NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 14, 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 both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca
if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**The field trip to the Clancy woods is coming up tomorrow, Saturday, with write-up below:
** Nature Moncton invites you to join us for an early
summer outing, on Saturday, June 15th. We will be hosted by Trevor and Elaine
Clancy, at their Steeves Settlement property, a beautiful 60+ acres of mostly
old-growth forest. The start time is 10:00 a.m., ending mid-afternoon, and we
encourage you to bring a picnic lunch. The field trip leader will be Gordon
Rattray.
Trevor and Elaine’s woods are easily
accessed by a network of mowed walking trails. There are also water features
scattered around the property. We will enjoy seeing many different tree
species, and as well the site also abounds with spring flowers, and at this
time of the year many bird species will be in the area.
Trevor enjoys having folks walk his
trails and is looking forward to our visit. Dress for the season; you may need
footwear for wet areas, and bug control is always a good idea. Don't forget
your Nature Moncton name tag too.
Trevor and Elaine’s property is located
at 356 Steeves Settlement Road. Steeves Settlement is behind Killams
Mills, between Petitcodiac and Salisbury. Elaine suggests the
Trans-Canada Highway to the Havelock exit # 414, then from the exit ramp turn
right onto Route 885, then another right at the Beckwith Road (Kinnear Sett.
Church is at that corner). Travel up the Beckwith Road approximately 5 km...
the 3rd road on the right is the Steeves Settlement Rd. Your destination is the
first driveway on the right: #356. Their phone number, if lost or
need help getting there, is 506-756-8267.
Everyone is welcome, Nature Moncton
member or not!
**On a visit to Wilson Marsh, Maureen Girvan captured an excellent photo of an American Bittern performing its sky-gazing scenario. When this bird is alarmed, it freezes with bill pointing upward as its ploy to avoid attention.
Maureen also got a nice photo of a Pied-billed
Grebe family that appears to have recently fledged the nest.
**Gordon Rattray applied this spring for a permit to enter the Wilson
Brook PNA 1. This is the most restricted level of the PNAs, and he received a
permit that is good for the summer. There are plants in this region near
Albert Mines that are not found anywhere else in the province. Gordon has
been in the area and has photographed these rare plants along with some others
that are interesting. Gordon plans to share some of his finds over the
summer. In this edition, Gordon has included the following:
Buffalo-berry - Shepherdia
canadensis
Bulblet Bladder Fern - Cystopteris
bulbifera
Hooked Buttercup - Ranunculus
recurvatus
Hyssop-leaved Fleabane - Erigeron
hyssopifolius
Mink Frog
Mountain Avens S1- Dryas
integrifolia
Naked Miterwort -
Mitella nuda
Small Flowered Anemone S1- Anemone
parviflora
Myrtle-leaved Willow S1- Salix
myrtillifolia
Small Forget-me-not - Myosotis laxa
Step Moss - Hylocomium
splendens
(Editor's note: S1 indicates this plant is found in 1 to 5 locations in NB.)
**Friday
has arrived on schedule again and our day to check in on what we may see in
next week’s night sky, courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 June 15 – June 22
Seasons are the result of the earth’s rotational axis being tilted about 23.5
degrees off the vertical, with respect to its orbit. The first day of
astronomical summer is this Thursday. The “astronomical” qualification is used
because meteorologists have taken to confusing people with meteorological
seasons based on temperatures. Meteorological summer in the northern hemisphere
includes June, July and August because they have the highest average temperatures
for the year.
On the summer solstice, the Sun rises and sets at its most northerly points on
the horizon. For those of us at 45 degrees latitude, at midday (1:20 pm in
Moncton) the Sun is about 68.5 degrees above the southern horizon; its highest
altitude for the year. If we lived at latitude 23.5 degrees the Sun would be
directly overhead at midday on the solstice. Several millennia ago the Sun was
“in” the constellation Cancer on the solstice, hence that latitude is marked on
maps as the Tropic of Cancer. The dim constellation does resemble a crab
somewhat, but there is speculation that the Sun’s forth and back movement along
the horizon at that time of year was reminiscent of a crab’s sideways walk.
The summer solstice point on the ecliptic, the Sun’s path through the
constellations, has since passed through Gemini into Taurus. The roaming
solstice is due to Earth’s axis wobbling like a top, making one revolution
every 25,800 years in what we call the precession of the equinoxes. Enjoy your
summer, whenever it starts.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:27 and sunset will occur at 9:12, giving
15 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (5:35 and 9:14 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 5:28 and set at 9:14, giving 15 hours, 46 minutes of
daylight (5:36 and 9:15 in Saint John). The summer solstice occurs at 5:51 pm
Thursday, with the Sun gracing our sky for the longest period of the year.
The Moon is near Spica on Sunday, near Antares Thursday, and it is full on Friday.
If you are up with the robins at 4:30 am this weekend you can see Saturn one
third of the way up in the southeast, Mars half as high in the east, and
Jupiter just rising (binoculars will help) in the east-northeast. Mercury and
Venus are lost in evening twilight this weekend but by next weekend Mercury
sets 50 minutes after sunset and may be seen with binoculars. Castor and Pollux
will be about two binocular widths above Mercury, and comet P13/Olbers might be
visible about two binocular widths above them.
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.
Nature Moncton
