NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
May 20, 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:
**The Nature Moncton May meeting will take
place tonight, Tuesday, at 7 PM with Megan Boucher presenting in person at the
Rotary Lodge and available virtually for those who cannot attend. All details
are below:
MAY MEETING PRESENTATION
Date: May 20, 2025, at 7:00 pm
Location:
Rotary Pavilion, Mapleton Park
Presenter:
Megan Boucher
“eBird
in Action: Empowering Citizen Science through Birdwatching”
What is eBird and why is it important? How can it enhance your birding adventures? What’s the deal with Merlin? How do others use this data, and how is the data verified?
In this presentation, we’ll explore these questions
and more. Join us for a journey into the world of eBird – discover how it
works, why it matters, and how you can contribute to citizen science. You’ll
get tips for submitting accurate checklists and learn how every observation
supports real-world research on bird migration, species distribution, and
environmental change.
Megan Boucher currently serves as a regional
coordinator for the Newfoundland Breeding Bird Atlas, overseeing
the Avalon Peninsula region. She has also travelled to remote islands for
seabird research, banded a variety of bird species, and has actively
participated in a wide range of volunteer efforts, including breeding bird
surveys, point counts, marsh monitoring, shorebird counts, owl routes, and
more.
This will be an in-person meeting, but those who
wish to join on Zoom can do so at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82540148977?pwd=TwavnPJx8fosnUAmAv1l2u7r2vgJBg.1
All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.
**John Inman has a peregrine falcon
that monitors his birdfeeder yard for prey. John comments that when it arrives,
it is usually a grab-and-go scenario and no opportunity for a photograph. On
Monday, one hesitated for a moment as it mantled its prey, giving John that
photographic moment. John also mentions that it's something to see when they go
low through the yard and around the house. He had one on a dive for pigeons on
the wire, and the noise of it going through the air was loud and sounded like a jet!
(Editor’s note: The peregrine falcon tends to
take its prey in flight, not landing on the ground, which makes this a special
photographic moment.)
**Lynda LeClerc was very pleased to have a male
Baltimore oriole arrive at her hummingbird feeder. It had no luck with it
and left. Lynda quickly cut an orange in half and stuck it on the feeder post.
The oriole arrived a few hours later and stayed around off and on for the rest
of the day, then came back later the next day. It was the first time Lynda ever
had a Baltimore oriole in her yard.
**On
Saturday, Brian Stone visited the Memramcook and Dorchester areas and
photographed a few varieties of bird life. He also got a picture of a lazy groundhog
resting on his back deck. Birds photographed include tree swallows,
a bright male yellow warbler, a male ring-necked duck perching
out of the water, a pair of male northern shoveler ducks having an
altercation, a batch of recently hatched mallard ducklings, two male northern
pintail ducks hanging out with two male mallard ducks, a male and
female pair of blue-winged teal ducks, a Canada goose with its
family of young goslings, and a muskrat bringing some fresh
greenery home to store or eat as the situation determined.
(Editor's note: note the contrasting signature colours of the secondary feathers on the dorsal surface of the wing of the northern shoveler duck in flight in Brian's photo.)
**Nelson
Poirier recently came across a mushroom group in the Woodstock area that he was
unfamiliar with. He consulted with Amanda Bremner at the New Brunswick
Museum, and she identified the mushrooms as birch woodwort with the
interesting/amusing scientific name of Jackrogersella multiformi.
This
mushroom favours recycling birch trees, starting off brown in colour and
turning black with age.
Nelson
is also noticing a surprising number of evening grosbeaks coming to the
feeders of his Miramichi River camp as well as to the feeders of his nephew
neighbour from which a group was spirited away. They are now being joined by a
small number of rose-breasted grosbeaks.
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
