Nature Moncton Nature
News
Clicking
on the photos enlarges them for closer observation.
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 email,
please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Please advise the editor
at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader 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
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**The staghorn sumac is a
relatively common shrub in New Brunswick whose berries cling all winter. They
are normally not the first choice for fruit-eating connoisseur birds, but a staghorn
sumac shrub laden with berries has traditionally been a very popular one for birds to
visit in the yard of Jamie Burris in Riverview. Over the years, Jamie has
photographed a variety of birds harvesting the winter fruit.
Recently, Jamie
photographed a European starling attacking the fruit with the usual starling
gusto.
The staghorn
sumac is a dioecious plant, meaning only the female plants produce berries
while the male plants produce only pollen and appear naked during the winter.
**We can
always depend on the inquisitive camera of Shannon Inman to take note of things
in nature that many of us overlook.
Shannon
photographed the evergreen (intermediate) wood fern, showcasing its
brilliant green winter foliage, seemingly unbothered by the snow and cold in
the background. This is one of the plants we have in New Brunswick that develops an interesting botanical antifreeze to defy winter temperatures.
Shannon also
photographed the orange jelly fungus. This fungus is always found on dying conifer
trees, whereas the similar witch’s butter fungus is found on dying deciduous
trees.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
