NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
March 11, 2025
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
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**Jane LeBlanc noticed a woolly bear caterpillar
in her St. Martins yard on Sunday.
(Editor’s note: The woolly bear caterpillar is the larval
stage of the isabella tiger moth, which overwinters as the caterpillar and is
ready to move about on the first warm days approaching spring. It can
occasionally be seen on the snow on warmish winter days. The caterpillar will
go into its pupa stage in later spring to emerge as the adult moth ready to fly
on its mating flights. It is not the only moth to overwinter as a larval
caterpillar, but it may be the most commonly one encountered with its distinct markings.)
On Monday, Jane had a pileated woodpecker fly through but
missed a photo op. Later, a sharp-shinned hawk flew into the birch tree
but took off before Jane could take a photo. Minutes later, they heard a loud
thump, and then the hawk appeared in the birch tree again. They think it flew into
the house. A photo was snapped before it flew off this time.
**Yet another overwintering moth caterpillar to feature
today:
Tony Thomas found a large yellow underwing caterpillar
on his Fredericton driveway on Monday.
Tony points out this is an introduced European species
that can do a lot of damage, as caterpillars, to lawns. The caterpillars
overwinter and can become active in warm weather as this one was in Fredericton on
Monday.
**Brian Coyle was able to get out to his trail cameras on
Monday and found that the conditions for tracking were excellent, with a
shallow amount of fresh powder on top of the thick crust. He expects that it
will be as good Tuesday morning.
This is the second time that Brian has found porcupine
tracks heading way out into a harvested corn field.
The hind foot of a porcupine has a very large and flat
heel pad with a texture like pigskin. The claws on their paws are very curved
and long, registering well ahead of their prints. Also, the front footprint
ends up landing behind the rear footprint on the same side.
Brian also recognized the tracks of a common raven,
landing and walking away. He knows that they are raven tracks because it had to
run to take off, whereas a crow can take off from a standing position.
(Editor’s note: Brian leaves some really nice points to
keep in mind when suspecting tracks of these two species.)
**As Fred and Lynn Dube were picking up their mail, they saw behind a red fox in the field behind the mail boxes. Fred only had his cell
phone, so the pictures are documentary. It wasn't timid at all. Fred whistled
to get its attention, and it cooperated nicely. After the picture was taken, it
sat down in the field and watched them.
**Pat Gibbs sent a photo of a lichen that appears to enjoy
being attached to a birch log in her yard.
Consultation with Kendra Driscoll at the NB Museum
provided an identification and I will quote Kendra:
“It's a Parmelia (shield lichen), probably Parmelia
squarrosa (bottlebrush shield lichen), but I would need to get a good look
at the branching pattern on the rhizomes below to be certain. The whitish
broken reticulate pattern on top (looking like the top surface is worn away in
places) is typical of the genus, and this species has cylindrical vegetative
propagules (isidia).”
(Editor’s note: Lichens are amazing forms of life that
come in such a diversity of shapes and colours; they are with us all year long and we unfortunately tend to overlook them.)
**Brian and Annette Stone walked the trail around the
ponds at Highland Park in Salisbury and they were interested in checking out
the new trail extension that the community has created that extends all the way
to Parkin St. They walked a short way along the new extension that passes
through the trails in the wooded area behind the Salisbury Regional and
Elementary schools but did not continue along the whole length to Parkin St.
The ponds are still frozen over and the only bird life seen were several blue jays
and a few crows. Brian sends some photos of the impressive new bridge/boardwalk
that connects the trails at the edge of the Highland Park trails.
Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. MAR.10, 2025. JANE LEBLANC
ROCK PIGEON. MARCH 10, 2025. RICHARD BLACQUIERE
RED FOX. MARCH 3, 2025. FRED DUBE
WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR. MAR.10, 2025. JANE LEBLANC
WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR (CLOSE-UP). MAR.10, 2025. JANE LEBLANC
LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING CATERPILLAR, MARCH 10, 2025. TONY THOMAS
COMMON RAVEN TRACKS-TRAIL. MARCH 10, 2025. BRIAN COYLE
COMMON RAVEN TRACKS-TRAIL. MARCH 10, 2025. BRIAN COYLE
PORCUPINE TRACKS-TRAIL. MARCH 10, 2025. BRIAN COYLE
PORCUPINE TRACKS-TRAIL. MARCH 10, 2025. BRIAN COYLE
SHIELD LICHEN (PARMELIA SPP.). MARCH 10, 2025. PAT GIBBS
HIGHLAND PARK TRAIL AND POND. MAR. 10, 2025. BRIAN STONE
HIGHLAND PARK NEW TRAIL CONNECTOR. MAR. 10, 2025. BRIAN STONE
HIGHLAND PARK NEW TRAIL CONNECTOR. MAR. 10, 2025. BRIAN STONE
HIGHLAND PARK NEW TRAIL CONNECTOR. MAR. 10, 2025. BRIAN STONE
HIGHLAND PARK AND NEW TRAIL CONNECTOR SCREENSHOT. MAR. 10, 2025. BRIAN STONE
