Nature Moncton Nature
News
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well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their
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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.
The fuzzy bundle is sure getting bigger!
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**Nature Moncton had a
table at the ECOFEST at the Magnetic Hill Zoo on Sunday, May 24th.
There were many visitors on the sunny, warm day, and they had interesting
conversations.
Thank you to Fred and
Susan Richards, Marbeth Wilson, and Cynthia Doucet for spending time to
represent NATURE MONCTON.
**John Inman is
experiencing large numbers of blue jays at the moment, making it hard on
the seed and the wallet. The peregrine falcons are
appreciating their presence, taking a few every day, possibly to feed young.
John photographed a duo of evening grosbeaks trying to feed, but too
many blue jays.
John photographed a recent
beautiful morning sunrise out his window.
**A very interesting
report from Don Davis with Journey North:
"Krista"
reported her sighting of a female monarch laying eggs on common milkweed (in
Nova Scotia) to Journey North on May 23, 2026. A photograph accompanied her
report. I encourage everyone to report their FIRST sighting of milkweed, adult
monarchs, and their life stages to Journey North. There has been a strong
recent migration of monarchs into southern Ontario, possibly due to warm temperatures
and strong westerly winds blowing monarchs into Ontario from the central
Flyway.
See:
https://maps.journeynorth.org/map/?map=monarch-adult-first&year=2026&season=spring
**Gwen Clarke and Jessica
Belanger-Mainville spent Saturday in Sackville scouting for their upcoming
Nature Moncton outing next weekend (weather permitting!). They saw a Eurasian
wigeon that hopefully will stick around! They were excited to spot pied-billed
grebes building their nest in the Waterfowl Park. They also saw a few warblers,
including a northern yellow warbler that posed for the camera. At the sewage lagoon,
there was a song sparrow that wasn’t too pleased by the high winds, and a
painted lady butterfly.
As Brian Coyle neared the tree line of a forest on his way out to some of his trail cameras early yesterday morning, he heard several warblers singing their distinctive songs. He was able to photograph several species.
Brian captured a video
with the clear vocalization of an alder flycatcher, which is attached below.
(Editor’s note: It is that
magic time of year when songbirds, especially males, are loudly vocalizing to
announce their territories and attract females. Getting to know specific
vocalizations is much easier with all the apps we have available to us today.
The rapidly oncoming foliage can make it harder to see birds, but knowing what’s
there and where to look can sure make that easier!
The common Empidonax flycatchers'
plumage can be frustratingly similar, but their vocalizations do make them easy to recognize. Brian Coyle’s video/audio of the alder flycatcher is a
perfect example!
Those catchy moniker
phrases make it easier as well, such as "three beers" for Brian's audio of the alder flycatcher.
Nelson Poirier was able to
distinctly hear a Tennessee warbler on Sunday by clearly hearing its three-parted
vocalization, but he never did see it.)
**On Saturday, Brian Stone
walked behind Crandall University to check on the status of the woodland
flowering plants and any other new spring arrivals. He noted newly (or
recently) flowering goldthread, painted trilliums, lady's
slipper orchids, sarsaparilla, starflower, hobblebush, pin
cherry, and clintonia (blue bead lily). Several forest birds dropped
by, including blue-headed vireo, ruby-crowned kinglet, a bright magnolia
warbler catching a caterpillar for lunch, and a chestnut-sided warbler.
Brian also visited the small bog at the north end of the trails and checked on
the occupied bald eagle nest on the far side of the bog in a tall pine
tree.
Along the trails, Brian
came across his first dragonflies of the season including a fresh new beaverpond
baskettail dragonfly, a similarly fresh hudsonian whiteface dragonfly,
and a couple eastern forktail damselflies, plus a bee fly, a painted
lady butterfly, and a twelve-spotted tiger beetle. Back at
home, Brian photographed his beautifully vocal resident gray catbirds
enjoying oranges in between songs.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
