Nature Moncton Nature News: July 26 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 26, 2019 (Friday)

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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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** Great Monarch Butterfly [Monarque] reports just keep on coming. Suzanne Rousseau in Sussex had her first female arrive to her yard milkweed plants on Thursday and it immediately started ovipositing; she found at least 6 eggs. Suzanne comments it tended to lay eggs on the lower plants. She also had a BLACK SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY [Papillon du celery] nectaring on the yard blooms.

** Jamie Burris shares some interesting photo action he took note of recently. This includes two moths. One is the PLUME MOTH that takes the stance in Jamie’s photo when perched. The second moth is the RASPBERRY PYRAUSTA MOTH. This has to be considered a rare find. On consulting with Jim Edsall, he comments it is indeed on Pohl’s List for New Brunswick, but Jim didn’t think there were many records of it. It was attracted to a Bergamot which apparently is one of its host plants. I’ve never seen it and maintain a moth attractor set-up.

** Jamie also got a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD [Colibri à gorge rubis] as it preened itself on the yard clothesline. He comments the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are really back in number at the Bee Balm blossoms. It’s probably that time when the young nestlings are fledging and we will see a surge in the numbers visiting feeders.

** A photo of the seed packets of EASTERN HOP HORNBEAM (aka Ironwood) as they appeared on July 12^th is included.

** A photo of a FLOWER FLY (aka Syrphid Fly) is shown at a flower bloom in its wasp camo suit. Only two wings quickly identify it as a fly and not the 4-winged wasp group.

** Mac Wilmot got some photos of ATLANTIC SALMON laying in the Flying Eddy Pool on the South-east Upsalquitch River on Thursday. Note the size differential. The smaller fish are fish that have spent only one winter at sea, while the larger fish have spent more than one sea winter. These larger fish may be on their maiden voyage upstream to spawn, or they may be individuals that have already returned to the river and spawned before. The Atlantic Salmon are capable of returning to their natal river to spawn several times over. The Atlantic Salmon have been down in numbers in the last 10 to 20 years. There seemed to be more in the rivers earlier this year, so this could be a hopeful sign of good things, or the fact that the water temperature stayed cooler and waters stayed higher longer due to the cold spring.

** Krista Doyle captured the silhouette of a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD [Colibri à gorge rubis] at her Lewis Mountain feeder at dawn on Thursday. She also got the sun, just as it lifted into the sky.

** Young-of-the-year Starlings, when not with parents, can easily fool us with their drab plumage before molting into their winter plumage. Aldo Dorio took note of a flock of 30 that are assembling into flocks at the moment.

Aldo also got a facial portrait of two Northern Flickers. The Black moustache mark would suggest two males however both male and female fledglings have the black moustache mark with the female losing it after first Molt. This would leave gender up for grabs if young-of-the-year birds. Aldo also got a photo of a Red-eyed Vireo clearly showing that distinctive red eye.

Fred Dube got an open wing photo of the striking St. Lawrence Tiger Moth to show the colourful black and yellow underwing compared to the relatively bland brown and white spotted forewing when perched and closed. The Great Tiger moth has similarities but the open hindwing would be a brilliant orange with black rounded spots.

Danny and Nicole Sullivan, Annette and Brian Stone, and a visiting friend Beth visited the Irving Arboretum in Bouctouche on Tuesday. Hummingbird Clearwing moths were busy nectaring at the many floral gardens, an Osprey flew over with its fresh Mackerel prize, our native shorebird the Willet was along the shoreline, and Brian got a nice comparison photo of two Greater Yellowlegs and one Lesser Yellowlegs in the same frame. The Irving Arboretum in Bouctouche is a very special place to visit at the moment to see the variety of trees planted there and the expansive floral gardens.

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

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019 July 27 – August 3
Stargazers prefer meridian observing because that is when we should have our best views of objects in a telescope or binoculars. The meridian is the imaginary line running from north to south, separating the sky into eastern and western hemispheres. When stars and planets cross the meridian they are at their highest, shining through a minimal thickness of atmosphere en route to our eyes. Unstable pockets of atmosphere will distort the light from stars and planets, blurring the view; so minimal atmosphere means less distortion. Astronomers use the term “seeing” to describe the steadiness of the atmosphere. Good seeing means steady air and we can use higher magnification for observing details of the Moon and planets.

Around 10 pm this week we have several prominent constellations near the meridian. Moving southward from the North Star we have Ursa Minor or the Little Dipper. A small telescope with good seeing conditions will show the close companion star of Polaris, which is actually a triple star although only two can be seen in a telescope. Heading southward we pass through Draco the Dragon on our way to Hercules. The faintest of the four stars in the dragon’s head is an easy double star to resolve in binoculars. The globular cluster M92 is about halfway between the head and the Keystone asterism of Hercules, and don’t forget M13 along the western side of the Keystone.

Hercules goes head-to-head with Ophiuchus to its south, which contains a few globular clusters itself. Ophiuchus stands on Scorpius, keeping the scorpion underfoot so that it cannot fatally sting Orion again. Scorpius at the meridian is the best time to observe globular clusters M4 and M80, and open clusters M6 and M7.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:55 am and sunset will occur at 8:55 pm, giving 15 hours of daylight (6:02 am and 8:57 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:03 am and set at 8:46 pm, giving 14 hours, 43 minutes of daylight (6:10 am and 8:49 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is new around midnight Wednesday evening, and appears as a slim crescent in the west after sunset by Friday. Jupiter is at its highest and best for observing after twilight, and telescope users might see its Red Spot around 10 pm on Sunday and 11:30 pm on Tuesday. Saturn is near the meridian around midnight. Late in the week Mercury will be rising an hour before sunrise. The South Delta Aquariid meteor shower will be at its best two hours before sunrise on Sunday and Monday mornings, but the radiant does not rise very high in the south.

The annual star party at Mount Carleton Provincial Park takes place on August 2-3, and the Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on August 3 at 7 pm. All are welcome.

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

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton