NATURE MONCTON
INFORMATION LINE, December 8, 2017 (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
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
To respond by e-mail, please address
your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.
** Aldo Dorio got photos of a few late
shorebirds on Thursday with a DUNLIN [Bécasseau variable] and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER [Pluvier
argenté]
at Hay Island and off the Neguac wharf. Aldo also got two nice close-up photos of a single WHITE-WINGED SCOTER [Macreuse brune].
at Hay Island and off the Neguac wharf. Aldo also got two nice close-up photos of a single WHITE-WINGED SCOTER [Macreuse brune].
** On Wednesday Clarence Cormier
comments that he was getting a few expected birds to his Grande-Digue feeder
site. However, a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
[Épervier brun] started
making visits to check on the possible patron line-up. Also a SHORT-TAILED WEASEL [Belette à
courte queue] is
a regular visitor, and as it has gone all white with its black-tipped tail, it
is very easily spotted in the snowless background. Things changed very quickly on Thursday
morning as a flock of 30 AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique], 3 PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré], and 3 CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d'Amérique]
arrived, all feasting on the very
numerous Mountain Ash berries in Clarence’s area. Also arriving were 5 to 7 BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu], 3 to 7 AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant
hudsonien],
10 to 20 AMERICAN
GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune],
10 to 30 MOURNING
DOVES [Tourterelle triste],
BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] and HAIRY WOODPECKERS [Pic chevelu] and DOWNY WOODPECKERS [Pic mineur] for a sudden flood of activity around
that yard.
**
Brian Coyle got some more trail cam photos of BOBCAT [Lynx roux],
a SHORT-TAILED WEASEL [Belette à courte queue],
as well as some buck WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de
Virginie]. Take a look at the videos at
** David Christie did his walk on the
Mary’s Point beach on Thursday as the very high tides of recent days were
receding. He did not see much activity,
but was surprised to find an Atlantic Tomcod fish approximately 100 ft. from
shore, expecting it to be there from the gulls that had been taking advantage
of the flooded marsh to catch stranded fish, and this probably was one dropped
and not found in the grass.
** Annette and Brian Stone, Carol Shea
and Janet Kempster visited the Hampton lagoons on Thursday to see a nice
selection of water fowl, including AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d'Amérique], GADWALL [Canard chipeau], LESSER SCAUP [Petit Fuligule], as well as a duo of first-winter
plumage ICELAND
GULLS [Goéland arctique].
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added
to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason who we will be meeting at next Tuesday’s
December 12th Nature Moncton Meeting where we will find out some
interesting things about the moon to appreciate this sky object even more.
This Week’s
Sky at a Glance, December 9 – December 16
Perhaps the year’s best meteor shower radiates from near the star Castor
in Gemini this week. Under ideal conditions the Geminids can average two
shooting stars per minute, but don’t expect to see anywhere near that
number. Be very happy if you see a couple dozen per hour. With Gemini
rising soon after an early sunset and riding high just after midnight,
convenient evening viewing is rewarded more often than for the showers
from Perseus and Leo, which rise much later on their peak nights.
Geminids are relatively slow and easier to catch with the eye, and they
often have a golden glow.
This year the shower peaks around 3 a.m. on December 14, making that
morning and the previous evening the best time to watch. As a bonus for
evening observers the moon doesn’t rise until 4 a.m., and its waning
crescent phase will not wash out the sky significantly for morning
viewers. Dress very warmly, get comfortable in a reclining position,
face an unobstructed patch of sky toward the north or south away from
artificial lighting, and hope for a cloudless evening. Viewing on the
evenings before and after could also be worthwhile if the weather
forecast isn’t promising for December 13.
The parent “comet” for the Geminids is actually the asteroid 3200
Phaethon, which was discovered in 1983. It orbits the Sun in a little
more than 17 months, crossing the orbits of Mars, Earth, Venus and
Mercury. At perihelion its temperature can exceed 600C, which can cause
its carbon-water material to break down and release the dust particles
that give us meteors when they burn up in our atmosphere. On December 16
Phaethon passes within 10 million kilometres of Earth and can be seen
moving against the background stars with a medium-size telescope.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:49 am and sunset will occur at
4:33 pm, giving 8 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (7:51 am and 4:41 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:55 am and set at 4:34
pm, giving 8 hours, 39 minutes of daylight (7:57 am and 4:42 pm in Saint
John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Sunday, and passes above Mars and
Jupiter on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, respectively. Mercury is at
inferior conjunction on Tuesday, moving into the morning sky later in
the month. Saturn sets just 35 minutes after sunset midweek, while Mars
is moving rapidly toward Jupiter in the morning sky. (Spoiler alert: It
catches up on January 7.) Venus is heading sunward, reaching superior
conjunction on January 9.
The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets at the UNB Forestry /
Earth Sciences Building in Fredericton on Tuesday at 7pm. All are
welcome. That same evening, an uncertified lunatic gives a presentation
on the Moon at the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge in Moncton.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Perhaps the year’s best meteor shower radiates from near the star Castor
in Gemini this week. Under ideal conditions the Geminids can average two
shooting stars per minute, but don’t expect to see anywhere near that
number. Be very happy if you see a couple dozen per hour. With Gemini
rising soon after an early sunset and riding high just after midnight,
convenient evening viewing is rewarded more often than for the showers
from Perseus and Leo, which rise much later on their peak nights.
Geminids are relatively slow and easier to catch with the eye, and they
often have a golden glow.
This year the shower peaks around 3 a.m. on December 14, making that
morning and the previous evening the best time to watch. As a bonus for
evening observers the moon doesn’t rise until 4 a.m., and its waning
crescent phase will not wash out the sky significantly for morning
viewers. Dress very warmly, get comfortable in a reclining position,
face an unobstructed patch of sky toward the north or south away from
artificial lighting, and hope for a cloudless evening. Viewing on the
evenings before and after could also be worthwhile if the weather
forecast isn’t promising for December 13.
The parent “comet” for the Geminids is actually the asteroid 3200
Phaethon, which was discovered in 1983. It orbits the Sun in a little
more than 17 months, crossing the orbits of Mars, Earth, Venus and
Mercury. At perihelion its temperature can exceed 600C, which can cause
its carbon-water material to break down and release the dust particles
that give us meteors when they burn up in our atmosphere. On December 16
Phaethon passes within 10 million kilometres of Earth and can be seen
moving against the background stars with a medium-size telescope.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:49 am and sunset will occur at
4:33 pm, giving 8 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (7:51 am and 4:41 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:55 am and set at 4:34
pm, giving 8 hours, 39 minutes of daylight (7:57 am and 4:42 pm in Saint
John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Sunday, and passes above Mars and
Jupiter on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, respectively. Mercury is at
inferior conjunction on Tuesday, moving into the morning sky later in
the month. Saturn sets just 35 minutes after sunset midweek, while Mars
is moving rapidly toward Jupiter in the morning sky. (Spoiler alert: It
catches up on January 7.) Venus is heading sunward, reaching superior
conjunction on January 9.
The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets at the UNB Forestry /
Earth Sciences Building in Fredericton on Tuesday at 7pm. All are
welcome. That same evening, an uncertified lunatic gives a presentation
on the Moon at the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge in Moncton.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
DUNLIN. DEC 7, 2017.ALDO DORIO
GADWALL AND AMERICAN WIGEON. DEC. 07, 2017. BRIAN STONE
GADWALLS. DEC. 07, 2017. BRIAN STONE
Gemini
ICELAND GULLS.GULL(1ST WINTER). DEC. 07, 2017. BRIAN STONE
LESSER SCAUP. DEC. 07, 2017. BRIAN STONE
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. DEC 7, 2017.ALDO DORIO
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. DEC 7, 2017. ALDO DORIO
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. DEC 7, 2017. ALDO DORIO
