NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January 20, 2017 (Friday)
Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
To respond by e-mail, please address
your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.
** To keep us in mind that spring is
going to come, Mac Wilmot shares a photo of a NORTHERN PARULA [Paruline à collier] warbler that struck a window of his
home on May 17, 2016. He held it in his
hand for approximately 20 minutes. It
then flew off, seemingly unfazed to complete its summer mission.
** Brittany Crossman ventured over to
PEI recently to get more nice photos of the variety and sheer number of RED FOX [Renard roux] there.
One photo shows an apparent pair inside the c
City of Charlottetown where many are
living. Brittany saw a total of 19 foxes
in Charlottetown and in the PEI National Park on her visit.
** The Nature Moncton gull outing is
just over a week away and we’re hoping for a nice day to get to know our common
gulls in their teenage and adult plumages.
The write-up is added below. No
registration is required. Just show up
with your enthusiasm, ready to talk gull and maybe under the watchful eyes of
many Bald Eagles as well.
Nature Moncton Gull Field Trip with
Nelson Poirier and Roger Leblanc
January 28, 2017
Meet at 12:45 P.M. at the Waste
Management Facility
The gull is
a very common bird -- in fact so common, we may tend to overlook it. But many
inland birders might envy the number of gulls present in our area.
It may seem
like we have a lot of species of gulls in New Brunswick, but in reality we do
not. However, most of our large gull species take 4 years to go from teenager
to adult so we may see the same gull in four different plumages.
It is a good
time of year to look closely at gulls and easily learn to identify each stage
since by now they have all molted into the winter plumage of their year of
development.
One of the
best places to see gulls in all different phases of development in Moncton is
at the landfill area of the Waste Management Site.
Trina Young,
manager of the site, has been very generous to offer the use of an excellent
room on location for an hour-long workshop on gulls after which we can just
step outside to put what we have learned to the test.
We will meet
at 12:45 outside the gates of the Waste Management facility (by the gatehouse)
and we will go in as a group to the meeting room. Nelson Poirier will give an indoor session at
1:00 PM, and then Roger LeBlanc will lead the group around the site at 2:00 PM
to put our new knowledge to the test.
Dress
according to conditions and be ready to fly with the gulls!
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added
to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason.
It’s a great time of year to be looking up on cloudless nights as well
as dawn.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, January 21 – January 28
This time of year the brilliant winter constellations really catch the eye, but this is also a good time to revisit some favourites of the past season. If you have a good view to the north, go out before 7 pm to observe two of the best known asterisms in the sky. To the northwest the Northern Cross stands upright, with its base star Albireo about ready to set. The cross forms most of Cygnus the Swan, now making its signature dive into what I hope is an unfrozen lake. To the north, the Big Dipper stands on its handle. In a rural area you can probably see the rest of the stars that make up the Great Bear, Ursa Major. Does the bear appear to be dancing across the horizon on its hind legs? That brings back fond memories of watching Captain Kangaroo.
Stretching overhead are the autumn constellations of Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Perseus. When you are dressed in a snowsuit, a snow bank makes a comfortable surface for lying down and observing these constellations with binoculars. Look for a miniature version of Draco around the brightest star in Perseus, the galaxy M31 in Andromeda, and if you draw a line across the tips of Cassiopeia and extend it eastward by about the same distance you might chance upon Kemble’s Cascade, a string of about 20 stars. From a dark area, try to pick out the Milky Way running from Cygnus through Perseus and the feet of Gemini to Canis Major in the southeast.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:53 am and sunset will occur at 5:09 pm, giving 9 hours, 16 minutes of daylight (7:55 am and 5:16 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:46 am and set at 5:19 pm, giving 9 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (7:49 am and 5:26 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is new on Friday, January 27, giving dark skies for locating those fainter objects on your observing list. Mercury rises an hour after Saturn this weekend and an hour and a half before the Sun. With Mercury heading sunward, the gap between it and Saturn will increase steadily over the next several weeks. Jupiter still reigns over the morning sky as it rises around midnight this week. Venus moves to within five degrees of Mars in the evening sky by the end of the week.
RASC NB, the provincial astronomy club, meets for astronomy talks on January 21 at 1 pm in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. All are welcome and free to attend.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
This time of year the brilliant winter constellations really catch the eye, but this is also a good time to revisit some favourites of the past season. If you have a good view to the north, go out before 7 pm to observe two of the best known asterisms in the sky. To the northwest the Northern Cross stands upright, with its base star Albireo about ready to set. The cross forms most of Cygnus the Swan, now making its signature dive into what I hope is an unfrozen lake. To the north, the Big Dipper stands on its handle. In a rural area you can probably see the rest of the stars that make up the Great Bear, Ursa Major. Does the bear appear to be dancing across the horizon on its hind legs? That brings back fond memories of watching Captain Kangaroo.
Stretching overhead are the autumn constellations of Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Perseus. When you are dressed in a snowsuit, a snow bank makes a comfortable surface for lying down and observing these constellations with binoculars. Look for a miniature version of Draco around the brightest star in Perseus, the galaxy M31 in Andromeda, and if you draw a line across the tips of Cassiopeia and extend it eastward by about the same distance you might chance upon Kemble’s Cascade, a string of about 20 stars. From a dark area, try to pick out the Milky Way running from Cygnus through Perseus and the feet of Gemini to Canis Major in the southeast.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:53 am and sunset will occur at 5:09 pm, giving 9 hours, 16 minutes of daylight (7:55 am and 5:16 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:46 am and set at 5:19 pm, giving 9 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (7:49 am and 5:26 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is new on Friday, January 27, giving dark skies for locating those fainter objects on your observing list. Mercury rises an hour after Saturn this weekend and an hour and a half before the Sun. With Mercury heading sunward, the gap between it and Saturn will increase steadily over the next several weeks. Jupiter still reigns over the morning sky as it rises around midnight this week. Venus moves to within five degrees of Mars in the evening sky by the end of the week.
RASC NB, the provincial astronomy club, meets for astronomy talks on January 21 at 1 pm in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. All are welcome and free to attend.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
Dancing Bear
NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER. MAY 17, 2016.BRENDA WILMOT
NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER. MAY 17, 2016.BRENDA WILMOT
RED FOX (CROSS FOX).JAN 2017.BRITTANY CROSSMAN
RED FOX.JAN 2017.BRITTANY CROSSMAN
RED FOXES (URBAN).JAN 2017.BRITTANY CROSSMAN
