Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Monday, 7 July 2025

July 7 2025

 

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 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 Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca



**Jane LeBlanc was alerted by neighbours that they had found a snowshoe hare nest with little ones near their lawn. Jane went and found four little ones and photographed them.


**Yolande LeBlanc reports a monarch butterfly has made it to Memramcook, flitting from milkweed-to-milkweed plant. 

 

 

**Stella and Jean Paul LeBlanc went on the Marine Wildlife Safari with Phoca Tours on Friday, and they really enjoyed the pontoon ride to visit the grey seals. It’s a 2½- to 3-hour tour, but very interesting, with the guide providing history lessons along the way to the seals in the waters next to Kouchibouguac Park. The starting site is located immediately after the bridge in St. Louis-de-Kent.

There is also the second-largest colony of common terns in North America (approximately 20,000) in the area.  Jean Paul sends a photo of the seals. 

 

**On Friday, July 04, Brian Stone went to the Cocagne Trail to try and relocate the female widow skimmer dragonfly that John-Guy Goguen found there on an earlier visit. After about 40 minutes of observing the spot where it had appeared for Jean-Guy, it finally appeared for Brian as well although it looks slightly different from the one Jean-Guy found and might be a second specimen. Another special visitor was a female blue dasher dragonfly, which Brian was not expecting but was very pleased to see. 

 

While Brian was waiting for his target to appear he enjoyed photographing a variety of life around that area which included a couple images of one of the dozens of baltimore checkerspot butterflies that were there, an eyed brown butterfly, a viceroy butterfly, a common ringlet butterfly, a northern crescent butterfly, a worn silvery checkerspot butterfly, an American emerald dragonfly, a spiny baskettail dragonfly, a long dash skipper, a dun skipper, and after a long chase a monarch butterfly paused long enough for only a slim edge-on photo. Beside the trail in one spot was a small cluster of pyrola in bloom.

 

Moving on to the Bouctouche lagoons, Brian noted a large number of Bonaparte's gulls perching in one lagoon. Beside the trail around the lagoons, Brian photographed several bronze copper butterflies, a pair of eastern forktail damselflies mating, a mining bee on vetch, a song sparrow fence-perching, and a fireweed clearwing moth on a daisy. 

 

 

**Leon Gagnon leaves some observations and comments from Wilson Point on Miscou Island. 

This is the 20th year Leon has returned to his summer cottage at this birding hotspot.

He had a single brown thrasher around the cottage on June 22 and 23, which is the third year he has observed the species. A male bobolink came to the neighbouring meadows for several days; Leon heard its melodious song and hopes it is nesting.

There are 20 nest boxes for tree swallows set out, and most appear to be occupied.

Leon is using the Merlin app extensively between 5 AM and 9 AM to get an idea of birds in the area. At this point, he has 70 thirty-minute recording periods using both Apple and Samsung phones, finding they have slightly different sensitivity levels. Leon sends a photo of a table/list he kept on July 5.

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier.

Nature Moncton




BROWN THRASHER. JUNE 11, 2025. LEON GAGNON



BONAPARTE'S GULLS. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BONAPARTE'S GULLS. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BONAPARTE'S GULLS. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


SONG SPARROW. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


BIRD LIST FROM MERLIN APP. JULY 5, 2025. LEON GAGNON


VICEROY BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


SILVERY CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


NORTHERN CRESCENT BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE

MONARCH BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


LONG DASH SKIPPER. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


EYED BROWN BUTTERFLY JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


DUN SKIPPER. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


COMMON RINGLET BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


BRONZE COPPER BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BRONZE COPPER BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BRONZE COPPER BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BALTIMORE CHERCKERSPOT BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BALTIMORE CHERCKERSPOT BUTTERFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


FIREWEED CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 



FIREWEED CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 




WIDOW SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (FEMALE). JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


WIDOW SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (FEMALE). JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


WIDOW SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (FEMALE). JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


EASTERN FORKTAIL DAMSELFLIES. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


BLUE DASHER DRAGONFLY (FEMALE). JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


AMERICAN EMERALD DRAGONFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


SPINY BASKETTAIL DRAGONFLY. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


MINING BEE. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE


SEALS. JULY 4, 2025. J-P LEBLANC




SNOWSHOE HARES. JULY 6, 2025.  JANE LEBLANC


SNOWSHOE HARES. JULY 6, 2025.  JANE LEBLANC


PYROLA. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


PYROLA. JULY 04, 2025. BRIAN STONE