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
labelling.
Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
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.
All is outwardly quiet in
the nest box this morning, but that could be a very different scenario in a few
days!
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**A heads up that the
Nature Moncton Warbler field trip is happening this coming Saturday, May 16.
All details at the end of this message and upfront on Friday.
**It certainly is not the
time we would expect to see a snowy owl in New Brunswick, especially after
having seen extremely few this past winter.
John Hamer got documentary
photos of a snowy owl on a utility pole structure on Wednesday in the Cocagne
area near the entrance to Treasure Island.
This is apt to be the
same bird that Robert Shortall and Ben Gautreau observed in the same area
recently.
**Frank Branch got a late Wednesday
night photo of a ruff in Grande Anse on Avenue De La Gare, in a small
puddle of water behind the first house on the left. Rodrigue Landry found
the bird. Frank was only able to get a documentary photo as he did not want
to spook the bird, and darkness was setting in.
(Editor’s note: This is
the second rare bird Frank has photographed in a week! The ruff is an old-world
species, being a rare migrant to the Atlantic coastline.)
**It’s time to get the
orange/grapefruit sections out for the arrival of the Baltimore orioles.
John Inman had a second
one arrive on Wednesday.
**The male summer tanager was still in St. Martins on
Wednesday for a second day. It is taking black oil sunflower
seeds, and Ted Sears saw it sampling grape jelly.
Jane LeBlanc got some beautiful photos!
**While
Louise Nichols was walking through the bog on their Aulac property, she thought
at first that she was looking at a green frog. Then she saw a garter
snake close to it. Finally, she realized they were attached and that the
snake had taken the frog as prey, its fangs clenched around the frog's leg.
The frog tried moving a couple of times, but basically seemed quite docile
while the snake held on tight. Louise took a few photos and then left to
allow nature to take its course, but she felt bad for the frog.
Other than
that, the bog was quiet with three-leaf false Solomon seal just beginning to
sprout. The leatherleaf was in full bloom.
(Editor's note: The leatherleaf is an early-blooming bog plant. The flowers are small and inconspicuous and easy to overlook as they quickly form small fruit.)
**The marsh
marigold is a very beautiful spring flowering plant that is in its prime at the
moment, favouring marshy wetland habitats and along river banks.
Gart Bishop
shares a photo of a marsh marigold in full bloom along the
Kennebecasis River by his home. This plant was transplanted from the Miramichi
area and appears quite happy in its new digs.
**Fred and
Susan Richards went for a midday walk around the Reid MacManus Nature Reserve
in Memramcook on sunny Wednesday, May 13th, with a slight breeze blowing.
There is a
large new blind at the pond with a bat box up on the side of the building
facing the water. There were a few ducks in the water: a mallard pair, a
northern shoveler pair, and a single northern pintail were seen.
Noted were
Ducks Unlimited nesting boxes, along with some very old nesting boxes and duck
nesting boxes at the corners of the reserve. There was a small bird's nest
in a shrub low to the ground.
Merlin picked
up a black-and-white warbler in the trees.
As they sat
for a moment on the bench to observe the ducks, there were bees buzzing and
butterflies flitting among the spring growth of serviceberry shrubs,
violet flowers, and dandelions. One small butterfly was the northern azure
that lit on a fallen old leaf in the sunshine and stayed for a short while.
**Nature
Moncton Warbler Hike
Hillsborough, NB
May 16, 9:00 AM. Gather in
Kiwanis parking lot on Mill Street in Hillsborough.
Leader for the walk will be Gordon Rattray of Nature
Moncton.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
