Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Thursday, 10 September 2026

Sept 10 2026

 

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

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

 

 

 

**Brian Coyle’s mystery mushroom of yesterday morning (photo repeated today) now has a name and an interesting description taken off-line. Thanks to Louise, Deanna, Brian, and Shannon, who all nailed it spot on! I think we will all remember this one. I have never seen it before, like many other mushrooms this year.

 

The distinctive jelly ear mushroom grows mainly through winter and spring, mostly on the dead trunks and branches of elder trees.  It occurs worldwide and is often cooked into dishes in Asian countries.  This ear-shaped jelly mushroom is often available in stores both fresh and dried.

The jelly ear grows in woods and is closely associated with broadleaf deciduous trees.  It thrives on deadwood or decaying wood, on stumps, fallen logs, branches, and twigs.



JELLY EAR MUSHROOM. SEPT 9, 2026. BRIAN COYLE


 

 **John Inman photographed a cranefly species, which is one of our larger insects, and, to contrast that, a very small mayfly species, the small pond minnow mayfly, being barely an inch in length. We have several mayfly species in New Brunswick, and each emerges as an adult at a certain time, usually in large numbers, on their mating mission.

 


POND SMALL MINNOW MAYFLY. SEPT 9, 2026.  JOHN INMAN 


POND SMALL MINNOW MAYFLY. SEPT 9, 2026.  JOHN INMAN 


CRANEFLY. SEPT 9, 2026. JOHN INMAN

 Shannon Inman photographed a fawn white-tailed deer laying in a field.


WHITE-TAILED DEER (FAWN). SEPT 9, 2026. SHANNON INMAN

Shannon also photographed a darling underwing moth, which may look drab from the top but is a beautiful flash of red and black on its underwing when it flies.



DARLING UNDERWING MOTH. SEPT 9, 2026. SHANNON INMAN


Shannon also got an excellent flight photo of 1 of 5 red-tailed hawks in migration.

 


RED-TAILED HAWK. SEPT 9, 2026. SHANNON INMAN

**Many of us develop special bonds with certain individuals in Mother Nature’s world. Suzanne Rousseau in Sussex shares a special one, sure to bring a smile to the day.

“I have this black-capped chickadee that I call Chicki that comes to my hands every time I take my walk on the trail in Sussex. He’s been coming since the spring even though there’s more than enough food in the woods. He or she had babies that came around for a while, but they stayed away; now they are gone except for Chicki. I call him, and he just appears in my hand. It’s such a blessing... sometimes he sits on a branch and just watches me for a while. I truly enjoy his visit. One day, while he was in my hand for a seed, a young girl walking by asked me if I was Snow White; it was her first time seeing that!”

 


BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, SEPT. 9, 2026.  SUZANNE ROUSSEAU

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, SEPT. 9, 2026.  SUZANNE ROUSSEAU



 

**Another interesting mushroom species suddenly appeared in a small patch but numerous in Nelson Poirier’s yard.

The bird's nest fungus is well named, with the spore cases looking like eggs in a bird’s nest once the cap has come off and is released when hit by raindrops.

This mushroom can easily go unnoticed as it is about the same size as a pencil eraser.

 

 


BIRD'S NEST FUNGI. SEPT 9, 2026. NELSON POIRIER



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