Nature Moncton Nature News: February 14 2015

**Kathleen Spicer got a photo of a dark-plumaged RING-NECKED PHEASANT

[Faisan de Colchide] in the Sackville area recently. It's a very

different plumage. It would appear to be a female. Any further

comments, please?

**Lisa Morris noted some very fresh workings of a PILEATED WOODPECKER

[Grand Pic] in Centennial Park on Friday, with the huge splinters on

the ground below. All three of Moncton's woodland parks host this top

member of the royal court of Woodpeckers [Pic].

**Anne Marsch had a nice Grosbeak [Gros-bec] visit on Friday morning

when 25 EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] arrived to her Lower

Coverdale yard, enjoying a cracked corn breakfast that had been set out

for Ducks [Canard] and Pheasants [Faisan]. Anne comments the CARDINAL

[Cardinal rouge] goes to the cracked corn as well.

**It never fails to amaze what bird species end up at peanut butter.

On Friday morning our resident RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de

Colchide] decided to go to the top of the bird feeding enclosure to

chow down on peanut butter, then cross over to a sunflower chip feeder

to finish off.

**Brian Stone and I went back to further study a large group of Gulls

[Goéland] that were in a feeding frenzy at a farm in Maccan on Sunday.

When we returned on Thursday the farmer was busy moving the object of

their interest inside, which turned out to be truckloads of french

fries and brewers' grain he takes from respective manufacturing plants

as cattle feed. With the french fry component, little wonder the large

flock was predominantly ICELAND GULLS [Goéland arctique]. It was a

great chance to get close-up observations of Gulls [Goéland] in their

differing phases, but they chose to stay in the air, and to wait in a

nearby field on Thursday.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, February 13 – 21

On Wednesday, February 18, the Moon will go into its New Phase meaning we will not see it during the night. Expect higher high tides and lower low tides

On Thursday the 19th, you can catch the hairline crescent Moon far to the lower right of Venus and Mars. It's only one day old! Bring binoculars.

Venus, Mars, and the Moon form a tight bunch as twilight fades. Mark your calendar for this one!

A day later Mars and Venus appear closest, with the thickening crescent now above them.

After dusk at this time of year: Ursa Major is in the northeast with the Big Dipper as its brightest part.

Bright Capella passes straight overhead, or nearly so, around 8 p.m. And whenever Capella passes highest, Rigel in Orion's foot is always due south.

Mid-February is when Orion stands highest in the south at dusk. His eastern shoulder, orange-red Betelgeuse, forms the Winter Triangle with brilliant Sirius far below and Procyon to their left.

Mars is now just 2° above Venus in the west-southwest at dusk. They'll remain at least this close for the next nine days.

On Friday, February 20, Venus, the thin crescent Moon, and little Mars form a tight bunch in the west-southwest during and after dusk. They fit in a circle just 2° across at the times of dusk. for most of North America.

On Saturday, February 21, Venus and Mars are in conjunction 0.4° apart at dusk, with the Moon now looking on from on high.

On Saturday, February 14, the sun rose at 7:25 a.m. and will set at 5:42 p.m. giving 10 hours 17 minutes of daylight. On Saturday, February 21, the sun will rise at 7:13 a.m. and set at 5:52 p.m. to give 10 hours 39 minutes of daylight hours (These values are for Moncton, New Brunswick).

The days are getting longer!

This Week's Planet Roundup

Mercury (about magnitude +0.2) is becoming visible before sunrise. Look for it just above the east-southeast horizon in early dawn. As the sky brightens, you'll need binoculars.

Venus (magnitude –3.9) and Mars (less than 1% as bright, at magnitude +1.2) are drawing close together in the west-southwest during evening twilight. The gap between them diminishes this week from 4° on the 13th (when Mars is on top) to 0.4° at their conjunction on the evening of Saturday the 21st (with Mars just to Venus's upper right). On Friday the 20th, the crescent Moon joins them to make a beautiful bunch.

Jupiter (magnitude –2.6) was at opposition last week. Watch for it coming into view in the east as twilight fades. By 8 p.m. Jupiter is high in the east. By 11 p.m. it's essentially as high as it will get.

Saturn (magnitude +0.5) rises around 2 a.m. It’s placed fairly high in the south as dawn begins. Below Saturn by 9° is orange Antares.

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca