** Paul and Rhonda Langelaan were at Wolfe Lake in Fundy National Park over
the weekend, and were watching a COMMON LOON [Plongeon huard] with two chicks.
A TURKEY VULTURE [Urubu à tête rouge] swooped down to within a few feet of the
Loons. Paul was surprised as a Turkey Vulture would normally not be interested
in live prey.
** Susan Richards added another sphinx moth to her Taylor Village yard
visitors list on Wednesday night: a CANADIAN APPLE SPHINX which is also one of
the large ones on their adult flight at the moment.
** Anne Marsch visited the Riverview marsh for a few hours on Thursday. It
reminds us what a lively spot this nearby site can be. Her main mission was to
check out the BRONZE COPPER [Bronzé] butterfly colony that in recent years has
been very prominent there. She found 6 individuals which could be the start of
lots more to come. Anne also found EYED BROWN [Satyre ocellé], SILVERY BLUE
[Bleu argenté], EUROPEAN SKIPPER [Hespérie de graminées], LONG-DASH SKIPPER
[Hespérie mystique] and HARRIS'S CHECKERSPOT [Damier de Harris] butterflies.
Bird life included BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche], COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
WARBLER [Paruline masque], GREEN-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle d'hiver], MALLARDS
[Canard colvert], GREAT BLUE HERON [Grand Héron], SORA [Marouette de Caroline]
and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à epaulettes] and SONG SPARROWS [Bruant
chanteur] busy carrying food. This was an excellent area a few years ago to
watch young Sora chicks. Definitely time to check out the rich habitat of the
Riverview Marsh.
** The DOBSONFLY and the ALDERFLY are two very large insects on the wing at
the moment. Close-up photos make it hard to judge their size, but these are
indeed large insects. Today's photos include a full-sized photo of each. The
Dobsonfly has mandibles. The males are impressively long; however, the females
-- as in the photo -- are much shorter. The Alderfly does not have mandibles.
They are sometimes collectively called Fishflies, but are different species.
They are essentially harmless despite their size. The Dobsonfly could pinch
with the weak mandibles if harassed.
Brian Stone shares photos of close-ups of MILKWEED in blossom, DUSKY
CLUBTAIL DRAGONFLY [Gomphe pointu], a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD [Moqueur polyglotte]
that has been seen several times in the Albert Street area, and an EASTERN
KINGBIRD [Tyran tritri] that also has been seen repeatedly in the Bond Street
area by Bell Marsh to suggest a nest of each is nearby.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:39 am and sunset will occur at 9:10 pm, giving 15 hours, 31 minutes of daylight (5:47 am and 9:12 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:45 am and set at 9:05 pm, giving 15 hours, 20 minutes of daylight (5:53 am and 9:07 pm in Saint John).
The New Moon is occurs on the evening of Wednesday, July 15, setting and rising near the Sun.
Mercury will be increasingly difficult to see in the early morning as it approaches the Sun.
Venus is at its brightest while Jupiter plays second fiddle to its right. Next Saturday the crescent Moon joins Venus, Jupiter and the star Regulus in a spectacular twilight grouping that may be encompassed by wide field binoculars.
Mars is very low in the east at sunrise, too close to the Sun to be visible.
Saturn is highest in the sky during twilight. Its rings are at their best viewing in a decade so give them a try with your spotting scope, and look for its brightest moon Titan nearby.
Questions? nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, July 11 – July 18 COURTESY OF CURT NASON
In late evening the bright star Altair is halfway up in the southeastern sky, forming the lower peak of the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb. It is flanked by two dimmer stars and the trio form the head of Aquila the Eagle. The eagle’s body and tail stretch southward, while the wings reach forward to propel it up the Milky Way. In Greek mythology the eagle was the pet of Zeus and the bearer of his deadly thunderbolts. In Chinese mythology Tchi-Niu (Lyra) was a princess and royal weaver, and Kien-Niou (Aquila) tended the king’s cows. The two fell in love and were married but they subsequently neglected their chores. Angered, the king placed the herder on the opposite side of the river, represented by the Milky Way. On the seventh day of the seventh month all of the magpies in the country form a bridge to allow the lovers to be together for one day.
