NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
August 26, 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
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 at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Final
Wednesday Night Walk & Social
Date:
Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 6 PM
Location:
31 Rockland No. 1 Road, Taylor Village, NB E4K 2R1
Hosts:
Fred and Susan Richards
As August
comes to an end, COME JOIN US, for Nature Moncton’s final Wednesday Night Walk
at Fred and Sue Richards’ property. The address is 31 Rockland No. 1 Road,
Taylor Village. The walk will start at 6:00 PM, rain or shine. There will be
some social time and then a walk down to the Memramcook River. The walk will be
on mowed trails, and the walking will be fairly easy. We recommend long pants
and mosquito repellent. We hope to see you there! All are welcome. If you need
directions or have questions, call Fred at 506-334-0100.
**Gordon Rattray
took a drive out Golf Club Road in Hillsborough to check on the Gray Brook pond.
This was done from the road, as all access points are closed. Gordon
found four Great Egrets in the pond. Speaking with a local, Gordon is able
to report that they have been there for several days. Also in the marsh around
are shore birds including Lesser and Greater Yellow Legs which were hard to ID at a
distance. The egret photos had to be taken from a distance and
cropped. Gordon also saw several eastern kingbirds catching
insects, and what he believes was an eastern bluebird sitting
near the kingbirds. A Great Blue Heron was staying near the
egrets.
(Editor's note: There may be more egrets in the area than the ones that are getting reported. Brian Coyle reported verbally he saw a great egret in the pond behind the St. George Street fire station on Saturday.)
**Shannon
Inman got an excellent photo of a solitary sandpiper in the swampy area,
just where one would expect it to be found.
An adult
bald eagle was too busy checking out a bag by the roadside in quest of potential
goodies to mind Shannon getting a closer observation. An Empidonax
flycatcher stayed quiet long enough for a photo. The Empidonax flycatchers can be hard to separate with certainty without hearing them vocalize.
A distant
coyote also exchanged observations with the photographer.
**On
Sunday, Brian Stone visited Highland Park in Salisbury and walked around the
main pond, which was at the lowest water level that Brian has ever seen. This
exposed a large area of mud flats that sandpipers, yellowlegs, herons,
and gulls were taking advantage of. One immature ring-billed gull was
putting on a great show as it flew around the pond, occasionally dropping
to the water's surface to grab some small fish. Some of the yellowlegs were
also catching small fish as they foraged through the ponds. A male common
whitetail dragonfly and a bright red meadowhawk dragonfly, plus a
female (or immature) meadowhawk dragonfly, were photographed as examples of the
insect life alongside the path.
On Monday,
Gordon Rattray called Brian Stone and told him that there were four great
egrets in Gray Brook Pond at Hillsborough (on the Golf Club Rd.). Brian
drove out and found the egrets to be still present, and one was close enough
for some good photos. The other three were most times at the far side of the
pond, but occasionally they flew around, sometimes getting closer and
sometimes perching in trees across the pond. While Brian was photographing the
egrets, some cedar waxwings and eastern kingbirds were flying beside the
road and were perching in trees quite close to him, so he photographed them as
well. Two double-crested cormorants were swimming in the pond, and a great
blue heron was also fishing far out in the water.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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