** John-Paul and Stella LeBlanc continue to get some very interesting birds
coming to their Bouctouche feeder yard. That includes a WHITE-WINGED DOVE
[Tourterelle à ailes blanches] on Thursday. They got a nice photo to show how
it got its name. The LeBlancs live at 268 Irving Blvd. in Bouctouche.
** Anne Marsch, Wendy Sullivan and Louise Nichols visited the Caissie Cape
wharf on Thursday with SNOWY OWL [Harfang des neiges] in mind. They spotted one
very far out on the ice, and Louise was able to capture some very distant
photos.
** Kevin Renton reports that they had a visit from approximately 20 EVENING
GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] to their Stilesville feeder yard on Thursday. The
Rentons often do get nice showings of Evening Grosbeaks, so having them become
regular patrons is a strong possibility.
** WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] numbers are down in parts of
southeastern New Brunswick, but not for Susan Linkletter on the Scott Rd. who
has a group of them sleeping in her fields despite the attempt to fence them out
to protect her fruit crop from browsing on them. She comments that it's as if
they think she put the fence up for them to protect them from the coyotes!
** Brian Stone may be in Ontario for a week, but his camera is rolling. He
shares a nice AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien] photo to show its
signature bi-coloured bill and breast patch nicely.
** Not a partridge in a pear tree, but a RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de
Colchide] in an apple tree. Marlene Hickman spotted a pheasant 20 feet up in an
apple tree in a Dorchester yard, foraging on the clinging fruit, but it kept
wanting to get out to the finest branches to find itself amusing to its
onlookers with all the wings and tail fluttering to keep its balance.
** Bob Blake's monthly weather statistics report, comparing December 2014
to December 2015 is added to this transcript.
** Bob Blake maintains a record of daily morning low
temperatures, daily highs, and monthly precipitation from his Second North River
home. He compares December 2014 and December 2015 to show that December 2015
was a warmer month overall than December 2014 with surprisingly more snow for
December 2015.
DECEMBER 2014:
6 mornings -10 ° C and below, 20 mornings between -11°
to 0 °C and 4 mornings above 0° C with a low day temperature of -8° C and
highest day temperature at 15 ° C *** precipitation 10 cm snow, 236 mm
rain
DECEMBER 2015:
2 mornings -10 ° C and below, 22 mornings between -11°
and 0 ° C and 7 mornings above 0° C with a low day of -11° C and highest day
temperature of 10°C *** precipitation 82 cm snow, 44 mm
rain.
Total precipitation for 2014…..1239 mm rain, 352 cm
snow.
** This week's Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this transcript as well,
courtesy of Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, January 2 – January
9
Around midnight in the first week of January the brightest star in the
night sky is due south, at his highest above the horizon. Astronomers
would say it is transiting the meridian when it crosses the north-south
line. Many 19th century observatories, including the one now called the
William Brydone Jack Observatory at UNB Fredericton, would collaborate
in timing the transits of stars to determine the longitude of the
observatory.
Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major the Great Dog, one of
Orion’s hunting companions. If you are unsure which star is Sirius just
follow Orion’s belt down to the left. The star is about twice the size
of the Sun and 25 times more luminous, but that is not why it is the
brightest. It is only 8.6 light years away, a mere 82 trillion
kilometres, and the nearest naked eye star for us in New Brunswick. The
name means “scorcher” or “scintillating one” and it often twinkles
wildly and colourfully, especially when it is lower in the sky. On more
than one occasion I have had a call or email from someone who has seen
Sirius flashing colours and wondered if it was a UFO. I enjoy observing
it with binoculars or a telescope just for the light show.
Canis Major is one of those constellations that looks like what it
represents. I have no trouble seeing a dog in those stars and I am glad
that it passes over my neighbor’s yard and not my own; I get enough
winter presents from the deer. Look for the star cluster M41 below the
body of the dog, about a binocular field from Sirius. You might pick out
a few fainter clusters near the dog’s tail. The big dog appears to be
chasing Lepus the Hare, which sits below Orion.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 8:02 am, the latest of the year, and
sunset will occur at 4:45 pm, giving 8 hours, 43 minutes of daylight
(8:04 am and 4:53 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at
8:00 am and set at 4:52 pm, giving 8 hours, 52 minutes of daylight (8:03
am and 5:00 pm in Saint John). Earth is at perihelion on Saturday
evening, its closest point to the Sun.
