NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February
19, 2021 (Friday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** With no annual bird feeder tour in
order, the Nature Moncton Activities Committee, instead of cancelling the
event, are going virtual. We all have a
lot to share with one another. All
details are attached below.
VIRTUAL BIRD
FEEDER TOUR
DATE: TUESDAY
MARCH 2, AT 7:00 PM
Because of the pandemic, Nature Moncton cannot offer
its beloved annual bird feeder tour which normally brings us together in
mid-winter for a day of birds, friendship and food. So this year, we’ve decided to offer a
virtual gathering which can at least bring us together online to share our
winter bird feeding experiences.
Our plan is to have about 6 or 7 presenters for this
event with each presentation taking no more than 10 minutes. So those of you who have good feeder yards,
send us some photos or videos of the action at your place. We would like to see your best photos of
birds that visit, especially any unusual feeder birds, but we would also like
to see your feeder set-up. Do you have a
special feeder that works well, or an arrangement of feeders that helps bring
in the desired birds while keeping the less desired out? Do you find a particular food more attractive
to certain species? Let us know how your
feeder system works, so we can all learn from each other’s successes!
If you are interested in participating in sharing your
feeder yard, please send your best photos or videos to Roger Leblanc at parus@nb.sympatico.ca,
no later than midnight on February 27th. Roger will put all material received together
in a PowerPoint presentation, so you will not have to worry about that. On the day of the virtual event, Fred
Richards will take care of the technical sharing of the PowerPoint, so all you
need to do is provide some commentary and stories about your material while
Fred is showing the visuals. As we would
like to limit each presentation to a maximum of 10 minutes, we ask that each
participant limit their number of photos/videos accordingly, perhaps to no more
than 10.
We cannot be together in person, but we can still come
together online and share our bird feeding adventures while enjoying some
coffee, hot chocolate, or a glass of wine in the comfort of our own homes!
** Female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS
[Carouge à épaulettes] two days
in a row. Wendy Sullivan had one visit
her Riverview feeder yard on Tuesday, Feb. 16th. If 3 get reported, one would have to wonder
how many more may be around unreported.
** Bev Schneider follows up yesterday’s
NORTHERN
CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] report
from Peter Gadd. A feeder yard in Burtts
Corner had 15 at one point earlier in the season, but now it is down to 5 to 9
at that feeder yard. Bev comments that
in late years, cardinals have been regulars in the Fredericton area, but not in
multiples as they are this year. For
example, a pair would have been normal, but now they are seeing 4 or more in
areas. She knows of one place with 5,
and one place with that 5 to 9 (previously mentioned) in rural areas around
Fredericton.
** Jane LeBlanc had a RUFFED GROUSE [Gélinotte
huppée] looking in
her St. Martins bedroom window. She
comments that the bird was having trouble hanging on in winds. The storm created a lot of ice on the trees
in the St. Martins area that can make it harder for the Ruffed Grouse to get to
those nutrient-packed buds that they rely on in winter.
** Brian Stone stopped by the Caissie
Cape wharf on Thursday to get treated to a group of approximately 12 HORNED LARKS [Alouette
hausse-col] and 24 COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin
flammé] enjoying
some ground areas together. Note that
many of the Horned Larks show that stooped, leaning forward posture they often
tend to exhibit. Nice to see a photo of
these two species side by side.
** In response to yesterday’s new word
for the week for many of us except for photographers, Brian sends a photo of
his own “bokeh”, a photo taken in 2017, showing what of out-of-focus colour
fall leaves can do for a background.
** Pat and I made a run to Steeves
Settlement near Havelock on Thursday to try for an audience with a TUFTED TITMOUSE [Mésange
bicolore] that has
been coming to the feeder yard of Elaine and Trevor Clancy since Dec. 12th. With very generous help from the welcoming
Clancys, we were able to get several quick observations as it did rapid
take-outs as the BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] did as well. The Clancys note it is vocalizing loudly now,
so presumably it is a male bird. Trevor
Clancy now wonders if he didn’t hear this bird last winter in their yard but
didn’t realize what it was until putting the bird and the vocalization together
this year. They also have a nice
diversity of other species as regular patrons, including a NORTHERN CARDINAL
[Cardinal rouge] pair and a
few watchful raptors including a NORTHERN GOSHAWK [Autour des
palombes] and BARRED OWL [Chouette
rayée].
** Two BLACK-TIRED CHICKADEES that were
easily spotted nearby brought on smiles.
There were not even any bird feeders there to attract them!
Several COMMON RAVEN [Grand Corbeau] pairs were noted doing their ariel
acrobatics as part of the pair bonding routine we tend to see in February.
** It is Friday and time to see what
next week’s sky may have in store. We
will be able to see Mars and it will be amazing to look forward to seeing it up
close on television next week. The sky
report is courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 February 20 – 2021 February 27
Winter is open cluster season for stargazers; star clusters that have formed
from the same vast cloud of gas and dust and which usually hang around together
for half a billion years. They are also called galactic clusters because these
vast clouds typically appear in the spiral arms of our galaxy. In winter we are
looking toward a spiral arm opposite the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. Two of
these clusters, the Pleaides (M45) and the Hyades, form the shoulder and face
of Taurus the Bull and they are bright enough to be seen within urban areas.
Other clusters are visible to the naked eye but require a clear sky with
minimal light pollution.
One of those objects is the Beehive star cluster (M44) in the constellation
Cancer the Crab, which lies between Gemini and Leo. The Beehive is a large
glowing patch of haze and its many stars fill the view in a telescope, but
large clusters like this are appreciated best with binoculars. In times long
past the cluster was used as a storm predictor. It would be one of the first
objects to disappear when the light clouds that often precede a weather system
would move in.
The Coma Star Cluster, or Melotte 111, lies in the constellation Coma Berenices
between the tail of Leo and Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs. It is a large,
somewhat sparse cluster that spills beyond the view of most binoculars, and
centuries ago it was regarded as the tuft of Leo’s tail. The other one, or two,
is the Double Cluster between Perseus and Cassiopeia. This pair fits within the
view of a low power telescope eyepiece, but binoculars give a better
perspective. Following a nearby string of stars with binos will bring you to
the large Stock 2 star cluster, less spectacular but delightful to observe.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:13 am and sunset will occur at 5:53 pm,
giving 10 hours, 40 minutes of daylight (7:17 am and 5:59 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:01 am and set at 6:03 pm,
giving 11 hours, 2 minutes of daylight (7:05 am and 6:09 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Friday, February 19 and full on Saturday,
February 27. With Orion and Taurus up high in the evening, compare the colour
of their red giant stars Betelgeuse and Aldebaran with that of Mars to their
west. Betelgeuse is a little brighter than Mars and Aldebaran currently is a
little dimmer. Mercury will be 5 degrees left of Saturn on Wednesday morning,
with both rising more than an hour before sunrise. Jupiter will be 5 degrees
lower left of Mercury.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold, you can watch the
local Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