Beyond the eagle’s tail, over the constellation border into Scutum the Shield, a binocular search will pick up a smudge of light which a spotting scope will reveal to be a cluster of stars. A vague V-shape to the cluster prompted its moniker of the Wild Duck Cluster. It is also called M11, the eleventh entry in Charles Messier’s 18th century catalogue of fuzzy objects that might be mistaken for comets.
From the eagle’s head toward Cygnus or Lyra is a tiny constellation called Sagitta the Arrow. To the upper right of the arrow’s fletching binoculars will show a popular asterism of ten stars. Although it is upside down you will recognize the Coathanger Cluster.
In late evening the bright star Altair is halfway up in the southeastern sky, forming the lower peak of the Summer Triangle with Vega and Deneb. It is flanked by two dimmer stars and the trio form the head of Aquila the Eagle. The eagle’s body and tail stretch southward, while the wings reach forward to propel it up the Milky Way. In Greek mythology the eagle was the pet of Zeus and the bearer of his deadly thunderbolts. In Chinese mythology Tchi-Niu (Lyra) was a princess and royal weaver, and Kien-Niou (Aquila) tended the king’s cows. The two fell in love and were married but they subsequently neglected their chores. Angered, the king placed the herder on the opposite side of the river, represented by the Milky Way. On the seventh day of the seventh month all of the magpies in the country form a bridge to allow the lovers to be together for one day.
Beyond the eagle’s tail, over the constellation border into Scutum the Shield, a binocular search will pick up a smudge of light which a spotting scope will reveal to be a cluster of stars. A vague V-shape to the cluster prompted its moniker of the Wild Duck Cluster. It is also called M11, the eleventh entry in Charles Messier’s 18th century catalogue of fuzzy objects that might be mistaken for comets.
From the eagle’s head toward Cygnus or Lyra is a tiny constellation called Sagitta the Arrow. To the upper right of the arrow’s fletching binoculars will show a popular asterism of ten stars. Although it is upside down you will recognize the Coathanger Cluster.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:39 am and sunset will occur at 9:10 pm, giving 15 hours, 31 minutes of daylight (5:47 am and 9:12 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:45 am and set at 9:05 pm, giving 15 hours, 20 minutes of daylight (5:53 am and 9:07 pm in Saint John).
The New Moon is occurs on the evening of Wednesday, July 15, setting and rising near the Sun.
Mercury will be increasingly difficult to see in the early morning as it approaches the Sun.
Venus is at its brightest while Jupiter plays second fiddle to its right. Next Saturday the crescent Moon joins Venus, Jupiter and the star Regulus in a spectacular twilight grouping that may be encompassed by wide field binoculars.
Mars is very low in the east at sunrise, too close to the Sun to be visible.
Saturn is highest in the sky during twilight. Its rings are at their best viewing in a decade so give them a try with your spotting scope, and look for its brightest moon Titan nearby.
Questions? nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
ALDERFLY. JULY 07, 2015. BRIAN STONE
BRONZE COPPER, SILVERY BLUE JULY 9 ANNE MARSCH
DOBSONFLY (FEMALE SHOWING SHORT MANDIBLES) JULY 6,2015.NELSON POIRIER
DOBSONFLY (FEMALE SHOWING SHORT MANDIBLES) JULY 6,2015.NELSON POIRIER
DUSKY CLUBTAIL DRAGONFLY 01. JULY 07, 2015. BRIAN STONE
HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 07, 2015. BRIAN STONE
EASTERN KINGBIRD 01. JULY 08, 2015. BRIAN STONE
METALLIC WOOD BORING BEETLE. JULY 07, 2015. BRIAN STONE
MILKWEED FLOWERS. JULY 08, 2015. BRIAN STONE
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD 01. JULY 08, 2015. BRIAN STONE
NORTHERN APPLE SPHINX MOTH. JULY 9, 2015.SUSAN RICHARDS
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD ADULT JULY 9,2015 ANNE MARSCH
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD FLEDGED JULY 9,2015 ANNE MARSCH
SONG SPARROW WITH FOOD JULY 9 ANNE MARSCH
