Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Thursday, 15 May 2025

May 15 2025

 

 

 

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 15, 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 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://webcams.moncton.ca:8001/peregrine/peregrine-live.htm?fbclid=IwY2xjawJdGIFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHk6PWHAVzYNOM_AvcwlRDWSUBFmlUxhKEbV3voUgipPkoHcTlnpv4U7f7LQa_aem_9v2jVeF5eb4aJ2FD5V1XLg

 

 ** This edition is very hard to concentrate on. Something is happening atop Assumption Place!!


**Jane LeBlanc spent time at her neighbour's yard on Wednesday and found lots of interest. Besides two Baltimore orioles, there was a white-crowned sparrow, a rose-breasted grosbeak, which would not come out for photos, a Wilson's warbler, and a weasel. Jane had seen it a day ago and saw it again three times on Wednesday. It was travelling between the greenhouse and the house (her neighbour's house is almost 200 years old, so no basement under it). She got a very documentary photo, just by luck, but it wasn't good enough to share.

Jane's garter snake reappeared at home, and a wood frog appeared in her garden. A very worn American lady butterfly also landed for a quick photo.

 

 

**Norbert Dupuis again captured more excellent photographs on a Wednesday morning visit to the Reid McManus Park in Memramcook.

Norbert got a beautiful photo of a male American redstart, a hovering male kingfisher, and a pair of Canada geese tending their fledglings.

 

**Bernice Johnstone recently photographed round-lobed hepatica. This is a very early blooming plant and not commonly found. The bright green leaves surrounding the blooms in the photo are actually those of Canada mayflower. The leaves of round-lobed hepatica are evergreen, but by spring, they lose their colour and disappear, with a set of fresh green leaves appearing after the plant flowers.

 

**On Wednesday, May 13, Nelson Poirier was very pleased to get a sudden (wind conditions were right) call from Billy-Joe Fowler to boat out to eelgrass beds near a barrier beach island off Tabusintac to view the spectacle of many thousands of brant stopping to feed on their migratory route north to breed.

The favoured food source of migrating brant is eelgrass, a grass that grows underwater in beds only in specific areas, with the site off Tabusintac being one of them, and so a major stop on their migratory route to refuel.

This site was once a major hunting area that drew in large numbers of hunters from outside the province as well as the local hunting fraternity, with large numbers of birds shipped to a US market. A law was passed to stop this hunt in the interest of preserving the species. Shortly after, a fungal blight hit the eelgrass and almost decimated it, resulting in the remaining brant not arriving at the Tabusintac site.

The eelgrass is now reestablishing, and as a result, the brant have returned in the thousands each spring to this refueling site.

It was a surprise that very large lobster fishing boats could speed through the flocks and not disturb them, yet the brant would only allow Billy-Joe and Nelson distant viewing without moving off.

It was an incredible and moving experience to visit the site and I modestly apologize for too many photos, but it had to be!

Below is a video link with a backstory of six one-minute stories related to the history of the brant hunt and the unique boat that was used. This is a very recommended and well-done short documentary revealing what we did in the past and don’t do now. Please take a moment to view it!

https://www.culturehubpc.ca/gooseboat/

 

 

 Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier.

Nature Moncton



WILSON'S WARBLER. MAY 14, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


WHITE- CROWNED SPARROW. MAY 14, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


CANADA GEESE  AND GOSLINGS . MAY 14, 2025. NORBERT DUPUIS


BELTED KINGFISHER (MALE). MAY 14, 2025, NORBERT DUPUIS


BALTIMORE ORIOLE. MAY 14, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


AMERICAN REDSTART (MALE). MAY 14, 2025. NORBERT DUPUIS


WOOD FROG. MAY 14, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


ROUND-LOBED HEPATICA. MAY 12, 2025. BERNICE JOHNSTONE


AMERICAN LADY BUTTERFLY. MAY 14, 2025. JANE LEBLANC




BRANT. MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


BRANT. MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


BRANT. MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


BRANT. MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


BRANT. MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


BRANT. MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER


BILLIE-JOE FOWLER (BRANT GUIDE AND MENTOR). MAY 13, 2025. NELSON POIRIER