The Moon is in waning crescent phase this week, reaching new Moon next
Saturday. Mercury is working its way sunward, setting in the southwest
an hour and a half after sunset this weekend but less than an hour after
the Sun next weekend. Jupiter rises before 11 pm and begins its westward
retrograde motion relative to the stars next weekend. Look for orange
Mars to the east of Spica. Saturn and Venus are closing in and will be
less than a Moon-width apart on January 9.
Comet Catalina remains within a binocular view of the bright star
Arcturus during the first half of the week. By mid-month it will be
above the handle of the Big Dipper. The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks
early Monday morning. This shower is brief but occasionally prolific,
rivalling the Perseids and Geminids at times. Quadrans Muralis was once
a constellation off the handle of the Big Dipper between Boötes and Draco.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Around midnight in the first week of January the brightest star in the
night sky is due south, at his highest above the horizon. Astronomers
would say it is transiting the meridian when it crosses the north-south
line. Many 19th century observatories, including the one now called the
William Brydone Jack Observatory at UNB Fredericton, would collaborate
in timing the transits of stars to determine the longitude of the
observatory.
Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major the Great Dog, one of
Orion’s hunting companions. If you are unsure which star is Sirius just
follow Orion’s belt down to the left. The star is about twice the size
of the Sun and 25 times more luminous, but that is not why it is the
brightest. It is only 8.6 light years away, a mere 82 trillion
kilometres, and the nearest naked eye star for us in New Brunswick. The
name means “scorcher” or “scintillating one” and it often twinkles
wildly and colourfully, especially when it is lower in the sky. On more
than one occasion I have had a call or email from someone who has seen
Sirius flashing colours and wondered if it was a UFO. I enjoy observing
it with binoculars or a telescope just for the light show.
Canis Major is one of those constellations that looks like what it
represents. I have no trouble seeing a dog in those stars and I am glad
that it passes over my neighbor’s yard and not my own; I get enough
winter presents from the deer. Look for the star cluster M41 below the
body of the dog, about a binocular field from Sirius. You might pick out
a few fainter clusters near the dog’s tail. The big dog appears to be
chasing Lepus the Hare, which sits below Orion.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 8:02 am, the latest of the year, and
sunset will occur at 4:45 pm, giving 8 hours, 43 minutes of daylight
(8:04 am and 4:53 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at
8:00 am and set at 4:52 pm, giving 8 hours, 52 minutes of daylight (8:03
am and 5:00 pm in Saint John). Earth is at perihelion on Saturday
evening, its closest point to the Sun.
The Moon is in waning crescent phase this week, reaching new Moon next
Saturday. Mercury is working its way sunward, setting in the southwest
an hour and a half after sunset this weekend but less than an hour after
the Sun next weekend. Jupiter rises before 11 pm and begins its westward
retrograde motion relative to the stars next weekend. Look for orange
Mars to the east of Spica. Saturn and Venus are closing in and will be
less than a Moon-width apart on January 9.
Comet Catalina remains within a binocular view of the bright star
Arcturus during the first half of the week. By mid-month it will be
above the handle of the Big Dipper. The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks
early Monday morning. This shower is brief but occasionally prolific,
rivalling the Perseids and Geminids at times. Quadrans Muralis was once
a constellation off the handle of the Big Dipper between Boötes and Draco.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
AMERICAN TREE SPARROW 02. DEC. 31, 2015. BRIAN STONE
Canis Major
SNOWY OWL (a). LOUISE NICHOLS. DEC. 31, 2015
SNOWY OWL (a). LOUISE NICHOLS. DEC. 31, 2015
WHITE-TAILED DEER IN YARD. DEC 2015..SUSAN LINKLETTER
WHITE-TAILED DEER IN YARD. DEC 2015..SUSAN LINKLETTER
WHITE-WINGED DOVE.DEC 31, 2015.JEAN-PAUL LeBLANC
