Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 7 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Oct 7, 2022 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**We were on weather watch for tomorrow’s Saturday, Oct 8 Nature Moncton field trip to the Mapleton Acadian Forest Trail. The forecast has improved with a blend of Sun and cloud with a slight chance of a shower so all is on! The timing is perfect for a fall leaf display and all the other items in an old growth forest to delight naturalists. The write up is below:

A mobile phone contact number for anyone who may need it is 866-2752

NATURE MONCTON FIELD TRIP TO THE MAPLETON ACADIAN FOREST TRAIL IN ELGIN

Date: Saturday October 8^th

Time: 9:30 AM

Meeting Place: The Elgin Country Kitchen and General Store (from there, we will go together to the entrance of the trail)

Mapleton Acadian Forest Trail

Last spring, we enjoyed an outing on this trail, but it’s worth a visit in every season. October will bring highlights not seen in May, especially an abundance of wild mushrooms and the beauty of the fall colours. This will be a full day outing, so bring a lunch. As some of you may remember, the trail winds through a superb example of a mature Acadian forest characterized by a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees growing in a relatively humid environment. This creates fertile soil and good habitat for all kinds of living things that will be waiting for us there, and much to investigate for mushroom lovers.

The Mapleton Acadian Forest Nature Preserve was established in 2016 to conserve in perpetuity this otherwise endangered habitat in the province. The preserve is the result of a partnership between The Elgin Eco Association and the Nature Trust of New Brunswick. It covers 160 acres and boasts an excellent 3 km nature trail with several interpretive panels which will help us understand the natural beauties and also historic aspects of the preserve, like an old manganese processing plant from the 1930’s, a sugar camp, and some remnants of old time forestry. On the nature side there will be much to see like huge mature trees of several species, in particular a stand of towering hemlocks several centuries old.

How to get there and difficulty level

The entrance to the Mapleton Acadian Forest Trail is located 4.4 km down the NB-895 after turning off the NB-905 just before Elgin. We will meet first at the Elgin Country and Kitchen General Store in Elgin which is located at # 4 River Rd. Take exit 233 from the Trans Canada highway onto NB-905 and follow it down until it changes to River Rd. From the store, we will all go together to the trail entrance, so no one gets lost.

The trail is rated as moderate with difficult sections. There are some hills to be climbed, so please be sure you are in good physical shape. Appropriate footwear and clothing are advised.

**Deana and Peter Gadd are just back from a rewarding quick 2-day trip to the Miscou Island and Caraquet area.

They were fortunate to see 6 Redhead Ducks on Thursday morning at the quite bird busy Caraquet water treatment plant. There were 4 males and 2 females. When the ducks finally noticed they were being admired, they took to the air for a couple of flying circuits of the area and returned to a distant corner of the pond. Diving ducks need a running start to get airborne and one of Peter’s photos shows their running on the water take off.

On their way through Oak Point late Thursday afternoon, wrapping up their trip, they saw a large flotilla of mostly Surf Scoters, approximately 120, and one of mostly scaup that the Gadds took to be Greater Scaup, approximately 180. They were in close proximity to each other but didn’t appear to be doing much diving. Ironically, they had seen White-winged Scoters and Black Scoters earlier in the trip and were hoping to complete the set which happened!

**Shannon Inman found herself helping another snake across the road, this time a Red-bellied Snake. Before that, Shannon was able to capture some excellent photographs one with it slightly turned on its side to show the brilliant red underbelly. It was approximately 10 inches in length which would be about average length for this more uncommonly encountered snake.

**The American Pipits have arrived at Hay Island. Aldo Dorio got a photograph of one of the 6 that he saw there on Thursday. Aldo located them roadside near the bridge on driving into Hay Island.

This species breeds to the north of us and migrates south through New Brunswick tending to follow the coastline. The American Pipit at an average length of 6 ½ in. approximates the size of a large sparrow.

Aldo also sends a photograph of the well-done improvements that that are in progress to the boardwalks at Hay Island. He suggested it may not be the best time to visit the Island as construction seems to be going on everywhere.

**Ron Arsenault shares some interesting information on the Spotted Pink Lady Beetle photo submitted by Lisa Morris.

Ron comments “Note that there is only one record for this species for NB on iNaturalist and two on BugGuide. It is not listed for NB in the checklist of the Ladybeetles of NB nor in the Ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)of the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone created by
Christopher Majka and David McCorquodale 2010.

Lisa’s photo is reattached today for folks to keep an eye out for this lady beetle in New Brunswick.

**Brian Stone visited Louise and Glen Nichols' home in Aulac on Wednesday to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Fiona and was stunned to see how many large trees had been blown over along the paths in their woods. Luckily no other major damage was done but cleaning up the downed trees was, and still is, a major undertaking. After having a good look around at the weather altered land Brian and Louise left and headed to the Eddy Marsh area just outside Amherst to see what the now pleasant weather might have coaxed out to pose for the cameras.

Sadly, not much bird activity was present but they did get a few photos of Swamp Sparrows, a Common Yellowthroat Warbler, and one of 3 Turkey Vultures that were circling overhead. Interestingly Brian noticed that one of the vultures was circling up to a high altitude and then pulling in its wings and falling into a steep dive then pulling out with an audible swishing sound as it swooped back upwards. Brian and Louise also got photos of a cooperative Variable Darner Dragonfly that perched close by in an obvious attempt to get on the Nature News Blog. Brian was only too happy to oblige. Some ducks were noted at the edge of the water that are awaiting identification.

On his way between Moncton and Aulac Brian stopped in at the Arthur St. (Grand Pre St.) lagoon in Memramcook to check for bird life and saw only Northern Shoveler Ducks present, but in large numbers, well over 100.

**It’s Friday and time to peruse what the coming week’s night sky has in store for us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason:

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 October 8 – October 15
The Pleiades star cluster, which is located in the shoulder of Taurus the Bull, is rising by 8 pm now as a harbinger of winter. In a month it will be rising at sunset. Due to its shape, this eye-catching cluster has been mistaken for the Little Dipper. Most of us can count six stars in the Pleiades under good conditions but keen-eyed wonders have picked out twice that number from a dark sky. A low power view of it in binoculars will show a couple of dozen stars and it is one of the prettiest sights you will see in the night sky. I always look for the hockey stick in the binocular view.

According to Wikipedia, the name Pleiades likely comes from the ancient Greek word “plein,” which means “to sail.” Sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea typically began when the cluster was first spotted before sunrise. In mythology it became the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, hence its common name of the Seven Sisters. Somewhere along the way one of them got lost. Astronomers also know it as M45 from the Messier catalogue. The cluster played a significant role in marking time for several ancient cultures, including the Maori, Mayan, Aztec and some First Nations.

Perhaps you have seen the Pleiades while stuck in traffic and just haven’t realized it. The six-star logo of Subaru automobiles depicts the Pleiades, as Subaru is the Japanese name for the cluster. The name, which means “united,” was chosen because the large company was formed from a merger of five.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:26 am and sunset will occur at 6:45 pm, giving 11 hours, 19 minutes of daylight (7:31 am and 6:51 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:36 am and set at 6:32 pm, giving 10 hours, 56 minutes of daylight (7:40 am and 6:38 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is full on Sunday; the traditional Hunter’s Moon which, like the Harvest Moon last month, rises about 20 minutes later each evening for a week instead of the average 50 minutes. It is near Jupiter on Saturday and Mars next Friday. Mercury is at its greatest elongation from the Sun this Saturday, at its highest and best for morning observing this year. Venus is too close to the Sun for morning observing. Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are in the evening sky by 10 pm, but give Mars an extra hour or two to climb higher for better observing. Telescope and binocular users might catch the moons Europa and Io emerging from Jupiter’s shadow on Monday evening, at 7:31 and 8:43 respectively.

On Sunday evening at 8 pm, tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show via the Facebook page or YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.