NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 21, 2017 (Friday)
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Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
.
** Ron Steeves spotted two HORNED
GREBES [Grèbe esclavon] on Thursday on the decommissioned lagoon in Salisbury
which Ron can see from his home on the Salisbury backroad. Dave Miller was able to capture a photo of
one to show it has very obviously taken on its brilliant yellow breeding
plumage, so different from what we are used to seeing off our coast in
winter. I would assume these birds
appearing in fresh water touched down for a rest on their migratory route
northwest.
** Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc got a
nice photo of a GADWALL [Canard chipeau] at the Bouctouche lagoon to nicely
show the white speculum. The Gadwall is
the only dabbler duck with a white speculum.
Jean-Paul and Stella also had a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK [Épervier de
Cooper] visit their Bouctouche feeder yard to check out the menu. It would seem the Cooper’s Hawk is becoming a
more common raptor in New Brunswick, or else we’re all getting better at
differentiating them from Sharp-shinned Hawks.
One has to be cautious with Cooper’s
Hawks photos not to confuse them with female Sharp-shinned Hawks. Some points
on Jean-Paul’s photos that point to Cooper’s Hawk is the streaking on the breast is quite
thin and gets thinner as it goes down (juvenile), the raised head feathers at
the back of the head that Cooper’s Hawks tend to do, the legs would seem thick,
and the tail feathers seem graduated in length to give a rounded affect but not
pronounced in this specimen. Also no light supercilium shows over the eye as Sharp-shinned
hawks often do yet not as pronounced as in the Northern Goshawk. Did I make a
case or looking for things not there?
** On Wednesday, Lois Budd and Ron
Steeves spent about 8 hours at the New Horton hawk watch site, mostly looking
into empty skies, as Ron put it. The day
started very cool, but soon turned into a beautiful day to be birdwatching,
quite warm and very little wind which is uncommon for that area. They could spot only one SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
[Épervier brun], one RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse], two OSPREY
[Balbuzard pêcheur] and eight BROAD-WINGED HAWKS [Petite Buse], a flock of 31 GREAT
CORMORANTS [Grand Cormoran]and a few small flocks of sea ducks were spotted
sneaking up the river which were maybe 500 birds in total which they thought
were mostly COMMON EIDERS [Eider à duvet].
They were disappointed with song bird movement ─ such a beautiful day
and no song birds in any numbers. Other
than a NORTHERN HARRIER [Busard Saint-Martin] or
two and a couple of TURKEY VULTURES [Urubu à tête rouge], there wasn’t much
local raptor movement either.
** Dan Hicks had a great selection of
avian activity around his home just past Royal Oaks on Elmwood Dr. He has a woods pond that has had 3 bonded
pairs of HOODED MERGANSER [Harle couronné], RING-NECKED DUCK [Fuligule à
collier] , a pair of AMERICAN WIGEONS [Canard d'Amérique] and MALLARDS [Canard
colvert]. There was a nice showing of
songbirds around his yard and trees, with many DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé]
as has been widely reported this year, SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur], AMERICAN
ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique], AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] and a male NORTHERN
HARRIER [Busard Saint-Martin], and many BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête
noire]. His regular RED FOX [Renard
roux] patron made its morning rounds as well.
** That awesome group of CROCUS
plants on Brian Stone’s yard, bursting with bloom and attracting that
interesting bee selection got quite a surprise on Thursday morning as did most
of us when they were covered with a white blanket.
** The feeding frenzy of both BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGs [Jaseur boréal] and CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d'Amérique] reduced
dramatically in numbers in our Moncton yard approximately a week ago. It is assumed the Bohemian Waxwings have made
a move out of the area, and the Cedar Waxwings have reduced to several per
day. The Cedar Waxwings still coming to
the apples would be assumed to be over-wintering birds, not new migrants as
yet. One Fox Sparrow has been with us,
ground feeding for several days. It is
easy to pick out from the other sparrows, just by its constant behaviour of “working
out” as it constantly scratches and digs the ground while foraging.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is
added to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, April 22
– April 29
April 24 -30 is International Astronomy Week, and April 29 is Astronomy
Day. Astronomy Day had its beginning in 1973 in California when amateur
astronomers set up telescopes in busy urban areas to let people have
views of the Moon and planets, hence its motto of “Bringing Astronomy to
the People.” Astronomy Day is usually held on the Saturday nearest the
first quarter Moon between mid-April and mid-May. Ten years ago a Fall
Astronomy Day was added between mid-September and mid-October, when
sunset is earlier and the weather is often better for observing.
Sidewalk astronomy, setting telescopes up in within a busy area of a
community, is a popular activity during Astronomy Week. Often people
will question why we are set up there, near streetlights, when their
expectation is that nothing can be seen. The Moon and most planets,
those celestial objects having the greatest “Wow Factor” for first-time
observers, are bright enough that lighting has little effect on the
views. If they are intrusive you can simply block them with your hand.
Sidewalk observing events are often done on short notice, depending on
the weather and whether the Moon or planets are visible.
Astronomers in Saint John are celebrating Astronomy Day with public
observing at the Rockwood Park Bark Park (using the Fisher Lakes
entrance to the park) from 9 pm to 11 pm, with Sunday (April 30) as a
back-up date in case it is cloudy on Saturday. The Moon, Jupiter and
Mars will hold court until after twilight. As darkness falls a variety
of telescopes will be turned toward star clusters, double stars,
galaxies, maybe a comet, and more. Such events are great places to learn
the constellations, have questions answered, and to scope out any
equipment you might have thought about buying. If you need a break from
hockey playoffs, please join us.
Bringing astronomy to the people; hoping to bring more people to
astronomy. Happy Astronomy Week!
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:20 am and sunset will occur at
8:14 pm, giving 13 hours, 54 minutes of daylight (6:26 am and 8:18 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:08 am and set at 8:24
pm, giving 14 hours, 16 minutes of daylight (6:15 am and 8:27 pm in
Saint John).
The waning crescent Moon is near Venus in the morning sky on Sunday and
it is new on Wednesday. Jupiter is in good position for observing all
evening, but at its best near midnight when it is highest in the south.
Its moon Europa emerges from the planet’s shadow at 11:29 pm on Tuesday.
Mars can be seen low in the west between the dipper-shaped Pleiades and
V-shaped Hyades star clusters this week. Venus continues to brighten in
the morning sky while Saturn puts its rings on display for early risers
with a small scope. Early risers might also catch a few shooting stars
from the minor Lyrid meteor shower on April 22.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Picture: Moon and Venus at 5:30 am Sunday.
April 24 -30 is International Astronomy Week, and April 29 is Astronomy
Day. Astronomy Day had its beginning in 1973 in California when amateur
astronomers set up telescopes in busy urban areas to let people have
views of the Moon and planets, hence its motto of “Bringing Astronomy to
the People.” Astronomy Day is usually held on the Saturday nearest the
first quarter Moon between mid-April and mid-May. Ten years ago a Fall
Astronomy Day was added between mid-September and mid-October, when
sunset is earlier and the weather is often better for observing.
Sidewalk astronomy, setting telescopes up in within a busy area of a
community, is a popular activity during Astronomy Week. Often people
will question why we are set up there, near streetlights, when their
expectation is that nothing can be seen. The Moon and most planets,
those celestial objects having the greatest “Wow Factor” for first-time
observers, are bright enough that lighting has little effect on the
views. If they are intrusive you can simply block them with your hand.
Sidewalk observing events are often done on short notice, depending on
the weather and whether the Moon or planets are visible.
Astronomers in Saint John are celebrating Astronomy Day with public
observing at the Rockwood Park Bark Park (using the Fisher Lakes
entrance to the park) from 9 pm to 11 pm, with Sunday (April 30) as a
back-up date in case it is cloudy on Saturday. The Moon, Jupiter and
Mars will hold court until after twilight. As darkness falls a variety
of telescopes will be turned toward star clusters, double stars,
galaxies, maybe a comet, and more. Such events are great places to learn
the constellations, have questions answered, and to scope out any
equipment you might have thought about buying. If you need a break from
hockey playoffs, please join us.
Bringing astronomy to the people; hoping to bring more people to
astronomy. Happy Astronomy Week!
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:20 am and sunset will occur at
8:14 pm, giving 13 hours, 54 minutes of daylight (6:26 am and 8:18 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:08 am and set at 8:24
pm, giving 14 hours, 16 minutes of daylight (6:15 am and 8:27 pm in
Saint John).
The waning crescent Moon is near Venus in the morning sky on Sunday and
it is new on Wednesday. Jupiter is in good position for observing all
evening, but at its best near midnight when it is highest in the south.
Its moon Europa emerges from the planet’s shadow at 11:29 pm on Tuesday.
Mars can be seen low in the west between the dipper-shaped Pleiades and
V-shaped Hyades star clusters this week. Venus continues to brighten in
the morning sky while Saturn puts its rings on display for early risers
with a small scope. Early risers might also catch a few shooting stars
from the minor Lyrid meteor shower on April 22.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Picture: Moon and Venus at 5:30 am Sunday.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
COOPER'S HAWK . APRIL 20, 2017. JP LEBLANC
COOPER'S HAWK . APRIL 20, 2017. JP LEBLANC
CROCUS IN SNOW. APRIL 20, 2017. BRIAN STONE
GADWALL (MALE).APRIL 17, 2017.JP LEBLANC
HORNED GREBE.APRIL 20, 2017.DAVE MILLER
Moon_Venus
