Nature Moncton Nature News: April 16 2021

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 16, 2021 (Friday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

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

**Pat Gibbs was able to capture a great photo of a pair of WOOD DUCKS enjoying the Centennial Park pond in the midst of Moncton on Thursday. A pleasant surprise to see them in such a public area.

** Jane LeBlanc had two male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS [Pic maculé] arrive to her St. Martins yard on Thursday. The genders are easily differentiated with the brilliant red throat of the male as opposed to the female throat which is white. Jane also got a photo of a SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur] loudly singing as we are hearing so much at the moment, and also her first MOURNING CLOAK BUTTERLY [Morio] of the season was active in her yard.

** Doreen Rossiter in Alma reports that she was thrilled to have a pair of EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] visit her Alma feeder yard on Wednesday that fed and left, not to be seen again. This is unexpected to hear from Doreen as she operates a feeder yard that over the years has always had a tremendous diversity of patrons and still does. Yet this season is one where many rural feeder yards had many Evening Grosbeaks that we have not seen in many years. It is hard to believe that they would not take note of Doreen’s feeder site.

** Brian Stone walked the East Branch Trail in Fundy National Park (Editor’s note: getting some pleasant photos of this trail’s surroundings) on Thursday and enjoyed the warm sunny weather that snuck its way in between the gloomy days of mist and cold. At Wolf Lake he saw an EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi] skimming the lawn looking for lunch. It posed a couple of different times for him. In the lake there were about a dozen RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier] paddling about. Before he left the lake, Brian made a 5-image panorama of Wolf Lake. Along the trail, he heard several different birds and saw lots of DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé] enjoying the trail as well. He enjoyed the carpet of bright green leaves of TRAILING ARBUTUS that seemed new (even after overwintering evergreen) and saw a very large ant hill that was bustling with activity. At the end of the trail, he played chase with a colourful COMPTON TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY [Grande vanesse] that eventually let him take its picture. This was a lifer butterfly for Brian. (Editor’s note: This is one of out native butterflies that overwinters as an adult and not a commonly seen butterfly) While having a snack before returning along the trail, a tiny ICHNEUMEN WASP decided to investigate his package of soda crackers.

** A few observations from some backroad sleuthing on Thursday – the ASH FLOWER GALL on infected ash trees is very obvious now before the leaves come back. The gall mite attacks the male flowers during bloom development in the spring. They are initially green but turn black as they dry. We do not notice them when they’re green with the leaves in the spring, but they sure show up now. The gall does not affect tree health or vigour and is considered more of a cosmetic disease. An overall tree and close-up photo are attached.

** Many ponds are still frozen over but one pond showed a nicely arranged BEAVER [Castor] lodge. Note the mud and stick construction. It may look tossed together, but the inside is a neat arrangement of functional rooms. HOODED MERGANSERS [Harle couronné] enjoy the Beaver’s efforts and four of them were on the Beaver pond. I was really surprised by the number of MOURNING CLOAK BUTTERFLIES [Morio] on the drying dirt roads, seemingly hundreds of them. I am more used to seeing the occasional one or two and was surprised to see no Comma Butterflies or Elfins which I would expect to be active in the same conditions that Mourning Cloak Butterflies would favour. Possibly, they prefer it a little warmer later in the season.

** It’s Friday and time to review the next week’s Sky-at-a-Glace, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 April 17 – 2021 April 24
One third of the way from Arcturus to Vega is a pretty semicircle of stars that makes up Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. In the middle of the semicircle is the constellation’s brightest star, called Gemma (“jewel”) or Alphecca (“bright star of the broken ring”), among other names. About five years ago the International Astronomical Union started approving official names for stars, and Alphecca was chosen over Gemma.

Some ancient societies regarded Corona Borealis as a begging bowl, and in local aboriginal legend it is the cave from which the bear (the bowl of the Big Dipper) emerges in spring. In Greek mythology it was a crown worn by Bacchus, the god of wine, who lived on the island of Naxos. Theseus, an Athenian prince, went to Crete as part of a group of youth who were to be placed in the labyrinth as food for the Minotaur. With the aid of Ariadne, the beautiful daughter of King Minos, Theseus slew the Minotaur and found his way out of the labyrinth. In love with Ariadne, he took her aboard to sail back to Athens. They stopped at Naxos where Bacchus also fell in love with Ariadne, and he made Theseus leave without her. To prove his love and his godliness to the skeptical Ariadne, he tossed the crown into the sky as a symbol of her beauty. Immortality and a lifetime supply of wine, who could pass that up?

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:28 am and sunset will occur at 8:09 pm, giving 13 hours, 41 minutes of daylight (6:35 am and 8:13 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 6:16 am and set at 8:18 pm, giving 14 hours, 2 minutes of daylight (6:23 am and 8:21 pm in Saint John).

The Moon passes very near the M35 star cluster of Gemini this Saturday evening, and it is at first quarter on Tuesday. Mars starts the week a wide binocular field west of M35 and ends the week within a low power telescope view of the cluster. Jupiter and Saturn are the attention grabbers in the morning sky, with the ringed planet about 15 degrees west of brighter Jupiter. Mercury is at superior conjunction on Sunday, and by next Saturday it will be just to the right of Venus in bright twilight after sunset. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on Thursday morning, providing a few extra shooting stars for night owls and early risers.

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.