Nature Moncton Nature
News
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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
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Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
The Nature Moncton meeting will take place tomorrow night, Tuesday, April 21. This
presentation will be live at the Mapleton Lodge, with the recorded version
available later in the week. All details below:
April Nature Moncton
Meeting Presentation
Wetlands and Citizen Science
Date: April 21,
2026, at 7:00 PM
Place: Mapleton
Park Rotary Pavilion
Presenter:
Gwendolyn Clark
Join Marsh Monitoring
Field Coordinator Gwendolyn Clark for an exploration of how citizen science
contributes to population monitoring efforts for wetland birds. You’ll hear
about the wonders of wetland habitats and their many ecosystem functions, the
birds that call these habitats home, and how the Maritimes Marsh Monitoring
Program tracks these elusive species. You’ll also get an introduction to the
new Maritimes MarshWatch educational program, designed to make you a pro at
identifying wetland species so you can start collecting data!
Don’t miss this chance to
learn more about our wetlands just as spring approaches and wetland species
return! This will be an in-person only presentation at the Mapleton Lodge
with a recording available to view a few days later. All are welcome,
Nature Moncton member or not.
**The camera on the peregrine
falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When
checking the link to watch the activity, scroll down to the first large image,
which shows what is happening in real time.
Both genders were taking
their turns incubating on Sunday; however, it was predominantly the female. A
screenshot below shows the female who can be distinguished by the slightly
deviated nares on the left side, and her larger size gives the
impression of taking up more of the nest.
As it was a lifer for
Yvette, she was very happy to get a view. It allowed a good 20
minutes of photos before it flew off.
(Editor’s note: the
signature feature of ‘golden slippers’ of the breeding adult snowy egret shows
up nicely in Yvette’s photos.)
**Deanna Fenwick heard
about the Baie Verte Birding outing from the Nature News blog, and it was very well
attended and a fun time. They didn't venture too far from the hall, but were able
to see many species. Sean Blaney led the group, demonstrated some great owl calls,
and taught a lot about bird behaviour. Red-winged blackbirds, common grackles,
and swamp sparrows were along the edges of the ponds. There was a pair of northern
cardinals, and the strange thing was that the female was at the top of the tree
calling like the male usually does! Deanna had never seen that before. The male was
in the same tree a few branches down. On the ponds, there were many black
ducks, and further out, there were some green-winged teals, and over the pond
were a few tree swallows and a belted kingfisher. There were some evening grosbeaks,
American goldfinches, song sparrows, black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos,
and blue jays at feeders nearby. After the outing, the participants were welcomed back to the
hall for soup and cookies.
Since Deanna was as far as Baie Verte, she decided to continue up to Tormentine, where
there were a few long-tailed ducks, a pair of red-breasted mergansers, and the
usual double-crested cormorants and gulls. The osprey nest on the way in on
Immigrant Road has two adults in it. Deanna was lucky enough to find a merlin
who let her get quite close for a photo by the road. Then she continued on to
the Bayfield area, where she saw the first greater yellowlegs of the season. There were
over 30 green-winged teals, but they were also pretty far out and went even
further when she got out of the car.
Deanna then continued on to Cape Jourimain, where there were a lot of common eiders
and double-crested cormorants at the base of the Confederation Bridge supports.
Maybe about 25 eiders? There were also a few mergansers about. Also, several
groups of scoters were floating around.
Deanna comments that she is so happy to see all the birds and ducks coming
back!!
**Shannon Inman photographed a scruffy-looking
woolly bear caterpillar crossing the road.
(Editor’s note: this
caterpillar will be nearing the end of this stage of its life after overwintering as the
caterpillar stage to soon transform into a pupal cocoon, which will in turn
develop into the adult Isabella tiger moth in early summer.)
At their home yard, they
photographed a hairy woodpecker and a common grackle having a
dispute over suet. A white-breasted nuthatch also enjoyed suet and then went
for a seed.
**Brian Stone joined Cathy
Simon on an outing behind Crandall University, and they walked along Gorge
Brook up to the large beaver ponds and to a small bog containing an occupied bald
eagle nest. Along the way, they found a few items of interest, such as
lichens and fungus, a few overwintering ferns and plants, and some birds,
including a fearless hermit thrush, a pair of bald eagles, and a
couple of yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Golden-crowned kinglets, blue jays,
and other species were seen or heard but not photographed. The beaver ponds
were calm and scenic, and appeared ready for spring and summer life to visit
and maybe move in.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
