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
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Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Nature Moncton has a
very special Wednesday walk coming up this week to Haut du Ruisseau
Nature Park in Memramcook. All details are at the end of this edition and up
front tomorrow.
**The Nature Moncton
pelagic adventure happened on Saturday with 7
hours of nonstop activity and the opportunity to see many birds that most of us will see
only on a pelagic trip. Participants were also fortunate to see ocean sunfish (Mola-mola), several lively humpback whales, many harbor porpoises, many white-sided dolphins, gray seals, and harbor seals. The adventure was blessed with no fog,
sunny skies, and calm seas.
Durlin Ingersoll and Jim Wilson's guidance and explanations made a perfect day even
better!
There were possibly
thousands of photos taken, many of which will be shared over the week so others
can share the experience as well.
At the end of the day, a
surreal moment occurred when many of the participants went to Dark Harbor to
photograph the sunset that occurs later there and, when the conditions
are right, can be incredible. From the photos that will follow this week, one will see that
conditions were indeed spot on!
**Brian Coyle shares a few
videos from his trail cameras that he checked recently.
The first two are of a coyote pup.
Brian includes a nighttime video of a raccoon, so that it's possible to compare
the height of both animals against the marks on the tree to get an idea of how
small this coyote really is.
**John Inman
got a nice photo of a male common yellowthroat, a yellow-rumped
warbler preening itself, and a hickory tussock moth. The hickory
tussock moth is important to recognize, as some people are quite sensitive to
the hairs (setae) of this caterpillar, which can cause skin rashes and itching.
John also
captured excellent photos of a female or juvenile scarlet tanager, an
uncommon visitor to New Brunswick. They paid a visit to his Harvey yard.
**It’s that
time of the year when we see lots of transitional plumage, with the
young-of-the-year taking on juvenile or adult plumage.
Many young-of-the-year blue jays molt quickly to their adult plumage, with the exception of their
head crest, which can make them look like they’ve had a very ‘unfortunate hair
day’ with a headful of pin feathers before bursting into a beautiful crest.
Pat Gibbs
captured the how extreme it can get!
**Brian
Stone processed and shares some photos he took four days ago at Highland Park
in Salisbury and one at Wilson Marsh. One of the great egrets reported
there recently put on a good show for him and posed nicely in several different
spots in the west end pond. The egret was not alone and was occasionally
harassed by one of the several great blue herons that were also fishing
in that pond and got bullied a couple of times while Brian watched. While Brian
watched the heron and egret interact, he noticed a rare dragonfly cruising
along the pond's shore and managed to photograph the male widow skimmer when
it landed briefly. Later that day, Brian found another male Halloween
pennant dragonfly at Wilson Marsh, at the other end from where he found a
few in the previous week. A viceroy butterfly also appeared in the
same area, the first one he has seen this summer.
**This
week’s Wednesday evening
walk is on August 19 starting at 6:30 PM at Haut du Ruisseau Nature
Park in Memramcook. Traveling on #106 from Memramcook toward Dorchester, turn left on Breau Creek Road, then
left toward the park sign, at the corner of Breau Creek Road and Palmer
Road. The 5 KM trail system within the park is well-signed and colour coded.
There are 5
kilometres of trails
from easy gravel/packed ground to steep climbs and some tree-rooted paths, giving moderate
conditions. There is a Porta-Potty in the parking lot. The lot can hold about 10
vehicles with an overflow parking lot below about the same
size. There are benches,
covered benches, and little buildings to sit in with windows.
Fred and
Susan Richards will lead this walk. Long pants and bug repellent
are suggested.
This
excellent hiking trail may be new to many and offers a perfect chance to explore and enjoy
it with comradeship and lots of sharp eyes to miss nothing!
In addition
to the written directions above, a park map is attached below.
Please wear your Nature Moncton name tag. Everyone is welcome, member or not.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
