** Stella LeBlanc captured a nice photo of a female BELTED KINGFISHER
[Martin-pêcheur d'Amérique] with its lunch in its beak on Thursday. It was
taken near the river close to the Saint Thomas wharf.
** Dave Christie has had a male PINE WARBLER [Paruline des pins] arrive to
his Mary's Point feeder yard on Wednesday and it continues to drop by as of
Friday morning. It's joining PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins] and AMERICAN
GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] . At first it seemed to favour dropping to the
ground, appearing to be picking out sunflower chips dropped by birds as they
were cracking the seeds. Dave comments he often gets one Pine Warbler per year
drop by his feeders, but not usually more than that.
** Dave checked his yard pond during the day for amphibian activity on
Thursday. It is lively with SPRING PEEPERS [Rainette crucifère] at night. He
found a preyed-upon YELLOW-SPOTTED SALAMANDER [Salamandre maculée] at the pond's
edge where the head had been removed.
** Dave checked the CANADA GOOSE [Bernache du Canada] nest that has been so
obvious in the Lars Larson marsh on Thursday to find it empty, so either a new
clutch of Canada Geese are in the area or predation has occurred. He'll be
checking that on Friday.
** Mike Antle comments that they as well were treated to 8 to 10 active
WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] at their Maquapit Lake cottage
last weekend. Only occasional vocalizations of incomplete songs were heard.
Mike comments he returned briefly on Tuesday to note no White-throated
Sparrows; however, PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins] had arrived to their feeders.
They have 5 woodpecker species around the cottage now that the NORTHERN FLICKERS
[Pic flamboyant] and the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS [Pic macule] have arrived
back.
** A concerning scenario came up recently with the use of a drone to hover
it over an OSPREY [Balbuzard pêcheur] nest in Barachois. An individual stopped
when he saw what was going on to express concern and got a very negative
response. I checked with Maureen Tonner with DNR. Her return comment was
"harassing and disturbing wildlife is against the law, written in the Fish and
Wildlife Act." Given the location of the incident, she suggested to phone the
Dieppe DNR office at 836-2344. They may send you to Public Safety, but start
with the Dieppe office.
** It is a busy time of year so important to jot events on the calendar. A
heads-up on a Nature Moncton Workshop on Pond Life on Saturday afternoon, May
14, is attached today so you can plan to reserve a seat. Presenter Wayne
Fairchild is an excellent presenter who knows this subject very well, and you
can expect this workshop to be an excellent presentation to show what may be in
ponds in the spring that we may not see without a bit of sleuthing. They can be
very lively spots of life. The write-up for this is attached below.
From Skimmers to Bottom Feeders: A Look at Pond
Life
Workshop with Wayne
Fairchild
Saturday May 14,
2016
Ever wonder what’s hiding in that pond
beside the road? Let’s have a look at
what appears when you have a closer look at the lives and habits and hiding
places of the creatures that make up pond life.
Grab a tray and do a little searching and bug picking, and help turn what
you have observed and collected into some visual scientific results. This is a hands-on activity with some
guidance on how and what to look for, to find members of a group of our
lesser-known fresh water friends, the aquatic
invertebrates.
Saturday May 14, 1:00
to 4:00 pm
Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr.
Registration with Judi Berry-Steeves at
jbsteeve@nbnet.nb.ca or phone Judi at
387-4778.
Cost of workshop is $8
payable at the door . All are welcome,
Nature Moncton member or not.
** This week's Sky-at-a-Glance is attached to this transcription, courtesy
of Curt Nason.
This Week’s
Sky at a Glance, May 7 – May 14
International Astronomy Day is the Saturday nearest the first quarter
Moon between mid-April and mid-May, and this year that falls on May 14.
Astronomy clubs worldwide make extra efforts to “bring astronomy to the
people,” which is the slogan for the day. This is achieved in many ways,
including setting up telescopes in places where people are often found
(sidewalk observing), visits to schools, mall exhibits and public
observing in parks. The Moon is most accessible and most spectacular in
a telescope near first quarter, hence the timing of Astronomy Day.
This year we are fortunate to have a rare astronomical event to kick off
Astronomy Week, which runs May 9 – 15. On Monday, from 8:13 am to 3:41
pm, Mercury can be seen crossing the face of the Sun with a properly
filtered telescope. Mercury transits, as they are called, occur only 13
or 14 times a century, and of those the Sun might not be up in New
Brunswick or it might be cloudy. Although Mercury passes between Earth
and the Sun approximately every 116 days, it is usually above or below
the Sun in our sky because its orbit is tilted to ours by 7 degrees. It
is only when Mercury reaches inferior conjunction within a few days of
May 8 or November 10, when the two orbits line up with the Sun, that we
see a transit. Mercury will be a tiny, sharply defined black circle
moving slowly across the Sun.
Members of RASC NB, the provincial astronomy club, are planning public
observing events for the Mercury transit and throughout Astronomy Week.
On Monday, look for safely-filtered telescopes set up at Brookside Mall
and Hanwell Community Church in the Fredericton area, at a supermarket
in Oromocto, and at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John. Solar and
evening observing will be offered all week at Brookside Mall as well as
an indoor exhibit there on Astronomy Day. Public observing is planned
for 9 – 11 pm at the Rockwood Park Bark Park in Saint John on Astronomy
Day. Of course, all observing events are weather permitting.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:56 am and sunset will occur at
8:36 pm, giving 14 hours, 40 minutes of daylight (6:04 am and 8:39 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:47 am and set at 8:44
pm, giving 14 hours, 57 minutes of daylight (5:55 am and 8:47 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is new on the afternoon of May 6, less than 16 hours after
perigee, so expect unusually high tides this weekend. It is at first
quarter on Friday 13; no werewolves to worry about but watch out for
goalies with blades but no skates. Jupiter is at its best in late
twilight this week, being at its highest and having a brightened sky to
reduce glare in a scope. Look for its Great Red Spot around 10 pm on
Monday, and watch its largest moon Ganymede slowly reappear from in
front of the planet at 11:10 on Thursday. Mars rises around 10 pm this
weekend and is brightening as it nears its opposition on May 22, but a
moderately-sized telescope and a steady sky are needed to see surface
detail or its polar ice caps. Ever beautiful Saturn rises about 35
minutes after Mars.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets at 7 pm on May 7 in the Rockwood
Park Interpretation Centre. The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in Room
203 of the UNB Forestry / Earth Sciences Building on Tuesday at 7 pm.
All are welcome. There are still openings for an astronomy workshop at
the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre from 9:30 am to 4 pm on May 14.
Please register via the email below. For more information see http://saintjohnnaturalistsclub.org/programs.htm.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
International Astronomy Day is the Saturday nearest the first quarter
Moon between mid-April and mid-May, and this year that falls on May 14.
Astronomy clubs worldwide make extra efforts to “bring astronomy to the
people,” which is the slogan for the day. This is achieved in many ways,
including setting up telescopes in places where people are often found
(sidewalk observing), visits to schools, mall exhibits and public
observing in parks. The Moon is most accessible and most spectacular in
a telescope near first quarter, hence the timing of Astronomy Day.
This year we are fortunate to have a rare astronomical event to kick off
Astronomy Week, which runs May 9 – 15. On Monday, from 8:13 am to 3:41
pm, Mercury can be seen crossing the face of the Sun with a properly
filtered telescope. Mercury transits, as they are called, occur only 13
or 14 times a century, and of those the Sun might not be up in New
Brunswick or it might be cloudy. Although Mercury passes between Earth
and the Sun approximately every 116 days, it is usually above or below
the Sun in our sky because its orbit is tilted to ours by 7 degrees. It
is only when Mercury reaches inferior conjunction within a few days of
May 8 or November 10, when the two orbits line up with the Sun, that we
see a transit. Mercury will be a tiny, sharply defined black circle
moving slowly across the Sun.
Members of RASC NB, the provincial astronomy club, are planning public
observing events for the Mercury transit and throughout Astronomy Week.
On Monday, look for safely-filtered telescopes set up at Brookside Mall
and Hanwell Community Church in the Fredericton area, at a supermarket
in Oromocto, and at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John. Solar and
evening observing will be offered all week at Brookside Mall as well as
an indoor exhibit there on Astronomy Day. Public observing is planned
for 9 – 11 pm at the Rockwood Park Bark Park in Saint John on Astronomy
Day. Of course, all observing events are weather permitting.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:56 am and sunset will occur at
8:36 pm, giving 14 hours, 40 minutes of daylight (6:04 am and 8:39 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:47 am and set at 8:44
pm, giving 14 hours, 57 minutes of daylight (5:55 am and 8:47 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is new on the afternoon of May 6, less than 16 hours after
perigee, so expect unusually high tides this weekend. It is at first
quarter on Friday 13; no werewolves to worry about but watch out for
goalies with blades but no skates. Jupiter is at its best in late
twilight this week, being at its highest and having a brightened sky to
reduce glare in a scope. Look for its Great Red Spot around 10 pm on
Monday, and watch its largest moon Ganymede slowly reappear from in
front of the planet at 11:10 on Thursday. Mars rises around 10 pm this
weekend and is brightening as it nears its opposition on May 22, but a
moderately-sized telescope and a steady sky are needed to see surface
detail or its polar ice caps. Ever beautiful Saturn rises about 35
minutes after Mars.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets at 7 pm on May 7 in the Rockwood
Park Interpretation Centre. The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in Room
203 of the UNB Forestry / Earth Sciences Building on Tuesday at 7 pm.
All are welcome. There are still openings for an astronomy workshop at
the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre from 9:30 am to 4 pm on May 14.
Please register via the email below. For more information see http://saintjohnnaturalistsclub.org/programs.htm.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
BELTED KINGFISHER (FEMALE) MAY 5,2016.STELLA LEBLANC
