Nature Moncton Nature News: April 15 2016

For those who visit the Taylor Road just off Rte. 112 near Salisbury, Dave Miller advises that DNR has closed off this road to vehicle travel for the time being due to soft road conditions. Signs are up and start just at the juncture that veers off to the right past the mill.

** Gordon Rattray observed and got a photo of a small group of PALM WARBLERS [Paruline à couronne rousse] traveling with AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] at the Hillsborough ponds on Wednesday. The Palm Warbler is often one of the first of our wood warblers to arrive back. Gordon also saw a BELTED KINGFISHER [Martin-pêcheur d'Amérique] in the large pond below the tower. There were a few NORTHERN SHOVELER [Canard souchet] ducks and AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d'Amérique] present. Gordon comments the duck population seems to be low so far this year at that site with only a few members of each species seen so far. He also observed COLTSFOOT [Tussilage] and PUSSY WILLOWS in bloom.

** Richard Perron shares some photos of HAIR CAP MOSS, a bryophyte of summer often in boggy areas. Richard photographed this one in a bog along the Sheridan Rd. near Bouctouche in August. This plant is tall for a moss, and Richard's photo shows the slender erect sporophyte capsules to easily identify it.

** The warm spring certainly is very suddenly bringing some of the early bloomers to life. Two of the plants being monitored by Plant Watch are COLTSFOOT [Tussilage] and the male flowers of the TREMBLING ASPEN [Tremble], both early risers. I was able to document the first blooming of both of these on Mapleton Rd. on Friday with photos. Note the lack of green leaves on the coltsfoot photos at this point to easily distinguish it from the dandelion.

** Bob Blake observed CROCUS, COLTSFOOT [Tussilage] and PUSSY WILLOW in bloom in his yard in Second North River. Pussy Willow has male and female flowers on different trees. It was not indicated which Bob noted or whether he noted both. The male flowers are yellow and will shed their pollen, while the female Pussy Willow flowers are green and will develop seed droops.

** Brian Stone caught the end of a beautiful day on Thursday with a special photo of the sun setting with lots of nice foreground.

** As a reminder, the Nature Moncton April meeting is taking place next Tuesday, April 19th, with Mac Dunfield from Ducks Unlimited as presenter. One of the changes in the meeting is the emphasis on the sightings folks have made recently and discussing them with photos or short videos if possible. Make sure to bring along photos or videos you may have on a flash drive, so they can be shared with the group.

** It's last call for the Mason Bee workshop on for tomorrow, Saturday, at the Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr. from 1:00 to 3:00 pm for the English Session. Complete details are attached below.

Workshop: “Give a home to a Mason Bee: a species worth discovering.”

Sponsored by: Nature NB in collaboration with Nature Moncton and Nature sud-est.

Presenter: Lewnanny Richardson

Bio: For more than 20 years Lewnanny has worked as a biologist for Nature NB as their coordinator for the species at risk program. For decades he has been working in the Acadian Peninsula with Piping Plovers.

Details: During the workshop attendees will be introduced to the Hymenoptera group. The brief introductory presentation will be followed by the opportunity to construct a bee house which can then be placed in your garden near the flowers, greenhouse or other ideal location in your yard. During the easy woodworking construction Lewnanny will continue to provide more information on our native Mason bee and its important role as a pollinator. For instance did you know that not all the bees sting?

Place: Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr.
Date: Saturday April 16th
NOTE: This workshop will be offered twice: the morning presentation will be offered in French from 10 am to noon followed in English from 1-3pm.
Cost: $8

Participation in this workshop is open to everyone but pre-registration is requested in order to assure there are kits available for everyone.
To Register: Contact Judi Berry-Steeves at jbsteeve@nbnet.nb.ca or phone Judi at 387-4778.

** This week's Sky-at-Glance, courtesy of Curt Nason is attached with it looking like some clear nights ahead to appreciate it all.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, April 16 – April 23
Although Orion and his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, are
slipping into the sunset, they are not the only pooches in the night
sky. The constellation Canes Venatici dogs the Great Bear around the top
of the pole on spring evenings. This small constellation of the Hunting
Dogs is generally seen as a pair of stars well below the handle of the
Big Dipper. They assist their master, Boötes, in chasing the celestial
bears around the pole.

In one tale from mythology Boötes is Icarius, a vineyard owner who was
taught the art of winemaking by Bacchus. He introduced his shepherd
neighbours to his product, and when they awoke hungover the next morning
they thought they had been poisoned. In retaliation they killed Icarius
and threw him in a ditch. His dogs, Chara and Asterion, sensed something
was wrong and when they eventually found their master they jumped into
the ditch to die with him.

The brightest star in Canes Venatici is a double star called Cor Caroli,
which means the heart of Charles. Edmond Halley coined this because it
was said to have shone brightly when Charles II returned to London after
his defeat by Cromwell. Halfway between Cor Caroli and Arcturus you can
see a fuzzy patch with binoculars. This is the globular star cluster M3
from Messier’s catalogue.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:30 am and sunset will occur at
8:08 pm, giving 13 hours, 38 minutes of daylight (6:37 am and 8:12 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:18 am and set at 8:18
pm, giving 14 hours of daylight (6:25 am and 8:21 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is full after midnight on Thursday evening, and it is called
the Pink Moon for the phlox that blooms somewhere this time of year.
However, since the Moon was at apogee Thursday afternoon, this is the
smallest full Moon of the year and I will call it the Punymoon. A
quarter and a nickel at a distance of two metres give the relative sizes
of the Supermoon and the Punymoon in the sky. On Sunday evening the
waxing gibbous Moon is near Jupiter.

Jupiter dominates the evening sky; check out the nightly positional
changes of its four moons with binoculars or a scope. Around 10:30 pm
Sunday its largest moon, Ganymede (which is larger than Mercury),
reappears from behind Jupiter and then disappears into the planet’s
shadow 17 minutes later. Mercury is at its greatest elongation from the
Sun on Monday evening, setting nearly two hours after sunset. Mars is
stationary relative to the stars this Saturday, beginning its westerly
retrograde motion and pulling away from Saturn to its left and Antares
below. Both Mars and Saturn are rising before midnight.

The provincial astronomy club, RASC NB, meets in Room 203 of the UNB
Forestry/Earth Sciences Building on April 16 at 1 pm. All are welcome.

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

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton