Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 19 2022

August 19, 2022 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Deana and Peter Gadd did some birding on PEI Thursday. They were able to observe the Gray Heron at Covehead. Photos didn’t turn out well but they saw it quite clearly through the spotting scope. It was hanging out with 10 or so Great Blue Heron in the marsh grass. (Editor’s note: keep an eye out New Brunswickers. Several flaps and a glide will bring it to New Brunswick!)

They also saw about 6 Great Cormorants at Orby Head in the PEI National Park with a much larger cluster of Double-crested Cormorants. The first photo shows a comparison. In the second photo, 2 young Double-crested Cormorants are trying to encourage a parent to provide food. They seemed to be rubbing its neck a bit.

**John Massey captured a photo of the White Admiral Butterfly nectaring at a hummingbird feeder. This is a scenario we seldom see. It would make one wonder why. The butterfly in John’s photo is obviously enjoying the booty!

**Lisa Morris sends a photo of a spider tending his web. We tend to think of some birds' nests as very intricate but the spider may take the real prize for the intricate structure they are able to so rapidly produce from their already programmed on board computer.

**Fred Dube’s photos of the Eastern Bluebird nest were accidentally not placed in the photo lineup yesterday. They are added today showing the significant pine needle component of the nest architecture.

**Brian Stone sends the last of his photos taken at Perth, Ontario in the last week of July and the first week of August. He sends butterfly pictures including Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly, Common Wood-nymph Butterfly, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Northern Pearly Eye Butterfly, and a Monarch Butterfly with Monarch Caterpillars from the garden. Skipper butterflies include Dun Skipper Butterfly and Broad- winged Skipper Butterfly.

Several moths were also seen, along with a Canada Darner Dragonfly and many Meadowhawk Dragonflies. Painted Turtles at the big pond were too far off for decent pictures and another photo of the Great Blue Heron Nests is shared. Other natural beauties photographed were Green Frogs, Leopard Frogs, Snowshoe Hare, a Chipmunk, and a close up of some Honeybees at their hive. Plants photographed (and named by Brian's phone, so lots of room for corrections) include Bladderwort, Blue Vervain, Broadleaf Arrowhead in flower, Monkey Flower, Pond Lily Flowers, Sulphur Cinquefoil, Wood Sorrel, and Common Mullein.

**It’s Friday already in time to take a look at what next week’s night sky may have in store for us to enjoy courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason:

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 August 20 – August 27
The signs of autumn appear in the sky before they become readily apparent terrestrially. As darkness settles the great mama bear, Ursa Major, scampers across the northern horizon in search of food and lodging for winter. If you live in a rural area with an excellent view to the north you might even catch a glimpse of Lynx running ahead of the bear, and consider yourself fortunate if you do. The thicker layer of atmosphere at low altitudes reduces the brightness of starlight, a phenomenon called extinction. The lynx may become extinct for a few hours.

The bowl of the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) is upside down in early evening, pouring out its contents to fill the Big Dipper below, at the rear of Ursa Major. This scenario is at odds with Greek mythology, for the bears were cursed to eternal thirst by the goddess Hera in revenge for an indiscretion of her husband, Zeus. She placed the bears in a position where they never reach the horizon for a drink. Perhaps Zeus placed dippers of water inside the bears so that they could share water and survive. Someone has to make these stories up.

To the east Pegasus is already quite high after twilight, with its signature square asterism tilted as a diamond for the imminent baseball pennant stretch. Perseus stands above the northeast horizon below his in-laws, W-shaped Cassiopeia and house-shaped Cepheus, while their daughter Andromeda leads him toward the flying horse. There is much to see in this area with binoculars but start with the Double Cluster of stars between Perseus and Cassiopeia, and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:24 am and sunset will occur at 8:19 pm, giving 13 hours, 55 minutes of daylight (6:31 am and 8:22 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:33 am and set at 8:06 pm, giving 13 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (6:39 am and 8:10 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is just past third quarter this weekend and it is new next Saturday. Early risers can watch it over the week around 5:30 am as it passes through the bright stars of the Winter Circlet, enhanced with Mars and the Pleiades above Aldebaran, and Venus above the east-northeastern horizon. Saturn is now rising before sunset with Jupiter joining it before 10 pm. Mercury’s low altitude makes it a challenge to detect even with binoculars, setting 45 - 50 minutes after sundown, but this week is a good time to try as it reaches greatest elongation from the Sun next Saturday.

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.