NATURE
MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE, Oct. 8, 2021 (Friday)
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Info Line
# 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**Susan
Richards photographed a Peck’s Skipper on flowering plants by her Taylor
Village yard pond on Thursday. It seems late for skippers to be flying but Jim
Edsall advises this is apt to be a second brood of this skipper species.
**Clouded Sulphur
butterflies fly well into October, especially enjoying the warm week we are
having. Aldo Dorio photographed a fresh appearing Clouded Sulphur Butterfly
flying about Hay Island on Thursday.
**Early on
Thursday, Yvette Richard had 5 Eastern Bluebirds arrive to her Cocagne
yard to check out one of her bird nest boxes. They went in and out of the box quite a few times seemingly making a thorough inspection before heading
elsewhere.
In the
afternoon a group of 10 Eastern Bluebirds arrived and repeated the same
thing with another house.
As our
Eastern Bluebird population builds up, we are seeing more and more of this
scenario each year in the fall. It is assumed they are checking out real estate
possibilities for next season. Bluebirds flock up like swallows in the fall but
stay with us much later in the season before migrating a relatively short
distance south and this nest box checking scenario is becoming more common.
**The
Sackville water retention pond on Lorne/St. James Street is getting lots of
attention and for good reason. Yvette Richard visited on Tuesday for an
audience with some of its visitors to enjoy the Hudsonian Godwits, Killdeer (Yvette’s
photo shows the cinnamon rump patch we normally only see in flight), Pectoral
Sandpipers, and yellowlegs. What a surprising shorebird magnet this pond has created!
**Brian Stone checked out the
Sackville water retention ponds on Wednesday with hopes of getting some photos
of the STILT SANDPIPER but had to be satisfied with backlit and distant
pictures that needed much adjustment. He also got photos of some of the 8 WILSON'S
SNIPE he saw there and of the 3 HUDSONIAN GODWITS too. There were
still large numbers of other shorebirds there, mainly GREATER and LESSER
YELLOWLEGS (getting some nice photos of the two species side-by-side) with PECTORAL SANDPIPERS mixed in.
Brian also visited the Arthur St.
lagoon in Memramcook and photographed RING-NECKED DUCKS and NORTHERN
SHOVELERS.
**It’s Friday and the day to check
out what next week’s night sky has in store for us courtesy of sky guru Curt
Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 October 9 – October 16
Aquarius the Water Bearer is the source of all the water associated with our
southern autumn constellations. It is situated among Pisces to the east and
Capricornus to the west, with Pegasus north and Pisics Austrinus south. Its
western end stretches over top of Capricornus. Most of the stars of Aquarius
are relatively dim but one asterism stands out, the tight group of four stars
that forms the Water Jar. Resembling a circle with three spokes, this asterism
is also called the Steering Wheel.
One tale from mythology has Aquarius representing Ganymede, the handsome son of
a Trojan king. Zeus was attracted to the lad and sent his pet eagle to kidnap
him. Ganymede was given the important position of cup bearer (wine pourer) at
Olympian feasts. There may have been another motive for the kidnapping, for the
moons of the planet Jupiter are named for Zeus’s lovers and Ganymede is the
largest of those moons.
A few Messier objects lie within Aquarius, the best being the globular cluster
M2. I usually star hop to this one by going from a star in the neck of Pegasus
to its ear, and extending that line an equal distance. A fainter globular
cluster, M73, is above the back of Capricornus, and just to its east is
enigmatic M73. Stargazers wonder how this four-star asterism made it to the
Messier list. Nearby to the northeast a moderate-size telescope might reveal
the Saturn Nebula, the glowing gaseous remnant of a dead star that somewhat
resembles the ringed planet.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:28 am and sunset will occur at 6:43 pm,
giving 11 hours, 15 minutes of daylight (7:32 am and 6:49 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:37 am and set at 6:30 pm, giving 10 hours,
53 minutes of daylight (7:41 am and 6:36 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is near Venus on Saturday and at first quarter just past midnight on
Wednesday morning. On Tuesday it is below Saturn, and on Wednesday it anchors a
large triangle with Jupiter and Saturn that resembles a slightly tilted version
of their host constellation Capricornus. Venus approaches the red supergiant
star Antares in Scorpius this week, passing above it next weekend. Mercury is
at inferior conjunction on Saturday, and it will soon be starting its best
morning apparition for the year. Saturn is stationary on Sunday, after which it
resumes its eastward motion against the stars. Telescope users can watch the
shadow of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede cross the planet’s cloudtop between 8 pm and
11:30 on Monday, and see the Red Spot for the first two hours. Rural observers
might see the morning zodiacal light over the week if the sky is clear.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature
Moncton
