Nature Moncton Nature News: July 21 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 21, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Great to hear that Monarch Butterflies are finally arriving.

Yolande LeBlanc in Memramcook had her first one arrive at Swamp Milkweed this week. She was not able to determine the gender, but it was a Monarch!

Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins had 3 Monarch Butterflies in her yard Thursday. Two were males, one female, and the female was laying eggs.

Jane also took a look in her pond and noticed quite a difference between the Green Frog tadpoles and those of the Yellow-spotted Salamander nymphs. She got nice photos even though light conditions were difficult.

**Louise Nichols was standing on their back deck when she heard the sound of crossbills. Two birds landed high up in a Tamarack tree. One of the birds began feeding on a cone and was hard to see as it was largely hidden behind a branch. The second bird rested at the top of the tree, where Louise could view it and take a couple of photos. The sound of the birds and the lack of wing bars pointed to Red Crossbill rather than White-winged Crossbill. The bird at the tree top was a dull brownish colour with a yellow rump, looking like possibly an immature female. Louise has noticed a few flocks of crossbills flying over their woods in recent weeks, and she's hoping that the cone crop will be more attractive to them this year.

Louise points out that she stands to be corrected on the crossbill species in the photos. Crossbills can nest at any time of year if the food supply is adequate which makes juvenile birds a possibility any time of year.

**Gordon Rattray joined other walkers on the Nature Moncton walk on Wednesday on the Ogden Trail near Sackville. Gordon observed a wide variety of plant life that included the following:

Aminata mushrooms, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Black Knapweed, Fleabane, Ghost Pipe – with some taking on pink shade as they were ready to drop seeds, two clovers -Hop and Rabbit’s-foot, Lady Fern with its arched spore cases, Pineapple Weed, Red Trillium showing its seed pod, Round-leaved Pyrola, and Whorled Wood Aster.

**Brian Stone finished processing his photos from the Nature Moncton Wednesday Walk and sends a selection of the few that turned out well. The trail was heavily populated with many examples of the pale parasitic plant Ghost Pipe, and Red Trillium that was past blooming and growing a seed pod. Pink Lady's Slipper Orchid was also past blooming and just showing stem and leaves.

Many Ferns were at their peak along the trail, and Pearly Everlasting, False Solomon's Seal, and Pyrola were also noted. Some Fungus and Mushrooms were happy in the damp forest environment, and Chanterelle Mushrooms were in numbers to tempt foragers. Several Frogs were attempting to hide their identity by submerging most of their bodies, and a Meadowhawk Dragonfly posed nicely on plants beside the decommissioned reservoir.

**It’s Friday, and the day we review what may appear to us in next week’s night sky courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023, July 22 – July 29
Stargazers prefer meridian observing because that is when we should have our best views of objects in a telescope or binoculars. The meridian is the imaginary line running from north to south, separating the sky into eastern and western hemispheres. When stars and planets cross the meridian they are at their highest, shining through a minimal thickness of atmosphere en route to our eyes. Unstable pockets of atmosphere will distort the light from stars and planets and blur the view, so a minimal atmosphere means less distortion. Astronomers use the term “seeing” to describe the steadiness of the atmosphere. Good seeing means steady air, and we can use higher magnification for observing details of the Moon and planets.

Around 10 pm this week, we have several prominent constellations near the meridian. Moving southward from the North Star, we have Ursa Minor or the Little Dipper. A small telescope with good seeing conditions will show the close companion star of Polaris, which is actually a triple star, although only two of them can be seen in a telescope. Heading southward, we pass through Draco the Dragon on our way to Hercules. The faintest of the four stars in the dragon’s head is an easy double star to resolve in binoculars. The globular cluster M92 is about halfway between the head and the Keystone asterism of Hercules, and don’t forget M13 along the western side of the Keystone.

Hercules goes head-to-head with Ophiuchus to its south, which contains several globular clusters itself. Ophiuchus stands on Scorpius, keeping the scorpion underfoot so it cannot fatally sting Orion again. Scorpius at the meridian is the best time to observe globular clusters M4 and M80, and open clusters M6 and M7.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:49 am, and sunset will occur at 9:00 pm, giving 15 hours and 11 minutes of daylight (5:57 am and 9:03 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 5:57 am and set at 8:53 pm, giving 14 hours, 56 minutes of daylight (6:05 am and 8:55 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is in first quarter on Tuesday, providing great views in a telescope all week. This weekend Mercury is a fist-width to the right of Venus, and by next Friday, it will be half that distance above Venus and very close to Regulus. Mars is upper left of Venus this weekend, setting 45 minutes later. By midweek Saturn rises around 10:30 pm, and Jupiter rises before 1 am. The minor South Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks next weekend.

Upcoming public observing includes one for the Perseid meteor shower at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John on August 11, and the Mount Carleton Star Party on the weekend of August 18-19.

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