Nature Moncton Nature News: June 7 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

June 7, 2024

Nature Moncton members, as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

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

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

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

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**Nature News will not be published this coming Saturday and Sunday morning as the editor and proofreader will be attending the Festival of Nature Weekend in Woodstock with many other New Brunswick naturalists.

** Louise Nichols looked out the front window on Wednesday to see a Red-eyed Vireo posing very nicely on their Azalea bush which is just a couple of feet away from the window. The bird did not see her, so Louise was able to get some close-up shots through the window. Another window moment occurred on Thursday morning when Louise woke up and saw a flock of birds (about seven) land in a spruce tree outside their bedroom window. The birds turned out to be Red Crossbills which visit their yard very occasionally. Louise got a documentary photo of one.

Louise also spotted a Cliff Swallow nest on an old building at the corner of Parson's Road and Jolicure Road. The nest was active with swallows flying to and from it, and possibly some small ones barely visible inside the hole.

**Jane LeBlanc was walking her dog in her woods, hearing a Beaver give its warning 'slap', but as she got closer, it came to the surface and she was able to snap a quick photo before it dove again. It has quite a dam built and she's hoping it survives, as others over the years have been washed out by heavy rain or snow melt.

**Last Saturday, Christine Lever noticed that a suspected female Beaverpond Baskettail dragonfly had apparently flown straight into a clean towel hanging on her washing line. It stayed in the same position for several hours, its body perpendicular to the towel, so she thought it might have become stuck in the terrycloth loops.

Her sister offered it a finger to rest on. It seemed very weak, hardly moving at all. She deposited it on a sedum to give it some support. It wasn't there when the pair of them checked on it the following morning. They hoped it recovered and flew away.

**Maureen Girvan recently took note of the Mallard duck and Canada goose families on guard and protecting their young at Moncton’s Centennial Park.

**Barbara Smith went for a morning walk on the Dobson Trail in Riverview on Wednesday with her husband and sister. They saw many spring wildflowers, including several Pink Lady's Slipper orchids, as well as some tall ferns stretching toward the light. When they crossed a footbridge, they were stopped by a tiny gatekeeper, a confident Red Squirrel who was not about to give up his spot on the handrail for any humans. Luckily, there were no Holy Grail "killer rabbit" moments, and he allowed the trio to pass peacefully while it continued eating its seeds.

**Tony Thomas leaves some very interesting comments about the Promethea Silkmoth photos on yesterday’s edition photographed in Québec. It is indeed uncommon in New Brunswick. The photos are rerun today so naturalists can watch for it due to their rarity in New Brunswick and records being important.

Tony first saw this moth about 30 years ago at North Lake, York Co. and since then it has turned up in Fredericton. He is not sure when he first saw it at his Fredericton home, probably 20 years ago.
They mate in the late afternoon (4 pm?). He had reared a female in his garage and as he was cutting the lawn in front of the open garage door, all of a sudden he noticed dozens of big moths flying around the open door - all Promethea moths. He opened her cage door, and she was mated with immediately.

(Editor’s note: an amazing scenario for a moth enthusiast/guru!)

**More on colourful big moths around at the moment:

Nelson Poirier had visits from some of that category with his regular patrons on Tuesday evening.

The big and beautiful Luna Moth was proudly morning-perched along with an equally big and beautiful Polyphemus Moth. Another smaller guest was the Blinded Sphinx moth which posed to show its threatening eye spots on the hind wing which are usually hidden when perched as per the first photograph.

The most special of all was the Wild Cherry Sphinx moth which Nelson had never had visit before. Tony Thomas confirmed its identity saying that it was common elsewhere in North America but rare in New Brunswick.

**Richard Blacquiere found some items of interest on his walk Thursday morning along the Hampton lagoons.

A few Turkey Vultures were taking advantage of the morning sun to dry off after rain in the night. The annual appearance of Hampton’s famous Snapping Turtle happened in the morning too. And, while Richard couldn’t get a decent photo, the Pied-billed Grebes have hatched.

**Brian Stone walked around the Hampton lagoon trail on Thursday and was alerted to the presence of a large Snapping Turtle that was out on the trail trying to dig into the hard dirt of the trail in an obvious attempt to lay eggs. Brian took some photos and stayed there for a while to try and see what would happen with the turtle.

When other trail walkers told Brian that there was a second area that a turtle had tried to dig a nest in further up on the trail, he went looking for it to see if it had been successful there. After checking that spot Brian returned to the place where the turtle was but it was gone, likely back into the long flooded ditch that paralleled the path. Hopefully, it will find the right spot to lay her eggs soon.

(Editor’s note: Brian’s photos nicely show the very long tail of this turtle and the carapace (top of shell) seemingly too small to enclose the body.)

**With Friday rolling around again, it’s our day to review what we may see in next week’s night sky with sky guru Curt Nason’s always interesting report.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 June 8 – June 15
Globular clusters are among the oldest and largest objects associated with our galaxy, being about 12 billion years old and containing tens to hundreds of thousands of stars packed into a compact sphere. There are more than 150 globulars orbiting in the halo of the Milky Way galaxy, and many more are known to be orbiting larger galaxies like M31 in Andromeda. Many can be seen in binoculars as a fuzzy patch of light, perhaps resembling those little white patches you see below bird feeders. A medium size telescope is able to resolve some of their stars. The larger globulars as seen from a dark location have been described as looking like granules of sugar against black velvet.

Summer is the season for observing globular clusters. M4 is just to the right of Antares in the constellation Scorpius and it is one of the closest globulars at 7000 light years. M13 in the Keystone of Hercules is relatively close at 25,000 light years. One that would outshine M13 if it were higher in our sky is M22, just left of the lid of the Teapot in Sagittarius. Another easy target is M3, located halfway between Arcturus and Cor Caroli, the brightest star in the small constellation Canes Venatici below the handle of the Big Dipper. Two other standouts are M92 in Hercules and M5 in Serpens.

From a dark sky, many dimmer globulars can be picked out in the region of Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. The concentration of globular clusters in this region of sky is not by accident, and it played a role in another lesson of humility for humanity. Harvard’s Harlow Shapley studied globular clusters a century ago and noticed that most were located around Sagittarius. If they were evenly distributed around the core of our galaxy, as believed, then the centre of the galaxy must lie in that direction. Just as Copernicus and Galileo demoted Earth from the centre of the solar system, Shapley showed that the Sun was not at the centre of the Milky Way.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:28 and sunset will occur at 9:08, giving 15 hours, 40 minutes of daylight (5:36 and 9:10 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:27 and set at 9:12, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:35 and 9:14 in Saint John).

The Moon is near Regulus in Leo on Tuesday morning and it is at first quarter on Friday. On Thursday after sunset, use a telescope to look for the Lunar X just inside the shadow line below centre. Saturn leads the morning planets, rising around 1:45 midweek and followed by Mars at 3:15 and Jupiter at 4:40, an hour before sunrise. Mercury is at superior conjunction on Friday, reappearing in the evening sky with Venus the following week.

The first RASC NB star party of the year occurs this Friday and Saturday, June 7-8, at Kouchibouguac National Park.

https://rascnb.ca/event/kouchibouguac-spring-star-fest/

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.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

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