Nature Moncton Nature
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**There is
an Eastern Towhee in Riverview that some lucky Christmas Bird Count
counter may tally tomorrow. Jamie Burris’s brother-in-law Tim MacKinnon, who
lives in West Riverview, had an male Eastern Towhee visit his feeder last week, and chances are it is still around.
Jamie’s
other brother-in-law, Barry Lehtinen, who lives in Seadrift Texas, sends a
video of large flocks of sandhill cranes flying over his home.
(Editor’s
note: What an amazing spectacle to see this huge number of this beautiful bird
passing over.
We are now
fortunate in New Brunswick to have this species of bird occasionally appear in
spotty locations and spend the summer season with us.)
**Jane
LeBlanc wondered at the lack of birds in her yard on Thursday morning. The
appearance of a sharp-shinned hawk answered the question.
**Peter Gadd
found a beaked hazelnut tree on their Miramichi property. There
was still one unopened nut on the tree, missed by the squirrels.
**Gart
Bishop comments, “Although the snow has covered a few remaining dandelions in
bloom, there are still many botanical gems to be observed. Many of the
skeletons of our flowering plants manage to poke above the snow throughout the
winter, and it's a challenge to see if we can connect them with their summertime form.
The challenge, of course, is that the flowers are past, leaves mostly gone, and
most field guides give little help for winter identification.”
Gart sends a
photo of calico aster (Symphyotrichum laterflorum), which he noted on
Wednesday in the parking lot at UNB Fredericton.
(Editor’s
note: Many overwintering seed-eating birds would find this plant an item of
beauty!)
**Nature
Moncton members Susan Richards, Fred Richards, Louise Nichols, and Nelson
Poirier joined the Memramcook Christmas Bird Count on the beautiful winter day that
Thursday had to offer. Many watchful eyes found a diversity of birds, with some
unexpected ones included. Notably tallied were a northern mockingbird, common
yellowthroat, Carolina wren, northern flicker, brown creeper, several red-tailed
hawks, a notable number of Iceland gulls, and a very significant number of northern
cardinals (with rumours that the Sackville Count was even higher).
A memorable
day of birding and camaraderie, thanks to the organization of Yolande LeBlanc
and Alain Clavette, with the village providing free Tim Horton's goodies to
start the day off followed by delicious pizza at the end of the day!
**On
Thursday, Brian Stone visited the wharf at Cape Tormentine and drove around Tantramar
Marsh, but saw only a couple of things to photograph. At the Cape
Tormentine wharf, Brian was surprised by a flash of white as a white weasel
bounded across the wharf in front of him as he was getting out of the car. He
searched the area for a bit, but there was no sign of it again. Very distant, red-breasted
mergansers were swimming in a group, and a female common eider found
a crab for lunch and ate it in pieces, retrieving the main body each time it
ate a leg until it was a small enough size to swallow. At the Tantramar Marsh,
Brian drove the icy dirt roads slowly and found only one adult bald eagle
and one immature bald eagle that were photographed at a distance. A nice
day for a drive, but few wildlife sightings.
**This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 December 20 – December 27
As we approach the end of the year, step outside some clear evening and take a
look around the sky. This time of year many of the brightest stars are at
their best when you face south. Halfway up the sky around 11 pm is the
slanted line of three stars that forms Orion’s Belt. Above it are the shoulders
of the giant hunter, marked by reddish-orange Betelgeuse and Bellatrix to its
right. Below, blue-white Rigel and Saiph are parts of Orion’s legs. The Belt
points to the right at the V-shaped Hyades star cluster, anchored by orange
Aldebaran, and to the compact, eye-catching Pleiades cluster; which together
form the face and shoulder of Taurus the Bull.
To the lower left of the Belt is the night sky’s brightest star, Sirius, in
Canis Major, the larger of Orion’s two canine companions. Bellatrix and dim
Meissa, marking Orion’s head, form an arrowhead with Betelgeuse at the tip,
which points toward Procyon in two-star Canis Minor. Auriga and Gemini ride
above Orion. Among these winter constellations are five of the ten brightest
stars, with 12 more in the top fifty.
Rather than make a New Year’s resolution that involves great sacrifice and
likely won’t see February, why not start an astronomy project to learn the sky
over the year. I recommend the RASC Explore the Universe program, which
involves observing and describing or sketching objects using your unaided eyes,
binoculars or a small telescope. The objects include constellations and bright
stars, lunar features, the solar system, double stars, and deep sky objects
like the hazy binocular nebula M42 below Orion’s Belt. By observing 55 of the
110 objects you could earn a certificate and a pin. For details, see https://www.rasc.ca/explore-universe
or contact me.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:58 and sunset will occur at 4:35, giving
8 hours, 37 minutes of daylight (8:00 and 4:43 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 8:00 and set at 4:40, giving 8 hours, 40 minutes of
daylight (8:02 and 4:48 in Saint John). The Sun reaches its winter solstice
point at 11:03 on Sunday morning to kick off a new season.
The Moon is new on December 19 and waxes to first quarter on December 27. It
will be near Saturn on Boxing Day, and that evening the Lunar X might be
fully formed for telescope users around 10 pm. Mercury rises after most kids do
on Christmas, just before 7 am. Jupiter rises at 6 that evening and Saturn
sets after 11:30, so try your new telescope out on both. On Sunday
telescope users might see Jupiter’s moon Io fade into the planet’s shadow at
8:54 and reappear on the other side at 11:39, with Jupiter’s Red Spot visible
during most of that stretch. The Ursid meteor shower peaks on Sunday with
some shooting stars sloshing from the Little Dipper in the north.
Tune in to
the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook
page of Astronomy by the Bay. And have a stellar Christmas.
Questions?
Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
