NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June 9, 2017 (Friday)
Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
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your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.
** The warmer weather is bringing the NELSON'S SPARROWS [Bruant de Nelson] to life. Dave Christie heard one singing on the Mary’s
Point marsh on Wednesday, and two were vocalizing to one another on Thursday. I had forgotten to mention earlier that Brian
Stone and I heard one Nelson Sparrow utter one only call at the Bouctouche Rotary
Marsh on Sunday afternoon.
** Dave also reports he saw the first CANADIAN
TIGER SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERLIES [Papillon tigré du Canada] of the season in his
area on Wednesday and Thursday, just as the Lilac shrubs are blooming. I saw the first one in Miramichi on Thursday
as well.
** An update on the Nature Moncton
field trip to Cocagne Island on June 17th: a second boat crossing has been added and
there are now spaces for several more participants. The complete write-up is added below. If interested, book with Louise Nichols ASAP
as it will fill very quickly. It’s a
wonderful opportunity to visit a site we usually just see in the distance.
Cocagne Island Aventure
Ocean Islands -- there are surely lots of them around
the coasts of New Brunswick! If you are
a naturalist or nature photographer, you probably have seen several which made
you think: Hum, I wonder what it is like on there… and what might I see if I
could get on. One such intriguing place is Cocagne Island, which sits near the
village of the same name. It sure is beautiful from afar but one wonders what
might be found on it nature wise. If you want to find out or are just
interested in an early summer island adventure here is your chance!
On June 17 Nature Moncton is organizing a day trip to
Cocagne Island. The island has quite a bit of history having been used by the
Mi’gmaq people for a very long time and later having been settled by the
Acadians, some of whose descendants actually lived there till about 50 years
ago. On the natural history side it should offer nice bird sightseeing and
botanical discoveries. Cocagne Island is not very big at 2 square kilometers
and relatively easy to get to, just about 10 minutes by boat from the
Comiervville wharf. So if you are up for a great day of exploration, come and
join our guide Roger Leblanc for this island day of discovery. As an added
bonus Fernand Robichaud, a local oyster producer who will bring us on the island,
will at the same time give us a hands on presentation of his aquaculture work.
Date & time:
June 17 from 8:30 am to 3 pm
Meeting place: Comierville wharf (5 minutes north of Cocagne on route 535)
Cost: $8
Rain date: The trip will go on June 17th if winds and
weather are good; otherwise Sunday June 18th will be our rain date.
Dress details: Dress for the weather and bring
adequate footwear.
Registration:
Please register with Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca or 939-5054.
We would like to have an accurate number of participants.
NB Pack a lunch -- and if you have a life jacket or
life jackets you don’t mind sharing, please bring them as Fernand has a limited
number at his disposal.
** The moths have been very slow to
show up around my Miramichi moth light this year with the cold nights. The first sphinx moth to show arrived this
Thursday night to be a ONE-EYED SPHINX.
It was joined by one of our several CRANE FLY [Tipulidae] species, and
that duo was the crowd that are usually here this time of year.
** I was able to closely check the four
Nature Moncton TREE SWALLOW
[Hirondelle bicolore] boxes
I put up on the Northwest Rd near Miramichi.
It was rewarding to find all four occupied. I found it very difficult this year to know
if the boxes were occupied after several checks as the cold spring seemed to
make for little activity around the boxes.
However, there obviously was enough to establish house-keeping. Two other boxes at our Miramichi camp are
also occupied. When I erected the boxes,
I sprayed in a shot of Permethrin and added one half teaspoon of diatomaceous
earth to control fleas and blood-sucking bugs.
All four Nature Moncton boxes were attached to roadside utility poles in
open areas.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is
added to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason.
The sky may not be on display tonight, but the weekend is looking great.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, June 10
– June 17
Summer is globular cluster season. Globulars are massive, spherical
clusters of old stars that orbit the core of a galaxy. They are
typically composed of hundreds of thousands of stars in a volume of
space where, in our galactic neighbourhood, there might be a few hundred
stars. Picture a snow globe after you shake it, and imagine the tiny
flakes as stars. Globular clusters formed about the same time their host
galaxies were forming, approximately 12 billion years ago. The area of
sky around Sagittarius, Scorpius and Ophiuchus above them is where we
find many of the brighter globulars in the Messier catalogue.
The brightest star in Scorpius is the red supergiant Antares, which
marks the heart of the scorpion. Easily within a binocular field to the
right of Antares is the globular cluster M4, one of the closest to us at
7000 light years. Viewing from a rural location makes a big difference
in how well you will see this and other globular clusters. Further to
the right of Antares a bow of three bight stars forms the scorpion’s
claws, and halfway between Antares and the upper star of the bow is M80,
looking much tinier than M4 because it is nearly five times more
distant. To the upper left of the Sagittarius Teapot’s lid is M22,
another globular gem, and just above the lid is the tougher target of M28.
Although these objects are a hazy patch of light in binoculars, they are
spectacular in a telescope at high magnification under a dark sky, when
several of the individual stars can be seen. A common description is
that of sugar crystals on black velvet.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:27 am and sunset will occur at
9:09 pm, giving 15 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (5:36 am and 9:11 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:27 am and set at 9:12
pm, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:35 am and 9:14 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is full and a day past apogee on Friday, June 9, making this
the smallest full Moon of the year, the annual Puny Moon. It is also
called the Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon, or the Trees Fully Leaved Moon.
The Moon is at third quarter on June 17. Jupiter will look a little
different in a scope or binoculars for an hour after midnight on the
evening of June 10, with only one of its four large moons visible. One
moon is behind the planet and two are passing in front of it. Saturn is
at opposition on Thursday, rising at sunset and being visible all night.
Its rings are at their best viewing for the next 15 years, and around
opposition they are also brighter due to the sunlight reflecting
directly back toward us. Venus dominates the very early morning sky and
it is near its greatest extent from the Sun. Around 10 am, try finding
it high in the sky with binoculars, and if you are successful try to see
it without binoculars.
The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets at the UNB Fredericton
Forestry / Earth Sciences Building on June 13 at 7 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Summer is globular cluster season. Globulars are massive, spherical
clusters of old stars that orbit the core of a galaxy. They are
typically composed of hundreds of thousands of stars in a volume of
space where, in our galactic neighbourhood, there might be a few hundred
stars. Picture a snow globe after you shake it, and imagine the tiny
flakes as stars. Globular clusters formed about the same time their host
galaxies were forming, approximately 12 billion years ago. The area of
sky around Sagittarius, Scorpius and Ophiuchus above them is where we
find many of the brighter globulars in the Messier catalogue.
The brightest star in Scorpius is the red supergiant Antares, which
marks the heart of the scorpion. Easily within a binocular field to the
right of Antares is the globular cluster M4, one of the closest to us at
7000 light years. Viewing from a rural location makes a big difference
in how well you will see this and other globular clusters. Further to
the right of Antares a bow of three bight stars forms the scorpion’s
claws, and halfway between Antares and the upper star of the bow is M80,
looking much tinier than M4 because it is nearly five times more
distant. To the upper left of the Sagittarius Teapot’s lid is M22,
another globular gem, and just above the lid is the tougher target of M28.
Although these objects are a hazy patch of light in binoculars, they are
spectacular in a telescope at high magnification under a dark sky, when
several of the individual stars can be seen. A common description is
that of sugar crystals on black velvet.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:27 am and sunset will occur at
9:09 pm, giving 15 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (5:36 am and 9:11 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:27 am and set at 9:12
pm, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:35 am and 9:14 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is full and a day past apogee on Friday, June 9, making this
the smallest full Moon of the year, the annual Puny Moon. It is also
called the Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon, or the Trees Fully Leaved Moon.
The Moon is at third quarter on June 17. Jupiter will look a little
different in a scope or binoculars for an hour after midnight on the
evening of June 10, with only one of its four large moons visible. One
moon is behind the planet and two are passing in front of it. Saturn is
at opposition on Thursday, rising at sunset and being visible all night.
Its rings are at their best viewing for the next 15 years, and around
opposition they are also brighter due to the sunlight reflecting
directly back toward us. Venus dominates the very early morning sky and
it is near its greatest extent from the Sun. Around 10 am, try finding
it high in the sky with binoculars, and if you are successful try to see
it without binoculars.
The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets at the UNB Fredericton
Forestry / Earth Sciences Building on June 13 at 7 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
CRANEFLY SPECIES.JUNE 9, 2017.NELSON POIRIER
globulars
NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE).JUNE 8, 2017.PHYLLIS MacMILLAN
ONE-EYED SPHINX MOTH.JUNE 9, 2017.NELSON POIRIER
TREE SWALLOW.JUNE 9, 2017.NELSON POIRIER
