a colony.

The bee in David’s photos appears to be a Common Eastern bumblebee which is the largest of our wild bee species.)

**As mentioned in an earlier edition, Cedar Waxwings are a late-season nesting species, which means we are seeing young-of-the-year birds at this time.

Aldo Dorio got a photo of a young-of-the-year Cedar Waxwing clearly showing the streaked breast, not having taken on the pale yellow of maturity as yet.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton