** Brian Stone got a photo of a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] eaglet
at the Riverview Cemetery nest along Rte. 114 on Tuesday. Note how very dark it
is similar to the ones Penny Clarke took in McKee's Mills on Wednesday.
** Brian Stone and I did a mission to Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary on
Thursday. Lots of odes were flying but surprisingly little bird action. There
was an area with the largest concentrations of fish that we've ever seen, but we
could not be certain of the species, suspecting some different minnow species.
We moved on to the Tintamarre Wildlife area where more of the expected activity
was taking place with ducks, sparrows, warblers and wetland botany. A third
whirlwind stop at the Crooked Tree trail and the Ogden trail on the Walker Rd.
near Sackville gave us time to acquaint ourselves with the area. Over the day
some great nature encounters: a pair of MUSKRATS [Rat musqué] held our
attention for some time. They were travelling together which we don't often see
and were making an audible whimpering-like vocalization. Neither of us had ever
heard a muskrat vocalize before. It was great to see lots of BOBOLINKS [Goglu
des prés], and the BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] nest far off to the left
of the High Marsh Rd. covered bridge did have one eaglet head seen. The new
digital cameras are indeed amazing. We couldn't see the chick with binoculars,
but the 83X zoom produced the documentary photo added. The COMMON RAVENS'
[Grand Corbeau] nest at the High Marsh Rd. was completely fledged. The effects
of the heavy rains of a few days ago left streams where we never saw them
before. Brian's photos are not ready yet, so I will humbly add a few of my
own.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, June 27 – July 4 courtesy of
Curt Nason
Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, will be the most observed star over the next few weeks as Venus and Jupiter approach. It is one of four first magnitude stars (the 20 brightest) that lies within five degrees of the Sun’s path, which is called the ecliptic. Therefore, it can be occulted or covered by the Moon on occasion and have close conjunctions with the planets. The other three are Spica in Virgo, Antares in Scorpius, and Aldebaran in Taurus. Spica can be found low in the southwest an hour after sunset, while Antares is the orange star in the south to the lower left of Saturn. Aldebaran has been keeping Mercury company in the early morning sky.
Regulus, Antares and Aldebaran were also three of the four Royal Stars of ancient Persia and, later, Egypt. The fourth was Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinis the Southern Fish. This constellation sits just below Aquarius in a region where bright stars are scarce, which has prompted the star’s nickname “The Lonely (or Solitary) One.” This week Fomalhaut rises around 2 am. The four Royal Stars were guardians of the sky in the four cardinal directions and they were also associated with the equinoxes and solstices. Millennia ago, the Sun was relatively near Aldebaran in early spring, Regulus in summer, Antares in autumn and Fomalhaut in winter.
The brightest star in the sky for this time of year, Arcturus, is at its highest at sunset. It precedes almost equally bright Vega, which anchors the Summer Triangle with Deneb in Cygnus the Swan and Altair in Aquila the Eagle. Vega reaches its highest point about half an hour before Fomalhaut rises. These two stars are the same distance from us, at 25 light years. A light year is 9.5 trillion kilometres (nearly 6 trillion miles).
This Week in the Solar System
Today sunrise in Moncton was at 5:30 am and sunset will occur at 9:15 pm, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:34 am and set at 9:13, giving 15 hours, 39 minutes of daylight.
The Moon passes just below Saturn Sunday evening. The first Full Moon of summer, called the Thunder Moon or Hay Moon, will provide an appropriate backdrop to fireworks on Wednesday, July 1.
Mercury rises about 75 minutes before the Sun and doubles its brightness this week.
This is an eye-catching week for Venus and Jupiter, as Venus slides less than a Moon-width below Jupiter on Tuesday, June 30. Their discs will appear to be the same size in a spotting scope, with Venus in a fat crescent phase, although Jupiter is actually almost 12 times wider.
Mars is very low in the east at sunrise, too close to the Sun to be visible.
Saturn is highest in the sky and best for observing during late evening. Its rings are at their best viewing in a decade so give them a try with your spotting scope, and look for its brightest moon Titan nearby.
Attachment: A panoramic view in morning twilight, when the sky is actually too bright to see these stars.
Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, will be the most observed star over the next few weeks as Venus and Jupiter approach. It is one of four first magnitude stars (the 20 brightest) that lies within five degrees of the Sun’s path, which is called the ecliptic. Therefore, it can be occulted or covered by the Moon on occasion and have close conjunctions with the planets. The other three are Spica in Virgo, Antares in Scorpius, and Aldebaran in Taurus. Spica can be found low in the southwest an hour after sunset, while Antares is the orange star in the south to the lower left of Saturn. Aldebaran has been keeping Mercury company in the early morning sky.
Regulus, Antares and Aldebaran were also three of the four Royal Stars of ancient Persia and, later, Egypt. The fourth was Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinis the Southern Fish. This constellation sits just below Aquarius in a region where bright stars are scarce, which has prompted the star’s nickname “The Lonely (or Solitary) One.” This week Fomalhaut rises around 2 am. The four Royal Stars were guardians of the sky in the four cardinal directions and they were also associated with the equinoxes and solstices. Millennia ago, the Sun was relatively near Aldebaran in early spring, Regulus in summer, Antares in autumn and Fomalhaut in winter.
The brightest star in the sky for this time of year, Arcturus, is at its highest at sunset. It precedes almost equally bright Vega, which anchors the Summer Triangle with Deneb in Cygnus the Swan and Altair in Aquila the Eagle. Vega reaches its highest point about half an hour before Fomalhaut rises. These two stars are the same distance from us, at 25 light years. A light year is 9.5 trillion kilometres (nearly 6 trillion miles).
This Week in the Solar System
Today sunrise in Moncton was at 5:30 am and sunset will occur at 9:15 pm, giving 15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:34 am and set at 9:13, giving 15 hours, 39 minutes of daylight.
The Moon passes just below Saturn Sunday evening. The first Full Moon of summer, called the Thunder Moon or Hay Moon, will provide an appropriate backdrop to fireworks on Wednesday, July 1.
Mercury rises about 75 minutes before the Sun and doubles its brightness this week.
This is an eye-catching week for Venus and Jupiter, as Venus slides less than a Moon-width below Jupiter on Tuesday, June 30. Their discs will appear to be the same size in a spotting scope, with Venus in a fat crescent phase, although Jupiter is actually almost 12 times wider.
Mars is very low in the east at sunrise, too close to the Sun to be visible.
Saturn is highest in the sky and best for observing during late evening. Its rings are at their best viewing in a decade so give them a try with your spotting scope, and look for its brightest moon Titan nearby.
Attachment: A panoramic view in morning twilight, when the sky is actually too bright to see these stars.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
BALD EAGLE EAGLET IN NEST. JUNE 23, 2015. BRIAN STONE
BOBOLINK.JUNE 25, 2015.NELSON POIRIER
HOBOMOK SKIPPER.JUNE 25, 2015.NELSON POIRIER
BALD EAGLE EAGLET.JUNE 25, 2015.NELSON POIRIER
