Stargazing With Mark Willis - March/April

20th March: The Spring Equinox. The length of the night is equal to the length of the day.

24th March - 21:00: Mars, looking south west, is still looking good although it has now moved considerably further away from Earth. It’s quite settled in the constellation of Taurus, just a little to the right of the constellation of Orion, the Hunter. Tonight it will be 11 light minutes (206.9 million kilometres) distant from Earth, compared to the 4.58 light minutes (82.4 million kilometres) back in December. So, the distance Mars has travelled is quite mind-boggling in Earth terms!

26th March: Don’t forget to put your clocks forward by one hour. I only have the kitchen and car clock to worry about these days, as all the rest seem happy to change themselves!

20th April - 21:00: You’ll see Venus forming the apex of a sky triangle, a bright star called Aldebaran, about 66 light years away. So the light we’re seeing now left the star 66 years ago in 1957 - So Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley will be a new release for any Aldebarans if they are able to listen in to our radio stations! www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com mark.willis@chelmsfordcommunityradio.com

22nd-23rd April: Lyrids Meteor Shower. Look north-east. When people learn about meteor showers, they are often surprised that these impressive displays are produced by the rather lowly substances of meteor and comet dust!

New Moon: On 21st March and 20th April there will be a new Moon. This means the skies will be extra dark which is a great opportunity to see planets, galaxies and deep space objects.

As usual, email me with any questions.

Wildlife Corner - By Nick Green

The Met Office stated that February 2023 was the driest February for 30 years for England and the fifth mildest on record, with less than half the expected average rainfall for the UK.

The red kite is an increasing resident and passage migrant. The species has successfully bred in the county in 2016 and 2017, the previous being in 1854! Indeed, in early spring this year 11 have been recorded in West Colchester. Like our common buzzard, spring migration may involve a flock of birds and when they find a thermal and spiral upward which is known as a ‘kettle’. The red kite is readily distinguished from its near cousin the black kite by its red, deeply forked red tail which is constantly used as a rudder. The red kite seems to hang in the air just using its tail to manoeuvre, whereas the shorter tailed buzzard uses a far more active flight.

Selected Essex February 2023 Highlights

The Naze: short-eared owl, 13 snow bunting. Abberton Reservoir: great northern diver, black-necked and red-necked grebes, female long-tailed duck, 9 scaup, 4 smew, 6 Bewick’s swans, 4 great white egret, up to 11 Caspian and 3 yellow-legged gulls, ruff, short-eared and barn owls, 2 peregrines, 3 rock pipit. Wallasea Island RSPB: 2 great white egret, 1-2 spoonbills, hen harrier, merlin, 3 short-eared owls. Bowers Marsh: 29 barnacle geese (6 with white neck rings). Rainham Marshes RSPB: Caspian gull, hen harrier, 3 water pipit.

The successful UK re-introduction programme included:

• The Chilterns (1989-94) involving RSPB and Natural England, bred 1991.

• Wales (1989-94) This scheme involved a total of 93 young birds imported from Sweden and Spain. Travelling on the M4 and M40 is now delightful sorting out buzzards and kites! I have also identified them on the M25, M11, A14 and A1.

There are currently some 1,800 breeding pairs of red kites in the UK.

Unchained