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Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Friday, 23 August 2019

August 23 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 23, 2019 (Friday)

To view the photos mentioned in this edition go to http://nminfoline.blogspot.ca

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

For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Catherine Johnson. johnson2@xplornet.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 <tel:506-384-6397>(384-NEWS)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com<mailto:nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>.

**Last call to the Nature Moncton Shorebird Event day coming tomorrow Saturday, August 24th. 
No doubt the first call, after the morning workshop, will be the Riverview Marsh with all the recent activity there.  It seems like something new is showing up there every day.  The detailed write-up on Saturday's event is attached below.

HERE COME THE SHOREBIRDS
WORKSHOP AND OUTING

Date:  August 24th, 2019
Time:  Workshop will begin at 10:00 AM at the Sobey’s Community Room off Elmwood Dr. (77 Filles de Jesus Ave) in Moncton
The group will leave at 1:00 PM from the parking lot of Sobey’s for an outing at Petit-Cap (with possible first stop at Riverview Marsh)
Presenter and Guide:  Roger Leblanc
Cost (for workshop): $8.00
Registration (for workshop): Louise Nichols, nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** Those interested may choose to participate in the workshop alone or in the outing alone.

Even though we are smack in the middle of a beautiful hot summer, autumn migration has already started. No, not so much those confusing autumn warblers or hard-to-differentiate flycatchers yet, but shorebirds. Now the simple mention of shorebirds brings a glazed look to the eyes of many who are just starting out birding, and for good reasons. There are dozens of species and they are often seen in mixed flocks.  Plus here in the Maritimes, we mostly see them at a time of year when they have gone (or are going) into drab basic or winter plumage that is essentially the same for all: a bicolored combination of dark gray on top, alternating with pale gray on the bottom -- great for hiding from predators but not so good for birders. Add to that that they are more often seen far out in marshes or mud flats, and it is understandable that some just call them peeps and move on to more “reasonable” birds. But shorebirding can be lots of fun and we are in fact fortunate in our region to be close to some shorebird migration phenomena that are world class and of global importance. So how are we supposed to identify those little gray birds all the way out there on the mud flat that just won’t stand still and kind of all sound the same?

Once again Nature Moncton is coming to the rescue. On Saturday August 24th we will offer a practical workshop on shorebirds, focusing on the 15 or so species that we can reasonably expect to see here now. Our own Roger Leblanc will lead this workshop/outing and will share with us the tricks of the trade that he has honed over several decades for putting names on most of the shorebirds of autumn. In the morning workshop he will focus on ID field marks, but also habitats, behaviors and other clues that help birders more easily identify the birds.  So if you have been hoping to find something to do bird-wise to bridge the extravanza of spring birding and the allure of autumn rarities, this is your chance. Don’t miss it.  All are welcome, Nature Moncton Member or not.

** Bring a lunch and a scope if you have one.



**One of the two MARBLED GODWITS had a close call after being attacked by a PEREGRINE FALCON on Thursday at the Riverview Marsh.  Several who saw it happen did see the 2 Marbled Godwits later after a period laying low in grasses on the other side of the pond.  
The WILSON'S PHALAROPE put on a great show in close for folks.  
**Rose-Alma Maillet spotted a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE a few days ago.  I did not see it myself on Thursday but others said they spotted it earlier on the distant shore, so it appears as all 3 specialties are still there along with a variety of other shorebirds.

Jamie Burris shares some recent photos. They had a Hummingbird Clearwing moth who was very interested in their Evening Primrose patch. In Jamie’s photos, you can see the clear wings, eye and feeding tube sharply. On a recent trip to Marshville, NS, Jamie photographed a Semipalmated Plover on the beach and in flight. He also captured a photo of a honey bee nectaring on their swamp milkweed. The sun was setting giving it a suit of armour appearance. They also had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird appear in their Riverview back yard Wednesday and enjoyed their Gladiolus that are starting to bloom.


**Yvette Richard visited the Johnson's Mills Interpretative Centre on Wednesday to see a nice display of shorebirds and sends a photo of a passing flock of SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS.
  
