Nature Moncton Nature News: June 24 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

June 24, 2022 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Louise Nichols was surprised to find a Luna Moth on their greenhouse Thursday morning; then she turned to look up and saw a second Luna Moth on the underside of the greenhouse roof. The two moths day-rested in place throughout the day. When the sinking sun shone directly on the greenhouse, the moth that was on the screen door shifted over to take cover from the sun under a piece of wood (see attached photos).

Louise also includes some photos of a Little Wood-Satyr Butterfly that she found in their woods. On Thursday afternoon, she took a walk on one of the trails in the Amherst Bird Sanctuary and photographed a Harris's Checkerspot Butterfly and a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

** Gordon Rattray joined other members of Nature Moncton on a walk along the River Front Park in Riverview on Wednesday night. Immediately once the walk was organized, the tidal bore came up the river and a surfer was riding the wake. Gordon, with others, observed many different aspects of nature from Song Sparrows to an infested rose. Gordon got pictures of St. John’s Wort, a wild rose with a simple petal arrangement, a rose was noted with what looked like an orange fungus. A Spittlebug's nest was observed as well as a large Common Eastern Bumble Bee on a Purple Vetch. There was a discussion of some new growth in front of an established Balsam Poplar. Some apps named it a Cottonwood. Gordon believes it was a new growth of the Balsam Poplar, noting that Cottonwood has a highly toothed pattern on its leaves.

Gordon has been hosting a family of Eastern Phoebe birds in his back yard, and Thursday for the first time the nestlings showed themselves. It looks like possibly three chicks in the nest and very close to fledging.

**Jane LeBlanc was out on her bicycle early Thursday morning and captured a pleasant photo of a Chestnut-sided Warbler singing on top of a Tamarack tree.

**Lynda LeClerc had a immature male Common Whitetail Dragonfly on Thursday, resting on the exposed deck that Lynda and her husband were working on. It was enjoying the evening sun.

**Brian Stone sends a few photos from an outing on the Portobello Trail, a short extension of the Lake Charles Trail, in Dartmouth on Sunday, the 19th. A Dot-tailed Whiteface Dragonfly and the Four-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly were photographed. A Wooly Bear Caterpillar, larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth clung to a stem showing off its rusty and black colours. Several Hobomok Skipper Butterflies flitted along the way and Canada Geese were guarding their scruffy "teenage" goslings in the small pond beside the trail. a swampy section of the path contained a few Green Frogs, and a Pink Lady's Slipper Orchid was blooming nearby in a drier spot. In a sure sign of the approaching summer the Pine Trees were sporting new groups of young Cones at the ends of their branches.

**On Tuesday, the 21st, Brian Stone stopped by Eastern Passage and spent some time trying to get photos of a small group of approximately a dozen Common Terns that were diving for fish in the waters just off the new Fisherman’s Cove boardwalk. As Brian watched them diving and coming up with some small fish, a pair of female Common Eider Ducks swam near and were photographed along with the terns. a couple of gulls came close enough to tempt the camera and managed to get their photos taken also.

Further up along the Shore Rd., near the end and close to the shore, Brian got photos of a pair of small Northern Blue Butterflies that were interacting and occasionally perching on a trail there. (Editor’s note: this butterfly is more common in Nova Scotia than New Brunswick. One to watch for in NB) These were a first for Brian who likes seeing new butterflies as much as new birds.

**It’s Friday and time to review what next week’s night sky will be in view on clear nights courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 June 25 – July 2
Arrows are used in signs as pointers to direct us to notable sites. As the Summer Triangle of the bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair rise high in late evening, the tiny constellation of Sagitta the Arrow can direct us to a few interesting binocular objects. Sagitta is a compact arrow situated halfway between Altair and Albireo, which form the heads of Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan. Albireo itself is an interesting binocular object, being revealed as two colourful stars.

Looking under the shaft of the arrow with binoculars you might notice a hazy patch of stars called M71, which is a globular cluster containing more than 10,000 stars. As globular clusters go it is younger than most and relatively small. Half a binocular field above the arrowhead is ghostly M27, the Dumbbell Nebula. This is a planetary nebula; gases emitted from a Sun-sized star as its nuclear fuel was running out. The star collapsed into a hot, dense Earth-sized star called a white dwarf, and the ultraviolet radiation emitted from it causes the gases to glow. In older photographs of M27 its bipolar shape resembled a dumbbell. About a binocular width to the upper right of the arrow’s fletching is an asterism called the Coathanger, a favourite treat for closet astronomers.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:29 am and sunset will occur at 9:14 pm, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:37 am and 9:16 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:32 am and set at 9:13 pm, giving 15 hours, 41 minutes of daylight (5:40 am and 9:15 pm in Saint John).

The Moon completes its planetary line-up tour this week, with the slim waning crescent visiting Venus on Sunday and Mercury on Monday before disappearing on Tuesday. Don’t worry about the disappearance, it’s just a new phase it’s going through. Try the binocular challenge of spotting the razor-thin crescent in the west-northwest after sunset on Wednesday when it is less than a day old. The planets continue to increase their spatial distancing over the week.

On Sunday evening at 8 pm, tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show via the Facebook page or YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay.

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