Nature Moncton Nature
News
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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.
If you would like to share
observations/photos with Nature News, contact the 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.
Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Nest Box Cleaning –
Volunteers Needed This Saturday!
We’re looking for a few
more helping hands for our Nest Box Cleaning Outing this Saturday (April 4
at 1 PM) at both the Riverfront Trail and Wilson’s Marsh.
We’re hoping to add up
to 3 more volunteers per site (6 total) to round out our groups. It’s
a simple, hands-on way to support local birds as they get ready for nesting
season—and a great excuse to get outside for a spring walk.
If you’re available and
would like to join us, please email:
📧 outandabout4nm@gmail.com
We’d love to have you with
us!
**The camera on the peregrine
falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When
checking the link to watch activity, scroll down to the first large image, which
shows what is happening in real time. By scrolling down a bit further, you will
see recent images from the past few days, which show that the adult birds have
been visiting the nest box and have created a scrape depression in the gravel, so activity is expected any moment with that first egg!
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**The magnolia tree is one of those tree species that burst into bloom before the leaf foliage appears. It’s early for it to happen naturally, but Stella LeBlanc snipped a twig off their yard's magnolia tree and placed it in a vase of water in their home a few weeks ago to simulate the warmth of spring to produce some of the spectacular showy flowers this tree produces.
**Shannon Inman
photographed several interesting observations:
She took note of the willow
pinecone gall that can be so obvious this time of year, with no foliage
appearing on willow shrubs. The adult mosquito-sized gall midge insect lays
eggs on buds at the tips of willow branches in spring. As the larvae hatch and begin
to feed, they secrete chemicals that stop the growth of the bud, as well as any
further elongation of the branch. The leaves continue to grow but become thick
and scaly to form this gall structure that provides protection for the midge
larvae but doesn’t harm the willow.
Shannon photographed a burl
growth on the main stem of a tree (causal agent uncertain).
She also photographed a
newly arrived killdeer, which we can expect to see more of at the
moment.
A male brown-headed cowbird, which is often among the last of the blackbird clan to return in the spring, also visited their Harvey yard.
Shannon’s camera also
spotted a merlin with unidentified prey.
**Brian and Annette Stone
walked through Highland Park in Salisbury on Monday but didn't see anything new
to report. Brian photographed one of the newly arrived male red-winged
blackbirds that was putting on a display of its bright red shoulder patches
(epaulettes), and a small tree hosting a small group of common grackles.
One pair of the few Canada geese present was "fooling around"
in a very aggressive manner.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
