Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 15 2021

NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE, Oct. 15, 2021 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

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**Spring Peepers fill the early spring air with their chorus line when they head to water to breed and lay eggs. That usually lasts 2 to 4 weeks then all goes quiet. The adults leave their aquatic breeding habitat and become landlubbers for the rest of the season. We sometimes hear single spring peepers calling from trees. Hearing a single peeper surely sounds different from dozens of them vocalizing from a breeding pond. There is lots of them out there all summer and fall but they are very cryptic, and we don’t notice them unless day perched in some obvious place.

A different scenario happened for Fred and Sue Richards when they encountered dozens of Spring Peepers around their Taylor Village yard on Thursday. Fred picked up one while Sue couldn’t resist a photo. Note the ‘X’ signature mark on the back and the sucker toes that readily cling to upright surfaces. It also shows how small the Spring Peeper really is yet making such a loud vocalization when in their spring chorus line.

**Aldo Dorio photographed some Dunlin at Hay Island on Thursday showing them moving into winter plumage. The Dunlin is one of the shorebird species that tends to stay with us late in the season and we may tend to see lots of plumage variation as the season progresses. It makes it more important to note other Dunlin features to help with ID.

**Anna Tucker comments on noting the large flocks of European Starlings gorging down on the very plentiful Mountain Ash berry crop. Let’s hope this invasive species will leave ample for visiting winter Bohemian Waxwings, overwintering Cedar Waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks, American Robins, and those potential surprise bird connoisseurs.

**It’s Friday and time to review next week’s sky at a glance courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason. A Full Moon is happening midweek and some planet action will be there if Mother Nature doesn’t hide it under cloud as well as the Orionid meteor shower peaking on Thursday morning.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 October 16 – October 23
The Pleiades star cluster is rising now in the early evening. Also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters, and sometimes mistaken to be the Little Dipper, this compact eye-catcher represents the shoulder of Taurus the Bull. Over the next two hours the rest of the constellation clears the eastern horizon; in particular, the V-shaped Hyades star cluster anchored by orange Aldebaran, and the two stars marking the tips of the bull’s long horns.

In mythology, Zeus changed himself into a beautiful white bull to attract the attention of Europa, a princess of Sidon. She was taken by its gentleness and made the mistake of climbing on its back. Bully Zeus took off to the nearby seashore and swam all the way to Crete, where he changed back into his godly form and completed his conquest. The result was a baby boy who was named Minos, and he grew up to become the first King of Crete.

One of the horn stars of Taurus had been shared with the constellation Auriga. This star, Elnath, was officially assigned to Taurus when the constellation boundaries were set by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in the late 1920s. Taurus is one of the zodiac constellations, as the ecliptic passes between the Pleiades and Hyades and also between the horn-tips. Since the Moon's orbit is tilted to the ecliptic by about five degrees, at times it can be seen passing in front of the Pleiades and Aldebaran.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:37 am and sunset will occur at 6:30 pm, giving 10 hours, 53 minutes of daylight (7:41 am and 6:36 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:47 am and set at 6:18 pm, giving 10 hours, 31 minutes of daylight (7:51 am and 6:25 pm in Saint John).

The Full Hunter’s Moon occurs on Wednesday, a phenomenon similar to the Harvest Moon by which moonrises occur 20-30 minutes later over several days rather than the average 50-minute difference. Venus sets around 8:20 midweek, while Saturn is highest in the sky at 8 pm followed by Jupiter an hour later. Jupiter is stationary on Monday, resuming its eastward motion against the stars. On Wednesday telescope users might catch its moon Callisto begin to cross in front of the planet at 8:24 pm, followed by Io four minutes later. Speedier Io will soon overtake Callisto. Mercury begins its best morning apparition for the year this week, reaching a stationary position relative to the stars on Sunday. The Orionid meteor shower peaks Thursday morning but moonlight will hamper viewing somewhat.

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