NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
July 3, 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
**After
seeing Brian Stone’s post on the brown bullhead at Highland Park, Yvette
Richard gave it a check on Wednesday. She was lucky enough to get some
action right at her feet on the boardwalk.
The water
was quite brackish and had numerous small pieces of flotsam, but Yvette managed
to capture some great photos.
It was
interesting to watch the parent (s) corral the little ones. There were hundreds
of fingerlings for sure. Yvette commented that it was an unusual occurrence,
and she was glad she saw it.
The baby
eastern kingbirds were lively, even in the extreme heat in Salisbury
on Wednesday.
**Louise
Nichols was walking a trail Wednesday morning in the Walker Rd area of Sackville,
listening to a hermit thrush on one side of the trail and a Swainson's thrush
on the other. She suddenly heard a commotion and saw a couple of Canada
jays fly in, which were being chased by an upset blue-headed vireo.
The jays turned out to be juvenile birds, and one posed for a couple of photos.
(Editor’s
note: We surely don’t get many photos of juvenile Canada jays. The juveniles
retain the dark smoky plumage, taking on the adult plumage in July-August.)
**Deanna
Fenwick paid her first visit to Highland Park on Wednesday and found it was a
great place to bird. Deanna was pleased to
see a male ruddy duck and a female wood duck with her family on a
nest. The male wood duck was in eclipse plumage in the area.
Deanna’s
camera also caught a cedar waxwing, a warbling vireo, an eastern
kingbird, and a male yellow warbler.
Deanna heard
sora but didn't see one.
**Shannon
Inman advises that while crossing the Gunningsville bridge on the Moncton side
in the marshy area on Wednesday, she noticed a reddish coloured heron or bird, but
due to all the traffic, she could not stop for a better look. Birders in
the area could keep an eye out.
**Brian
Stone sends photos from Nature Moncton's Wednesday Night Walk at Wilson
Marsh on the Salisbury Rd. The group's first target was the tree swallow
nest, in a real tree! The young chicks were poking out of the nest hole
with mouths open in anticipation of food being delivered. While they were
observing this wonder of nature, two other swallow nests were observed in other dead tree cavities nearby.
Another
target was a group of pied-billed grebe chicks that were found again at
the same location where they were noted earlier. Yellow warblers and common
yellowthroats were abundant, as were the expected red-winged blackbirds
and common grackles. A distant American bittern gave a fly by to
the delight of the walkers, and many Canada geese were grouped together
along with a few older goslings. A first-quarter (waxing) Moon
hovered in the sky above as the group prepared to leave the site.
**The New
Brunswick Environmental Network lists events at the beginning of each month
that they know are taking place
Click on any
event to view its details.
|
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
