NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 12, 2019 (Friday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Suzanne Rousseau visited the Fundy Parkway
Trail on Tuesday to find 2 MONARCH BUTTERFLIES [Monarque] ovipositing on Swamp
Milkweed at the interpretive center. I would assume that the Swamp Milkweed was
planted there purposely for Monarch Butterfly use as so many naturalists have
done in New Brunswick and are being rewarded by visiting Monarch Butterflies.
** Leon Gagnon got more photos of PIPING
PLOVERS [Pluvier siffleur] on Miscou Island. This time he got 4 adults in one
photo and a recently fledged chick in another. The recently fledged chick will
retain the all dark bill to readily distinguish it from adults as it matures
over the summer before migration. Lewnanny Richardson and Josue Chiasson work
with Nature NB by keeping an inventory of PIPING PLOVERS [Pluvier siffleur] at
Malbaie Sud. Leon got photos of them. Leon took photos of a Piping Plover nest
with an infertile egg which shows just how easily these nests could be damaged
by beach traffic or predators.
** The AMERICAN CROW [Corneille d'Amérique]
is very recognized for its preying on nestlings in other bird’s nests. Jamie
Burris caught one with 2 chicks in its bill as it flew over his Riverview yard
on Wednesday.
** Daryl Doucet reported a partial
albino SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur] coming to his yard some time ago and it
still is a regular patron. Daryl got a second photo to show how symmetrical the
white patches on the wing are as with 2 small symmetrical spots on the tail.
There seems to be white spots on the bill which may or may not be part of the
white markings.
We have 800+ species of macro-moths
doing the night shift in NB and most hide out during the day. Each is very
different in appearance if we look closely when some are day perched in view.
John Massey photographed 4 different species to show their unique attire. They
include the Two-lined Hooktip, Effective Euchlaena, Common Gluphisia, and
White-blotched Heterocampa. Jim Edsall’s amazing knowledge of moths confirmed
John’s findings for us.
** Jack Perry got a photo of the
ripening cones of the year of BALSAM FIR. We see the cones of most conifers
hanging down however the Balsam Fir does things differently, sending them
upright.
** Catherine Hamilton enjoyed watching
a BEAVER [Castor] going about its mission on Wednesday evening in Petitcodiac
from its nicely constructed lodge. Catherine photographed a very large tree
with Beaver harvest in progress. It looks like a monster of a tree for a Beaver
to harvest. They usually chew more on one side to have the tree fall in the
direction they want it to. This one looks a bit undecided!
** One of Aldo Dorio’s EASTERN BLUEBIRD
[Merlebleu de l'Est] fledglings got its first close up look at a MOOSE
[Orignal] that roamed out into his Neguac yard. It seemed to show interest in
checking out what was going on in the nest box.
This week’s SKY AT A GLANCE is included
with this edition courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019
July 13 – July 20
With the Milky Way becoming prominent on summer evenings, binocular stargazing is a great way to pass the time. A good place to start this year is with Jupiter to pick out its four moons, which look like dimmer stars on either side and change position nightly. Often, one or two might be unseen as they pass in front of or behind the planet. Orange Antares is to the lower right of Jupiter. Check out the colour of this supergiant star, and pick out the globular cluster M4 in the same field of view to its right.
Lower left of Jupiter is the Teapot asterism that makes up much of Sagittarius the Archer. If you extend the two stars at the top of the Teapot’s spout to the right you will find M6, the aptly named Butterfly Cluster. To its lower left is a large star cluster called M7 or Ptolemy’s Cluster. To the right of M7 is a pair of bright stars, Shaula and Lesath, which marks the stinger of Scorpius. They have been nicknamed the Cat’s Eyes.
About a binocular-field width above the teapot’s spout you will find a fuzzy patch with a small cluster of stars in or near it. The fuzzy patch is a cloud of dust and gas called M8, the Lagoon Nebula, where stars are forming. Radiation from hot young stars makes the gas glow, and it can be seen with the naked eye in rural areas. A telescope will reveal dark dust lanes in the nebula that suggest its lagoon name. The cluster of stars is called NGC 6530, where NGC stands for New General Catalogue. Just above M8 is a smaller cloud, M20 or the Trifid Nebula, and the nearby star cluster M21.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:40 am and sunset will occur at 9:08 pm, giving 15 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (5:48 am and 9:10 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:47 am and set at 9:02 pm, giving 15 hours, 15 minutes of daylight (5:55 am and 9:05 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is full on Tuesday, the Mi’gmaw Birds Shed Feathers Moon. It is near Jupiter this Saturday and near Saturn on Monday, but much of the media focus will be on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing next Saturday. Jupiter is at its highest and best for observing in late evening, and telescope users might see its Red Spot around 10 pm on Tuesday and before midnight on Thursday. Saturn trails Jupiter by about two hours in the evening sky, while Mercury, Mars and Venus are too close to the Sun for comfortable viewing.
Members of RASC NB and the Saint John Astronomy Club will be offering views of the night sky at the St, George Summerfest on July 19, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing on July 20 at the Moonlight Bazaar in Uptown Saint John.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
With the Milky Way becoming prominent on summer evenings, binocular stargazing is a great way to pass the time. A good place to start this year is with Jupiter to pick out its four moons, which look like dimmer stars on either side and change position nightly. Often, one or two might be unseen as they pass in front of or behind the planet. Orange Antares is to the lower right of Jupiter. Check out the colour of this supergiant star, and pick out the globular cluster M4 in the same field of view to its right.
Lower left of Jupiter is the Teapot asterism that makes up much of Sagittarius the Archer. If you extend the two stars at the top of the Teapot’s spout to the right you will find M6, the aptly named Butterfly Cluster. To its lower left is a large star cluster called M7 or Ptolemy’s Cluster. To the right of M7 is a pair of bright stars, Shaula and Lesath, which marks the stinger of Scorpius. They have been nicknamed the Cat’s Eyes.
About a binocular-field width above the teapot’s spout you will find a fuzzy patch with a small cluster of stars in or near it. The fuzzy patch is a cloud of dust and gas called M8, the Lagoon Nebula, where stars are forming. Radiation from hot young stars makes the gas glow, and it can be seen with the naked eye in rural areas. A telescope will reveal dark dust lanes in the nebula that suggest its lagoon name. The cluster of stars is called NGC 6530, where NGC stands for New General Catalogue. Just above M8 is a smaller cloud, M20 or the Trifid Nebula, and the nearby star cluster M21.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:40 am and sunset will occur at 9:08 pm, giving 15 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (5:48 am and 9:10 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:47 am and set at 9:02 pm, giving 15 hours, 15 minutes of daylight (5:55 am and 9:05 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is full on Tuesday, the Mi’gmaw Birds Shed Feathers Moon. It is near Jupiter this Saturday and near Saturn on Monday, but much of the media focus will be on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing next Saturday. Jupiter is at its highest and best for observing in late evening, and telescope users might see its Red Spot around 10 pm on Tuesday and before midnight on Thursday. Saturn trails Jupiter by about two hours in the evening sky, while Mercury, Mars and Venus are too close to the Sun for comfortable viewing.
Members of RASC NB and the Saint John Astronomy Club will be offering views of the night sky at the St, George Summerfest on July 19, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing on July 20 at the Moonlight Bazaar in Uptown Saint John.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
AMERICAN CROW JUL 10 2019 JAMIE BURRIS
BEAVER LODGE. JULY 10, 2019. CATHERINE HAMILTON
BEAVER WORK. JULY 10, 2019. CATHERINE HAMILTON
BEAVER. JULY 10, 2019. CATHERINE HAMILTON
BEAVER. JULY 10, 2019. CATHERINE HAMILTON
COMMON GLUPHISIA MOTH. JULY 11, 2019. JOHN MASSEY
EASTERN BLUEBIRD NESTLING. JULY 11, 2019. ALDO DORIO
EFFECTIVE EUCHLAENA MOTH. JULY 11, 2019. JOHN MASSEY
WHITE-BLOTCHED HETEROCAMPA MOTH. JULY 11, 2019. JOHN MASSEY
LEWNANNY RICHARDSON AND JOSUE CHAISSON. JULY 10, 2019. LEON GAGNON
MONARCH BUTTERFLY OVIPOSITING ON SWAMP MILKWEED. JULY 9, 2019. SUZANNE ROUSSEAU
MOOSE AND EASTERN BLUEBIRD NEST BOX. JULY 11, 2019. ALDO DORIO
PIPING PLOVER (ADULTS) JULY 10, 2019. LEON GAGNON
PIPING PLOVER (FLEDGLING) JULY 10, 2019. LEON GAGNON
PIPING PLOVER EGG (INFERTILE). JULY 11, 2019. LEON GAGNON
PIPING PLOVER NEST SCRAPE WITH INFERTILE EGG. JULY 10, 2019. LEON GAGNON
ScoSag190713
SONG SPARROW PARTIAL ALBINO. JULY 11, 2019. DARYL DOUCET
TW0-LINED HOOKTIP MOTH. JULY 11, 2019. JOHN MASSEY
