Nature Moncton Nature News: June 25 2016

This edition is a composition of the past 4 days that we were off line so is brief with some commentaries......Nelson

**Jean-Paul LeBlanc forwards a photo of a SNAPPING TURTLE [Chélydre serpentine]found at Saint-Ignace and photographed roadside by Monique Richard. Note the long ridged tail and upper shell, a.k.a. carapace looking too small for the Turtle which is a feature of this turtle species. Monique estimated the carapace at approximately 18 inches. This was probably a female Turtle looking for an earthen area to lay its eggs. I believe this photograph was taken on June 7th.

**Anna Tucker got photos of the RUDDY DUCK [Érismature rousse] pair that seem to have settled in to the Sackville Waterfowl Park. She got those on Tuesday, June 21st. Like Brian Stone’s, they are distant photos, but very identifiable. Anna also got a nice photo of a female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD [Carouge à epaulettes] carrying food destined for nestlings. She also got a cooperative male DOT-TAILED WHITEFACE [Leucorrhine mouchetée] Dragonfly to pose. Note the white face and yellow spot in the abdomen, to make this an easy one to identify.

**Brian Stone had a very interesting MOTH [Papillon nocturne] visit his home window screen on Wednesday, to get some nice photos of a SILVER-SPOTTED GHOST MOTH [Hépiale d'argent]. This is a large Moth and it is not very often seen.

**Georges Brun was able to get some documentary photos of the two chicks in the PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pèlerin] nest at the summit of Assumption Place on Thursday.

**Aldo Dorio got a RED ADMIRAL Butterfly [Vulcain] and a GRAY COMMA Butterfly [Polygone gris] on Wednesday at his Neguac home. Jim Edsall points out the presence of the just two dark spots on the hindwing frontal view is the main identifying feature; the small forewing spots are another good field mark for the Gray Comma.

*Mark Albert got a photo of a large LUNA MOTH [Papillon lune] that dropped by his Shediac River home for a first-time-ever sighting of this gem.

**Danny Gray has a GRAY CATBIRD [Moqueur chat] that seems to have adopted his yard and is becoming quite tame. He got some nice photos of it.

**Dale Gaskin comments his female EASTERN BLUEBIRD [Merlebleu de l'Est] seems to have completed nest care and apparently fledged young, as she came to the birdbath and had the most dramatic and lively bath Dale has ever seen a bird perform. Dale suspects she needs it after the heavy schedule she has had with little time to groom.

**Audrey Goguen reports she continues to get a male and female BALTIMORE ORIOLE [Oriole de Baltimore] coming to orange sections at her 42 Northview Drive yard in Moncton. There must be a possibility of them using this as a territory and nesting nearby.

**Bev Christie got an interesting photo of a juvenile DOWNY WOODPECKER [Pic mineur] showing a red patch on the top of the head instead of where we are accustomed to seeing it in males (at the back of the head). A small portion of juvenile DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS [Pic chevelu] do show a red patch in this location, which they will lose when they moult to adult plumage, appearing on the back of the neck in males, and completely disappearing in the female. We are not absolutely sure this is not a Hairy Woodpecker due to the photo angle but suspecting Downy Woodpecker

**Brian Stone visited the Sackville Waterfowl Park on Sunday, June 19th, to find conditions so windy that some of the trees along the boardwalk were being uprooted. He was able to capture some interesting photos. He got documentary photos of the pair of RUDDY DUCKS [Érismature rousse] at that site, a hind view of a MUSKRAT [Rat musqué] to nicely show their horizontally flattened tail, a MALLARD [Canard colvert] duckling that is developing rapidly, a female RING-NECKED DUCK [Fuligule à collier] with tail arched up, a characteristic similar to the Ruddy Duck. He also visited Gray Brook Marsh on Thursday to find it quite quiet, but did get a camouflaged LEOPARD FROG [Grenouille léopard] and a male BLUE-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle à ailes bleues] at the Lars Larsen Marsh. He got photos of various items, including DRAGON- and DAMSELFLIES [Libellule et Demoiselle] One very interesting photo is of a Sweat Bee, one of our very significant pollinators as the photo shows. The striking rusty-red lines of the male Yellow Warbler shows nicely in another photo. A contented family of Mallard Ducks at Mapleton Park is also included.

**This week’s Sky at a Glance is added to this transcription courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, June 25 – July 2
By late evening the zigzag constellation of Draco the Dragon is
overhead. Draco’s tail is a line of stars between the Big and Little
Dippers. One of those stars is Thuban, which lies between the bowl of
the Little Dipper and the middle of the Big Dipper’s handle. About 5000
years ago, when the Egyptian pyramids were built, Thuban was the North
Star and entrances to the pyramids were designed with a descending
passageway aligned to this star. Coincidentally, the inner two stars of
the Big Dipper’s bowl point to Thuban, just as the outer pair points
toward Polaris.

From the tail, Draco arcs around the bowl of the Little Dipper and then
curves back toward Hercules, with its head being a quadrilateral of
stars by the strongman’s foot. The two brightest stars in Draco’s head,
Etamin (or Eltanin) and Rastaban, are its eyes. They are the brightest
and third brightest of the constellation. The faintest of the four is a
treat in binoculars, showing matching white stars that resemble
headlights or cat’s eyes. In mythology, the dragon was one of the
Titans, rivals of the Olympians. In one of their battles, Athena slung
the dragon high into the northern sky. Writhing to right itself, it
struck against the sky and froze in that position.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:29 am and sunset will occur at
9:14 pm, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:38 am and 9:16 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:33 am and set at 9:14
pm, giving 15 hours, 41 minutes of daylight (5:41 am and 9:15 pm in
Saint John).

The Moon is at third quarter on Monday, rising at 1 am and setting just
after 1 pm. Jupiter sets at 12:30 am this week. Around 10 pm this
Saturday a scope might show two of its moons close to either side of the
planet. Callisto emerged from a transit 15 minutes before this time and
Europa begins a transit across the planet 15 minutes later. Mars is at
its highest around 11:10 pm followed by Saturn 80 minutes later.

The Saint John Astronomy Club meets at the Rockwood Park Interpretation
Centre on July 2 at 7pm. All are welcome to attend.

Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton