NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
April 7, 2025
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 and the proofreader Louise Nichols
at 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 nicholsl@eastlink.ca
To view the live feed of the Peregrine Falcon
nest cam on the summit of Assumption Place in Moncton, go to:
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**It’s happened! The female peregrine falcon has laid her first egg, marking the start of a second successful family unit being monitored. Many folks will be able to watch the progress of the family over the next months with no disturbance to the birds. It appears that the egg was laid on Sunday night and has the same reddish coloration as the first egg laid last year. It was laid just a few days later than last year's first egg.
Last year was an extremely successful year, and everything
went well. However, this is a wild nest that will not be interfered with, and
we must all be prepared to accept what Mother Nature dictates.
**Andrew Darcy went on a mission up north to see a king
on the weekend. He made the trip to see a gorgeous king eider (Somateria
spectabilis) in Petit Rocher and lucked out with some awesome views! It
definitely took effort, but it was well worth it. Andrew has seen king eider in
Ontario before but never a male. This was NB lifer #297 for Andrew. This area
in the bay has hosted king eiders over the past few years during spring
migration, but this year appears to be an especially good year for this
species, as there are currently three reported males and possibly a female present
among the hundreds of common eiders and black scoters.
**Anita and David Cannon visited the Irishtown Nature
Park Sunday evening, and, as it has been for the past week, the lake was full
of birds, mostly common mergansers, red-breasted mergansers, and ring-billed
gulls. Everyone was eating well, with some of the fish quite sizable (10
cm.) An immature bald eagle flew through the gulls and perched
overlooking the lake.
(Editor’s note: The ring-billed gull is a medium-sized
gull that is quite skillful at nabbing fish as prey.)
**Jane LeBlanc photographed a northern cardinal pair
and a male hairy woodpecker in her St. Martins yard in between showers
on Sunday.
**Brian Stone shares more photos of Saturday’s birdhouse
cleanout and nature observation along the Riverfront Trail including some of the human action as well as some of the nature observed. Short
captions under the photos explain what is being done as well as some
of the nature observations over the day.
**An upcoming Wednesday night Nature Moncton event is listed below so calendars can be
slotted off:
NATURE MONCTON MOVIE NIGHT
🎥Films:
Fix & Release and Toad People
🎥Wednesday,
April 9, 2025, at 7 p.m.
🎥By
Zoom
🎥Leaders:
Cathy Simon & Wendy Sullivan
You are cordially invited to a movie night on April 9, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. This event will be by Zoom only.
Together, we’ll watch 2 very short nature documentaries,
and then Cathy and Wendy will have some questions for discussion afterward. The
two documentaries are “Fix & Release,” which focuses on the work of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, and “Toad People,” which explores local residents' efforts to save western toads in British Columbia.
**Nelson Poirier would like to express appreciation for
the kind hospitality extended during Sunday morning's owl presentation in Saint
John. The full house of participants was very engaging, making it a rewarding event, with all of us leaving with shared information to add to our owl
repertoire.
(Editor’s note: This message is being shared here as Nelson was not aware of the number of participants in the group following Nature
News.)
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
