Nature Moncton Nature News: July 20 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 20, 2018 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Marilyn McCordic has a nest of BARN SWALLOWS [Hirondelle rustique] in her garage and enjoys them very much but they do make a bit of a mess on the floor below. She was using a sheet below them but then a light bulb went on for an idea that works beautifully. She placed a cat litter box below them that works just fine for all concerned. No, the idea is not patented! Photos are attached.

** Brian Stone walked down the Gorge Rd. on Thursday and found two MONARCH [Monarque] butterflies were nectaring and egg laying on a patch of Common Milkweed near the Trans-Canada Highway overpass. A very, very valued added bonus was two ACADIAN HAIRSTREAK [Porte-queue d'Acadie] butterflies. These are the most difficult to find of our native New Brunswick Hairstreak butterflies. The Striped and Banded Hairstreaks are not commonly seen either but more frequently than the Acadian Hairstreak.

Another grasshopper found at the same spot to add to the list was A SPUR-THROATED GRASSHOPPER. I don’t think this is a commonly found grasshopper in New Brunswick. Also a TREEHOPPER joined the lineup. A patch of Milkweed with surprises on Thursday!

** Like many others I have a birth announcement to make. Our first born MONARCH [Monarque] caterpillar was spotted on our Moncton yard Milkweed patch on Thursday morning. It was only about 5 mm. long but was big on feeling rewarded. There were lots more eggs spotted so I am looking for more caterpillars to arrive soon.

** The MULTIFLORA ROSE is in full bloom at the moment and is very striking. The small rose hips that result are a magnet for birds foraging in the winter that are fruit connoisseurs. It is unfortunately considered an invasive species. The thorny clump also provides great nesting sites for birds to avoid predators. It is not as common in New Brunswick but is very widespread in Nova Scotia. The attached photo is from a striking patch that I noticed in New Horton on Thursday. I have been on a few birding field trips in Halifax and they always head to the big patches of Multiflora Rose to find birds.

Dave Webster in Kentville found that he had some that were thornless in his patch and offered to donate roots to interested folks. I took Dave up on his offer and two sets of plants have taken now in a spot in the yard where hopefully next year they will invade to please both birds and people.

** This week’s Sky at a Glance is attached to this edition curtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, July 21 – July 28

Constellations are not the only stellar figures in the night sky. Any imaginative figure seen that is not one of the 88 constellations is called an asterism. The Big Dipper in Ursa Major and the Sagittarius Teapot are two of the most prominent. Others require binoculars or a telescope, such as the Coathanger and ET star clusters. One I read about in Sky & Telescope magazine a couple of years ago is a smiley face in Cygnus the Swan. Scan with binoculars just below the swan’s right (western) wing near the brightest star in that wing, and look for a pair of eyes above a semicircle grin of five stars. You will probably smile back.

This summer, spend some time scanning the night sky randomly and let your imagination run wild. Pareidolia is a phenomenon in which your mind sees a familiar pattern where none exists. Just as we imagine figures in clouds by day, we can imagine them in the stars at night. Let me know what you see.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:48 am and sunset will occur at 9:01 pm, giving 15 hours, 13 minutes of daylight (5:56 am and 9:03 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:56 am and set at 8:53 pm, giving 14 hours, 57 minutes of daylight (6:04 am and 8:56 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is near Saturn on Tuesday and is full on Friday, July 28, the Mi’kmaq Birds Shed Feathers Moon. It is also the most distant full Moon of the year – the Puny Moon. I hope you can see it, but most eyes will be on Mars rising at opposition less than half an hour later. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars stretch from west to east throughout the summer evenings. Mercury is stationary on Wednesday, beginning a two week plunge toward the Sun. The South Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on Friday morning, a harbinger of the more prolific Perseid shower in three weeks.

There is public observing at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John on Friday, July 20 at 9 pm (cloud date Saturday, July 21). Friday, July 27 is Astronomy Day at the Huntsman Aquarium in St. Andrews.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton