NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
September 3, 2025
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A heads-up to mark your calendars for a Nature Moncton field trip this coming Saturday, Sept 6.
Irving
Arboretum Walk
Date:
Saturday, September 6, from 10 AM to 12 PM (Rain date: Sunday, September 7)
Location: 44 Chemin du Couvent, Bouctouche
Carpooling meeting place: Sobeys Elmwood Drive, 77
Filles de Jesus Avenue, Moncton
Leader:
Cathy Simon
To enjoy the tail end of the summer blooms at the Elizabethan gardens, Nature
Moncton is hosting a last-minute walk at the Irving Arboretum in Bouctouche
this Saturday, September 6, from 10 AM to 12 PM.
The
Irving Arboretum is a public botanical garden with trees, flora, and fauna
located on the banks of the Black River. The trail loop we plan to follow is
easy, level, and approximately 3 km in length. We will also spend some quality time
enjoying the elaborate Elizabethan garden and views of the Black River.
In an
effort to be environmentally conscious, we are strongly encouraging
carpooling. Please meet at the parking lot of the Sobeys Elmwood Drive at 9
AM with the goal of condensing into fewer cars and leaving by 9:15 AM. There are
very limited parking spots at the Arboretum; however, ample additional parking
is available across the street from the main entrance. We will meet at the
Arboretum’s main building and start our walk at 10 AM.
Please
wear comfortable walking shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, and your Nature
Moncton nametag (if you have one). Long pants and a water bottle are
recommended. All are welcome and we hope to see you all there!
**Richard
Blacquiere forwarded the skull photo that appeared in yesterday’s Nature News to
Andrew Sullivan at the NB Museum. He knew right away that the skull was a muskrat,
basing his identification on “size, teeth, and anterior masseter muscle
attachment”. Andrew Sullivan also sent along a photo of one in the NB Museum
collection. The wording in yesterday’s edition was revised regarding Louise Nichols'
muskrat skull photo.
**Jim
Johnson shares a photo of a black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar that
he found on carrot foliage in his home garden.
(Editor’s
note: The black swallowtail butterfly typically produces two broods per season.
This caterpillar would be from a second brood and will form a chrysalis to
overwinter. The caterpillars are rarely in numbers to adversely affect their
host plants, which are members of the carrot/parsley family.)
**Jane
LeBlanc took a walk through the Irving Nature Park in west Saint John with
cruise ship guests on Aug. 31 and was happy to see two of the three great egrets
that are in the park. Also seen were turkey vultures, bald eagles, red-breasted
nuthatch, and gray and red squirrels. The photo is distant.
**Shannon
Inman spotted a young peregrine falcon on a wire near a farm where there
were lots of starlings hiding in the shrubs. It cooperated for a few great
photos.
At their
home, John Inman photographed a savannah sparrow and a young
red-winged blackbird which, he commented, he had not seen in the yard for
a couple of weeks
**Aldo
Dorio sends a few photos of what the drought we are experiencing has done to
the ponds at Hay Island. A good rain could change things and it would be
very welcome to bring things back to normal for the abundance of wildlife that
is resident or stops over in migration to Hay Island.
**Annie-Lee
Dickie sends a photo of a fledgling song sparrow enjoying the menu in
her backyard. Annie has several species of the regularly expected birds
enjoying her backyard offerings as much as she enjoys them.
Annie-Lee
also photographed a bald-faced hornet enjoying the abundance of
goldenrod in full bloom at the moment.
**On
Monday, Brian Stone joined Cathy Simon on a scouting expedition to the
Tantramar Marsh to find the recently reported golden eagle and any other good
stuff they might come across. They were not lucky enough to spot the eagle, but
they did find many other interesting items to view and photograph. A quick stop
at the Tintamarre Wildlife Refuge got them views of a large snowshoe hare that
vanished before the car could be exited. A walk down a path to the lake was
mostly uneventful but a Canada darner dragonfly and a white-faced
meadowhawk dragonfly were kind enough to perch long enough for a photo. At
the lake some young bullfrogs were sunning along the water's edge and
squeaked cutely as they dove for cover. A mayfly that was stuck on the
water's surface made beautiful ripple patterns as it flapped its wings
in an attempt to free itself while a low flying red-tailed hawk cruised
past effortlessly.
Along the
High Marsh Rd., a few distant harriers and crows were seen, but only one adult
bald eagle made an appearance. A group of barn swallows were perching on
wires and stayed in place to be photographed. With no eagle luck along the road, Cathy decided they should check out the new Ducks Unlimited wetland at the
southern end of the Tantramar Marsh, and was rewarded with some excellent sightings.
A pair of mating black-tipped darner dragonflies started them off, and then
they were awed when a female northern harrier hawk made several close
and low passes over them. Brian struggled to get a focus on the bird as it was so
close and moving fast. But great views were had visually. An addition to that
airshow was the flushing of an American bittern and the frantic attempts
to photograph it as it flew away. Later, a second one was seen by Cathy while
Brian was busy in the other direction.
Some
killdeer were seen, as well as a savannah sparrow, several large
flocks of red-winged blackbirds, at least five great blue herons, some
distant ducks too far to identify, small groups of shorebirds that were not
identified, and probably others that Brian can't quite remember now and weren't
photographed.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
