Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 19 2016

** Carmella Melanson visited Tantramar Marsh on Thursday with Golden Eagle in mind. No Golden Eagle appeared, but an awesome bonus prize was the sighting and photo of a BOBCAT [Lynx roux] on the marsh. There may be lots of Bobcats around but it's a seldom seen animal in a photo due to its secretive behavior. It is, however, the time of year when young-of-the-year are being sent on their way by their mothers and looking for a place in the world.

That Golden Eagle scenario changed for Carmella on Friday when she made a return attempt to be rewarded by an overhead fly-over of a Golden Eagle at Tantramar Marsh with a striking photo captured!

** Signs of the season: Heather Silliker reports the BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche] have started to come to their Upper Coverdale backyard, even closer to their home than they usually do. They are grabbing dead branches from the Aspen trees, snapping them off and carrying the branches away. Nest renovations are obviously getting under way.

** Judy Marsh took a walk along the Humphrey Brook Trail on Tuesday. The brook was rolling in contentment in the warmth of the day. This is a very pleasant newer trail along the removed dam by the former Humphrey Woollen Mill that many of us may not have found yet.

** There are probably very few NELSON'S SPARROWS in New Brunswick at the moment. David Christie spotted one on the Mary's Point marsh in a clump of cattails. It was a tad on the uncooperative side about getting a photo, but Dave did get one as it dove into the cattails. He did not see it again on Wednesday. This is a surprise winter bird and a new one for the WINTER LIST IN NB

** On Wednesday, Dave saw the COOPER'S HAWK [Épervier de Cooper] in the same white birch by his home where he had seen it on January 25th. It stayed long enough for him to check out its head and under-parts streaking before it flew.

** Jean-Paul and Stella Leblanc report the male BELTED KINGFISHER

[Martin-pêcheur d'Amérique] is still being seen at the Bouctouche lagoon and looking good. They got a great photo of it on Thursday. They spotted a blended flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d'Amérique] and BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boreal] of approximately 100, but predominantly Bohemian Waxwings. The female NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] and the PINE WARBLER [Paruline des pins] continue to be present at their Bouctouche feeder yard.

** There are still very few COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin flame] reports in local areas, but Aldo Dorio continues to see a small flock in the Malpac area. He also captured a photo of a GRAY JAY [Mésangeai du Canada] in the same area on Thursday.

** This week's upcoming Sky-at-a-Glance is added courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, February 20 – February 27
The most inconspicuous of the zodiac constellations is faint Cancer the
Crab, which is nestled between Gemini and Leo. In mythology, the crab
was sent by the goddess queen Hera to distract Hercules while he was
battling the Hydra. The crab was no match for the strongman’s stomp.
Ancient Egyptians saw it as their sacred dung beetle, the scarab. In the
first millennium BC the Sun was in Cancer at the summer solstice, the
time when it halts its northward motion and slowly starts heading south.
This back and forth motion of the rising and setting Sun on the horizon
was perhaps reminiscent of a crab sidling on a beach. The summer Sun is
now situated above the foot of Castor in Gemini.

The constellation is recognized by a trapezoid of dim but naked eye
stars as the crab’s body, with a couple of other stars representing the
claws. The four stars were also seen as a manger flanked by a pair of
donkeys, Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australus. On a clear dark night
we can see a hazy patch of hay within the manger, and binoculars reveal
it as a beautiful star cluster called the Beehive, Praesepe or M44.
Being near the ecliptic, the planets often pass through or near this
cluster, masquerading as a bright guest star. The Beehive was once used
to forecast storms, for if it could not be seen it was hidden by light
clouds at the front of a weather system. Binoculars can reveal another
star cluster, number 67 on the Messier list of fuzzy non-comets, less
than a fist-width south of M44.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:15 am and sunset will occur at
5:52 pm, giving 10 hours, 37 minutes of daylight (7:18 am and 5:58 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:03 am and set at 6:02
pm, giving 10 hours, 59 minutes of daylight (7:07 am and 6:08 pm in
Saint John).

The full Snow Moon occurs on Monday, but don’t blame it if we get dumped
with a load of white stuff. Mercury rises about 40 minutes before the
Sun this week and Venus rises an hour before. Jupiter rises around 7 pm
and teams up with the Moon on Tuesday. Ruddy Mars is about 20 degrees, a
little less than a hand span at arm’s length, to the west of golden
Saturn, and it will close that gap to 7 degrees by mid-April.

The provincial astronomy club, RASC NB, meets at the Rockwood Park
Interpretation Centre in Saint John on Saturday, February 20 at 1pm. All
are welcome.

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

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton