NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
August 25,
2023
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Edited by
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Aldo Dorio
photographed a duo of shorebirds at Hay Island on Thursday that fooled the
editor and I would expect others maybe as well, thinking they were Piping Plovers.
A consultation with Gilles Belliveau pointed out that they were actually juvenile Semipalmated Plovers.
Gilles’s response is quoted below as it may be a learning experience for more than just the
editor!
“As
for the plover photos, the bird is actually a juvenile Semipalmated Plover, not
a Piping Plover. The colouration is too dark for Piping Plover and if you
zoom in on the toes in the photo of the bird facing to the left, you can see
the semipalmation between the 3 toes (a larger web between the middle and outer
toe with much smaller web between the middle and inner toe).
Here’s a
photo of an adult from the Birds of the World website that really shows the
semipalmations well and how the size of the webbing differs between the outer vs.
between the inner toe.”
If anyone has more to add, comments are welcomed.
**Red-throated Loons are in migration as well.
Shannon Inman spotted one by the Harvey Dam on
Thursday and was able to get a few photographs.
John Inman got a photo of one of two Sharp-shinned
Hawks in his Harvey yard. The hawk appears quite comfortable in the Inman’s yard
as it appears to be enjoying a preening session.
**On Thursday afternoon, Yves Poussart spent about one hour checking the activity around the water retention ponds in Sackville (James St.).
Approximately 30 + Lesser Yellowlegs were resting, and some were meticulously preening their
feathers. Yves also spotted one Wilson's Snipe, one Great Blue Heron, and one Belted Kingfisher flying from one tree to another.
Mosquitos were also very much present, especially close to the high vegetation
around the ponds. Photos of these first two species are
attached.
**Christine Lever had three species of insect pose for nice photographs:
•a very colourful stink
bug species
•a cranefly
species
•a female Pelecinid
Wasp looking like it has its long ovipositor all
ready to search for an underground grub on which to lay its eggs.
Dave McLeod shares a link below that gives more information on the
Pelecinid Wasp:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelecinus_polyturator
(Editor’s note: note the eye of the snake in
Louise’s photo being very blue. This would tend to suggest that this snake is
about to shed its skin.)
**After
some recent photos of Phragmites grass, some readers have pointed out
that we do have a native Phragmites grass that is not as invasive as the
non-native one. The New Brunswick Nature Conservancy has published an excellent
pamphlet on how to distinguish the native Phragmites (Phragmites australis
spp. americanus) from the non-native invasive Phragmites (Phragmites
australis ssp. australis).
For those
who don’t have a copy, it can be viewed at the following links. Enlarging the image will allow it to be read.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023, August 26 –
September 2
You will probably hear or read of a Super Blue Moon this week when it reaches
the full phase on Wednesday evening, less than ten hours after it is closest to
Earth in 2023 (357,181 km). Technically, this is referred to as a perigean full
Moon; the Moon is at perigee when it is closest for the month. A decade ago,
the media began calling this a Super Moon, and it seems the definition has
expanded to include any full Moon occurring within 90% of its perigee for that
orbit. That makes for three or four a year, and, like the overabundance of
superheroes in Hollywood, the term loses its luster, so to speak.
Wednesday’s full Moon will be 14% wider (and hence 30% brighter in
theory) than the one in February when the Moon was near apogee, its farthest
for the month, which I call the Puny Moon to match the silliness of it all. The
size difference is about the same as a quarter and a nickel, which, when held
at arm’s length (if your arms are two metres long) will give approximately the
same relative size of the Moon in the sky.
Since full Moons occur every 29 1/2days, there was also a full Moon on August
2, and this is where the Blue Moon comes in. For the past half-century the
second of two full Moons in a calendar month has been awarded that term. In
older times, when the Moon was a calendar for many societies, the full phase
was given names related to what was occurring in nature at that time of year.
Every few years, we get 13 full Moons (do the math) and, therefore 4 in one
season. To preserve the meaning of the full Moon names, a version of the
Farmer’s Almanac called the third of four in a season a Blue Moon. This was
misinterpreted as the second in a calendar month, and now some media outlets
are using both definitions. A real blue Moon can occur following natural events
that blow thick dust high into the atmosphere, as happened following the
volcanic eruption in Krakatoa in 1883 and western forest fires seven decades
ago. The dust absorbed the long wavelength red and orange parts of sunlight and
passed relatively more blue light reflecting from the Moon.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:32 am, and sunset will occur at 8:09 pm,
giving 13 hours, and 37 minutes of daylight (6:38 am and 8:12 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 6:40 am and set at 7:56 pm, giving 13
hours, and 16 minutes of daylight (6:46 am and 8:00 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is full, at perigee, and rising near Saturn on Wednesday (Ringo and
Keith Moon drumming up interest.) Look for extreme tides late in the week.
Saturn is at opposition on Sunday, rising around sunset and spending autumn
in the evening sky for telescope users. Its rings are open slightly, enough to
see space between them and the planet, and they will open a little more from
our perspective over the next few months. Jupiter rises two and a half
hours after sunset so its best viewing will occur in the early morning. Mercury
and Mars are too close to the setting Sun for viewing. Venus, the brightest planet,
rises around 5:20 this weekend, 20 minutes after Sirius, the brightest star.
The winter constellations in the morning sky remind us to enjoy what is left of
summer.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre
on September 2 at 7 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.c
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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