NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 1, 2022 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**John Inman reports they have been hearing Woodcock (Timberdoodle!) in the Harvey area of Albert County since March 16. Shannon Inman came across one on Thursday driving around the point and was able to get a couple of great photos to share.

This species walks with a notable rocking motion. With its mating ritual, the male flies up abruptly; wings make a twittering sound. The males give this elaborate flight display. A call, heard mainly in spring, is a nasal ‘peent’ on the ground. During display, it also gives chirping sounds and returns to the exact same spot.

**Yvette Richard shares some photos with us today, some of which she took earlier in the winter to leave pleasant memories and some very recently.

The recent photo of the Hooded Merganser pair taken this past week is particularly striking in addition to Yvette’s other excellent bird photographs.

**Brian Stone had a brief walk along the west end of the Petitcodiac River trail on Thursday in a cool breeze with threatening weather. No precipitation occurred though, and he managed to get a few pictures of the life in the area. Birds present were small flocks of American Goldfinch and Red-winged Blackbirds. Song Sparrows were vocalizing in several small trees and an interesting small nest was photographed just 3 feet up in a bush. It was slightly smaller than Brian’s clenched fist and a Yellow Warbler could be the original occupant. Ring-necked Pheasants in the area were too fast for the camera to catch but a slower moving Groundhog stopped and posed as it checked out the intruder. Pussy Willows showed their newly opening fuzzy buds all along the trail.

Brian took the opportunity to make a six-image panorama of the new bridge that replaced the causeway before exiting the area and heading home. (Editors note: a real saver!)

**Sue and Fred Richards went for a walk on their property at Taylor Village along the marshes bordering the Memramcook River on Thursday which are very wet right now to see Alder shrubs with male catkins swelling and retained remnants of last season’s female catkins. Also, there were Pussy Willow buds bursting showing their furry catkins which will soon become yellow pollen laden male catkins or green female catkins which will not appear on the different shrubs as the Pussy Willow is a dioecious plant.

They also noticed a Woolly Bear caterpillar was travelling slowly across Fred's boot imprint, toward a grassier area under the Spruce trees. It looked so out of place in the snow, but they left it to his own meanderings. (Editors note: the Woolly Bear caterpillar is the overwintering larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth that will soon pupate to later emerge as the adult flying moth). They also noted a Winter Firefly (Ellychnia corrusca)

In the Memramcook River they were awestruck to come upon a mystery ‘river monster’ which they did not recognize.

Nelson Poirier checked with his grandson Matt who happens to be an expert on River Monsters and he immediately recognized it as Stegosaurus which is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates. Now you know.

Happy April 1 everyone!

**It’s Friday and time to review what next week’s sky may have in store for us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 April 2 – April 9
Although Orion and his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, are slipping into the sunset, they are not the only pooches in the night sky. The small constellation of Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs is generally seen as a pair of stars well below the handle of the Big Dipper. They assist their master, Boötes, in chasing the celestial bears around the pole.

In one tale from mythology Boötes is Icarius, a vineyard owner who was taught the art of wine making by Bacchus. He introduced his shepherd neighbours to his product, and when they awoke with a hangover the next morning, they thought they had been poisoned. In retaliation they killed Icarius and threw him in a ditch. His dogs, Chara and Asterion, sensed something was wrong, and when they eventually found their master, they jumped into the ditch to die with him.

The brightest star in Canes Venatici is a double star called Cor Caroli, which means the Heart of Charles. Edmond Halley coined this because it was said to have shone brightly when Charles II returned to London after his defeat by Cromwell. The other naked eye star in the constellation is Chara, from the Greek word for joy. Halfway between Cor Caroli and Arcturus, the brightest star in Boötes, you can see a fuzzy patch with binoculars. This is the globular star cluster M3 from Messier’s catalogue. Galaxy M94 lies just north of the midpoint between Cor Caroli and Chara; and the much-imaged M51, Whirlpool Galaxy, is within the borders of Canes Venatici despite being near the handle of the Big Dipper.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:57 am and sunset will occur at 7:49 pm, giving 12 hours, 52 minutes of daylight (7:02 am and 7:53 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:43 am and set at 7:58 pm, giving 13 hours, 15 minutes of daylight (6:49 am and 8:02 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is new on April 1 and at first quarter on Saturday, April 9. Telescope users might see the Lunar X around 6 pm next Friday, just within the shadow a little more than halfway down. Mars and Saturn are in conjunction Tuesday, with Venus trailing them closely and Jupiter following by an hour. Over the month we can watch Venus close the gap toward Jupiter and Mars pull away from Saturn, spacing the planets out in a line by midmonth. Mercury is lost in twilight as it approaches superior conjunction next Saturday.

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.

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