Nature Moncton Nature News: 2024-03-17

Saturday, 23 March 2024

March 23 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 23, 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

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**The live camera feed for anyone to view the action with the Peregrine Falcons at the moment in their nest box atop Assumption Place in Moncton has created lots of attention.

A news story took place on CBC television on Friday morning.

Read about the story aired that features Jill Marvin from the Magnetic Hill Zoo and Nature Moncton’s Fred Richards at the following link:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/falcons-ddt-climate-change-zoo-animal-1.7151207

**A heads up on a Nature Moncton event for next Tuesday night March 26

March Movie Night

‘Le Macareux Moine’ (Puffins) a film by Roger Leblanc

Tuesday March 26, 2024 at 7:00 PM

By Zoom only

Leader: Fred Richards

Greetings! Nature Moncton is going to try something different.

We are inviting you to our premier Nature Moncton Movie Night, on March 26, 2024, beginning at 7:00 p.m.. This event will be by Zoom only.

The format will be a film that lasts an hour or less, and then some discussion afterward. The first film we are presenting is ‘Le Macareux Moine’ (Puffins) a film by Roger Leblanc. Roger was a long-time member of Nature Moncton, Nature NB and other groups. Sadly, he passed away last year. He made several films about nature. ‘Le Macareux Moine’ is in both French and English, but is subtitled where the language is French.

We are hoping that you will enjoy this first film, and if it is well received we will try more of them during the winter months.

JOIN VIA ZOOM

**Brian Stone was getting ready to pack his car to return home from Hampton when he saw a report by Jim Carroll about a Eurasian Wigeon present in the first lagoon at Hampton which was just a 10-minute drive from his family's place. He took a few minutes out of his preparations to drive down to the lagoon and snap a few photos of the interesting visitor as well as some of the many Turkey Vultures that were resting and gliding around the lagoon area.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

EURASIAN WIGEON (MALE) MARCH 22, 2024. BRIAN STONE

EURASIAN WIGEON AND AMERIAN WIGEON (MALES) MARCH 22, 2024. BRIAN STONE

TURKEY VULTURES. MARCH 22, 2024. BRIAN STONE

Friday, 22 March 2024

March 22 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 22, 2024

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

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**Louise Nichols visited Port Elgin in the sunshine on Wednesday to find that the lagoon is beginning to attract some duck species. She saw half a dozen Bufflehead (male and female), a small group of Ring-necked Ducks and a few American Black Ducks on the lagoon. On the river, she spotted and photographed a group of scaup which she believes to be Greater Scaup due to the more rounded head.

(Editor’s note: some female Greater Scaup, especially in spring and summer, have a paler head with a distinct whitish ear patch. This would only appear in some Greater Scaup females, but not Lesser Scaup females. Two of Louise’s photos (arrowed) show this feature nicely.)

**Brian Coyle captured a video of a Beaver applying castor to a mound. Hence their Latin name, Castor canadensis.

(Editor’s note: this video Brian has captured is one most of us would never see unless with a video camera in the right place at the right time. Castor is a substance produced in the anal glands of the beaver that has an odor not unlike a horse barn that is deposited in areas to mark territory. The beaver in Brian’s video is doing exactly that at the start of the video. Take a close look at Brian’s video for something most of us have never seen taking place.)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xxwc35d55mazrbatgpg8w/STC_0011-Copy-6-_x264_002.mp4?rlkey=2ic0to5e03c6gro1o8hg241v5&dl=0

**The spring migration of waterfowl is getting underway.

Pat Gibbs photographed a flock of Common Eider flying past

The Bend in the Petitcodiac River on Thursday. There should be

flocks of scoter doing the same thing anytime as they move to

northern summer breeding grounds.

(Editor’s note: they are already seeing scoter flocks at the Point Lepreau Bird Observatory.

**It’s Friday in our day to get a preview of what next week’s night sky may have in store for us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason. The total solar eclipse day is getting closer!

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 March 23 – March 30
Although Orion and his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, are slipping into the sunset, they are not the only pooches in the night sky. The small constellation of Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs is generally seen as a pair of stars well below the handle of the Big Dipper. They assist their master, Boötes, in chasing the celestial bears around the pole.

In one tale from mythology Boötes is Icarius, a vineyard owner who was taught the art of winemaking by Bacchus. He introduced his shepherd neighbours to his product, and when they awoke with a hangover the next morning they thought they had been poisoned. In retaliation they killed Icarius and threw him in a ditch. His dogs, Chara and Asterion, sensed something was wrong, and when they eventually found their master they jumped into the ditch to die with him.

The brightest star in Canes Venatici is a double star called Cor Caroli, which means the Heart of Charles. Edmond Halley coined this because it was said to have shone brightly when Charles II returned to London after his defeat by Cromwell. The other naked eye star in the constellation is Chara, from the Greek word for joy. Halfway between Cor Caroli and Arcturus, the brightest star in Boötes, you can see a fuzzy patch with binoculars. This is the globular star cluster M3 from Messier’s catalogue. Galaxy M94 lies just north of the midpoint between Cor Caroli and Chara; and the much-imaged Whirlpool Galaxy is within the borders of Canes Venatici, despite being near the handle of the Big Dipper.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:15 and sunset will occur at 7:36, giving 12 hours, 21 minutes of daylight (7:20 and 7:41 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:01 and set at 7:45, giving 12 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (7:07 and 7:50 in Saint John).

The Moon is full and in penumbral eclipse very early on Monday morning. Ambitious people might notice a subtle gray shade across the Moon between 3 and 4:30. Mercury will be at its evening best for the year this week, reaching greatest elongation from the Sun on Sunday and setting 105 minutes after sunset. By the end of the week Jupiter will be setting at 11 pm, and on Thursday telescope users might get their last view of its Red Spot for several months between 9 and 10 pm. Mars rises an hour before the Sun midweek, followed by Saturn and Venus over the next 40 minutes, but they are difficult binocular targets in bright morning twilight. Beginning midweek we have a two-week opportunity to observe the subtle wedge of zodiacal light in the west about 90 minutes after sunset.

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.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

BUFFLEHEAD (MALE). MARCH 20, 2024. LOUISE NICHOLS

GREATER SCAUP. MARCH 20, 2024. LOUISE NICHOLS

RING-NECKED DUCKS. MARCH 20, 2024, LOUISE NICHOLS

COMMON EIDER. MARCH 21, 2024. PAT GIBBS

CANADA GEESE. MARCH 21, 2024. PAT GIBBS

Canes Venatici

Thursday, 21 March 2024

March 21 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 21, 2024

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

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

** Michel Roy and Frank Branch went to Miscou Wednesday morning, and on the way back in the afternoon on the main road from Shippagan to Inkerman approximately 250 m. past the road going to Le Goulet, at the roadside there it was -- a Northern Hawk Owl.

By the time they could back up in heavy traffic, Frank could only take a few photos in the poor light conditions before it glided far into the woods.

**Many folks were able to access the nest box videocam to get early views of the Peregrine Falcon pair checking things out in preparation for the season ahead.

Some photos are added today of the action that has been going on over the past months getting the camera in place and what it looks like close-up. One photo shows Fred Richards beside the small router connected to the outside camera that sends us all the information.

The falcon pair never left the immediate area this winter and were often seen perched on the big A logo or perched on the nearby Bell Aliant Tower. As the camera was being installed and other preparations made, the pair would occasionally do fly passes to check in on their property and size up the intruders!

**Brian Coyle was able to get out to one of his trail cameras Wednesday at a Beaver pond where a Bobcat scent-marked the trail camera directly! Quite the closeup of its rear end :)

Take a look at the unsavory behaviour below:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gkpj34djprho0fumoncz3/IMG_0001-Copy-6.MP4?rlkey=q2f0xf8bcbru3uk6g6vksai9y&dl=0

**Richard Perron photographed Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa) on a Black Cherry tree at Rotary Park in Dieppe. Black Knot manifests itself differently in the Black Cherry as rounded irregular clumps instead of the tubular structures seen in many other prunus species.

**Verica LeBlanc took a walk Wednesday morning on her street in Nelson, Miramichi toward Rte. 126. The trees looked so beautiful all clad in white from the snow. When she returned, all had melted!

It was a successful walk as Verica saw the Red-winged Blackbirds returning and was interested to note a pair of Evening Grosbeaks feeding on the winter-clinging berries still present on the trees.

**Aldo Dorio, like many others lately, was pleased to have an American Robin visit his Neguac yard on Wednesday.

** Brian Stone sends photos from Hampton, N.B. where he is visiting family for a few days. At the now open lagoons, he noted a good variety of ducks and other birds enjoying the open water. Some of his photos from the lagoons include Gadwall Ducks, American Wigeon Ducks, Bufflehead Ducks, Lesser Scaup Ducks, Common Goldeneye Ducks, Mallard Ducks, and Ring-necked Ducks. He counted at least 6 Turkey Vultures cruising overhead and perching in nearby trees and many Ring-billed Gulls were also present.

An American Crow was calling from a perch near a stick nest that was possibly its own. Pussy Willows were beginning to open beside the trail in a sure sign that spring has started.

(Editor's note: separating the identity of scaup can be a potential challenge. Take note of Brian's photos numbered 3 and 5 where it appears the arrowed female birds have primary and secondary wing feathers appearing to be completely white to suggest the possibility of a Greater Scaup in the group. This may or may not be a photographic illusion.)

Brian also checked out the new Peregrine Falcon nest box camera and took a few screen prints of one of the falcons in the box. This falcon was scratching at the debris in the box and rubbing it with its body before resting in that spot in possible nesting behavior.

Wonder how they will like the heavy rain today??

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton