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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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
weeks!
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**John Inman has had a female
western tanager drop by his Harvey yard and pose for excellent photographs which are all shared, as we don’t often see this species in New Brunswick. The
western tanager is native to western North America, a long way from home, and a
very welcome, uncommon/rare visitor to New Brunswick.
John also comments that there
are 25+ white-throated sparrows now in his Harvey yard, and the first ruby-throated
hummingbirds arrived, got a quick feed and moved on just as they have in
past years.
Shannon Inman photographed
a small sweat bee, a very early pollinator that was active on that
mission.
Shannon spotted two turkey
vultures that had become very interested in a road-killed porcupine and in no
hurry to leave their prize.
Shannon also took note of
a strawberry bloom preparing to burst open to the world.
**Yvette Richard was
surprised to look out her kitchen window and see a beaver on the sandy
parts of low tide on the Cocagne River. Yvette found it very unexpected to
see a beaver in salt water.
(Editor’s note: There is no question that the beaver is a freshwater
species; however, the literature does suggest that they occasionally use
brackish water sites and will travel in salt water when moving to a freshwater
site.)
**Brian Stone joined Cathy Simon
and young nature prodigies Isabelle Simon and Felicity Penton at Highland Park
in Salisbury on Saturday for a walk and nature observation session. They
observed the small bloodroot flower patch and large trout lily patches,
which were blooming profusely, and Cathy noticed a couple of little painted
trillium plants mixed in with the trout lilies that were getting ready to
open their flowers in the near future. Cathy also spotted a small ichneumon
wasp that research determined to be a parasitic centrator wasp. An adult
bald eagle flew overhead, and a couple savannah sparrows, a
male blue-winged teal duck, a male downy woodpecker, a vocal song
sparrow, the regularly seen muskrat, and at least three eastern
phoebes (one with nesting material) were added to the viewing list. Cathy
closely examined one of the several larger beaver-chewed tree stumps to
see the tooth patterns left behind.
Later on Saturday, Brian
Stone stopped in at Wilson Marsh and checked out the hairy woodpecker nest
hole in a tree that he has been watching the woodpecker excavate over the
last week. The woodpecker was completely inside the hole this time, loudly
pecking out the interior area, and after a bit, she stuck out her head and
checked out the area before popping out fully. He also photographed a northern
flicker, also carving out a nesting cavity in a dead tree at a distance out
in the marsh. A few yellow-rumped warblers, a white-throated sparrow hiding
in the underbrush, and a selection of tree swallow photos, some showing
one collecting nesting material off the trail, completed that outing and he was
done for the day.
On Tuesday, Brian Stone
went out again and checked out Taylor Rd. in Second North River in hopes of
finding some early brown elfin butterflies. He walked the roads where he
usually sees them but found none, just a few northern azure butterflies
and several six-spotted tiger beetles, plus a bee fly. As he was
heading home, he stopped at one of the beaver ponds just off on a short side
road for one last check for any interesting photo subjects, and as he was walking
back to the car (with nothing seen there) a tiny, little fingernail-sized dark
brown butterfly fluttered up to his feet and landed. I guess you can't complain
when nature brings you what you want and drops it at your feet. A half-hour
photo session ensued with the little brown elfin butterfly, and then
Brian went home happy.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