**Debbie Batog caught a photo of a GREAT SPANGLED FRITILLARY butterfly sharing a coneflower bloom with a bee.

**Aldo Dorio is continuing to see more BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS in moulting plumage at Hay Island.  The white supercilium can sometimes make us wonder about American Golden Plover but the larger bill size suggest Black-bellied Plover and the crown of the head would be darker in an American Golden Plover and in most cases at least a hint of golden plumage.

**Brian Stone got two nice views of a LUNA MOTH caterpillar recently. These big caterpillars can be hard to see when in trees but are very obvious when motoring on the ground possibly looking for a site to form a cocoon. 
Brian also spotted a BALD FACED HORNET nest, probably at its maximum basketball size by now and it was approximately 20ft up in a tree.
  
**This week’s Sky at a Glance, for the final week of August is included with this edition courtesy of guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019 August 24 – August 31
One of the prettiest constellations can be seen halfway up in the southeastern sky around 10 pm. Delphinus the Dolphin is composed of a small diamond-shaped asterism with a star tailing off to the right, and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to picture a dolphin leaping out of the sea. Although its stars are not bright, its compact shape is eye-catching. Below it are the watery constellations of Capricornus, Aquarius, Piscis Austrinus and Pisces. In mythology, Poseidon had designs on the sea nymph Amphitrite but she hid on him. A dolphin kept track of her and eventually convinced her that the sea god was an okay guy, and it was rewarded with a place of honour in the sky. The diamond part of the constellation has also been called Job’s Coffin but the origin of this is unknown.

Above Delphinus, and within the Summer Triangle, are two other small constellations called Sagitta the Arrow and Vulpecula the Fox. Like Delphinus, Sagitta does resemble its namesake but apparently the fox is too sly to give itself away readily. Sagitta is supposedly the arrow shot by Hercules to kill an eagle (Aquila) that had been commanded by Zeus to peck out the liver of Prometheus each day to punish him for giving humans the secret of fire. Binoculars might reveal the tiny gaseous remnants of an expired star, called the Dumbbell Nebula or M27, above the arrowhead, and the Coathanger Cluster is to the upper right of the fletching.

This Week in the Solar System    
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:29 am and sunset will occur at 8:12 pm, giving 13 hours, 43 minutes of daylight (6:35 am and 8:16 pm in Saint John).  Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:37 am and set at 7:59 pm, giving 13 hours, 22 minutes of daylight (6:44 am and 8:03 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is new and at perigee on August 30, making for a great long weekend of dark sky observing and extreme tides. Jupiter dominates the first half of the evening this week, while Saturn will be a better target in the latter half. Telescope users might see Jupiter’s Red Spot around 9 pm on Monday and 10:45 pm on Wednesday. Mercury rises an hour before the Sun this weekend but rises by only 20 minutes sooner next weekend.

The annual RASC NB Fundy Stargaze will be held on August 30 and 31 at the Herring Cove campsite in Fundy National Park.

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




Nature Moncton
 
BALD-FACED HORNET NEST.AUG 22, 2019. .BRIAN STONE

BALD-FACED HORNET NEST.AUG 22, 2019. .BRIAN STONE

BELTED KINGFISHER. (MALE) AUG 22, 2019.  ALDO DORIO

BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. AUG 22, 2019.  ALDO DORIO

BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. AUG 22, 2019.  ALDO DORIO
Delphinus 2019

GREAT SPANGLED FRITILLARY BUTTERFLY SHARING A CONEFLOWER BLOOM WITH A BEE. AUG 22, 2019. DEBBIE BATOG

HONEY BEE AUG 1 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH JULY 26 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

LUNA MOTH CATERPILLAR. AUG 20, 2019.  BRIAN STONE

LUNA MOTH CATERPILLAR. AUG 20, 2019.  BRIAN STONE

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD AUG 21 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD AUG 21 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD AUG 21 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS AUG 21, 2019 YVETTE RICHARD 

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER AUG 4 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER AUG 4 2019 JAMIE BURRIS

WHITE-TAILED DEER (DOE). AUG 22, 2019. BRIAN STONE

WILSON'S PHALAROPE AND LESSER YELLOWLEGS. AUG 22, 2019. NELSON POIRIER

WILSON'S PHALAROPE AND MALLARD DUCKS. AUG 22, 2019. NELSON POIRIER

WILSON'S PHALAROPE. AUG 22, 2019. NELSON POIRIER