Nature Moncton Nature News: April 7 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 7, 2017 (Friday)

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

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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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** Anna Tucker came across HOUSE SPARROWS [Moineau domestique] in Victoria Park on Thursday. We don’t get very many of these anymore in the Moncton area except at a few locations. I’m including 3 photos to remind us of their gender plumage. Their low numbers is no doubt great news for TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] and the EASTERN BLUEBIRD [Merlebleu de l'Est] that they can be very aggressive with. Anna also visited the BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] nest on Crowley Farm Rd. to find the female in the same position, low in the bowl of the nest that she has kept for the past 10 days plus.

** Marlene Hickman reports she had her first PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] arrive on Thursday with 6 appearing to her Dorchester feeder yard along with the now-brightening AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] males. Marlene comments from diary notes that she had Purple Finch last winter from around January through April, but not this year. Marlene also had an onslaught of a dozen AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique] to her yard, concentrating on areas bared of snow. And as Marlene says, they seemed as excited as she was about the warmer temperatures. She has a nice selection of expected regulars including WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine blanche]. There are a lot of deciduous trees in the Dorchester area that would seem ideal for White-breasted Nuthatches.

** Jean Renton is yet another who had PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] return in number to her Stilesville feeder yard. The past few days seem to have brought in a migratory flight of Purple Finch. Jean also comments the AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] have made their debut in her yard and male RING-NECKED PHEASANTS [Faisan de Colchide] are in full combat mode.

** Aldo Dorio is starting his regular visits to Hay Island. On Thursday, he found a GREAT BLUE HERON [Grand Héron] with its sweeping plumes of breeding plumage, and he also saw his first AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique] of the season at Hay Island. Aldo also comments that one lone CANADA GOOSE [Bernache du Canada] was seen there on Thursday. That will no doubt change very soon.

** Brian Stone visited the riverfront trail in Moncton on Thursday to note four ICELAND GULLS [Goéland arctique]. Two appear to be very much still in 1^st-winter plumage. A adult Iceland gull was photographed that nicely shows the obvious grey bands on the primary projection. to show the variability of this species. Most adult Iceland gulls would have a mostly clean white translucent primary projection.

Several BLACK DUCKS were also enjoying the "chocolate" water.

** I was in the Bouctouche area on Tuesday and it was great to hit the Bouctouche lagoon in between drizzle to find a significant number of scaup. It was a time-restricted stop, but felt both GREATER SCAUP [Fuligule milouinan] and LESSER SCAUP [Petit Fuligule] were present, seemingly more Lesser. A stop was made at Cap Brulé with the male EURASIAN WIGEON [Canard siffleur] Roger Leblanc had found on Wednesday in mind. A group of wigeon were spotted in a pond near the lagoon and just as binoculars went on the group, a brazen male RED FOX [Renard roux] rounded the corner and lifted them to the middle of the marsh. The fox showed what is suggestive of sarcoptic mange in the facial area. Around the other side of the marsh, viewing from the area of Pussy Foot Lane, I found the wigeon group; however, it was the zoom camera that found the male Eurasian Wigeon that binoculars could not see. A scope would have seen it nicely, but rain challenged that.

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, April 8 – April 15

The spring star is springing up in the east these evenings. Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the sky and the second brightest we can see from New Brunswick. It is just a tad brighter than Vega, the summer star, which rises around 9 pm this week. The winter star, Sirius, sets around midnight and Capella, the autumn star, never sets in southern New Brunswick.

Arcturus anchors the constellation Boötes (bo-oh-teez) the Herdsman, and the star’s name means “bear driver.” Boötes is seen chasing the two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, around the celestial North Pole. To many people the constellation resembles a tie, a kite or an ice cream cone. The head of the herdsman, at the tip of the constellation opposite Arcturus, is the star Nekkar, which sounds somewhat like necktie.

Halfway between Arcturus and the hind leg of Ursa Major is the star Cor Coroli in Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs. Use binoculars to look for a fuzzy patch halfway between Arcturus and Cor Coroli. This is a globular cluster called M3, the third entry in Charles Messier’s 18th century catalogue of things that resemble a comet but aren’t. This cluster contains half a million stars at a distance of 34,000 light years, nearly a thousand times farther than Arcturus.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:45 am and sunset will occur at 7:56 pm, giving 13 hours, 11 minutes of daylight (6:51 am and 8:01 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:32 am and set at 8:05 pm, giving 13 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (6:38 am and 8:09 pm in Saint John).

The Moon passes near Jupiter on Monday and on Tuesday it is full; the Mi’Kmaw Birds Laying Eggs Time Moon. Jupiter is higher in the east after sunset each evening. Use binoculars over the next few weeks to see its retrograde westward motion relative to the nearby star Theta Virginis. Mercury is ending its best evening viewing for the year, working its way sunward toward an inferior conjunction on April 20. Mars is seen as an orange star in the west, setting before 11 pm. Venus brightens the morning sky before sunrise in the east, and look south for Saturn above the spout of the Sagittarius Teapot. With binoculars around 5:30 am this weekend you might see comet C/2014 E4 Lovejoy as a small fuzzy patch near the northwest corner of the Square of Pegasus. Another comet, C/2015 ER61 PanSTARRS, has apparently brightened to binocular range above Capricornus. See the Heavens-Above website for finder maps of both comets.

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

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

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton