Nature Moncton Nature
News
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** John Inman got some
photos of an ovenbird visiting his yard on Thursday as well as a juvenile yellow-rumped warbler.
John is also noting male
ruby-throated hummingbirds are decreasing in number, with migratory plans in
progress. A group of honeybees has become very interested in the hummingbird
feeder nectar.
**Mushrooms are enjoying
the recent weather and Shannon Inman photographed a scaber stalk mushroom
in prime condition. She also spotted a juvenile great blue heron being
quite determined and successful at enjoying an eel lunch.
**There are more
caterpillars that enjoy milkweed foliage than the Monarch butterfly
caterpillar. The larva of the milkweed tussock moth can devour milkweed
plants with amazing speed. The adult milkweed tussock moth lays eggs in masses
from which hundreds of larvae can emerge and consume milkweed plants with
surprising speed.
Gordon Rattray noticed a
few caterpillars on his swamp milkweed patch, and in a mere few days the plant
was overwhelmed with the caterpillars and they would have gone to other plants had they
not been removed. They may be beautiful caterpillars but are very damaging.
**Christine Lever spotted
a bright green polyphemus moth caterpillar while on a walk in Riverview
with her sister, Barbara Smith. Fearing
that the chubby little guy might be run over by a car or picked off by a bird,
they persuaded it to climb onto a stick and gave it a lift to a flower bed on
the other side of the street. It graciously posed for several cellphone photos
on the way.
**Pat Gibbs continues to
see leucistic crows in her Moncton yard. It would appear to be a genetic
component in the population of crows that use her home as a territory.
**Gordon Rattray and
Nelson Poirier made a run to Whitehead Island on Sunday morning after
the pelagic adventure Saturday. Low tide exposure was dramatic, and folks
were gathering dulse.
**Brian Stone is noting
that his potted plants are being accompanied by a proliferating group of flowerpot
parasol mushrooms. They seem to be enjoying the habitat they have found!
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
