Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 25 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Jan 25, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** As a heads up to be ready for this Saturday’s Nature Moncton round of several wharf areas, check out the write up below:

NATURE MONCTON FIELD TRIP

Winter Bird Life around Northumberland Strait Wharfs

Date: Saturday, January 28^th (rain date: January 29^th)

Time: 8:30 AM to late afternoon (or as long as folks want to go)

Meeting Place: Behind Burger King at Champlain Mall (8:15 AM)

Driving time to Cap Lumière: About 50 minutes

Guide: Roger Leblanc

In most people’s minds winter, birds and wharfs would not necessarily go together. But in a seasoned New Brunswick birder’s way of thinking these 3 words totally link together to bring up visions of great observations. And this winter, greater ice-free conditions on the Northumberland Strait make wharfs, which are logically placed on points jutting out into the water, great look-out spots for sea birds. Also, sometimes when conditions are right, they can become places where sea birds (and others) might just take cover and be much closer for an observer to watch or take photos. So always on the look for interesting and timely bird outings for members, Nature Moncton is proposing a tour of the wharfs on Saturday January 28th. Under the expert lead of Roger Leblanc (who some have called a regular wharf-birding rat) we will explore several wharfs on the Northumberland Strait coast from Cap Lumière to Pointe-du-Chêne. On this approximately 60 km stretch of coast there are 10 wharfs, demonstrating the importance of the fishing industry in the region. Of these we will try to visit 5 or 6, depending on what we find and how long we want to go. At this time of year, sea ducks should be a given, but many other species of sea and land birds are often attracted by the special features of wharfs and their environment. So pick up your equipment, dress warmly, bring a lunch and lots of enthusiasm and come join us for a fun day of bird-watching photography and nature camaraderie on a wharf-hopping adventure along the coast of the Northumberland Strait.

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

**Jasmine Deturralde was able to capture a photo of a male Northern Cardinal in Suzanne Rousseau’s Sussex yard using a cell phone through binoculars. An interesting way to capture photos!

Suzanne also has the local White-tailed Deer enjoying the menu in her birdfeeder yard as suspect many others will in communities where the White-tailed Deer population is very interested in birdfeeder yards.

**Gordon Rattray found that the recent weather brought many birds to his Weldon feeders. On Monday Gordon had his first of-year American Tree Sparrow and on Tuesday he had 6 more join in. Gordon also had several Dark-eyed Juncos and a single White-throated Sparrow. Gordon also includes a photo of his ever-present Brown Creeper.

** Brian Stone noticed that the sky was clear once again on Tuesday evening and took the opportunity to photograph the 12% full Waxing Crescent Moon and the conjunction (two days past the closest approach, darn it) of the planets Venus and Saturn. While photographing the planets Brian noticed that Venus looked a bit stretched out and with closer magnification through binoculars he realized that Venus was displaying a rare effect of "Light Pillars". The Sun frequently produces light pillars but only the brightest planets can produce pillars and only very rarely. Witnessing this display ranks highly on Brian's list of special events. High-level ice crystals in a very thin layer of cirrus clouds are the creator of this effect and now Brian's satisfaction levels are topped up and should last for a few days at least.

https://atoptics.co.uk/halo/venpill.htm

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton