Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 21 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Jan 21, 2022 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Grant Ramsey got a photograph of Dark-eyed Junco enjoying white millet which is one of the more favourite feeder yard choices of this species.

Grant also got a photo of a Grey Squirrel appearing to enjoy the clinging winter berries of Highbush Cranberry.

Highbush Cranberry is often a berry of last resort due to its tart flavour so it’s possible the squirrel may have second thoughts.

**Lisa Morris got a photograph of the imprint of bird’s wings in the snow along the Centennial Park ski trail. This pattern is often left when a bird takes prey just under the snow and quickly lifts off.

** Brian Stone investigated the Johnson's Mills and Tantramar areas on Wednesday to find mostly an absence of bird life to photograph. At Johnson's Mills he noticed 3 WHITE-TAILED DEER running down the road at a distance trying to avoid some fast-moving traffic. He managed a quick photo of them running before they ran into the woods to safety.

In the Upper Rockport area, he noticed a small group of CROSSBILLS, probably White-winged Crossbills, cross the road in front of him while he was driving and land in a tall spruce tree. He pulled over to the side of the road in anticipation of a picture or two but as he was getting out of the car and reaching for his camera 2 RAVENS flew into sight and began dive bombing the crossbills. They then flew to a second treetop and landed only to have the same scenario repeated. Not sure if the ravens were just cranky or were actually hunting. Both parties were gone out of sight before the camera could get focused on the action. (Editors note: it would be interesting to know why the ravens were pursuing the crossbills in that one spot. Were they actually hunting them or searching for a nest to rob? It would seem unlikely for ravens to be protecting their own nest against crossbills)

Later along the road he found another small group of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS feeding on cones at a distance too great for good photography but clear enough to show their feeding activity. (Editors note: Brian’s photos labelled White-winged Crossbill female does seem to have a very boldly streaked breast to make one wonder if this could possibly be a juvenile bird as the White-winged Crossbill can nest any time of the year)

At the Tantramar Marsh he found the roadways too ice covered for safe driving, so got nothing of interest from that area.

**It’s Friday and time to review what next week sky has in store for us to look at courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason. Great to hear those swelling minutes of daylight and it’s only going to get better. Covid-19 restrictions can’t touch that one!

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 January 22 – January 29
Monoceros is a constellation that is easy to locate, sandwiched between Orion’s dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor, but it is not easy to see. From urban areas its dim stars are as elusive as the unicorn they depict. It was one of eight new constellations created on a globe by the Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius around 1612. Of those eight, only Monoceros and Camelopardalis are recognized as official constellations today. Monoceros is situated within the winter Milky Way, which is apparent in rural skies.

Despite being a dim constellation, Monoceros is home to some favourite targets of astrophotographers, in particular the beautiful Rosette Nebula. Another is the combination of the Cone Nebula, Christmas Tree Cluster and the Fox Fur Nebula. Check the Internet for their stunning images. Monoceros has one Messier object within its boundary, the large open cluster M50, otherwise known as the Heart-Shaped Cluster. It can be seen in binoculars about 40% of the distance from Sirius to Procyon. Three other open clusters on the Messier list are found near Monoceros but they lie officially within other constellations. They are the close pair of M46 and M47 in Puppis, and M48 in Hydra.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:52 am and sunset will occur at 5:09 pm, giving 9 hours, 17 minutes of daylight (7:54 am and 5:17 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:45 am and set at 5:19 pm, giving 9 hours, 34 minutes of daylight (7:48 am and 5:27 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is at third quarter on Tuesday, rising in Moncton at 12:37 am and setting at 11:27 am. Telescope users likely have their last chance to see Jupiter’s Red Spot before its March conjunction around 6:20 pm Tuesday, about an hour and a half before Jupiter sets. Saturn might be visible in binoculars before it gets lost in twilight, heading toward conjunction with the Sun on February 4. Mercury is at inferior conjunction this Sunday, soon to join Venus and Mars in the morning sky. On Thursday Venus and Mars rise together around 5:30 am, with Mars a little more than a fist-width to the right of much brighter Venus. The Moon visits them next weekend.

On Sunday evening at 8 pm, tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show via the Facebook page or YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay.