NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 3, 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)
** Louise Nichols sends a few scenic
photos and photos of the participants of Tuesday night’s Nature Moncton nature
walk. One photo shows the remnants of
what must have been an old wharf.
Another shot shows the site of the covered bridge that used to be. This bridge was the second longest covered
bridge in the world. As for birds,
Louise got photos to show the ducks on the water to be RING-NECKED DUCKS. The sparrows were hard to catch, but one
blurry photo shows a SONG SPARROW.
The ducks in flight appear to be COMMON EIDER, but they’re all
dark. The shape and some of the
patterning on the birds (that can be seen) seem to suggest female or immature
Common Eiders. There were also a number
of LEOPARD FROGS in the grassy areas, one of which was temporarily
detained for a photo. It was a nice
evening with beautiful scenery, but it does get dark earlier now! Many thanks to Fred and Susan Richards for
iced tea and oat cakes and a great tour.
** On the RING-BILLED GULL
colony mentioned in yesterday’s edition that is being studied in Varennes,
Quebec, Clara Thaysen sends some interesting photos (all from May 2016). Regarding the photo of the gull with the ‘backpack’,
one of the researchers from UQAM was attaching these backpack air samplers to
see what kind of pollutants the gulls were exposed to when they flew. The blue spray paint was so they could find
the gull easily in the colony.
** The Activities Committee has been
monitoring the weather closely and it’s now looking like all is set to go for
this coming Saturday at 12:30 PM for the Nature Moncton field trip to
Petit-Cap. All details are in the
write-up below:
The
shorebirds are coming! The shorebirds are coming!
Date:
Saturday, Sept. 4th, 2021
Place:
Petit-Cap (see specific meeting places below in description)
Time:
12:30 PM to start at Petit-Cap
Guide: Roger Leblanc
Well actually, the shorebirds have already been
here for some time now. But they will still be building in numbers and
diversity for a while so there is still time to take in the show. And even if you have a chance of seeing shorebirds
pretty well anywhere water meets land, there are some very special places where
your chances are not only better to see large numbers but also a diversity of
species. One of the best spots in recent
years has been the Petit Cap Dune and more precisely the lagoon it protects. At
low tide the exposed flats become an “all you can eat” banquet for shorebirds
as well as other sea birds. So Nature Moncton is offering an outing to that
spot. For viewing shorebirds, tides are
of the essence, so the following date and time frame is very important. The
date will be September 4th (with Sunday the 5th as a rain
date) and the outing will start at 12:30 PM from the rough parking lot at
the start of the dune. If you know the spot you can join us there. For
those who might want to car pool or just prefer to follow our guide Roger
Leblanc you can meet him in the parking lot of Champlain Place, just behind
the Burger King at around 11:30 am. We will be leaving at 11:45 SHARP so
don’t be late. If coming from between the city and the coast or closer, you
could also join the group at 12:15 in Shemogue at the junction of routes 15 and
950. We will regroup in the parking
lot of the restaurant there. Then we will drive the 5 minutes or so to the
beach and do an easy hike on it to the point where you can access the mud flats
behind the dune. Birds can be expected on the beach but should also mostly be
feeding on the mud flats that will be exposed by low tide at that time. Once
there, you might want to walk in a bit of water to get closer to the show so
bring appropriate footwear or just be ready to go shoeless. Roger will help us
find and ID the shorebirds (as well as the many other feathered friends hanging
around). He will also share with us his knowledge of the great migration
phenomenon that will hopefully be unfolding right before our eyes. Hope to see
you there.
** It’s Friday and time to check in on
what next week’s sky will bring, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 September 4 – September 11
The constellation Capricornus is a large chevron shape that is due south around
10 pm this week. A pair of stars marks each upper corner, and both stars of the
western pair are colourful wide double stars. The sea goat arises from a tale
of the Olympian gods being surprised by Typhon, the most ferocious of the rival
Titans. Knowing Typhon was not fond of water, the gods changed into fish and
escaped to the sea. The god Pan, who was half-goat and half-man, panicked and
dove in before the transformation was complete and wound up with a goat’s head
and the tail of a fish.
There are four common targets for backyard telescope users near Capricornus,
but only the globular cluster M30 off the east side of the chevron is
officially within its borders. It is also the easiest of the targets for
binoculars. The globular cluster M72 and the four-star (literally four stars,
it is not an observing highlight) asterism M73 are above in Aquarius. Nearby is
the more challenging, but worth the effort, Saturn Nebula (NGC7009), the
gaseous remnant of a dead star that somewhat resembles the ringed planet.
Coincidentally, Saturn is currently in the western portion of the chevron and
Jupiter is above the sea goat’s tail
A few millennia ago the Sun was in Capricornus at the winter solstice, when at
midday it is overhead at its most southerly point at latitude -23.5 degrees.
This is the southern border of the tropics, and it is still called the Tropic
of Capricorn despite the Sun being in Sagittarius at this time. Earth’s 25,800
year polar wobble, called the precession of the equinox, is responsible for
this shift.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:43 am and sunset will occur at 7:51 pm,
giving 13 hours, 8 minutes of daylight (6:49 am and 7:55 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:52 am and set at 7:37 pm, giving 12 hours,
45 minutes of daylight (6:58 am and 7:42 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is new on Monday, appearing to the upper right of Mercury on Wednesday
and Venus on Thursday. Mercury sets around 8:30 Wednesday, 45 minutes after
sunset, followed by Venus nearly 40 minutes later. Also at midweek, Saturn is
at its highest and best for observing by 11 pm and Jupiter at midnight.
Jupiter’s Red Spot can be seen with a telescope around 11 pm Tuesday and near
8:30 on Friday. Beginning early in the week and extending over two weeks, rural
observers might catch sight of the zodiacal light in the east 60-90 minutes
before sunrise.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
