NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
September 4, 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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if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Wayne
Fairchild noticed many gulls cruising repeatedly over his home Tuesday evening,
then noticed they were altering flight rapidly, and turning and coming back
again.
The AI
answer to Wayne’s “Do gulls eat insects?” question is pasted below:
” Yes, gulls
do eat flying insects like sand flies and flying ants, a behavior often seen in
late summer when insects are abundant. Gulls can skillfully catch insects
in mid-air, sometimes appearing to 'hawk' them like swallows. During mass
swarms, gulls may consume enough flying ants to become disoriented due to the
formic acid in the ants.”
(Editor’s
note: This is a scenario we often see with gulls this time of year, and if one
looks closely with binoculars, the insect prey can usually be readily
observed.)
**Aldo
Dorio photographed a killdeer at Hay Island on Wednesday that appears to
be a juvenile bird as the second band of the distinctive double breast band of
the adult bird is very faint.
**On his
deck in Fredericton, Tony Thomas came across a Cuckoo Wasp. This
wasp species behaves like the cuckoo bird in that it parasitizes other
insect nests. It is possible that the host insect attacks the wasp
because the wasp has a defensive attitude - it rolls into a ball like a hedgehog.
Tony
shares photos of both scenarios.
**Brian
Stone made another trip to the Tantramar Marsh in Sackville, hoping to catch
sight of the reported golden eagle ... for the 13th time (over a few
years), having had so many failed attempts. He parked in the area where the
eagle had been spotted over the last few days and waited for what he figured
would be the 14th disappointment. However, after only a 15-minute wait, he
noticed a group of five ravens mobbing an eagle at the distant tree line.
This eagle had no white head and tail, so that removed one possibility from the
equation. Brian waited a few more minutes, and then the eagle decided to run
for it and began taking evasive action as it slowly flew out from the tree line
and towards him. He got out of the car, got the camera ready, and was rewarded
with a golden eagle flyover as it tried to evade the harassing ravens. So,
number 13 was lucky this time, and Brian was very happy about it. A few
northern harriers were also seen, and a sharp-shinned hawk was
photographed along with a red-tailed hawk. A scenic sight of a crow
perched on a hay bale demanded a photo and finished off the day.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
