NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Sept 16, 2022 (Friday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**The River
Otter is an animal we don’t tend to see very often; however, when we do, it
usually is an interesting encounter with their curiosity and often seemingly
playful nature.
On Thursday, for the first
time in very many visits over the years to the Miramichi Marsh, Peter Gadd encountered
a River Otter. It crossed the path just a few feet in front of him and entered
the water and then showed considerable interest in him as Peter did it. Peter saw
it a few moments later in the vicinity of the young flightless Pied-billed
Grebes. There was some alarm shown. Peter did not see any interaction between them,
but he did fear the worst for the little grebes that he has been cheering on
for the last month or more. This clutch of 3 young ones was the second batch
for these parents this summer.
**One of Anna Tucker’s favourite forays
is to spend a few days at her favourite room at the Comfort Inn in Truro that
looks over the marsh.
She found that the Bald Eagle’s nest behind the Inn on a power utility pylon that had
adults and at least one eaglet occupying it on August 3 and 4 was, as expected,
vacated for the year.
Anna took note of the
large patches of Goldenrod that colour our landscape this time of year
that we often neglect to notice. The abundant Goldenrod around us will provide
nectar, pollen, and seed for later season wildlife.
The evening sunset capped off a
pleasant day.
**Each year at this time, we can
witness flocks of Eastern Bluebirds moving about and particularly
checking out birdhouses assumedly mapping territory for next season.
Pleasantly, the flocks seem to be
getting larger each year of late.
Jim Johnson in Scotch settlement is
noting a flock of Eastern Bluebirds consisting of dozens of birds around his yard where he has many
nest boxes erected. He did have at least 2 occupied by Eastern Bluebirds this
past season.
**It’s Friday and time to do a perusal
of what next week’s night sky will have in store for us courtesy of sky guru
Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 September 17 –
September 24
Salamanders aren’t the most noticeable of critters; you usually have to make an
effort to find one. This is a good time to locate the obscure constellation of
Lacerta the Lizard, but it will take some effort and a dark sky.
Camouflaged partly by the Milky Way, Lacerta is surrounded by Cepheus,
Cassiopeia, Pegasus and Cygnus. A good pointer to it is the base of the Summer
Triangle. Running a line from bright Vega to Deneb at the tail of Cygnus and
extending it about the same distance puts you near the zigzag shape of the
lizard. It is one of those dim constellations created in the late 17th century
by Johannes Hevelius to fill in an “empty” section of the sky. At first he
named it Stellio; a stellion is a newt with star-like spots found near the
Mediterranean Sea. If you manage to catch Lacerta, give yourself a pat on the
back and let it go.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:59 am and sunset will occur at 7:26 pm,
giving 12 hours, 27 minutes of daylight (7:05 am and 7:31 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:08 am and set at 7:12 pm, giving 12 hours,
4 minutes of daylight (7:13 am and 7:17 pm in Saint John). The autumnal
equinox occurs at 10:04 pm on Thursday.
The Moon is at third quarter this Saturday, rising by 11:15 pm and setting
around 4 pm Sunday. Saturn is at its highest and best for observing in late
evening, and Jupiter rises 20 minutes after sunset this weekend. Telescope
users might see Jupiter’s Red Spot around 9 pm on Monday and 10:30 pm on
Thursday. Mars is highest around 6:30 am this weekend, to the lower right of
the Moon. Venus rises an hour before sunrise, while Mercury is at inferior
conjunction on Friday.
Join members of RASC NB for public observing at the Kouchibouguac Fall Star
Fest on September 23-24. For details see: https://rascnb.ca/event/kouchibouguac-fall-star-fest/
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nature Moncton
