Nature Moncton Nature News: Sept 24 2015

**Another reminder of the Nature Moncton workshop on this coming Sunday afternoon is added at the end of today’s transcription. Workshop Coordinator Louise Nichols encourages interested folks to register promptly for planning purposes.

**Louise Nichols visited her assigned Shorebird [Oiseau de rivage] monitoring site on Wednesday morning at Ann’s Acres near Tormentine to find six Shorebird species there, but fewer in number than her previous visit. SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS [Pluvier semipalmé], SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER [Bécasseau semipalmé], LEAST SANDPIPER [Bécasseau minuscule], GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier, Petit Chevalier], and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS [Pluvier argenté] were present. A PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pèlerin] did fly in to flush all the Sandpipers, and Louise watched the Falcon chase a bird until both were out of sight. Louise shares a photo of a Black-Bellied Plover in its basic plumage from Ann’s Acres.

**Louise, Brian Stone, and I visited the Amherst wastewater treatment ponds briefly in the afternoon. A small number of Shorebirds were there, to include GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier, Petit Chevalier], PECTORAL SANDPIPERS [Bécasseau à poitrine cendrée], and a KILLDEER [Pluvier kildir]. A drop by the Sackville Waterfowl Park gave lots of Shorebirds, but all appeared to be Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Brian and I checked out the road from the High Marsh Road to the CBC towers to see three SHORT-EARED OWLS [Hibou des marais]; however, we timed our visit too late, into dusk, to get photographs, so I’m adding a photo that Louise Nichols got in June in the same area of a Short-Eared Owl in flight with prey.

**A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE [éclipse lunaire totale] will be happening this coming Sunday evening. Many will see it, as it is beginning at a very convenient time of 10 pm. The Mount Allison Observatory will be open to the public that night, if skies are clear. The notice is attached to this transcript.

There will be a special astronomy event this Sunday (weather permitting) at the Mount Allison Observatory. A total lunar eclipse will be visible from Sackville, and if the skies are clear, the telescopes will be open! The eclipse starts around 10pm, and reaches totality about 11:15. Everything will be back to normal by 1:30am. Please stop by and check out the view! If you're not sure about the weather, check http://www.mta.ca/gemini to see if the viewing is still on.

Catherine Lovekin
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Dunn 222
Mount Allison Universityclovekin@mta.ca
phone: (506) 364-2582
fax: (506) 364-2583

**Susan Richards also got a nice photo of a SOLAR HALO [Halo solaire] on Tuesday; however, her photo was taken at 9:45 am. Brian’s photo that day was taken at noon.

**The second AMERICAN LADY BUTTERFLY [Vanesse de Virginie] submitted in a week: Brian Stone had one visit his Moncton yard on Wednesday; it appeared to be quite worn. Also on Butterflies [Papillon]: Brian and I noted many CLOUDED SULPHUR Butterflies [Coliade du trèfle] on the wing on the Tantramar Marsh on Wednesday afternoon, which seemed very much on the wing most of the time; however, a mating pair cooperated for a photo.

The Fossils at Joggins

Workshop with Dr. Melissa Grey

Sunday September 27, 2015

The Joggins Fossil Institute is a not-for-profit charitable organization that manages the Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cliffs represent a time over 300 million years ago wherein club mosses could grow over 30m tall, dragonflies had a meter wing span, and millipedes were the size of humans! In this presentation, participants will learn about why the Joggins beach is such a special place and what the Institute does to foster earth history education and conservation.

Dr. Melissa Grey is a palaeontologist with a background in Biology and Zoology. She obtained her doctorate in Geological Sciences at the University of British Columbia, her Masters in Zoology from the University of Guelph and her Bachelors in Biology from Acadia University. She has lived and worked across Canada, but is happy to be back in her home province studying fossils.

Sunday September 27, 1:00 to 3:00 pm

Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr., Moncton

Registration with Judi Berry-Steeves at jbsteeve@nbnet.nb.ca or phone Judi at 387-4778.

$8 payable at the door.

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier