Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 4 2016

NATURE MONCTON'S NATURE LINE, November 4, 2016 (Friday)

Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca. if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

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Edited by : Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

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** Louise Nichols visited the Port Elgin lagoon on Thursday morning to find it quite lively with BUFFLEHEADS [Petit Garrot], COMMON GOLDENEYE [Garrot à oeil d'or] that were predominantly female, some RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier], MALLARDS [Canard colvert], and a few BONAPARTE'S GULLS [Mouette de Bonaparte]. On her return to Sackville, Louise came to the High Marsh Rd via the Point du Bute Rd and kept count of raptors seen to tally 10 RED-TAILED HAWKS [Buse à queue rousse], 9 NORTHERN HARRIERS [Busard Saint-Martin] and 3 BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche], with no sightings of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS [Buse pattue].

** Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc have had a female NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] arrive to their Bouctouche feeder yard on Wednesday. It was very shy and hard to photograph, but Stella got a documentary photo. A female Northern Cardinal arrived to their feeder yard last year on Nov. 15th and it ended up staying with them the whole winter. One has to wonder if this may be the same bird. They also had a male COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] appear on Wednesday, sporting its colour.

** Pam Novak would like to know if anyone did a count of CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada], adults and/or goslings, at the Dieppe traffic circle during the busy spring breeding season. She's looking for estimates of what was there during the height of activity in May and June. Pam can be reached by email at pam.novak@xplornet.com. If anyone does have this information, share it with the Information Line as well. It is pretty amazing the amount of waterfowl that use this busy site, ignoring all the traffic. In reality, it's probably a very safe place to set up housekeeping and an account of activity would be very interesting.

** Mark Lloyd has made another music video using some of Anna Tucker's photos from the Sackville Waterfowl Park, taken in late August and September. It can be viewed at https://youtu.be/h5dl4OiorYE

** Aldo Dorio continues to get photos of HORNED LARKS [Alouette hausse-col] and SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] enjoying the coastline at Hay Island.

This week’s SKY AT A GLANCE is attached below courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, November 5 – November 12
Three quarters of the 88 official constellations can be seen in whole or
in part, theoretically, from New Brunswick. The ancient ones are usually
easy to pick out, but some were created just a few centuries ago to fill
in the blanks, as it were, in the night sky. Their stars are faint and
require rural skies or binoculars to pick out. In addition, some never
rise much above our horizon, where the thicker layer of atmosphere we
must peer through makes those dim stars even fainter.

This month is a good time to try for the constellation Sculptor, a
shortened version of its original name Apparatus Sculptoris (the
sculptor’s studio) given by Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. By 9
pm it is very low in the south but it does have a prominent marker. The
bright star Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus is just to its right. The
western side of the Square of Pegasus conveniently points toward
Fomalhaut if you need help in identifying that star. Use binoculars to
seek out a long triangle of brighter dim stars stretching eastward from
there. Don’t be discouraged if your attempt to locate Sculptor is a bust.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 8:06 am and sunset will occur at
5:59 pm, giving 9 hours, 53 minutes of daylight (8:10 am and 6:06 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:16 am and set at 4:50
pm, giving 9 hours, 34 minutes of daylight (7:19 am and 4:57 pm in Saint
John). We return to Standard time this Sunday (2 am ADT becomes 1 am AST).

The Moon is at First Quarter on Monday, giving great views through a
scope all week. On Sunday evening use a scope to look for the Lunar X
forming just inside the shadow line a little below centre. Mercury is
too low in the west to be seen this week but it is heading toward a
rendezvous with Saturn in a couple of weeks. Venus is getting higher now
and later in the week it passes within a binocular view below M8, the
Lagoon Nebula. By midweek Mars will have crossed the constellation
border into Capricornus. In addition to seeing Jupiter, early risers
this weekend and next might catch some meteors streaking from the
constellation Taurus as the minor South and North Taurid showers reach
their peak activities.

Join RASC NB members at the Moncton High School cafetorium this Saturday
for a series of free astronomy talks beginning at 11 am, including one
in the afternoon by world-famous amateur astronomer and author David
Levy. He co-discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which crashed into
Jupiter in 1994, and he will be talking about his life as a comet
hunter. Tickets will be on sale for a telescope raffle to be drawn after
the talks, and there will be public observing at the high school
observatory in the evening. See the link below for a description of the
talks and other information.http://www.nb.rasc.ca/documents/AGM_2016_Brochure.pdf

The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets on Tuesday at 7 pm in the
UNB Fredericton Forestry / Earth Sciences Building. All are welcome.

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

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton