Nature Moncton Nature
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Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Louise and Glen Nichols spent
6 days in the area around St. John's, NFLD, last week. One highlight of
their outdoor adventures was Cape Spear, which they visited twice—once on a
calm morning and again just after a rain/windstorm, when the winds were still
high.
Louise noted some plants around the area suited to harsh alpine conditions and included a couple of photos, including black crowberry, bog bilberry, and a single hooded
ladies' tresses orchid.
She was also surprised to
see shorebirds on the rocks with the sea crashing around them -- sanderlings,
a ruddy turnstone, some semipalmated plovers and semipalmated
sandpipers, and a spotted sandpiper. Northern gannets were
actively diving, especially on the stormy day, and a few black-legged kittiwakes were
spotted flying by. Common Terns (some adults and juveniles)
were roosting on a rock, with a couple bringing in fish. Louise also included
a photo of the rocks and sea on a calm day and another on a stormier day.
She would definitely not want to be out in a boat when the waves were high!
**It’s caterpillar time
for many moth species, and we see them roaming about with thoughts of preparing
for winter in cozy cocoons, often made with the hairs (setae) on their bodies
Shannon Inman photographed the yellow
woolly bear caterpillar, the larva of the Virginian tiger moth we saw earlier in the summer. It can be quite variable in colour
and has several look-alikes.
Shannon also photographed
a few mushrooms, noting a king bolete and two species of our smaller
puffballs, the gem-studded puffball and the pear-shaped puffball.
**David Cannon writes “Anita
and David Cannon, regular readers of the Nature Moncton Nature News, saw
Wednesday's write-up regarding the darling underwing moth, with the
Editor's observation that it has a "beautiful flash of red and black on
its underwing". As we had a darling underwing moth rest on our bay
window much of Thursday, we took the opportunity to photograph both its top and underside, where we saw some of the coloring the Editor was promising.”
(Editor’s note: it is that
time of the year when several underwing moth species are on the wing in New
Brunswick on mating missions. Their markings are very subtle on the forewings,
but anyone lucky enough to see them in flight showing their brilliant hind
wings quickly sees how they got their name. This individual allowed only a
sneak peek, but putting the moth in a container and refrigerating it for a few hours will cause it to display its hind wings as it prepares to
take flight when released.)
**Brian Stone shares a few
older photos from last week that got lost in the shuffle ( a kind way of saying
they got left behind by a bout of apathy) from Wilson Marsh. Halloween
pennant dragonflies were still present, as well as band-winged
meadowhawk dragonflies and the regular meadowhawk dragonflies, some
of them seen to be mating.
Male and female bronze copper butterflies
were plentiful, and a common ringlet butterfly, a northern azure
butterfly, and a cabbage white butterfly also got the photo
treatment.
A bald eagle looked on from a high perch in a tall tree. At home, Brian's flowerpot still produces a steady stream of flowerpot parasol mushrooms with a white spore print.
**This Week’s Sky at a
Glance, 2026 September 12 – September 19
Salamanders aren’t the most noticeable of critters; you usually have to make an
effort to find one. This is a good time to locate the obscure constellation of
Lacerta the Lizard, but it will take some effort and a dark sky.
Camouflaged partly by the Milky Way, Lacerta is surrounded by Cepheus,
Cassiopeia, Pegasus and Cygnus. A good pointer to it is the base of the Summer
Triangle. Running a line from bright Vega to Deneb at the tail of Cygnus and
extending it about the same distance puts you near the zigzag shape of the
lizard. It is one of those dim constellations created in the late 17th century
by Johannes Hevelius to fill in an “empty” section of the sky. At first he
named it Stellio; a stellion being a newt with star-like spots found near the
Mediterranean Sea. If you manage to catch Lacerta, give yourself a pat on the
back and let it go.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:53 and sunset will occur at 7:36, giving
12 hours, 43 minutes of daylight (6:59 and 7:40 in Saint John). Next
Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:02 and set at 7:22, giving 12 hours, 20
minutes of daylight (7:07 and 7:27 in Saint John).
The Moon is near Venus on Monday evening, near Antares on Thursday, and it
is at first quarter on Friday. Mercury, the Moon, Spica and Venus are stretched
out low in the west to southwest after sunset this weekend, with Mercury
setting a half hour after the Sun and Venus an hour. Mercury’s motion over
the week will be horizontal toward Venus, a challenging target with binoculars.
Saturn rises an hour after sunset this weekend, becoming a prime star party
target in telescopes. Mars zips toward a scenic line-up with the celestial
Spartan twins Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Jupiter rises at 4 am this weekend,
shortly after scintillating Sirius well to its right, and they maintain the
same altitude all week. From rural areas the zodiacal light might be seen in
the east an hour or two before sunrise.
Mount Carleton Provincial Park hosts a special astronomy-themed Dark Sky
Experience weekend September 11-13. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in
the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre this Saturday at 7 pm. The RASC NB Fall
Star Fest takes place September 18-19 at Kouchibouguac National Park.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
