Nature Moncton Nature News: Marc 17 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 17, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Yesterday, Fred Dube shared a photo of a juvenile Northern Goshawk. Today, John Massey sends nice photos of an adult Northern Goshawk again on duck prey in his Dieppe yard.

Again, note the pale grey eyebrow (supercilium) that contrasts sharply with dark auriculars, and the grey barred underparts with blue grey back.

** While driving near her home in St. Martins, Jane LeBlanc saw a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks flying overhead.

Jane also notes she had a total of 6 American Robins in her yard at one time this week, but since the supply of Mountain Ash berries has dried up, she's sure they will move on.

** A Western Screech Owl was sitting on a wall by the entrance of the house near where Lynda LeClerc is at the moment in California. The owner approached it, and it did not move. She actually touched its head, and it still did not move. She took a picture and then called the wildlife rescue people. They advised her how to catch it and put it in a cage. When she came back from getting the equipment and went to wrap it in a towel, it flew away. She hasn’t seen it since. Hopefully, it was just stunned from hitting something and is going on with its normal life.

** Many of us remember the days we watched those tall radio transmission towers on the Tantramar March for raptors.

Amanda Christie is an interdisciplinary artist working in experimental film, video installation, and more. Her Spectres of Shortwave film (about the radio towers that stood outside Sackville until they were removed a few years ago) is playing on March 23, at 7:30 pm at the Vogue Theatre in Sackville; It is screening as a part of the Sackville Film Society.

Here are two links for more information: http://spectresofshortwave.net/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/152492437136/

**It’s Friday and the day we review what next week’s night sky may have in store for us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023, March 18 – March 25
Around 1930 the International Astronomical Union finalized the official constellations and their boundaries to cover the entire sky. Oddly, 22 of those 88 constellations begin with the letter “C.” Around 9 pm, we can see 11 of those and parts of three others, so rather than deep sea fishing, let’s go high C hunting. Starting in the west, we might catch the head of Cetus the Whale before it sets, and toward the south, Columba the Dove hugs the horizon below Lepus and Orion. Meanwhile, Cygnus the Swan flaps a wing above the northern horizon as it never sets completely for us.

Higher in the north the house of Cepheus the King is upright for a change. To his west we see the W-shape of his wife, Cassiopeia the Queen, and above them we might have to strain to see Camelopardalis the Giraffe. Looking southwest, to the left of Orion are his faithful big and little dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor. Barely visible above the little dog is Cancer the Crab, nestled nicely between Gemini and Leo. In the southeast, we have Corvus the Crow and Crater the Cup, both of which piggyback on Hydra. Tailing Leo high in the east is Coma Berenices, the locks of distressed Queen Berenice II of Egypt, and dogging Ursa Major is Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs. Finally, lower in the east, we see the Northern Crown, Corona Borealis.

This episode of Sky at a Glance was brought to you by the letter C and the number 14. As you find each C constellation, count out loud like the Count (One! That’s one C constellation, ah ha ha!), and for each one, you find you can reward yourself with ... COOKIE!

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:26 am and sunset will occur at 7:28 pm, giving 12 hours, and 2 minutes of daylight (7:31 am and 7:33 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 7:13 am and set at 7:38 pm, giving 12 hours, 25 minutes of daylight (7:18 am and 7:42 pm in Saint John). On Monday at 6:24 pm, the Sun crosses the equator to begin the spring season in the northern hemisphere.

The Moon is new on Tuesday, and the razor-thin crescent appears to the left of Jupiter in evening twilight on Wednesday. Around 9 – 10 pm Friday, Uranus might be seen with binoculars two moon-widths to the left of the crescent Moon, with Venus about a fist-width below them. Mars makes a reddish-orange triangle with equally bright Aldebaran and brighter Betelgeuse during the week. Mercury has moved to the evening sky, setting 45 minutes after sunset by next weekend. Saturn rises 50 minutes before sunrise this weekend, a challenging binocular target a fist-width upper left of the waning crescent Moon on Sunday morning.

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.