NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June
18, 2021 (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)
** On Wednesday, Bev Christie’s husband
noted a swarm of insects in their backyard and got a documentary cell phone
photo. By the time Bev got home with her
camera, the swarm had left. This is a
swarm of HONEY BEES that were out on a hunt to form a new hive and it is a very
valued item to any bee keeper (hopefully the original owner from which it
came), and this swarm will start a new hive if collected. They can be quite readily collected as they
are not aggressive with no hive to protect.
** Fred Richards reports their local WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de
Virginie] doe
brought her fawn on Thursday for a showing.
Fred had only a cell phone for a picture, but he is sharing it
anyway. This is an annual event on their
property. They seem to have a doe every
year that hangs around after the yearlings are pushed away. This usually takes place in July. This doe either felt she had to move the
young fawn or the birth happened earlier this year.
** Gordon Rattray captured more of the
striking season bloom of some of our native plants on the Albert Mines Rd,
providing nice photos of CINQUEFOIL, ORANGE HAWKWEED, WHITE WATER CROWFOOT, YARROW
(usually white but comes as well in pink) and a male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
[Paruline masquée] warbler
looked on.
** Yvette Richard got an appropriately
zoomed-in photo of a dad RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD [Carouge à épaulettes] feeding some very anxious teenagers at
Highland Park in Salisbury on Thursday. How does he decide on which one gets
the vittles!
** The Nature Moncton project of
putting out a trial balloon of EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi] nest boxes has not been successful at attracting
Eastern Phoebes, but in my case has sure caught the attention of AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle
d'Amérique]. I have one placed at either end of our
Moncton home. Last year a robin started
building a nest on top of one, and I placed a lip on the slanted roof so the
nest would not slide off. Mrs. Robin was
not impressed and left. This year a robin
did nest on the phoebe box and fledged a clutch. Now a robin is nesting over the box at the
other end of the house, feeding young.
It may or may not be the same robin.
Photos are documentary due to the darkness under the eaves.
** The Nature Moncton field trip to
Prosser Mountain for rare plants is coming up on Saturday, June 26th. Due to limitations in number of participants,
it has not been advertised as much as usual.
However, I am adding it below as there is one space left, and some folks
may want to register for stand-by in case of cancellation. Please note that this trip is open to Nature
Moncton members only due to restriction of participants. Also keep in mind that the hike is of medium
difficulty, including some uphill walking and uneven ground.
NATURE MONCTON FIELD TRIP
RARE AND UNCOMMON PLANTS OF THE PROSSER MOUNTAIN AREA
DATE: Saturday June 26th
TIME: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
MEETING SPOT: Corner of Rte 910 and Prosser Brook Road,
approximately 17 km south of the Lower Turtle Creek reservoir bridge.
GUIDE: Kelly
Honeyman (J. D. Irving)
Following all Covid
protocols, the group will gather at a few of J. D. Irving’s Unique Areas in the
Prosser Mountain area, looking for rare to uncommon orchids such as
Long-bracted Orchid as well as Hookers Orchid.
In addition, the group will look for a number of uncommon ferns
including those of the Botrypus family.
An explanation of JDI Woodlands Rare Plant Pre-Screening program as well
as the Unique Areas Program will also be discussed during the trip. NOTE: This outing will involve walking
on uneven ground as well as some slopes.
Snacks, juice and
water will be provided, but you may want to bring a lunch.
Limited trail width
and social distancing requirements require participants to register to a maximum
of 20 people. Please register with
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca.
Questions on the
outing can be fielded by Kelly Honeyman at Honeyman.kelly@jdirving.com.
Looking forward to
seeing you out in the woods!
** Note that
because of the limited number, we ask that members only register for
this trip.
** Anna Tucker spent time at the
Sackville Waterfowl Park on Thursday.
Some males appear to be moving into the more
drab summer eclipse plumage. Anna also
got a nice portrait of a male BLUE-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle à ailes bleues], still very much in breeding plumage.
** Bev Schneider has taken the time to create a write-up on the BLACK-
BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK that recently favoured NB with their first documented
visit. It was interesting to hear David Bell comment at Tuesday’s Nature
Moncton meeting that this species is not wary of humans and will wander about
golf courses and around landscaped inhabited areas similar to Canada Geese in
their normal range. Take a look at Bev’s blog site to review all the info on
this species she has put together at the site below:
http://bevsnatureblog.blogspot.com
Jim Wilson also gave an interesting interview on
CBC Information Morning that can be listened to at the attached link:
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-25/clip/15850003
**Brian Stone was inspired by Gordon Rattray’s visit to the special butterfly site at the White Rock Recreational area in Albert Co. near |Hillsborough and went to experience the area himself on Thursday to get some nice photos of the NORTERN CLOUDYWING BUTTERFLY and the WESTERN TAILED-BLUE that can be found at this site. Brian as expected came across lots more interesting nature items that will be run in another edition.
The Western
Tailed-Blue is very similar to the Eastern Tailed-Blue are very similar. The
dark marking on the Eastern Tailed-Blue are more distinct as one clue. The
tails separate them both from the other Blue species.
** It’s Friday and time to review what next week’s sky will have to show, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 June 19 – June 26
Five millennia ago, Persian and perhaps Egyptian astrologers designated four of
the first magnitude stars (the 20 brightest) as Watchers of the Sky, with each
guarding one of the four cardinal directions. With their proximity to the Sun
at the equinoxes and solstices they were also used to mark seasonal changes.
Collectively, they were known as the Royal Stars.
Regulus in Leo and Antares in Scorpius were two of the Royal Stars, and we see
them now appearing through evening twilight. Regulus guarded the north and
marked the summer solstice, while Antares guarded the west and marked the
beginning of autumn. Fomalhaut, in Piscis Austrinus below Aquarius, guarded the
south and marked the winter solstice. Aldebaran, currently rising in Taurus an
hour before sunrise, guarded the east and marked the spring equinox. These
stars no longer mark the seasons as they did 5000 years ago due to precession
of Earth’s polar axis, which makes one complete wobble every 25,800 years. On
the summer solstice, the Sun is now located near the border of Gemini and
Taurus.
None of the Royal Stars make the top ten in brightness. The brightest star in
the sky for this time of year, Arcturus, is at its highest at sunset. It precedes
almost equally bright Vega, which anchors the Summer Triangle with Deneb and
Altair. Vega reaches its highest point about half an hour before Fomalhaut
rises around 2:30 am. These two stars are the same distance from us, at 25
light years.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:27 am and sunset will occur at 9:13 pm,
giving 15 hours, 46 minutes of daylight (5:36 am and 9:15 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:29 am and set at 9:14 pm,
giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:38 am and 9:16 pm in Saint John).
The Sun reaches its farthest position north on Monday at 12:32 am, the summer
solstice for the northern hemisphere.
The Moon is full on Thursday evening, rising nearly southeast and setting less
than eight and a half hours later; a short night for stargazers and werewolves.
Mercury is stationary on Tuesday and will be at its best for morning observing
during the second week of July. Venus blazes through evening twilight in the
northwest, and Mars makes a pretty binocular sight in the middle of M44, the
Beehive star cluster, on Wednesday evening. Jupiter is stationary on Monday,
beginning four months of westward retrograde motion against the stars. Saturn
rises before midnight and it is well placed for displaying its beautiful rings
in morning twilight.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold you can watch the local
Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
