Nature Moncton Nature News: 2023-11-12

Friday, 17 November 2023

November 17 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

November 17, 2023

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 .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Elaine Gallant spotted a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on Parlee Beach Road on Thursday and was able to get some documentary photos.

(Editor’s note: there seems to be a lot of Blue-grey Gnatcatchers around this season. Is there really more than usual or more people watching?)

**Gordon Rattray had woodpecker activity at his home in Weldon on Thursday. The highlight was a visit from a Red-bellied Woodpecker. It has been several years since Gordon had a visit from this woodpecker. Also in his yard was a male Hairy Woodpecker and a female Downy Woodpecker. They were joined by a Dark-eyed Junco.

(Editor’s note: it is very pleasant to have this uncommon but regular winter visiting woodpecker, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, starting to appear. A very special patron!)

**Friday has arrived, and the day we peruse what next week’s night sky may hold for us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

The shortening days make for more observing time.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 November 18 – November 25
Stock market-minded astronomers could be inspired by looking to the northeast after twilight. On evenings in mid-May, Ursa Major the Great Bear is high overhead, dominating the sky. Taurus the Bull, meanwhile, sets early, and then we have several months of a bear market for stargazing. Later sunsets and extended twilight, with the compounded interest of daylight time, means sparse hours for viewing the summer night sky. Now that we are well beyond the autumnal equinox and have returned to standard time, early darkness reveals the Great Bear has reached bottom to the north after sunset, and the Celestial Bull is rising in the east. We are entering the bull market phase of stargazing.

Although we lose the globular clusters and nebulae that abound within the Milky Way areas of Scorpius, Ophiuchus and Sagittarius, we can still observe the summer treasures near Lyra and Cygnus before they set. The autumn constellations of Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Perseus are peaking in mid-evening, ceding their reign to the bright stars and open clusters of winter’s Taurus, Orion and his dogs, Auriga and Gemini by midnight. Early risers can start on the springtime galaxies in Leo and Virgo before morning twilight. For stargazers, as the carol goes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Invest some time in observing the night sky.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:23 and sunset will occur at 4:44, giving 9 hours, 21 minutes of daylight (7:26 and 4:51 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:33 and set at 4:38, giving 9 hours, 5 minutes of daylight (7:35 and 4:46 in Saint John).

The Moon is at first quarter on Monday, passing below Saturn this weekend and appearing near Jupiter next Friday. On that Friday evening telescope users might see the shadow of Jupiter’s giant moon Ganymede cross its clouds between 10:06 and 11:47 pm, with the bonus of a Red Spot transit during that time. By next weekend Mercury will be setting 50 minutes after sunset, but December will bring better opportunities to spot it. Morning people can watch Venus move slowly eastward through Virgo this week, approaching the bright star Spica. The Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend, providing a few extra shooting stars for our viewing pleasure. In another decade there should be a notable increase in Leonids activity for a few years, after its parent comet rounds the Sun.

The Sunday Night Astronomy Show from Saint John and Hampton airs at 8 pm Sunday on the Facebook page and YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay.

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

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. NOV 16, 2023. ELAINE GALLANT

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER , NOV 16, 2023. GORDON RATTRAY

HAIRY WOODPECKER (MALE), NOV 16, 2023. GORDON RATTRAY

DOWNY WOODPECKER (FEMALE), NOV 16, 2023. GORDON RATTRAY

DARK-EYED JUNCO, NOV 16, 2023. GORDON RATTRAY

Bear_Bull

Thursday, 16 November 2023

November 16 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

November 16, 2023

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 .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Louise Nichols stopped by the Sackville Retention Pond briefly Wednesday to note a group of Mallard Ducks who decided they wanted to be 'diving ducks'. They dove repeatedly, seemingly foraging under the water because they frequently appeared to be nibbling on food when they came to the surface. They kept up this behaviour for quite some time and were still at it when Louise left. Take a look at the activity Louise saw at the video link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bckea8t0p3e5l0py869lr/MALLARDS.-NOV.-15-2023.-LOUISE-NICHOLS.MP4?rlkey=lbzjso5dm31vh3pxm4o5ar4tq&dl=0

**Three Snow Buntings greeted Aldo Dorio on his regular morning visit to Hay Island on Thursday morning.

**Norbert Dupuis comments he is lucky to live in Memramcook East and sends photos from October 31st, after the first snowfall from his home across the Memramcook Valley. Idyllic and magical with accents from fall Tamarack trees!

Norbert shares the story behind the Northern Cardinals. November 7th, 2022, was a very special day for him. As he looked outside, there it was, a beautiful male Northern Cardinal perching in his yard flowering crab tree! It stayed there a good part of the afternoon but never came back. Norbert comments he was lucky that his friends Yolande and Eudore LeBlanc graciously accepted his dozens of visits, sitting for hours trying to take a photo of a female cardinal. He enjoyed taking many photos of the juvenile but not the mature. November 9th, 2023, is the day he will never forget. Norbert looked outside, and there it was, accompanied by the male. Two females have been in his yard for 6 consecutive days, and it is such a pleasure to see their expressions and movements.

Cedar waxwings and an American Robin have been foraging on his Mountain Ash crop since early November.

Norbert also shares a photo of an immature Cooper’s Hawk he photographed last year at Yolande and Eudore’s yard in Memramcook.

(Editor’s note: this is a raptor species doing well to the south of us and continually expanding its range into New Brunswick.)

**On Wednesday, Brian Stone got ambitious and toured the coastline from Cap Lumiere to Petit Cap and checked all the wharves and viewing spots along the way. He only missed the Cap Brule lagoons as he needed a scope. There were no large numbers of seabirds at any spot, but a few did show up for the camera at several stops.

At Cap Lumiere, Brian photographed male and female Long-tailed Ducks and female Common Eider Ducks. At the St. Edouard wharf, he got close-ups of a Red-throated Loon that was feeding in the enclosed area and a Ring-billed Gull that was perching on a post.

At Pointe-du-Chene wharf, Brian saw a small group of scruffy-looking female Red-breasted Merganser Ducks and a really large group of Gulls resting on the rock wall.

At Rue Niles wharf, the large group of Sanderlings was still present, but only one Bonaparte's Gull remained and was standing on the rocks beside the wharf.

At the Petit Cap wharf, Brian noted 4 Horned Grebes quite far out and got a long-distance photo of one.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE) (TO CRABAPPLE). NOV , 2023. NORBERT DUPUIS

CEDAR WAXWINGS (JUVENILES) (TO MOUNTAIN ASH BERRIES). NOV, 2023. NORBERT DUPUIS

AMERICAN ROBIN (TO MOUNTAIN ASH BERRIES). NOV, 2023. NORBERT DUPUIS

COOPER'S HAWK (IMMATURE). NORBERT DUPUIS

HORNED GREBE. NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

LONG-TAILED DUCK (ADULT MALE). NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

LONG-TAILED DUCK (FEMALE). NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

LONG-TAILED DUCK (JUVENILE MALE). NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

RED-THROATED LOON. NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

SNOW BUNTINGS. NOV 16, 2023. ALDO DORIO

RING-BILLED GULL (WINTER ADULT). NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

GULLS. NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

COMMON EIDER (FEMALE). NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

BONAPARTE'S GULL (WINTER ADULT). NOV. 15, 2023. BRIAN STONE

MEMRAMCOOK AFTER 1st SNOWFALL, OCT 31, 2023. NORBERT DUPUIS

Wednesday, 15 November 2023

November 15 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

November 15, 2023

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 .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins is thrilled that on Monday, she had two pairs of Northern Cardinals in her yard. A first for sure!

Also, this week, she had two pairs of Evening grosbeaks for a day, Common Grackles, a Red-winged Blackbird, and on Tuesday, not one but two Fox Sparrows. The Sparrows were the only ones to be photographed. Also, last Sunday, on the way to pick Jane up to go birding, Judith Ives spotted a Spruce Grouse on Jane's driveway. This is a first, as Jane is sure the only place she has seen a Spruce grouse was in Algonquin Park.

(Editor's note: this and spring are normally the only times of year we get to see Fox sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows when they pop by our feeders for refueling on their southerly/northerly migration from/for breeding grounds to the north of us.)

** This past Sunday morning, while out to his trail cameras near a Beaver pond, Brian Coyle came upon a very fresh buck (male) White-tailed Deer scrape.

(Editor’s note: the scrape marking of the male White-tailed Deer is an important part of the mating ritual of the species. The male will usually choose some overhead bushes in which to rub his antlers, then makes scrape marks with his hooves under it and then scent mark it with urine. If a female checks it out, she will in turn scent mark it with urine as her stamp of approval. The male checks his scrape frequently for that stamp of approval!)

**Aldo Dorio submits a photo of a freshly built Muskrat lodge for winter use at Hay Island. Note the Muskrat lodge is constructed using plant material, whereas a Beaver lodge would be constructed of sticks and mud.

Aldo continues to see shorebirds present at Hay Island, including Dunlin and Black-bellied Plover.

** On Tuesday afternoon, Brian Stone checked out Mapleton Park but found only a few Mallard Ducks, a small group of Black-capped Chickadees, 4 Blue Jays, 3 American Goldfinch, and he heard one Pileated Woodpecker. One bird that cooperated for a photo was a male Downy Woodpecker that hopped from branch to branch in a low area beside the trail. Brian also noticed that Hall's Creek at the Gorge Rd. end in the park had been dammed up in a new spot by some busy beavers, and he sends some photos of the new Beaver Dam and large Lodge.

Brian also photographed some Oyster Mushrooms suffering from severe frostbite!

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton