Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 7 2017

NATURE MONCTON’S INFORMATION LINE – January 7, 2017 (Saturday)

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: Catherine Clements

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

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**The HOUSE SPARROW [Moineau domestique] population in New Brunswick has dropped dramatically for an unknown reason. This population decrease has been very positive for EASTERN BLUEBIRDS [Merlebleu de l'Est] and TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore], which the House Sparrow will aggressively compete for nest boxes with. This population drop is not the case in Ontario, where Anna Tucker is visiting at the moment, and sends a photo of a House Sparrow in the urban backyard at her daughter’s home, with AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune].

**The WOOD DUCKS [Canard branchu] wintering at Mapleton Park with the MALLARD [Canard colvert] troop are very much taking their place, and gladly accepting food put out for them by park visitors. Brian Stone and Danny Sullivan visited Mapleton Park on Friday to find the female only, very aggressively holding her own against the larger Mallards to get her share. The male was elsewhere when they visited; however, both male and female were together and resting when John Filliter visited in later afternoon. Brian also got a photo of a BLACK x MALLARD DUCK hybrid [hybride Canard noir x Canard colvert]. Brian and Danny also visited the Humphrey’s Brook Trail at the Harrisville end, going north on the frozen marshy area there. There were many birds’ nests from summer in the saplings there, all at approximately eye level. There was a small BEAVER [Castor] dam near the road, and some MUSKRAT [Rat musqué] lodges.

Bob Blake maintains a record of mourning low temperatures and daily high temperatures from his Second North River home and has been doing so for some years. He also keeps records of precipitation amounts.

Bob provides his personal statistics for December 2015 and December 2016 for comparisons.

For December 2015, he recorded 2 mornings -10°C or below

For December 2016, he recorded 9 mornings -10°C or below

The coolest morning temperature recorded for December 2015 was -14°C

The coolest morning temperature recorded for December 2016 was -22°C

This shows a big difference between the two months with December 2016 having some much cooler morning temperatures.

December 2016 had 7 mornings 0°C or above

December 2015 at 3 mornings 0°C or above

The daily high statistics for December 2015 and 2016 were similar.

Precipitation was 44 mm of rain and 82 cm snow for December 2015

Precipitation was 30 mm of rain and 58 cm of snow for December 2016

**I drove down Route 105 from Fredericton to the Sheffield area on Friday afternoon. There were several ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS [Buse pattue] and one RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse] spotted, but others have reported higher numbers. Most were too distant for photographs, but a few were near enough to zoom in from the vehicle window. One showed its tail pattern nicely as it preened, to show the heavy dark band at the end, with no bands above it, to suggest it to be a female or immature male. Another photo shows a dark morph bird showing just how dark they can be when perched.

**It seemed an odd time of year for DEER [Chevreuil] herds to be out in the fields, but I saw one field with 15+ WHITE-TAILED DEER [Chevreuil] pushing away at the snow to forage. They appeared to be under the watchful eye of a dominant-appearing buck. The antlers of the buck White-tailed Deer should be falling off soon, but this lad seemed very intact and on a mission. Don Gibson mentioned he had seen a field in the same area with 30+ White-tailed Deer recently. An OSPREY [Balbuzard pêcheur] nest was noted that was low in a deciduous tree almost over the road. Gilles Belliveau suspects that it is one that a pair of Osprey built near a platform that had been taken over by GREAT HORNED OWL [Grand-duc d'Amérique]. The Ospreys harassed the Owl for a time, and then built across the road from it. A very public nesting site.

**This week’s Sky at a Glance is attached to today’s edition, courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, January 7 – January 14

Can you bear to be outside when it is raining cats and dogs? Or do you slither, sidle or hop back inside? If you have a clear, dark sky this week, check out the eastern sky around 10 pm to test your mettle and constellation hunting skills. There may be four dogs, three cats, two bears, a hare, a snake and a crab to greet you. Oh, and a unicorn if you believe in them.

Start looking toward the southeast where Orion is hunting. Below his feet is Lepus the Hare, staying immobile in hopes that Orion’s canine companions overlook him. Can you see the ears pointing to Rigel at Orion’s foot? Following Orion’s belt to the left brings you to sparkling Sirius at the heart of Canis Major the Big Dog, and it doesn’t take a great imagination to see a dog in this group of stars. Orion’s shoulders and head form an arrowhead that points toward bright Procyon, one of only a few visible stars in Canis Minor the Little Dog. Use your imagination to see Monoceros the Unicorn between the two dogs.

Now find the Big Dipper in the northeast. It forms the rear haunches and tail of Ursa Major the Big Bear, and from a rural area the legs and head of the bear can be seen easily. The two stars at the front of the bowl of the Dipper point northward to Polaris, the North Star, at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, which is officially Ursa Minor the Little Bear. Below the handle of the Big Dipper are the two main stars and hounds of Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs, seemingly nipping at the big bear’s butt.

Well below the bowl of the Big Dipper is Leo the Lion, recognized by the stellar backwards question mark of its chest and mane, with Regulus at its heart and a triangle forming its tail and hind legs. A faint triangle of stars between Leo and the Dipper is Leo Minor, the Little Lion. The third cat is Lynx, a faint line of stars running from Little Leo and past the front of Ursa Major. Between Regulus and Procyon is the head of Hydra the Water Snake, which will take much of the night to rise completely; and faint, crabby Cancer is above Hydra’s head. Stay warm and dry, and happy hunting.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 8:01 am and sunset will occur at 4:51 pm, giving 8 hours, 50 minutes of daylight (8:03 am and 4:59 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:58 am and set at 4:59 pm, giving 9 hours, 1 minute of daylight (8:00 am and 5:07 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is full on Thursday. I love to watch the full Moon setting in morning twilight this time of year. Also on Thursday, Venus reaches its greatest elongation from the Sun and passes just above Neptune. A small scope will now show Venus in its half-lit phase. Mars is less than 10 degrees east of Venus. In midweek Saturn rises two hours before the Sun and a half hour before Mercury. Jupiter rises less than an hour after midnight.

The Saint John Astronomy Club meets on January 7 at 7 pm in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club in Fredericton meets on Tuesday at 7 pm in the UNB Forestry / Earth Sciences Building. All are welcome and free to attend.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton