NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March
5, 2021 (Friday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Peter Gadd got the chance of a
lifetime to take photos of a NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise] that obviously quite contentedly perched just
outside his Miramichi home window for a half hour to give incredible photo
ops. Its belly must have been
appropriately satisfied as it paid no attention to a flock of Common Redpolls
40 ft. away. Note the breast barring and
the brown blush to the plumage to suggest an immature bird, and the black eye
line not enclosing the eye to easily distinguish it from the rare-to-New
Brunswick Loggerhead Shrike. The clear
undertail details are great as Peter photographed it from several different
angles. I am attaching several of
Peter’s photos as images like this are difficult to attain. One photo even shows it in a leisurely yawn!
** Louise and Glen Nichols are seeing
more tracks these days around their Aulac home and woodlot, so activity is
increasing closer to spring. Louise
attaches photos of 3 different tracks.
One appears to be a WEASEL [Belette à courte queue], but the stride between tracks was a bit short at
4 to 5 inches. The width of the prints
across was approximately 1.5 inches.
Another is a suspected RACCOON [Raton laveur] because of the long/short pattern to the
tracks. The long print was about 5
inches and the short about 4 inches. The
stride was 11 to 12 inches. These measurements
and the finger-like toe pads fit Raccoon.
A third looks like feline but not sure whether BOBCAT [Lynx roux] or domestic since the tracks are almost
side by side. But the stride was 8
inches between the closer tracks to 11 inches between the two more distant
tracks. The prints were 3 inches long
and 2 inches wide. The rounded track and
“C” ridge in between the toe and heel pads are consistent with feline and the
measurements lean towards Bobcat. Louise
had the trail camera out there, but it caught none of this. That could all change as it is one of those
situations of being in the right place at the right time.
** Rheal Vienneau received an update on
the overwintering Monarch butterflies [MONARQUE] in Mexico and the Texas storm
effect on them. The attached link opens
up to a lot of up-to-the-minute information.
** It’s Friday and time to review what
the night sky will show us in the week ahead, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 March 6 – 2021 March 13
This week we will take the path less travelled to pick out a few of the more
obscure constellations in our sky. If you do not have a clear view to the
south or if you are cursed by light pollution in that direction, they will be
obscure to the point of invisibility. Around 9 pm, cast your eyes toward Sirius
in Canis Major, the Big Dog. If you cannot see that star, the brightest in the
sky, then go inside and read a book.
Hugging the horizon below Sirius you might detect a Y-shaped group of stars
that forms Columba the Dove. This is one of the later constellations, created a
century after Christopher Columbus made his first voyage, and it was meant to
depict a dove sent by another famous sailor called Noah. It could also be the
dove released by yet another famous sailor, Jason of the Argonauts fame, to
gauge the speed of the Clashing Rocks of the Symplegades. The dove lost some
tail feathers, and the Argo lost a bit of its stern.
There is a good case to be made for this interpretation. To the left of
Columba, rising past the rear end of Canis Major, is the upper part of Puppis
the Stern. It was once part of a much larger constellation called Argo Navis,
Jason’s ship, which has been disassembled to form Puppis, Vela the Sails and
Carina the Keel. To the left of Puppis is a vertical line of three stars
forming Pyxis, the (Mariner’s) Compass, and some say it once formed the mast of
Argo Navis. At its highest it does point roughly north-south.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:48 am and sunset will occur at 6:12 pm,
giving 11 hours, 24 minutes of daylight (6:52 am and 6:18 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday, the last day under standard time, the Sun will rise
at 6:35 am and set at 6:22 pm, giving 11 hours, 47 minutes of daylight (6:40 am
and 6:27 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter on March 5 and New Moon occurs next Saturday,
March 13. Jupiter is ten degrees lower left of Saturn, while over the week
Mercury moves from about one degree to nearly eight degrees lower left of
Jupiter. The crescent Moon is seven degrees to the right of Saturn on Tuesday
morning and slides to the right of Jupiter and Mercury on Wednesday. Mercury is
at its greatest elongation from the Sun this Saturday. Mars remains within a
scenic binocular view of the Pleaides most of the week, passing between it and
the V-shaped Hyades cluster while matching colour and brightness with Aldebaran
at the far end of the V. Neptune is in solar conjunction on Wednesday, and next
Saturday is the 240th anniversary of William Herschel’s discovery of Uranus.
Over the week we have the opportunity to view the subtle wedge of zodiacal
light in the west about an hour after sunset.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold you can watch the local
Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
