NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
April 4, 2025
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
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respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line
editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
Please advise the editor
at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader Louise Nichols
at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca if
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For more information
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Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**The Nature Moncton outing to the Riverfront Trail
will happen tomorrow with the write-up below:
RIVERFRONT TRAIL AND NEST BOX CLEANING OUTING
We invite you to join us for a walk along the Riverfront Trail in Moncton. Weather permitting, the event will take place on April 5, 2025, starting at 1:00 p.m. The trail is well-maintained and offers easy walking, with only a couple of hills. It will be about 3 kilometers one way, but we will park at both ends, so we do not need to walk back. Last year, we were quite impressed with the number of interesting things we saw, and we expect this year to be no different.
Last April, Nature Moncton inspected and cleaned 25
nesting boxes along the Riverfront trail.
These boxes were made possible by the Trans Canada Trail, which funded
the 25 boxes and the necessary hardware for their installation. We will be checking/cleaning
as we go along. Footwear will be weather-dependent, but if you plan to assist
with the nest boxes, you will want it to be waterproof.
We will meet at the Press Club parking lot, 160
Assomption Blvd, Moncton, at 1:00 pm. We will take a few minutes before the
walk to coordinate our efforts. All are welcome, whether you are a Nature
Moncton member or not. We hope to see you there!
**Norbert Dupuis captured an
excellent photograph of the male house finch enjoying a safflower seed
in his Memramcook east yard. The photograph really shows the variable plumage
of this species. It is somewhat unexpected to see house finches in the
semi-rural area where Norbert lives, as they are typically found in urban
areas.
Norbert was also able to
catch a photo of a groundhog that would have recently emerged from its
deep winter hibernation.
**This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 April 5 – April 12
As the Sun is setting this week, Spica is rising in the east. This blue giant
star is the brightest in the constellation Virgo the Maiden, and the 14th
brightest star of the night sky. It is usually located by following the arc of
the Big Dipper’s handle to Arcturus and driving a spike to Spica. With Arcturus
in Boötes and Regulus in Leo, or dimmer Denebola in Leo's tail, it forms the
Spring Triangle. If you toss in Cor Coroli in Canes Venatici, below the handle
of the Big Dipper you get the Spring Diamond.
Spica represents an ear of wheat in the hand of Virgo. In Greek mythology she
was Demeter, the goddess of wheat or agriculture (Ceres to the Romans). The Sun
passes through this constellation in harvest time and it is in the head of
Virgo at the autumnal equinox. Virgo is the second largest of the 88
constellations in terms of area of sky, trailing only Hydra the Water Snake.
Coincidentally, it also trails Hydra in the sky, which can be seen stretching
below Leo. The constellation is home to 11 Messier objects, second to
Sagittarius in this distinction, and all of them are galaxies.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:50 and sunset will occur at 7:53, giving
13 hours, 3 minutes of daylight (6:56 and 7:57 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 6:37 and set at 8:02, giving 13 hours, 25 minutes of
daylight (6:43 and 8:06 in Saint John).
The Moon is one day past first quarter this Saturday and full next Saturday.
Jupiter sets about an hour past midnight this week, and telescope users might
see its Red Spot within an hour of 10:30 pm on Sunday and 9:45 on Friday.
Midweek Mars makes a straight line with the Gemini Twins, Pollux and Castor,
and next weekend it crosses the constellation border into Cancer. Mercury
rises 40 minutes before the Sun this weekend, and it increases that gap
slightly by next weekend when is a binocular width left of Saturn. Venus will
be about 7 degrees above them at the time. Both Mercury and Venus are
stationary this week, when they begin moving eastward against the stars.
The Saint John Astronomy
Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre this Saturday at 7 pm.
The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry-Earth
Sciences building on Tuesday at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy
Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt
Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
