Nature Moncton Nature News: April 5 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 4, 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 the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com 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

** Riverfront Trail and Nest Box Cleaning Outing

Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 9:45 AM

Press Club parking lot, 160 Assomption Blvd

Leader: Fred Richards

We are inviting you to join us for a walk along the Riverfront trail in Moncton. Weather permitting, the event will take place on April 6, 2024 starting at 10:00 a.m. The trail is well maintained and is easy walking with only a couple of hills. It will be about 3 kilometers one way but we will park at both ends so we do not need to walk back. Last year we were quite impressed with the number of interesting things we saw and expect this year to be no different.

Last April, Nature Moncton installed 25 nesting boxes along the Riverfront trail and now these boxes will need to be inspected and cleaned out. We will be doing this as we go along. Footwear will be weather dependent but if you are planning to assist with the nest boxes you will want it to be waterproof.

We will meet at the Press Club parking lot, 160 Assomption Blvd, Moncton, at 9:45 am. We will take a few minutes before the walk to coordinate our efforts. All ages are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not. We hope to see you there!

Also the BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS event will be taking place in the Harvey Hall in Harvey Albert County on Saturday, April 6 running from 10 AM-3 PM with Nature Moncton operating a booth there with other groups. The itinerary includes 3 presentations:

11:00 AM – Denis Doucet on Dragonflies and Damselflies

12:00 noon – Atlantic Wildlife Institute

1:30 PM – Denis Doucet on Shorebirds

Special lunch and Deviled Egg contest on as well.

**A Nature Moncton Facebook follower, Madeleine Raiche, was watching the nest cam and witnessed the female Peregrine Falcon laying the second egg at approximately 5:04 pm on April 4, 2024. We are grateful that Madeleine shared this news and a screenshot with the Facebook page.

**Fred Dube visited, cleaned out, and applied permethrin spray and diatomaceous earth to 20 Nature Moncton boxes on Wednesday with some interesting results.

Six boxes were checked in the large open field beside the former Cabela’s location. This open field should have been an ideal location for Tree Swallows

However, none of the boxes were occupied by birds whereas one was occupied by a Red Squirrel and another by a Paper Wasp nest (last season). Fred is thinking of relocating these to a different location.

Twelve nest boxes were checked within Mapleton Park.

Two were missing which Fred will replace shortly. One was not occupied and Fred is going to change the orientation of this box. Three were occupied by Tree Swallows. Six were occupied by Black-Capped Chickadees.

Two boxes were checked by the man-made pond on Hillsborough Road that are on utility poles. One was occupied by an Eastern Blue Bird pair and Fred has suspicions they had 2 broods at that site. Fred photographed the nest with one unhatched egg that shows the construction using pine needles which is very typical of the Eastern Bluebird.

**Member Michael Cybulski shares an interesting comment on the upcoming solar eclipse about to take place this coming Monday. Michael comments that he and his wife traveled in 2017 to the Carolinas to see totality and it was truly a life-moving amazing experience, so they look forward to hopefully witnessing it again!

**Many birdfeeder folk provide heated water sources for their patrons. Many of us were fooled by the sudden temperature drop as we had unplugged the heat source too early which resulted in freezing to the frustration of bird patrons in the morning. Bob Blake had that happen but was surprised at the ice formation that resulted as shown in Bob’s photograph.

**Brian Stone drove with Judy Cairns and Dale Pugh over Caledonia Mountain on Tuesday on a hunt for the elusive Boreal Chickadee ... which remained very elusive as it did not show up for its much-needed photos. Brian sends some consolation photos of a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a female Downy Woodpecker, and a close-up of a Honeybee on one of John Inman's crocus flowers.

**Brian Stone spent a couple of evenings under dark skies attempting to photograph the bright Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks near the planet Jupiter in the evening sky close to the horizon at sunset. Brian calls the comet bright because it is easily visible in binoculars and possibly barely visible to the unaided eye under the darkest and clearest conditions. But most people will need binoculars to view this cosmic visitor even though it is brighter than most comets which usually need a telescope to view. This comet could potentially be visible to observers during the totality portion of the eclipse on Monday if their eyes are keen and the clouds are not present. Brian's photos are the best he could achieve without proper astrophotography equipment, but good views of the properly photographed comet are available on the internet if people are interested.

**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 April 6 – April 13

I guess everyone knows what the topic is for this week. On Monday afternoon the central half of the province will be treated to a total eclipse of the Sun. The northern limit runs from just above Grand Falls to just below Bathurst; the southern limit runs from McAdam, to south of Oromocto and just north of most of Moncton; and the centre of the Moon’s shadow, where totality is longest at about 200 seconds, runs near Hartland, Doaktown and Rogersville. Totality time will decrease from the centreline toward the northern and southern limits. Areas outside of the limits will get a deep partial eclipse, about 99% covered.

Between about 3:24 and 4:34 pm the Moon will slide across the Sun from lower right to upper left. During this time the sky will darken, the temperature will drop by several degrees (be prepared) and the wind will likely get stronger. Toward the end of this phase notice how birds prepare for an early night. Seconds before the Moon covers the Sun completely, look for its shadow approaching from the west, the twinkling of sunlight between lunar mountains and craters (Baily’s beads), and the final flash of light known as the diamond ring effect.

During the brief totality we see the Sun’s pearly white corona surrounding the Moon, declared by many to be the most spectacular sight in Nature and probably the rarest. It has not occurred for Fredericton and Moncton in 11 centuries. Look for a 360-degree colourful twilight horizon, and for the brighter planets and stars to appear. Totality ends all too soon with the reappearance of the diamond ring and Baily’s beads, followed by 70 minutes of the partial phase in reverse.

Eclipse glasses have been given out to many residents of the province, and hopefully they will share with others. Use them for up to a couple of minutes at a time to check on the Moon’s passage across the Sun at all times during the partial phases of the eclipse. DO NOT use them to look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope; permanent eye damage will result. During the brief totality it is safe to watch without the eye protection; you won't see the corona or anything else with them on. Put them on as soon as the Sun reappears from behind the Moon.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:48 and sunset will occur at 7:55, giving 13 hours, 7 minutes of daylight (6:54 and 7:50 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:35 and set at 8:04, giving 13 hours, 29 minutes of daylight (6:41 and 8:08 in Saint John).

The Moon is below Saturn and Mars in twilight this Saturday morning, a nice challenge for binocular observers. It is new, of course, on Monday afternoon, briefly blocking the Sun to varying degrees around the province, and on Wednesday evening it is near Jupiter and Uranus. Mercury reaches inferior conjunction on Thursday, moving into the morning sky later in the month. Mars and Saturn get cozy late in the week, appearing side-by-side on Thursday morning. Venus is getting too close to the Sun for comfortable viewing as it crawls toward superior conjunction in early June. By the end of the week comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will be within a binocular view to the lower right of Jupiter and near maximum brightness. Uranus is also within a binocular view to Jupiter’s upper left.

The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry-Earth Sciences building on Tuesday at 7 pm. The next meeting of the Saint John Astronomy Club will be at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on April 13 at 7pm.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton