Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 19 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January 19, 2018 (Friday)

Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

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

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

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

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** A last heads-up for the Nature Moncton birding field trip on for tomorrow, Saturday. All details at the website.

** Gary Dupuis captured an excellent photo of a SNOWY OWL [Harfang des neiges] perched on a post on the High Marsh Rd. on the Tantramar Marsh on Thursday. It is very predominantly white with little evidence of any barring or dark markings. It used to be that we tended to call very clean white specimens males, but it is my understanding that it has been shown in recent years from work in Saskatchewan that this may not be a reliable indicator of gender. No matter what the gender actually is, this is a very beautiful specimen Gary photographed on Thursday.

** Sterling Marsh travelled along the Folkins Dr. on the Tantramar Marsh on Thursday to observe a flock of 30 to 40 HORNED LARKS [Alouette hausse-col] as well as a large flock of AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique].

** Brian Coyle made a snowshoe hike near his lower Mountain Rd. home on Thursday, specifically in search of COYOTE [Coyote] signs. He found lots of tracks, thinking they were approximately 4 hours old, and he got some nice clear photos of the paw prints, especially as some of the slush they had stepped in was frozen. Note the two front toe pads showing a nail print which is often the case with the Coyotes as the remaining ones tend to be worn. Also note the central cone area between the toe pads and the lack of hairy paw that a fox would show. Brian followed four individual sets of tracks into the forest to see if he could find where they bedded down to find one definite area. Note all the tracks surrounding the bared area. Brian also found where four RUFFED GROUSE [Gélinotte huppée] had spent the night under the snow as they often do. He saw no plunge holes, just the exit holes and trails due to the fresh snowfall of the night before. Nice observations to be thinking of to prepare for the Nature Moncton Track Workshop on Feb. 3^rd, with the write-up for that on the website.

** Maurice Richard spotted a good sized RED FOX [Renard roux] on Jones Lake on Thursday. He got a photograph but colour was limited as the sun was on the other side of the animal. It seemed to be trying to get off the lake, being very cautious of any open water or thin ice along the edge. It tended to double back and forth once it got in the bush area on the lake side on Hillcrest Dr.

** Brian Stone got some nice photos of some waterfowl in breeding plumage and paired, ready for the season ahead in the Halifax area on Thursday to include NORTHERN PINTAIL [Canard pilet], HOODED MERGANSER [Harle couronné], AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d'Amérique], and MALLARDS [Canard colvert].

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason, with some clear nights ahead to see it all.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, January 20 – January 27

There is one river seen from New Brunswick that is completely ice-free
all winter, but we can only see it at night. Eridanus the River, the
fifth largest constellation in area of sky, has its head just off the
foot of Orion near Rigel. Even when it is at its highest in our sky, the
river’s meandering path takes it more than ten degrees below the horizon
to where it terminates at Achernar, the ninth brightest star.

In mythology the river is associated with Phaethon, a mortal son of
Apollo. Apollo drove the Sun, a golden chariot powered by mighty steeds,
across the sky by day. Phaethon was allowed to drive it one day but he
couldn’t control the steeds. They ran amok, scorching the sky (the Milky
Way) and the Earth (Sahara), until Zeus blasted Phaethon with a
thunderbolt and he fell to his death in the river. The twisty
constellation was also considered to be the path of souls.

Although we can’t see Achernar without travelling to Florida, there is a
notable star in Eridanus that we can see from outside a city. Omicron-2
Eridani, also called 40 Eridani or Keid (circled on the map), has a
famous fictional and fascinating planet: Vulcan, the home of Spock. Did
you know that there was once believed to be a planet closer to the Sun
than Mercury? It was named Vulcan after the Roman god of fire,
metalworking and the forge. Anomalies in Mercury’s orbit were thought to
be due to an interior planet, and some astronomers even claimed to have
seen it crossing the Sun. This was about 150 years ago, after Neptune
was predicted and discovered based on anomalies in the orbit of Uranus.
Coincidentally, regarding the god Vulcan, the constellation Fornax the
Furnace barely crests our horizon near Eridanus.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:54 am and sunset will occur at
5:07 pm, giving 9 hours, 13 minutes of daylight (7:56 am and 5:14 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:47 am and set at 5:17
pm, giving 9 hours, 30 minutes of daylight (7:50 am and 5:24 pm in Saint
John).

The Moon is at first quarter on Wednesday, giving great views in a
telescope of its craters and mountains all week. Jupiter and Mars are
well-placed in the south for morning observing, and Saturn rises almost
two hours before sunrise. Mercury is heading sunward and is difficult to
pick out with binoculars.

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

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton