Nature Moncton Nature News: May 19 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 19, 2023

Species names are in boldface when there is a photo included.

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Nature Moncton Warbler is walk on for tomorrow, Saturday. Details below:

NATURE MONCTON WARBLER HIKE

Date: May 20, 2023

Time: 9:00 AM

Place: Kiwanis parking lot on Mill St., Hillsborough

Guide: Gordon Rattray

In late spring each year, we have the movement of many birds returning to their nesting regions, both local nesters and those that just pass through on their journey farther north. The warblers are one such group that either passes through or nests in our area. These little birds are very colorful and very vocal as they stop for a rest and feeding, and in late May, we can often locate many of the warbler species in the Hillsborough area. On May 20, Nature Moncton will host a hike for members, and anyone interested in observing warblers. The warblers are most active as the morning warms, and the insects take flight, so this makes 9:00 a good starting time. The hike will be on an abandoned rail line, flat, but the rails are still in place, so a little bit of difficulty. The rail hike is only 200 meters up, and then we will double back. Also in the same location are the prepared trails of the Hillsborough Water Park, a walk on a gravel surface of 2 km. For those wishing for a little more birding, we will do this trail after lunch.

As a bonus, those of you who take photos of warblers on this trip will be invited to share (if you’d like) your best shots at the June Nature Moncton membership meeting to be held on June 20^th at 7:00 PM.

So if you’d like to see some warblers and learn more about their appearance and songs, join us for this warbler walk in an area where warblers of many species should be active.

**Bring snacks and lunch, and bring binoculars if you have them. If not, we may have a couple of extra binoculars that we can lend out for the day. Wear sturdy footwear (for hiking) and dress appropriately for the weather.

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

**Aldo Dorio photographed an immature nonbreeding Bonaparte’s Gull off Hay Island on Thursday. It seems like an odd time to see a Bonaparte’s Gull but I am assuming nonbreeding immature birds could show up anytime. This one was alone.

**Brian Stone shared a plant photo and a moss photo on May 17 which we needed consultation on.
The plant was emerging Wild Cucumber showing its two huge cotyledons, confirmed by Gart Bishop. (Editor’s note: this is a very interesting vining plant, and I'm hoping Brian will continue to photograph them at this site as they produce their blooms and eventually seed packets.)

Brian also photographed two views of an interesting moss. Bruce Bagnall helped us with identification commenting, “the 2 photos are of one of the ‘Hair-Cap’ mosses in the genus Polytrichum. The orange “flowers” at the top of the first photo are the splash cups of the male plants. The second photo is of the female plants, with the hairy white covers fallen from the sporophytes, with their long reddish setae”.

**Friday has arrived on schedule, and time to review 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 May 20 – May 27
The basis for ranking stars by brightness dates back to the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in the second century BCE. He grouped several hundred stars by their apparent size, with the biggest being in the first magnitude group and the faintest to the naked eye being sixth magnitude. Magnitude in this sense means size, and even now many people refer to bright stars as big. The telescope and astrophotography allowed us to detect stars much fainter, and in the 19th century Norman Pogson adapted the old system to a standard. A five magnitude difference was defined as a difference in brightness of exactly 100. Therefore, a first magnitude star is a tad more than 2.5 times brighter than a second magnitude star, about 16 times brighter than a fourth magnitude star, and 100 times brighter than one of sixth magnitude. The scale extends into negative numbers for very bright objects, including planets and a few stars.

Check out a cloudless sky this week when it is dark. The bright star Vega is often regarded as the benchmark, being very close to mag 0 (astronomers usually shorten magnitude to mag). Arcturus is slightly brighter, edging into the negative decimals at mag -0.05. Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, is very close to mag 1 at 0.98. A mag 2 star is Polaris, the North Star, at the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. Obviously, it is not the brightest star as some people believe; it barely makes the top 50. A mag 3 star is Pherkad, the dimmer of the two stars at the base of the Little Dipper. Venus is currently at mag -4.4, but it will brighten to -4.7 in early July. The full Moon can be mag -12.5, and that big star we see in the daytime is mag -‑26.7 at midday.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:41 am and sunset will occur at 8:50 pm, giving 15 hours, and 9 minutes of daylight (5:49 am and 8:52 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 5:35 am and set at 8:58 pm, giving 15 hours, and 23 minutes of daylight (5:43 am and 9:00 pm in Saint John).

The Moon makes a scenic grouping with Venus, Castor and Pollux, and Mars on Tuesday evening. It sits above Mars on Wednesday, near Regulus on Friday evening, and it is at first quarter next Saturday. Late Tuesday morning, try to find the Moon with binoculars low in the eastern sky, and look for Venus within the field of view to its right. If successful, then try to see Venus with just your eyes. The low altitude could make this a difficult challenge. Saturn rises around 2:30 am midweek, followed by Jupiter at 4:30 and Mercury half an hour later.

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.