NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 30,
2023
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** Jane LeBlanc in
St. Martins noticed movement in her shrubs and saw several Cedar
Waxwings trying out the Serviceberries, which are just starting to ripen.
This was in between heavy bouts of rain.
** On Thursday, Gordon Rattray took a walk on the dam of
Gray Brook. Gordon was checking a Tree Swallow nest box hung near
the dam gates. This box always has a brood since it was placed several
years ago. Gordon found a Tree Swallow tending to the box and assumes the
young are still inside. On his walk, he got photos of a Cedar Waxwing
and a female Red-winged Blackbird singing from a cattail. This site
is usually host to many dragon and damselflies. On Thursday, only one Eastern
Forktail Damselfly was observed, an immature female.
** On Thursday, June 22nd, of last week, Brian Stone photographed what he
identified as a Masked Hunter Bug that was hiding out in his kitchen on
the window curtain. After a brief photo shoot the interesting bug was
re-introduced to the wild in Brian's backyard.
** On Sunday, June 25th, Brian Stone made a short trip to Lawrencetown Beach from Dartmouth, N.S., to see what might be hopping, crawling, or flying in the area. He was disappointed with the scarcity of life in the area but photographed one of the many Savannah Sparrows populating the beachside grasses as it perched on a post. He also sends a photo of the dramatic Waves coming in with the windy and rainy weather of the day.
Trying a
different trail on Waverley Rd. Brian found a few more things to photograph, including a Green Lacewing, an Eastern Forktail Damselfly, a pair
of Carrion Beetles having a hug, some Ants going about their
business, and a Honey Bee hovering over some flowers.
Brian Stone adds
more images from his walk at Eastern Passage outside Dartmouth, N.S., on
Saturday, June 24th. While walking along the shore towards the Hartlen Point
area, he saw a couple of duck families in a small pond at the shore's edge.
Two Black Duck families were inhabiting the pond, and one had a large
group of new young ducklings while the other had only one older duckling left
from her hatching. They did not prefer to share the same space as they hissed
at each other whenever they came close. Another Black Duck family of older ducklings
was bobbing on the waves in the water of the harbour close to the shore.
Brian Stone sends a few more photos from his walk in
Shubenacadie Park in Dartmouth, N.S., last Friday, June 23rd. More dragonflies
spotted were some male Dot-tailed Whiteface Dragonflies, and a male Chalk-fronted
Corporal Dragonfly. Both male and female Ebony Jewelwing Damselflies
were perching along the water's edge near a large rubbery fishing lure that had
Brian fooled and excited for a brief moment ( 25 pictures worth).
A Hobomok Skipper Butterfly, a Savannah Sparrow,
and a male Yellow Warbler posed for the camera.
Also seen
there were a male Yellow Warbler, a lone Spotted Sandpiper, and
the tail end of a fleeing American Bittern. Blue Flag Iris were
blooming in many spots alongside the ponds.
** Long, long ago, on Saturday, June 17th, Brian Stone visited the Tucker St. Ducks Unlimited marsh in Riverview in the dull, damp weather to check for bird life and he sends some photos that were taken there. It was much quieter than usual, but there were hundreds of swallows skimming the surface of the ponds for insects, and Brian bravely attempted to photograph some of the darting birds in flight in the dim light. He managed some deeply cropped and adjusted photos of Barn Swallows, Bank Swallows, and Cliff Swallows. None of his Tree Swallow pictures turned out.
** Way back on
Friday, June 16th, Brian Stone visited the Sackville Waterfowl Park, the Aulac
area, Tantramar, and Memramcook and sends some photos from that excursion. At
the SWP, Brian photographed a male American Wigeon Duck, a Gadwall
Duck family with ducklings, some Tree Swallows, a male Common
Yellowthroat, a female Yellow Warbler, a Bullfrog, and a Clouded
Sulphur Butterfly. A female Red-winged Blackbird brought some treats to its
nest and then sat down in it in deep camouflage.
At Aulac, Brian was flown over closely by a pair of Northern Harrier Hawks and
then at Tantramar Marsh, photographed a small group of Bobolinks on fence
posts. Also on posts were many Savannah Sparrows singing strongly, and an
Osprey was sitting on the nest usually occupied by eagles.
**It's Friday, and time to review what we may see in the coming week's night sky courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.
With the Milky Way becoming prominent on summer evenings, binocular stargazing is a great way to pass the time. From Cygnus heading south the Milky Way is split by the Great Rift, a region where the starlight between us and the centre of our galaxy is blocked by vast dust clouds. The western side of the Milky Way runs through parts of Lyra and Ophiuchus to Scorpius, and the eastern side runs through Aquila and Scutum to Sagittarius.
A good place to start observing is with orange Antares in Scorpius. Check out the colour of this supergiant star, and pick out the globular cluster M4 in the same field of view to its right. East of Scorpius 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 5:31 am, and sunset will occur at 9:14 pm, giving 15 hours and 43 minutes of daylight (5:40 am and 9:15 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 5:36 am and set at 9:11 pm, giving 15 hours and 35 minutes of daylight (5:44 am and 9:13 pm in Saint John). Earth reaches its farthest distance from the Sun, called aphelion, on Thursday.
The Moon is full on Monday morning, and it pays Saturn a visit next Friday morning. Venus and Mars are in quasi-conjunction this weekend, which means Venus is closest to Mars for this apparition and within five degrees. Venus will start heading sunward, and on Friday, it will be at its brightest. Saturn is now rising before midnight, and it is high enough for good observing with a telescope by morning twilight. By midweek, Jupiter will be rising at 2 am. Mercury passes behind the Sun this Saturday and will appear in the evening sky in a couple of weeks.
The next meeting of the Saint John Astronomy Club will be on July 8 at 7 pm in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature Moncton
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