Nature Moncton Nature News: Sept 21 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 21, 2018 (Friday)

Please advise editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

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** The Nature Moncton Activities Committee has a follow-up field trip to the recent meeting where Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc gave a fascinating presentation on the dike system developed many years ago all around us. This field trip will be combined with a bit of birding as a value-added bonus. The upcoming Saturday, September 29^th write-up is added below.

Marshland Outing – follow-up to Acadian Dikes Presentation

Date: September 29, 2018

Meeting Time: 8:00 A.M.

Meeting Place: Champlain Place parking lot behind the Burger King

Guide: Roger Leblanc

Many of the great birding and nature watching spots in our region are situated in or around salt marshes, as are several towns and cities. But these habitats have also been used historically for agricultural production. The intensive dike and water control methods used for this are considered one of the first engineering feats on the continent and a monument has even been erected by the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering to recognize this.

As Nature Moncton’s September meeting featured a presentation on this subject we thought it would be a good idea to do a follow-up outing to the diked marsh below Fort Beauséjour near the NB -NS border where it is still possible to see the remnants of this work as well as the monument. Bird life and nature are also very present there at this time, so this would be a chance to mix a bit of history and nature observation. The outing will be led by our own Roger Leblanc and the meeting point for the outing and car pooling will be at 8:00 AM Saturday the 29 of September in the Champlain Place parking lot behind the Burger King. This will be a full day outing. Bring a lunch, check the weather and dress accordingly.

** Aldo Dorio located an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL [Mouette rieuse] near the Neguac wharf on Thursday. We don’t often get to see this gull in New Brunswick. Note the red bill to quickly identify it from the common (for the next few months) Bonaparte’s Gull. Aldo also got a photo of a first-winter BONAPARTE'S GULL [Mouette de Bonaparte]. Note the completely black bill this gull always has and the brown remnants on the mantle to suggest it’s going into its first-winter plumage. Aldo also got a group of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS [Bécassin roux] near the Neguac wharf. It is getting near that time when the possibility of a lower number of LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS [Bécassin à long bec] could be moving through. They are most easily separated from Short-billed Dowitchers by their “preet” call, very different from the Short-billed Dowitcher’s vocalization but challenging to separate on plumage differences.

** Aldo was a busy photographer Thursday to also get a CAPE MAY WARBLER [Paruline tigrée]. Note the fairly bright yellow on the supercilium, face, throat and chest, with a pale – almost white – underbelly and the fine streaking on the chest, typical of some individuals in fall plumage. A PALM WARBLER [Paruline à couronne rousse] co-operated to show the pale yellow underparts with limited blurred streaking on the chest, paler throat and brighter yellow undertail coverts with brownish underparts and crown, the yellow supercilium, and the pale eye crescents. It also has faint brownish wing bars, all features suggesting a fall-plumaged Palm Warbler. The YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] shows the fairly evident yellow flank patch and minimal streaking on the chest and flanks, prominent eye arcs on the brownish head, and pale throat and underparts. Fall warblers can have their identity challenges, but these features Gilles Belliveau has helped to point out make them easier to separate.

** Shawn Cormier sends photos of an EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi], BLUE JAY [Geai bleu] and a RED SQUIRREL [Écureuil roux] sampling a morsel of some item on tree bark in the usual detail Shawn’s photographs display.

** Dave Christie comments he still had two RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS [Colibri à gorge rubis] in attendance on Wednesday morning, but Thursday he had no visits at all.

** Brian Stone leaves some more recent photos. A very bright green spider with a red patch is one that was taken at Kegi Park. BugGuide suggests this one may not be a common one here, but it’s present. It is one of the LONG-JAWED ORB WEAVER SPIDERS that does not seem to have adopted a used common name despite its bright colouring. Brian’s photo of a LUNG LICHEN shows it just after a rain as the algal component quickly turns brilliant green whereas the lichen is often near brown after a dry period. A COMMON RINGLET BUTTERFLY [Satyre fauve] was fresh on September 10^th.

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this edition, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, September 22 – September 29
Salamanders aren’t the most noticeable of critters; you usually have to make an effort to find one. This is a good time to locate the obscure constellation of Lacerta the Lizard, but it will take some effort and a dark sky.

Camouflaged partly by the Milky Way, Lacerta is surrounded by Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Pegasus and Cygnus. A good pointer to it is the base of the Summer Triangle. Running a line from bright Vega to Deneb at the tail of Cygnus and extending it about the same distance puts you near the zigzag shape of the lizard. It is one of those dim constellations created in the late 17th century by Johannes Hevelius to fill in an “empty” section of the sky. At first he named it Stellio; a stellion is a newt with star-like spots found near the Mediterranean Sea. If you manage to catch Lacerta, give yourself a pat on the back and let it go.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:06 am and sunset will occur at 7:16 pm, giving 12 hours, 10 minutes of daylight (7:11 am and 7:21 pm in Saint John). The Sun crosses the equator heading south for winter at 10:54 pm that evening, marking the beginning of autumn. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:15 am and set at 7:03 pm, giving 11 hours, 48 minutes of daylight (7:19 am and 7:08 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is full on Monday, the traditional Harvest Moon and the Mi’kmaq Moose Calling Moon. Venus remains very bright but sets before 8 pm midweek. Jupiter’s Red Spot is facing our way shortly after 8 pm on Thursday, an hour before the planet sets. Saturn continues to give awesome views in the early evening and sets before midnight. Mars is at its highest for best viewing around 9:30 pm.

RASC NB, the provincial astronomy club, meets at the UNB Fredericton Forestry / Earth Sciences building this Saturday at 1 pm. All are welcome. On Wednesday, the UNB Fredericton Astronomy Club will be holding a public observing session at Queen’s Square Park from 8:30 to 10 pm.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton