Nature Moncton Nature
News
Clicking
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
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.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
** As we are all seeing
our homes, the peregrine falcon family is developing at an incredible rate.
Anita Cannon comments, "I was surprised to see the breakfast remains in the falcon nest this morning. The
foot looks huge, bigger than the nestlings behind it. It doesn't look like the
usual blue jay, or even a pigeon, maybe another raptor?”
Was anyone watching when this
prey was brought in to answer that query?
**The first Nature
Moncton Wednesday evening walk on Wednesday night got off to a challenging
start when a sudden thunder/lightening storm hit 15 minutes after it got underway. The participants were able to take shelter in the Irishtown Nature Park gazebo overlooking the
lake and still see lots of action. David Cannon, who was on the
Irishtown Nature Park committee for 9 years, was able to share a lot of
information on the development of the park, which was interesting to hear.
As the storm subsided,
participants carried on through park trails. The forest was alive with bird
vocalizations, and the group enjoyed the challenge of identifying them by their songs and calls.
Many thanks to Matt Nguyen
and Cynthia Doucet for guiding the group on what turned out to be a very
pleasant evening despite cloudy and wet conditions. Several photos are attached
today of what was available on such quick notice, with others to follow in the
days ahead.
**Andy Stultz captured a
pleasant video of a family of common goldeneye making a shoreline
visit under the watchful eye of mama on Monday on the Matapedia River at
Routherville bridge pool in Quebec. Check out the action at the link below:
**The first Nature Moncton
"Wednesday Night Walk" took place on Wednesday (of course), June 17th,
at Irishtown Nature Park, and a group of about 14 participants braved the
intense thunderstorms with heavy rain and flashy lightning, but needed to
take shelter in the gazebo at the reservoir for about the first 40 minutes of
the outing to avoid being washed away. When the rain almost stopped the walkers
hit the trail and explored areas of the park until it got too dark to trust
their footing and they had to stop and call an end to it. A special sighting
near the end of the walk was a snowshoe hare munching grass beside the
trail. Even with the difficult weather challenges, the group enjoyed their
outing and were glad they had gone.
Earlier on Wednesday,
Brian Stone visited Irishtown Nature Park to preview the evening walk and found
a large number of birds active and vocal. The most vocal bird was a Swainson's
thrush that had no concern for the photographer and came by close enough
for a few photos.
Also photographed were a common
loon out in the reservoir, a tri-coloured bumblebee, and a tent
caterpillar. Several blooming pink lady's slipper orchids were
undisturbed right beside the trail in a couple of spots.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
All photos today are from the Irishtown Nature Park, but not in sequence.
