NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 27 March 2021 (Saturday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Catherine Clements
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**The Miramichi Marsh has become a go-to birding area, with habitat
that attracts a variety of wildlife. Peter and Deana Gadd checked it out early
Friday afternoon. The ponds are still frozen, but there was meltwater in
places, and some open water in the brooks. They did not see any ducks or CANADA
GEESE [Bernache du Canada] but did see at least 5 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS
[Carouge à epaulettes] and 7 COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé], and perhaps 25 redpolls
[Sizerin], 2 COMMON RAVENS [Grand Corbeau] and 3 or 4 CROWS [Corneille], as
well as a couple of BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu]. Most interesting for them was their
first of the year SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur]. Deana heard at least two others
and heard a trill which she suspected might have been a SWAMP SPARROW [Bruant
des marais].
They were fortunate enough to witness a single BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
[Mésange à tête noire] working energetically at excavating a nest cavity in
quite a small diameter snag. It was careful, as they always are, to leave the
wood chips at some distance away from the nest.
They saw very briefly an attack on a cluster of birds by either a
MERLIN [Faucon émerillon] or SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun].
There was a flock of approximately 42 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à
epaulettes] at their home on Friday afternoon. They have had Red-winged
Blackbirds for a while, but numbers are really building. There was also a male
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD [Vacher à tête brune] with them, and a few GRACKLES
[Quiscale bronzé] as well. They saw their resident winter RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKER [Pic à ventre roux] earlier in the week and are seeing just one
NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] daily now. The Gadd’s had up to 13 Northern
Cardinals some days over the winter. One would have to wonder what their
thoughts are at the moment, establishing territories or leaving the area?
Another month should answer that.
They also caught sight of a
lone CANADA GOOSE [Bernache du Canada], which was their first of the year, at
the Newcastle water treatment lagoon on Wednesday.
****
Another report of HONEY BEES to a bird feeder yard. John Inman has had a swarm
arrive to his 225 Mary’s Point yard very impressed with the cracked corn. His
bird patrons are not amused! Two FOX SPARROWS arrived on March 23. Also a second HOUSE FINCH (female) has
arrived. This is very out of character for House Finch to be visiting rural
feeder yards normally being very urban in their feeder yard choice. A RUSTY
BLACKBIRD is also a patron with a few remaining REDPOLLS still present.
**Brian
Stone visited Mapleton Park on Thursday to find several EASTERN CHIPMUNKS
filling their check pouches and looking to have overwintered very nicely on
their stored caches. Brian also photographed a snag tree that PILEATED
WOODPEKER(s) found very attractive to leave their large slivers of tailings at
the tree base. He also got nice photos of PUSSY WILLOW shrubs opening their bud
scales to show their white hairy winter bud insulation. They will soon be
showing their green female blooms or yellow male blooms on separate plants. An
immature BALD EAGLE did a fly pass.
**Mac Wilmot comments they seem to have an annual visit from a MOOSE
[Orignal] that shows up and wanders about their Lower Coverdale property. On
Wednesday morning, Mac found the evidence of the visit again, but this time
there seemed to be two animals, so possibly a cow and a yearling.
**Gordon Rattray did a check to see the progress to breeding plumage
of the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER at Dwayne Biggar’s place in Edgett’s Landing on
Friday. It did not show while Gordon was there, but he did get a few
consolation prizes: a pleasant photo of a FOX SPARROW [Bruant fauve] with the
front nicely showing the rusty arrows on its chest. A COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale
bronzé] showed its iridescence, a PINE SISKIN [Tarin des pins] came by (they
seemed to decrease in abundance locally over the winter), and a female
RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide] strutted about.
**Male RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide] wattle size,
according to literature Pat Gibbs found, would vary somewhat according to age
and status in the group. Pat got two photos recently of birds with engorged and
unengorged wattles that illustrate some of the information she found and the
dramatic wattle engorgement.
**We are a day late with this week’s Sky at a Glance, courtesy of Curt
Nason; however, it rather looks like Mother Nature is going to start off the
week with a cloudy evening and night skies. It is just a blip; the sky will
still be there waiting.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 March 27 – 2021 April 3
The spring star is springing up in the east these evenings. Arcturus is the
third or fourth brightest star in the sky and the second brightest we can see
from New Brunswick. It is just a tad brighter than Vega, the summer star, which
rises around 9:30 pm this week. The winter star, Sirius, sets after midnight
and Capella, the autumn star, never sets in southern New Brunswick. The
discrepancy over whether Arcturus is third or fourth brightest depends on how
you define it. Alpha Centauri, in the southern hemisphere, appears brighter but
it is a close double star – too close to split with the naked eye – and
Arcturus is brighter than either but not both.
Arcturus anchors the constellation Boötes (bo-oh-teez) the Herdsman, and the
star’s name means “bear driver.” Boötes is seen chasing the two bears, Ursa
Major and Ursa Minor, around the celestial North Pole. To many people the
constellation resembles a tie, a kite or an ice cream cone. The head of the
herdsman, at the tip of the constellation opposite Arcturus, is the star
Nekkar, which sounds somewhat like necktie.
Halfway between Arcturus and the hind leg of Ursa Major is the star Cor Coroli
in Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs. Use binoculars to look for a fuzzy patch
halfway between Arcturus and Cor Coroli. This is a globular cluster called M3,
the third entry in Charles Messier’s 18th century catalogue of things that
resemble a comet but aren’t. This cluster contains half a million stars at a distance
of 34,000 light years, nearly a thousand times farther than Arcturus.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:08 am and sunset will occur at 7:41 pm,
giving 12 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (7:13 am and 7:46 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 6:54 am and set at 7:50 pm, giving 12
hours, 56 minutes of daylight (7:00 am and 7:55 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is full this Sunday, the Mi’kmaq Maple Sugar Moon. Mars spends the
next two weeks moving along between the long horns of Taurus the Bull. Saturn
is rising around 5 am this week, half an hour before Jupiter. Mercury and Venus
will be out of sight over the next month. Starting on Tuesday we will have
another two-week opportunity to see the zodiacal light in a clear, dark western
sky, approximately 45-90 minutes after sunset.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold you can watch the local
Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
