NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June 15, 2018 (Friday)
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
** A last reminder of the Nature Moncton workshop,
“What’s that Bird?” to happen tomorrow, Saturday June 16th that will
include a viewing of the PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pèlerin] nest with its
chicks and potential other unannounced surprises. The write-up is attached.
Nature Moncton Workshop and Outing
Date: June 16th, 2018
Time: 9:00 am (workshop); outing in the
afternoon
Location: Tankville School
Leader: Roger Leblanc
Cost: $8.00
WHAT’S THAT BIRD???
Are you just getting started in bird watching
and asking yourself these kinds of questions:
- Where
do I start to identify a bird? There are so many.
- What
about guides, apps, sites and equipment? What should I get?
And
once I have the toys what should I do with them?
- What about places to bird? Field vs.feeders.
- Where do I find what bird?
- Where do I find help out there?
- How do I get better at birding?
Nature Moncton recognizes that a lot of new
bird enthusiasts are joining our ranks but also that it’s not easy getting
started. In order to share the great
pleasure and sense of accomplishment one gets from learning to know birds and
nature better, we are offering a birding workshop for beginners with our own
Roger Leblanc. Roger, a well known birder and bird expert with more than 20
years of experience, will explore all these questions with you and any others
you might have. He will also share with you his expertise on finding and
identifying birds as well as many tips on various aspects of bird watching. And
after a couple of hours indoors talking about birds and birding, we will put it
all together by --“YES” -- going birding together. At this point you can put
your newfound know-how to the test in the field again with the help of Roger.
As many have said, bird watching is all about time spent in the field and so we
will go out to see what the nesting season has in store for us. Some extra
binoculars and scopes will be available.
All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.
** As Margaret Forster recently reported to Nature
NB, she has ONE-FLOWERED CANCER ROOT blooming at the moment in her front
yard. This is a rare parasitic plant in
New Brunswick that is parasitic on many different plants, usually found in damp
thickets, woods, and meadows. It is very
special to have this plant appear in the Forster’s yard on Coburn St. in
Fredericton. It’s amongst Goldenrod,
about a meter from the curb of the street and a meter from the driveway. This is the first year they have seen it
there, and it is in bloom at the moment.
Margaret shares a photo that is attached to today’s edition.
** Sybil Wentzell shares some nice recent nature
photos. A trip to Kouchibouquac National
Park gave them the chance to watch several BLACK BEARS [Ours noir]. They were eating the fresh green grass in the
ditch along the highway in the park. And
from Sybil’s photo, we can see that they are very much enjoying the spring salad. A pair of pink LADY SLIPPERS [Cypripéde royal] pose
nicely. Sybil also got a photo of an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER
[Moucherolle à côtés olive] just off New
Ireland Rd. in Albert County. They heard
it calling to draw their attention to it.
This species is becoming more difficult to locate as its numbers are in
decline.
** Pat Fox shares an EASTERN CHIPMUNK [Suisse] incident that
makes her want more around. A flock of
juvenile EUROPEAN
STARLINGS [Étourneau sansonnet] arrived at her
feeder to gobble down in Starling fashion.
A resident Chipmunk was not amused and grabbed one of the young Starlings
and the fight was on. The whole flock
left and have so far chosen not to return.
Pat’s Chipmunk is not for rent!
** For those who want to make a 2nd
visit to the Festival of Nature, held on June 1st, 2nd
and 3rd, Brian Stone has made a full album of photos which can be
viewed at the attached link.
** Krista Doyle photographed a WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de
Virginie] in her Lewis Mountain yard on Thursday. This doe is losing her thick winter coat to
take on the finer chestnut pelage of summer. Note the patches of denuded hair and the now
loose winter pelage dropping off, giving a bit of a temporary shaggy look.
** In May, Carmella and Leopold Melanson went on
their yearly trip to Ontario to visit
family and do some birding at the same time.
They had 148 bird species for the trip.
In addition to the usual birding stops this year, they visited the Bird
Studies Canada headquarters, Long Point Bird Observatory and the Prince Edward
Bird Observatory. They really enjoyed
seeing how the banding of birds was done, from when the birds are caught in the
net to when they’re released again a short time after. Staff at the banding stations told them that
they typically band about 150 birds in a morning. A visit to one of the banding stations is a
very worthwhile stop. There are lots of
trails to explore there, especially at Long Point. Attached are a few pictures of their trip
that include AMERICAN AVOCET [Avocette d'Amérique], AMERICAN
WHITE PELICAN [Pélican
d’Amèrique], a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER [Pic
maculé] with a black crown, EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL
[Engoulevent bois-pourri], KENTUCKY
WARBLER [Paruline du Kentucky]; and a few birds were banded at the Prince
Edward observatory while they were there to include GRAY CATBIRD [Moqueur
chat], INDIGO BUNTING [Passerin indigo], a YELLOW WARBLER [Paruline
jaune] being untangled by staff members and a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
[Paruline à croupion jaune] caught in a net
in a picture of the banding station at the Long Point Observatory. Obviously a very worthwhile visit for folks
going to Ontario.
** A labeling error is corrected in the BlogSpot of
yesterday, June 14th. The
photos that were labeled as COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] are juvenile EUROPEAN STARLINGS
[Étourneau sansonnet]. Several pointed out to note the rusty edges
on many of the wing feathers that are actually typical of Starlings at any age
as is the little black mask around the eye though it is not as evident in
adults. The straight pointed beak is
typical of Starlings and the tail is much shorter in the Starling. The bill of the Common Grackle is also
slightly more down curved.
** I’m attaching some of the insect activity
happening around our Miramachi camp. One
of the species of GIANT STONE FLY paid a visit.
It is one of the Pteronarcys
species of which we have a few. Their
life cycle is mostly underwater and they go on a flight mission to mate and lay
eggs, then pass on. They get the common
name GIANT STONE FLY or GIANT SALMON FLY.
Their presence is a good indication of clean-flowing rivers.
The nights have been so cool that moths have not
been coming to the moth light in numbers.
During the warm front on Tuesday night, some SPHINX moths started with
several TWIN-SPOTTED SPHINX moths and a SMALL-EYED SPHINX. Also three dragonflies did a pass by. We have three SNAKETAILS that are very easy
to identify from thorax and yellow abdomen markings. The one that visited was a TWIN-SPOTTED
SNAKETAIL [Cordulégastre
maculé]. A
BEAVERPOND BASKETTAIL [Épithèque
canine] also visited.
It is our most common Baskettail species. Note its fuzzy thorax to help narrow it down
with other features to build a case. The
third was a male BELTED WHITEFACE [Leucorrhine apprivoisée] Dragonfly which was
more of a challenge from photos as immature males are yellow in appearance like
the females.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this
edition, courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, June 16 - June 23
Seasons are the result of Earth’s rotational axis being tilted about 23.5
degrees off the vertical with respect to its orbit. The first day of
astronomical summer occurs this Thursday. The “astronomical” qualification is
used because meteorologists have taken to confusing people with meteorological
seasons based on temperatures. Meteorological summer in the northern hemisphere
includes June, July and August because they have the highest average temperatures
for the year. Anyone who has lost crops this month due to frost will not be in
total agreement with that.
On the summer solstice, the Sun rises and sets at its most northerly points on
the horizon. For those of us at 45 degrees latitude, at midday (1:21 pm in
Moncton) the Sun is 90 - 45 + 23.5 = 68.5 degrees above the southern horizon,
at its highest for the year. If we lived at latitude 23.5 degrees the Sun would
be directly overhead at midday on the solstice. Several millennia ago the Sun
was “in” the constellation Cancer on the solstice, hence that latitude is
marked on maps as the Tropic of Cancer. The dim constellation does resemble a
crab somewhat, but there is speculation that the Sun’s forth and back movement
along the horizon at that time of year was reminiscent of a crab’s sidewise
walk.
Prior to being in Cancer at the start of summer, the Sun was in Leo. Lions
tended to gather by the Nile in the dry season around the solstice. Now the
summer solstice point on the ecliptic, the Sun’s path through the
constellations, lies in Taurus, just within its boundary with Gemini. The
roaming solstice is due to Earth’s axis wobbling like a top, making one
revolution every 25,800 years in what we call the precession of the equinox.
Enjoy your summer, whenever it starts.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:27 am and sunset will occur at 9:12 pm,
giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:35 am and 9:14 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:28 am and set at 9:14 pm,
giving 15 hours, 46 minutes of daylight (5:36 am and 9:15 pm in Saint John).
Summer solstice occurs at 7:07 am on Thursday.
The Moon is at first quarter on Wednesday, giving great views in a telescope
throughout the week. If you can spot it in the east this Saturday morning, look
for Venus within a binocular field above it. If you are successful with that,
try for Venus without the binoculars. After twilight on Tuesday look for M44,
the Beehive Cluster, just below Venus. Jupiter is situated for great observing
in the evening and it will get extra attention on June 23 with the Moon nearby.
A binocular view of Jupiter will show its line-up of moons and the double star
Zubenelgenubi to its lower left. Saturn rises around 9:30 pm and a late evening
view of it in binoculars will include the globular cluster M22 to its lower
left. A dust storm has kicked up on Mars – hopefully, it will dissipate soon
and not obscure features of the Red Planet like one did in 2001.
The first RASC NB star party of the year takes place at Kouchibouguac National
Park on June 15-16. The last RASC NB meeting until September takes place on
June 23 at 1 pm in Moncton High School. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
AMERICAN AVOCET May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
BEAVERPOND BASKETTAIL DRAGONFLY. JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER
BELTED WHITEFACE DRAGONFLY (IMMATURE MALE). JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER,
BELTED WHITEFACE DRAGONFLY (IMMATURE MALE). JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER,
BLACK BEAR.JUNE 13, 2018. SYBIL WENTZELL
EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
GIANT STONEFLY AKA GIANT SALMONFLY (PTERONARCYS SP.) . JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER
GRAY CATBIRD Prince Edward Bird Observatory May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
INDIGO BUNTING Prince Edward Bird Observatory May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
KENTUCKY WARBLER May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
Long Point Bird Observatory Banding station May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
Midday Moncton
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. JUNE 13, 2018. SYBIL WENTZELL
ONE-FLOWERED CANCER ROOT. JUNE 9, 2018. MARGARET FORSTER
PINK LADY'S SLIPPERS. JUNE 13, 2018. SYBIL WENTZELL
TWIN-SPOTTED SPHINX MOTH . JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER
TWIN-SPOTTED SPIKETAIL DRAGONFLY . JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER
TWIN-SPOTTED SPIKETAIL DRAGONFLY . JUNE 13, 2018. NELSON POIRIER
WHITE-TAILED DEER. JUNE 14,2018. KRISTA DOYLE
YELLOW WARBLER Prince Edward Bird Observatory May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (FEMALE WITH BLACK CROWN) May 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER Prince Edward Bird Observatory CARMELLA MELANSON
