Nature Moncton Nature News: February 20 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

February 20, 2024

Nature Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**There are 2 more Nature Moncton activities going on this week with tonight, Tuesday's monthly meeting, featuring Curt Nason on the upcoming solar eclipse. After the break, Rhonda and Paul Langelaan will give a short talk about their trip to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with some special bird photos.

A birdfeeder tour event outing will follow on Saturday, February 24.

Details tomorrow morning!

Pres. Fred Richards reminds us that there will be a vote to amend a few Nature Moncton bylaws at this meeting which will be very brief. The bylaw notice change has previously been distributed.

The write-up for Tuesday evening’s presentation is below:

FEBRUARY MONTHLY MEETING PRESENTATION

Topic: NB Total Solar Eclipse 2024

February 20^th, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge

Presenter: Curt Nason

On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow will race across the central half of New Brunswick, an event that has not occurred in most of the province since before 1900. As we look forward to this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, we are fortunate to be joined by Curt Nason, a long-time member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the Saint John Astronomy Club, who will prepare us to get the most out of the April eclipse. Curt, who is honoured to be the namesake of asteroid “10052 Nason,” has been interested in the night sky for over 60 years and still feels 10 years old when stargazing. His presentation will explain why total solar eclipses occur so rarely in any one location, what you might see on the 8^th of April, where to watch it, and how to observe it safely.

This will be a virtual presentation which will be shown on the screen at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge. The audience present and the virtual audience will both be able to interact with Curt.

Join the Zoom interactive presentation virtually at the link below;

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81841511558?pwd=T3UwWm9RNEFORC9FTW9DVWVyK0JOQT09

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

**Nature Moncton hopes to have an outing planned to observe this once-in-a-lifetime event and will offer more information and safe solar viewing glasses for sale ($5.00 a pair) at the Tuesday, February 20th meeting. These glasses will be offered to club members first, while supplies last, before the general public. These glasses will be an absolute necessity for live viewing of the eclipse phases as direct viewing of the Sun, even when partially eclipsed, will permanently damage the eyes. Here's hoping for clear skies and warm weather for this amazing solar spectacle.

The main path of the eclipse viewing is in today’s photo line-up.

**Norbert Dupuis captured 3 excellent photographs of a male Merlin when it visited his Memramcook East feeder yard to check out the menu on Monday.

**Jamie Burris reports they still have 5 American Robins that like to feed on the yard Sumac tree fruit and a pair of House Finches that like their feeder tray. A Sharp-shinned Hawk arrived on the 17th trying to hunt with Mourning Dove on its mind, but missed. As it was perched in the spruce tree, a Crow flew down and attacked the hawk and chased it out of the area! The hawk showed up again on the 18th and again Monday. Odds are it will be successful sooner or later!

**Shannon Inman was able to get some nice photos, even in the poor light, of about 30 Common Mergansers below the Harvey Dam in a contested feeding frenzy over eels.

The Inmans heard a loud bang outside their Harvey home and looked out to find a Sharp-shinned Hawk had hit the baby barn. Shannon went out to see if she could help revive the hawk and the Mourning Dove it was after. The Sharp-shinned Hawk managed to revive on its own but the Mourning Dove succumbed to its injury.

**On Family Day, a small group of Nature Moncton members and friends got together at the Tankville School to learn about citizen science programs, including the Great Backyard Bird Count, and how to use 2 birding apps. Afterward, part of the group enjoyed a breezy walk on the Humphrey Brook trail in hopes of finding some birds. Much like always at this time of year, the birds were scarce but those that were seen were recorded using eBird and submitted. Congrats to Nature Moncton for successfully participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count! The Conservation Action Committee is planning to host more citizen science-related events in the future.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton