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**Jim Johnson and some
friends visited the Midland Ice Caves which are located just off Route
124, which goes from Norton to Evandale. You can Google the exact location, and
there are also directions on NB Trails site. It's a 4 km round trip, which Jim
describes as a moderate hike. He would highly recommend wearing some ice
crampons as it is very steep at the site. Jim points out that the water seeps
over the top ledge and slowly freezes over the winter. There is a small cave
behind the ice. Jim suggests that if you plan a visit, do so on a day with
freezing temperatures. Jim comments that the phenomenon is quite incredible and
very worth a visit at the moment.
(Editor’s note: the link
to the NB trails site Jim mentioned is below):
https://www.hikingnb.ca/Trails/FundyEast/MidlandIce.html
**Lisa Morris recently
photographed the results of pileated woodpecker activity on the edge of the
ski trail in Centennial Park.
(Editor’s note: There have
been several reports over the past season of pileated woodpeckers having a
territory in Centennial Park. It is great to have this beautiful bird taking a
territory within the city where more people can get to see it. We will probably
have the opportunity to see that on the Nature Moncton winter tree ID hike scheduled on March
7 in Centennial Park.)
**I suspect most of us
were not aware that the American robin will eat small fish as well as do the
fishing to get them.
It is not a common
behaviour, but is documented, and Jamie Burris came across a link below where
photographer Daniel Cadieux captured incredible images of this activity. View
the activity and photos at the link below:
Something
Fishy About This American Robin
**This Week’s Sky at a
Glance, 2026 February 14 – February 21
Let’s pay attention to the minority this week. By this I mean the Minor
constellations: Ursa, Canis and Leo, all of which are now visible in the
evening. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, hosts the Little Dipper asterism and it
has what is arguably the most important and famous star of the night
sky–Polaris, the North Star–at the tip of its tail. Although smaller and less
bright than the nearby Great Bear, Ursa Minor is at the centre of action in our
night sky. How many have heard or even believe that Polaris is the brightest
star in the night sky? It actually ranks at number 48.
Canis Minor, the Little Dog, is noted for having the eighth brightest star,
Procyon. An imaginary arrowhead formed by Orion’s head and shoulder stars
points eastward to the Little Dog. We usually see it as just two stars so it is
probably a wiener dog. Despite the brilliance of its luminary, the Little Dog
is just the opening act for Canis Major and its leading star, Sirius, the
brightest one of the night sky. In early winter Procyon rises first to announce
the impending arrival of Sirius, hence the name which means “before the dog.”
Leo Minor the Little Lion experiences difficulty in being noticed, and with
good reason. It is one of those inconspicuous constellations created by the
17th century astronomer Johannes Hevelius to fill gaps in the sky. We see it as
a triangle between the back of Leo and the feet of Ursa Major. To give it some
distinction and pride we can imagine the lion cub nipping at the heels of the
Great Bear to keep it from attacking Leo.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:23 and sunset will occur at 5:43, giving
10 hours, 20 minutes of daylight (7:26 and 5:50 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 7:12 and set at 5:54, giving 10 hours, 42 minutes of
daylight (7:15 and 6:00 in Saint John).
The Moon is new on Tuesday, and the razor-thin lunar crescent sits just
below Mercury on Wednesday. The Moon is near Saturn on Thursday with Mercury
two binocular fields to their lower right and Venus below it setting around
6:45 pm. Jupiter shines brightly high in the east in early evening, and on
Tuesday telescope users can see its moon Europa disappear behind the planet at
7:19 while the Red Spot is in mid-transit. Rural observers might catch the
zodiacal light angling up the ecliptic 60 to 90 minutes after sunset early in
the week.
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
