NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
September 17, 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
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Jane
LeBlanc had a chance to go whale watching (for work!!) with Quoddy Link from
St. Andrews. Seen were bald eagles, great blue herons, eider ducks, as
well as harbour seals, minke and humpback whales.
(Editor’s
note: note the puppy-like face of the harbour seal in Jane’s photo to easily
differentiate it from the horse-like head structure of the grey seal.)
**
John Inman continues to have special visitors dropping by his Harvey bird
feeder yard. He had a blackpoll warbler and a Nashville warbler
make a migratory fuel stop. He also had three separate variations of Baltimore
orioles go through the last couple of days and got a photo of one.
Another visitor was a chipping sparrow in non-breeding winter plumage that we are lucky to see in New Brunswick as the plumage change often happens after they leave us or seen in the occasional one that overwinters with us. It can also be potentially confused with a field sparrow.
**It’s
that time of year when the hawk moth caterpillars are at their largest as
they start moving around to find a place to prepare their winter cocoon, and we
may be more apt to see them. They are not uncommon, just not commonly seen, and
they are often very cryptic with their surroundings.
Terry Power in Bay du Vin got a documentary photo of
a plump two-inch long caterpillar doing just that. The caterpillar is suspected to be that of the large polyphemus moth we see earlier in the season.
**The very large mushroom that Brian Coyle found
growing approximately 8 feet up on a live sugar maple tree was collected and
brought to the Nature Moncton event on Tuesday night. Its size filled one
quarter of the display table! This is the northern tooth mushroom, which
was very fresh and is considered a choice edible. It is quite easy to recognize
from its characteristic structure, fine teeth on the underside, and the fact that it almost
always appears on live sugar maple trees, and has a tendency to be high up in the
tree.
**Nelson
Poirier gave a talk on mushrooms to a keen group at the Tuesday night Nature Moncton members meeting.
A table was set up with a full display of mushrooms brought in by some, to be discussed after the presentation, which drew much attention and questions. **Many thanks to Nelson for a lively and informative presentation! (Louise Nichols)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
