NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Jan 27, 2023
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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
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**Tomorrow Saturday, January 28 is the Nature Moncton wharf day tour, and it's looking like Mother Nature’s forecast is
going to cooperate so all is a go. The write-up and directions are below:
NATURE
MONCTON FIELD TRIP
Winter Bird Life
around Northumberland Strait Wharfs
Date: Saturday, January 28th
(rain date: January 29th)
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.
**Due to bad
weather and no power for a week, John Inman is behind on sending info, but he sure
makes up for it today! John sends 4 photos of some of the birds that made it
through: Dickcissel, Fox Sparrow, Red-wing Blackbirds, and a
Baltimore Oriole which has taken a fancy to cherry jam; also a Common Grackle,
Lincoln Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird are still present.
**Brian Coyle
was out to his trail cameras last Sunday morning in that fresh powdery snow.
On his way to a Beaver dam, he heard a Coyote barking in the woods up
ahead. He changed course towards the barking, as that was just ahead of one of
his trail cameras. He then intersected an old trail of that Coyote and
proceeded toward the camera. To his surprise, the Coyote went directly in front
of his camera, resulting in a brief daytime video.
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The next link is to a video from ‘Coyote
Rock’. In this video there are two Coyotes with the one on the right the
typical colour of fur, while the one on the left is so dark, at first you don't
notice it. Also, this dark Coyote appears to be a larger individual, taking
into account that the other Coyote is back farther, but even so, with all of
the Coyote videos at this rock, this individual is definitely larger than most
of the other Coyotes filmed here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ptg031jgon6hzuh/STC_0002%20-%20Copy%20%282%29_x264.mp4?dl=0
Next is a video suspected to be one of
last year's kittens.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x0ugsqr4lqht5y4/STC_0002%20-%20Copy_x264.mp4?dl=0
And lastly, a video of a wet Bobcat
at night.
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Brian was also able to get some still
photos of a coyote trail (20-inch stride), coyote track, some coyote
tracks left as it walked past his camera (camera in the photo), a solar halo,
and a nice example of hoarfrost.
**It’s that time of year when we often
see sky events during the day. Aldo Dorio got a very pleasant photograph of a rainbow
that appeared in the sky outside his Neguac home.
**Friday has
arrived and time to take a look at what next week’s night sky has in store for
us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 January 28 – February 4
“Cold wind on the harbour and rain on the road, wet promise of winter brings
recourse to coal.
There’s fire in the blood and a fog on Bras d’Or; the giant will rise with the
Moon.”
(Giant, by Stan Rogers)
On Tuesday afternoon the constellation Orion, mythological giant son of Poseidon,
rises with the waxing gibbous Moon. We won’t see the constellation, of course,
until evening twilight dwindles; but over the evening watch him become a New
York Giant leaping to catch a lunar football.
When the Moon is full or nearly so amateur astronomers can get a little grumpy
because the moonlight washes out the faint galaxies, nebulae and comets. But
this time of year the waxing gibbous Moon can play a role in some imaginative
stargazing. On Tuesday evening it is above Orion, looking like a football
approaching his outstretched right hand. Will he catch it in the end zone and
be a hero like Perseus, or miss it and be a goat like Capricornus? With the
Moon in Taurus Monday and in the feet of Gemini on Wednesday, we also have a
Chicago Bull passing the ball to a Minnesota Twin for an all-star all-sport
soccer game. Is that a lacrosse stick in Orion’s hand?
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:46 am and sunset will occur at 5:18 pm,
giving 9 hours, 32 minutes of daylight (7:49 am and 5:25 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:38 am and set at 5:28 pm, giving 9 hours,
50 minutes of daylight (7:41 am and 5:35 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Saturday, and the Lunar X might be seen
with a small telescope to the left of the terminator around 10 pm on Sunday. On
Monday the Moon passes closely below Mars, and if you happen to be in
Southern USA you might see an occultation. Venus sets around 7:30 pm this
weekend, a few hours before Jupiter, but that gap will close quickly to a
close conjunction in early March. Telescope users might see Jupiter’s Red Spot
around 7:30 Sunday and 9 pm on Tuesday. Mars edges above similarly coloured
Aldebaran over the week, while Saturn is getting lost in evening twilight as it
nears the Sun. On Monday, Mercury is at greatest elongation from the Sun,
rising 85 minutes before sunrise.
This Saturday binoculars should show the fuzzy circle of comet C/2022 E3 ZTF
a fist-width to the right of the North Star, and over the week it makes a
beeline through the dim stars of Camelopardalis toward bright Capella in
Auriga. It is closest to Earth (42.5 million kilometres) on Wednesday and
therefore it appears to be moving quite rapidly relative to the distant stars.
Its location can be obtained on Heavens-Above and other websites. It will be
circumpolar, visible throughout the night, all week.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
