Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Friday 24 September 2021

Sept 24 2021

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 24, 2021 (Friday)

 

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

 

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


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

 

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

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

 

** Louise Nichols got a nice photo of a COMMON BRANDED SKIPPER that she saw at the Anchorage Park on Grand Manan Island last weekend.  She was surprised to see any kind of skipper this time of year.

 

 

** Because of a project that Brian Coyle is working on with Search and Rescue (of which he is a volunteer), he took photos recently of POISON IVY and STINGING NETTLE.  The characteristics of Poison Ivy, such as the reddening of the leaves this time of year, a central leaf having a longer stem than the other two, a central leaf being irregularly lobed on both sides of the leaf while the other two are smooth on the bottom and irregularly lobed at the top, are present in the photos.  He took these photos at a large patch of Poison Ivy at the dead end of Ryan Rd. where it stops at Wheeler Blvd. (Editor’s note: what excellent fine features for naturalists to retain when identifying this bad actor) 

The Stinging Nettle was in Brian’s own backyard.  Formic Acid and Histamine are two chemicals that are present in the fine hairs of this plant that let us know when we should not have touched as it gives an unpleasant burning sensation that some may be more sensitive to than others).

 

** Brian was also out checking his trail cameras to find a fresh smallish print of a BLACK BEAR.  He suspects it to be one of the triplets he got on his trail camera earlier in the season.  Also, he noted BUMBLEBEES taking advantage of our prolific late-blooming Asters.

 

** Jane LeBlanc got a photo of an EASTERN PHOEBE on her Saint Martins clothesline on Thursday.  It has the unkempt look of a young-of-the-year bird, possibly a recent fledgling as this species often double broods as it starts its first nesting early in the season.  Jane also photographed a BLUE-HEADED VIREO while out biking, nicely showing its signature spectacles.  She also saw CEDAR WAXWINGS, GRAY CATBIRDS, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and BLUE JAYS.  Lots of birds moving about.

 

** Stella LeBlanc spotted a lone WHITE-THROATED SPARROW in their Bouctouche yard last week, but none since then. They expect to see more soon.

 

** Brian and Annette Stone went on a ‘driving outing’ and drove to a few spots to look for birds or whatever may show.  They went to Ried McManus Nature Reserve where Brian got a LAKE DARNER (suspected) and a male WOOD DUCK (looking like striking breeding plumage has returned).  They then went to Arthur St. lagoon where he got a male AMERICAN KESTREL and RING-BILLED GULLS.  The GREAT BLUE HERON and BALD EAGLE were at Johnson’s Mills and the PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and YELLOWLEGS were at the Sackville Pond on Lorne/St. James St.  There were more than 100 shorebirds there, but Brian couldn’t stay to document them due to another commitment.

 A nice point that Gilles Belliveau leaves on Brian’s Pectoral photos is to note the rather long projection beyond the tertials.  A Least Sandpiper would only have a bit of the primaries projecting beyond the longer tertials.

 

** It’s Friday and the day to check out what next week’s sky will have to offer, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.  

 

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 September 25 – October 2
Small constellations tend to get overlooked unless, like Delphinus the Dolphin, they have fairly bright stars or an eye-catching pattern. Aries the Ram and cleverly named Triangulum aren’t quite as pretty as Delphinus but they do get noticed. Okay, Triangulum isn’t pretty, but it is acute, situated below Andromeda in mid-evening. Below it is brighter Aries, which resembles a somewhat squashed triangle.

In mythology, the god Hermes sent a flying, golden ram to rescue a prince who was being sacrificed to end a famine. The prince showed his gratitude by slaughtering the ram and giving its fleece to a man in exchange for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The Golden Fleece later became the quest of Jason and the Argonauts. Over 2000 years ago the Sun was in Aries on the first day of spring, and the vernal equinox is still called the First Point of Aries despite having moved into the constellation Pisces long ago.

Triangulum is not associated with an exciting tale from mythology but at times it had been regarded as a tribute to both the Nile Delta and the island of Sicily. I use the tip of the triangle as a reference for locating the Triangulum Galaxy, also called M33. It is almost halfway and a tad to the right of a line from the tip to orange Mirach in Andromeda. Smaller and slightly more distant than the nearby Andromeda Galaxy (M31), this face-on spiral galaxy is dim but attainable with binoculars in a reasonably dark sky.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:10 am and sunset will occur at 7:10 pm, giving 12 hours of daylight (7:15 am and 7:15 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:19 am and set at 6:56 pm, giving 11 hours, 37 minutes of daylight (7:23 am and 7:02 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is at third quarter on Tuesday evening, rising at 11:15 pm and setting around 3 pm Wednesday. Venus is the brightest object in the early evening sky, but once it sets Jupiter reigns until moonrise. On Tuesday evening, between 9:40 and 10 pm, telescope and binocular users might see Jupiter’s moon Europa disappear behind the planet (9:50) and moon Io emerge from Jupiter’s shadow (9:53) on the opposite side. Moons Calisto and Ganymede are also seen on opposite sides, with Ganymede being closer to Jupiter. After that, move westward for a view of Saturn’s rings and its moon Titan. This week Mercury begins a two-week plunge toward the Sun.

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

 

 nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

PECTORAL SANDPIPER. SEPT. 23, 2021. BRIAN STONE

PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. SEPT. 23, 2021. BRIAN STONE

AMERICAN KESTREL (MALE). SEPT. 23, 2021. BRIAN STONE

AMERICAN KESTREL (MALE). SEPT. 23, 2021. BRIAN STONE


BALD EAGLE. SEPT. 23, 2021. BRIAN STONE


BLUE-HEADED VIREO. SEPT. 23, 2021. JANE LEBLANC


EASTERN PHEOBE. SEPT. 22, 2021. JANE LEBLANC

GREAT BLUE HERON. SEPT. 23, 2021. BRIAN STONE


WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. SEPT 18, 2021. STELLA LEBLANC

WOOD DUCK. (MALE) SEPT. 23, 2021., BRIAN STONE


WOOD DUCK (MALE). SEPT. 23, 2021., BRIAN STONE

COMMON BRANDED SKIPPER. SEPT. 18, 2021. LOUISE NICHOLS

COMMON BRANDED SKIPPER. SEPT. 18, 2021. LOUISE NICHOLS

COMMON EASTERN BUMBLEBEE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

COMMON EASTERN BUMBLEBEE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE


COMMON EASTERN BUMBLEBEE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

LAKE DARNER DRAGONFLY (SUSPECTED). SEPT. 23, 2021.. BRIAN STONE

LAKE DARNER DRAGONFLY (SUSPECTED). SEPT. 23, 2021.. BRIAN STONE

POISON IVY. SEPT 23, 2021.. BRIAN COYLE

POISON IVY. SEPT 23, 2021.. BRIAN COYLE

POISON IVY. SEPT 23, 2021.. BRIAN COYLE

POISON IVY. SEPT 23, 2021.. BRIAN COYLE

STINGING NETTLE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

STINGING NETTLE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

STINGING NETTLE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

STINGING NETTLE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

STINGING NETTLE. SEPT 23, 2021.  BRIAN COYLE

Aries 2021