Nature Miramichi

From: gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca <gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca>
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2021 7:05 PM
To: Peter and Deana Gadd <gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Nature Miramichi – Early Notice of Meeting

Hi All,

This is an early reminder of our first Nature Miramichi meeting coming up on September 7th, 6:30 pm at the Sr. Citizens’ Center, 26 Sutton Rd. Nelson

Our speaker will be Nancy Mullin of Lower Derby presenting on Moths.

Here is a description of her presentation:

“We know how beautiful butterflies are because we see them during the daylight hours

Moths are just as beautiful, but fly at night, so we don’t see them. They actually have incredible colors and patterns.

Most people think they are a dull grey or brown.

I’ll be covering simple ways to attract them, so people can observe their amazing diversity.

-How to photograph Moths…at night and in daylight

– Resources available to help with Identification.

– Groups to join

– Slide show of some of my favourites …I have photographed and IDed over 600 species.”

The Nature Miramichi executive (Mathieu Carroll – VP, David Goforth – Treasurer , Sonya Hinds – Secretary and me Pres.) hope to meet

In the next few days to discuss the coming year so I will have more to add in another email towards the end of the week.

Peter

President

Nature Miramichi

From: David McLeod <mcleodda@nbnet.nb.ca>
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2021 5:29 AM
To: Peter and Deana Gadd <gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca>; Jessica Bowie <sunshineontreetops@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Nature Miramichi – Spider Identification Request

Hi Peter,

Speaking of wind-blown spiders, I sure blew this one! I led Jessica down the proverbial garden path by focussing on species of wolf spiders. It had me stumped, but Jessica was able to get a good identification to the species level using a Seek app. As it turns out, it’s a Six-spotted Orbweaver (Araniella displicata) in an entirely different group, the Orbweaver Family (Araneidae).

I made the erroneous assumption that the photo showed the underside of the spider. After looking up the Six-spotted Orbweaver in “Common Spiders of North America” (Bradley, 2013), I realized that it was indeed the upper side view showing two of the six dark spots on the all-white abdomen. They attach their orbicular small web and their egg sac to a leaf near the ground of tall grasses. The globular ball of silk under the spider may be a web rather than an egg sac, because it usually rests in the centre of the web. Although it is active in spring, it doesn’t make its egg sac of more golden coloured silk until summer, so June 17 may be too early, and this silk looks rather whitish. Jessica also said that she had parked her car next to a field, and that is this spider’s preferred habitat. So it must have blown from there and stuck onto the car because of the sticky web silk and the dewy surface.

Hope this straightens things out,

Dave

From: David McLeod <mcleodda@nbnet.nb.ca>
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2021 4:04 PM
To: gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca; Jessica Bowie <sunshineontreetops@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Nature Miramichi – Spider Identification Request

Hi Jessica,

Sorry for the delay in this reply to your question about the spider identification, but I hadn’t yet seen any reply to your ID request.

It was difficult to see the details needed for accurate identification to the species level, or even to genus. Different camera angles would be needed to see the number and orientation of the eyes, the upper (dorsal) view of the front segment (cephalothorax) and the rear segment (abdomen) to determine the shape, colour and pattern of any markings on each segment. In both photos the view appears to be of the underside (ventral view), the surface where the attachment of the four pairs of legs can most readily be seen in the photo on the vegetation.

It appears that an egg sac is attached to the rear of the upper side of the abdomen where the spinnerets are located. This is a characteristic of Wolf Spiders (Family Lycosidae), of which there are at least 238 species north of Mexico, with the two most common genera being Pardosa and Pirata. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_spider

My first question was how did the spider come to be on the door handle of the car. Was the car parked under a tree allowing the spider to drop down from there, or was it wind-blown after a storm with the egg sac acting as a parachute? Because wolf spiders are usually ground hunters, it seems to be more likely that it was the latter. The car appears to be wet making the sac more likely to adhere to it after making contact. This may be similar to the ballooning behaviour of some spider species where they climb to the tips of grasses or other vegetation and release strands of silk (known as gossamer) into the air on a windy day that then carries them away as a means of dispersal. See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6001951/

I hope this helps some

Dave

From: Jessica Bowie <sunshineontreetops@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2021 7:39 AM
To: Peter Gadd <gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Spider

Good morning Peter,

As I went to get into my car this morning, I noticed something on my door handle. I almost brushed it off thinking it was a leaf or something that had blown over from the neighbouring field. Upon closer inspection I realized it was a spider and its nest of babies(I think). Do you or anyone in the club know what type of spider this is?

I’ve attached a video of it + photo of its successful transfer.

Thanks!

Jessica

From: verpep@bellaliant.net <verpep@bellaliant.net>
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2021 4:31 PM
Subject: Look out for these

Hello everyone,

I have seen the Tent Caterpillar occasionally and promptly removed them from my plants. So far this year I had only the one which was promptly removed. They generally come across from the forest and fields across the street.

However this afternoon while walking through our backyard I saw another caterpillar for the first time. I thought Oh what is it? It had nice colouriing. I relocated it to some weeds centre of the yard. I came in the house and looked it up. It turns out to be an LDD moth (gypsy moth which will be renamed due to the name slur). I went back outside to try to find it again. Luckily I did and promptly got rid of it. It says you can put them in soapy water and this way discard them afterwards. Some people apparantly have broken out in rashes from touching them, and simply because of the infestation and their droppings. I always garden with gloves on, and use other things to pick them up with, a stick etc.

This moth had been in Ontario and Quebec. It is quite problematic in Ontario this year, defoliating trees, had done this in Toronto leaving Oak trees bare. According to the web it states it is mainly in southern Canada, but here we have it as well. As most Insects they go in cycles.

Sometimes the pretty looking things can be the bad guys.

If you have trees, or ornamentals you may want to check them.

Verica

Hi All,

It is thought that for a couple of reasons this coming Saturday (July 17th ) is the day we as a club should plan our visit to The Kingston Family Nature Preserve (KFNP) in the Wayerton area. We need to check out the Nature Trust NB preserve as we as a club agreed to carry out a stewardship responsibility for it on their behalf. A Stewardship Report is expected annually. This involves looking for changes in vegetation such as the presence of invasive species or any other threats. We need to see what sort of human activity has been taking place and if there are any nearby changes. It is not particularly difficult.

Four years ago our club carried out a “bioblitz”, an attempt to record all the flora and fauna species we could identify on the KFNP. Now that we are better aware of the preserve boundaries we need to check some of these botanical findings from this inventory to see that they are actually on the property. Dave McLeod has organized these findings and will be giving us some guidance in this effort.

The road into the KFNP from Hwy 430, the Baisley Rd., can be rough in a few places so a car with good clearance underneath is recommended. Deana and I hope to get out this week to check the road before Saturday.

We will meet at the top of Newcastle Boulevard for 9:00 a.m. at the former Brookdale Nursery parking lot. Long pants and long sleeves are recommended and rubber boots might be a good idea. We should be aware of tics and there are likely to be a few mosquitos out looking for blood! Insect repellent also recommended. Water, snacks etc. The location is quite remote. It was a homestead at one time but there are no structures still standing.

The trip to the Baisley Rd. along Hwy 430 is about 25 minutes towards the former Heath Steele Mine. The KFNP is about a 20 minute drive along the Baisley Rd.

Visit Kingston Family Nature Preserve — Nature Trust of New Brunswick

Thanks to Nelson Cloud we had a very pleasant and rewarding visit this past Saturday to the Metepenagiag area.  Ten club members were joined by the extended family of Andy Stewart so we had quite an age range but I think everyone found things of interest. We were 19 in all. It was cool but it didn’t rain until we were finished and not many mosquitos found us.

We went first to see the Bank Swallows near the Metepenagiag Heritage Museum. The birds were quite active and seemed to be visiting their burrows to feed young and remove fecal sacs.

From All About Birds:

“Bank Swallows are listed by Partners in Flight as a Common Bird in Steep Decline. Their North American numbers have crashed by an estimated 89% since 1970. The global breeding population is estimated at 26 million. They rate an 11 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, reflecting the fact that they are still widespread and fairly numerous, despite these extreme recent losses. While Bank Swallows are generally quite tolerant of human disturbance, threats can come from changes to its nesting habitat of vertical sand or mud banks and bluffs. Erosion control, flood control, and road building projects that remove these banks or make them less steep make them unsuitable for Bank Swallows. Construction projects that involve high mounds of gravel or dirt can attract nesting Bank Swallows—though they can also destroy nests if the material is removed before the nesting season ends. Bank Swallows are aerial insectivores—a group that as a whole has recently undergone steep, unexplained declines.”

There is a project under way to identify all of the Bank Swallow colonies in NB, Nelson Cloud is involved with this project.

For more information about Bank Swallows visit: Bank Swallow Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Following the Bank Swallow visit we went to Nelson’s property nearby to see the Showy Lady Slippers. It was a bit of a wet underfoot 20 minute walk through the woods to the wet Cedar Swamp, a habitat preferred by this rare orchid. Although some of the flower heads were past their prime we were able to see enough healthy ones to make it very worthwhile. There were a number of other wildflowers spotted along the way of course.

The Showy Lady Slipper is ranked as – S2 – very rare …. (Hinds – 2000) – can take 16 years to reach blossoming stage

Find out more about Showy Lady Slippers at:

https://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/species/cypripedium/reginae/?pile=orchid-monocots

For photos from our visit go to:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmW8F1nN

Once again thank you very much Nelson

Peter and Deana

I sent this on to John Klymko, an entomologist with the Conservation Data Centre in Sackville, who coordinated the Maritime Butterfly Atlas a few years ago and he seemed to find this butterfly interesting. The pattern of its upper-wings are unlike that of any other swallowtail as far as I know.

Nice sighting Nancy

Peter

From: Nancy Mullin <nancymullin@live.ca>
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2021 12:12 PM
To: Peter Gadd <gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Aberrant Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

Hi Peter!

I was down under the Quarryville Bridge this morning and came across a puddling of Canadian Tiger Swallowtails.

This one caught my eye….VERY noticeable and very beautiful

Nancy 🙂

From: Sonya Hinds <lrn306@yahoo.ca>
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2021 9:46 AM
Subject: Nightjar survey 2021 – volunteers needed

Dear Nature Miramichi Club members and Friends

As discussed at June1 meeting I will be conducting a survey for nightjars (Eastern Whip Poor Will and Common Nighthawk) on behalf of Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) Right now I am looking at Friday June 18 or Saturday June 19. At present the weather looks good for both nights. I have until July 15 to complete the survey so I am allowed to postpone! Hopefully not too many times – in 2018 the survey was postponed 4 times!

On each of the surveys that have been performed before we have seen or heard Common Nightjars, which is pretty exciting. Unfortunately we have not heard Eastern Whip Poor Will – but who knows this might be the year!

I have attached protocol information about the survey, please note that as of this year the survey is under Birds Canada. It is no longer under Wild Research. Thus far I don’t have survey information from Bird Canada so I have attached the 2018 protocol from Wild Research.

The route is on a woods road at Cains River (past Blackville), usually we leave Miramichi around 7 and are back around midnight. Meeting place will be Curtis Corner Irving Station at 7:00 pm. as we need to be at the first stop before we start survey .5 hr before sunset. Sunset is 9:25 pm on Friday, so we need to be at starting point before 8:55 pm. There are 12 surveys stops which means we are not back to Miramichi until midnight.

I will try and check out condition of woods road this week, I have been down it a few times in the past and it is okay for my AWD, but maybe not so good for a lower vehicle.

Bird Studies Canada has stipulated that one vehicle per household (COVID protocol). The Irving Station at Curtis Corner is now closed so no vehicles should be left there.

I will send out an email later in the week with an update as to whether survey will go ahead.

If you would like more information, or letting me know if you are planning to attend. My contact information: cell (506)627 9229 – email lrn306

Hope you can come,

Sonya

National-Nightjar-Survey-Protocol-WildResearch.pdf

From: Phil Riebel <no-reply@smugmug.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 8, 2021 2:59 PM
Subject: Scarlet Tanager this morning in French Fort Cove

Scarlet Tanager this morning in French Fort Cove These birds are very colorful and you don’t often get a vice view of them. This was a decent sighting on an early morning walk in French Fort Cove. We heard him sing and then were able to locate him. It helps to be with someone who knows the songs of these birds! See more photos from this SmugMug site. SmugMug Inc., www.smugmug.com, sent you this email. Your privacy matters to us. View our policy about how we strive to respect it—always. You can always reach us at SmugMug, P.O. Box 390123, Mountain View, CA 94039.

(Taken from a distance – a lot more than 2 meters!)