Nature Moncton Nature News: September 4 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Sept 4, 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

**Shannon Inman got some nice photographs of the late flowering plant Nodding Burr Marigold showing them how they usually appear in a cluster and also some individual flowers with the bright yellow ray florets and dark central disc florets. The flowers are very attractive to pollinators for nectar.

The flowers are followed by ‘bigger ticks’ seeds that like to stick to clothing, shoelaces and dog fur.

Shannon also photographed a Common Yellowthroat warbler.

Shannon photographed a moth possibly many of us are unfamiliar with, but a consult with Tony Thomas identified it as Ashen Brindle moth (Lithomoia germana)

Tony commented that this is the typical pose, with head on a twig and the wings at an angle with the tips looking like a broken twig.

(Editor’s note: there seems to be no end to the strategies Mother Nature’s community adopts to protect from predators!)

**We have several species of crane fly varying in size and colour pattern looking like oversized mosquitoes.

Leigh Eaton shares a photo of one of the larger ones commenting it was the size of the palm of his hand including its long gangly legs and antennae.

Leigh also photographed a spider that BugGuide suspected to be a Cross Orbweaver. They sent a clearer photo for identification purposes.

**It’s that time of year when our spider community, especially the large egg-laden females, tend to be seen in our gardens and buildings, and Rheal Vienneau sends another interesting report. Rheal photographed a pleasingly plump and beautiful Black and Yellow Argiope spider a.k.a. Black and Yellow Garden spider tending its web at his Belleisle Creek camp on Monday.

**Aldo Dorio had a Merlin stakeout his Neguac yard on Tuesday, seemingly quite bold and posing for a photograph. Hopefully, it did not have the local Eastern Bluebird flock Aldo has been seeing in Neguac on its mind.

**Brian Stone visited Highland Park in Salisbury on Tuesday and sends a few photos from that walk. He noticed that the water levels in the ponds were the lowest he has ever seen and some shorebirds were taking advantage of the exposed mud to feed. There were more than a dozen Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, and some Lesser Yellowlegs feeding. A pair of Belted Kingfishers were hovering and diving for fish, and a Great Blue Heron was wading, after the same prey.

A Common Gallinule was still present and many Pied-billed Grebes as well. Lots of ducks were resting along the edges of the ponds and a Solitary Sandpiper was alone in a nearly dry pond across the trail from the big ponds. Also in that spot was a young-looking Eastern Phoebe perching on a rush stem. A few Killdeer were mixed in with the plovers out in the center of the pond at a distance not great for photography.

A Muskrat was exposed in a shallow area and Meadowhawk dragonflies were all around in large numbers. Some larger Canada Darner dragonflies cruised along the pathway, occasionally landing for a photo.

**On Monday evening, Nelson Poirier and a neighbour enjoyed watching the antics of several Flying Squirrels that had taken to after-dusk snacks of a feeder of unsalted peanuts. They seemed to be enjoying people-watching as much as the peanuts!

Like all wildlife, certain moths appear at different times of the season. Nelson photographed a few that have just started appearing at his moth light including the False Hemlock Looper (a medium-sized moth) and the Maple Spanworm moth which is a bit larger and with the habit of hanging like a dried leaf to avoid the attention of predators.

A few Hemlock Looper moths also dropped by.

**I would suspect that those who have not already read or heard about this news article explaining why Waterside Beach has had access cut off are wondering why it is no longer accessible.

Other beaches and sites in New Brunswick have been addressed with cleanup campaigns. Hopefully, this will draw attention to this beautiful part of New Brunswick with more of the public acting as stewards and those with authority erecting protective signage with enforcement capabilities.

(Editor’s note: it is interesting to note that Nature Moncton president Fred Richards carries a pickup stick and garbage bag with him on the Wednesday walks. A good example to follow.)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/access-to-fundy-beach-restricted-garbage-fires-1.7308110

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton