Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 22 2016

** Ryan Jewkes got a photo of a raptor in a birdfeeder yard on Glenmore Ave. in Moncton recently. It appears to be a large female SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun], but the more uncommon COOPER'S HAWK [Épervier de Cooper] cannot be definitely ruled out as the dark cap does contrast with the paler nape. However, the tail tip features and breast pattern do not show, so out of default, it's labeled Sharp-shinned Hawk. It was after ROCK PIGEONS [Pigeon biset] and MOURNING DOVES [Tourterelle triste].

** Brian Stone surely had his camera in the right position at the right moment on Thursday when he was trying to photograph some PINE GROSBEAKS [Durbec des sapins] in his Moncton yard when a juvenile RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse] landed to quickly disperse the feeder birds. We don't often see Red-tailed Hawks to birdfeeder yards. The hawk perched only briefly before 12 AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique] descended to harass it.

** There seems to be a few feeder yard reports recently. Some folks earlier have reported quiet yards; others, fairly active. Our own yard is modestly lively, especially with AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien] at approximately 15 and one SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur], and one immature WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW [Bruant à couronne blanche]. I'm hoping the White-crowned Sparrow stays to watch it molt to adult. I check that daily, but it's a bit like watching paint dry! The expected regulars are coming, including HOUSE FINCH [Roselin familier]; however, the complete lack of COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flame] and PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins] so far has made it seem less busy than last year.

** This weeks' Sky-at-a-Glance is added below, courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, January 23 – January 30
There is one river seen in New Brunswick that is completely ice-free all
winter, but we can only see it at night. Eridanus the River, the fifth
largest constellation in area of sky, has its head just off the foot of
Orion near Rigel. Even when it is at its highest in our sky, the river’s
meandering path takes it more than ten degrees below the horizon to
where it terminates at Achernar, the ninth brightest star.

In mythology the river is associated with Phaeton, a mortal son of
Apollo. Apollo drove the Sun, a golden chariot powered by mighty steeds,
across the sky by day. Phaeton was allowed to drive it one day but he
couldn’t control the steeds. They ran amok, scorching the sky (the Milky
Way) and the Earth (Sahara), until Zeus blasted Phaeton with a
thunderbolt and he fell to his death in the river. The twisty
constellation was also considered to be the path of souls.

Although we can’t see Achernar without travelling to Florida, there is a
notable star in Eridanus that we can see from outside a city. Omicron-2
Eridani, also called 40 Eridani or Keid (circled on the map), has a
famous fictional and fascinating planet: Vulcan, the home of Spock. Did
you know that there was once believed to be a planet closer to the Sun
than Mercury? It was named Vulcan after the Roman god of fire,
metalworking and the forge. Anomalies in Mercury’s orbit were thought to
be due to an interior planet, and some astronomers even claimed to have
seen it crossing the Sun. This was about 150 years ago, after Neptune
was predicted and discovered based on anomalies in the orbit of Uranus.
Coincidentally, regarding the god Vulcan, the constellation Fornax the
Furnace barely crests our horizon near Eridanus.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:52 am and sunset will occur at
5:10 pm, giving 9 hours, 18 minutes of daylight (7:54 am and 5:18 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:45 am and set at 5:21
pm, giving 9 hours, 36 minutes of daylight (7:48 am and 5:28 pm in Saint
John).

The full Wolf Moon occurs on Saturday but it has nothing to do with
lycanthropy. Wolves would be getting hungry by this time of winter and
start moving closer to settlements, howling through the night. Mercury
rises 70-80minutes before the Sun this week, and by late week Jupiter
rises before 9 pm. With a scope or steady binoculars see if you can
catch Jupiter’s moon Europa disappear into Jupiter’s shadow (west of the
planet) around 10:30 pm on Tuesday.

All five of the naked eye planets are in the morning sky for the next
few weeks, although binoculars might be needed to locate Mercury. This
presents an interesting display in terms of the calendar. The days of
the week are named, in order from Sunday, for the Sun, the Moon, Mars,
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. From east to west, therefore, our
week is currently scrambled as Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday,
Tuesday, Thursday and Monday. Monday moves a day ahead after Wednesday.
Confused? Who’s on first?

If you want to combine a crisp nature walk with stargazing, join the
annual Moonlight Snowshoe Hike at Sheldon’s Point in Saint John at 7 pm
this Saturday. Telescopes will be set of for observing after the hike.
For details see:https://www.jdirving.com/jd-irving-sustainability-nature-parks-irving-nature-park-schedule.aspx

Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton