Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 9 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, November 9, 2018 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

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

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** Doreen Rossiter reports a complete turnover of her yard patrons this week at her Alma feeder yard. Most of the sparrows have left and she is down to two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] and a few SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur]. However, the first AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien] appeared on Thursday. Two female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à épaulettes] were new as well, and PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] are reduced in number to be replaced by more AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] and PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins]. The male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER [Pic à ventre roux] is still present. Doreen comments on seeing her first crossbill of the season, a lone male RED CROSSBILL [Bec-croisé des sapins] in the middle of the road, just before the west gate of Fundy National Park on route 114 as she travelled to Sussex on Thursday.

** Jane Leblanc got a nice picture of a DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco ardoisé] on Thursday that is showing the possibility of a first-fall male bird, but Gilles Belliveau points out that females indeed are usually fairly brownish, but some others do show as quite gray. The jury’s out, but leaning toward an immature male, and only the Junco may know for sure.

** Brian and Annette Stone did a hike on the Petitcodiac river trail on Thursday. A well-dressed male GREEN-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle d'hiver] ready for the upcoming season was in near full breeding plumage. Brian got a photo of one of the bright coloured Xanthoria lichens, commonly known as the PIN-CUSHION SUNBURST LICHEN. Some of the lichens are very colourful, but unfortunately seem to go unnoticed, so it’s nice to see a photo of one. Brian also got a photo of the City from the vantage point of the Riverview Marsh. They also came across a clump of feathers that appear to have belonged to a RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide].

** The pair of NORTHERN CARDINALS [Cardinal rouge] is still coming to our Moncton yard; however, they are not seen as frequently as when the weather was colder, and they seem to be coming separately the last few days, not always together, as they were the first day we realized they were coming. They seem to prefer ground feeding and have not been seen at feeders as yet. The female is much more shy.

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this edition, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, November 10 – November 17

I like to observe the sky at least once every day that I can, even if it is just for a few minutes. Often that entails observing the Sun through filtered telescopes and sketching the sunspots and prominences in my logbook. At night if I don’t feel like taking out a telescope I grab binoculars to perhaps see a comet or Mercury, or more often I tour the brighter star clusters. The winter constellations, which are prominent now in late evening, are home to many star clusters within easy reach of binoculars.

I usually start with the best open cluster, the Pleiades (M45) in the shoulder of Taurus the Bull, and focus the binos on its stars. The large V-shaped Hyades cluster, catalogued as Melotte 25, is nearby forming the face of the bull. It is anchored by orange Aldebaran at one corner, but that star is not really part of the cluster because it is less than half the distance to the others. The brightest star in nearby Perseus, Mirfak, is part of a group of stars called Melotte 20 that resembles a miniature version of the constellation Draco in binoculars. Perseus also holds the star cluster M34, which appears as a fuzzy patch in binos due to its distance. Between Perseus and Cassiopeia is a scenic close pair of clusters, NGC 869 and NGC 884, aptly called the Double Cluster.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:12 am and sunset will occur at 4:52 pm, giving 9 hours, 40 minutes of daylight (7:15 am and 5:00 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:22 am and set at 4:45 pm, giving 9 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (7:25 am and 4:52 pm in Saint John).

The Moon passes near Saturn this Sunday and it is at first quarter on Wednesday. Jupiter and Mercury are difficult targets very low in the southwest, setting 30 minutes and 50 minutes after sunset, respectively, by midweek. Saturn is at its best viewing in twilight, while the rapid eastern motion of Mars keeps in in good observing position most of the evening. Brilliant Venus is catching the morning eye now, rising more than two hours before the Sun. Early risers or late-night revellers might notice an occasional shooting star coming from Taurus on Monday as that is the peak of the minor North Taurid meteor shower. The Leonids meteor shower peaks the following weekend and, although the numbers are expected to be low, it does tend to produce brighter meteors called fireballs.

The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Fredericton Forestry / Earth Sciences building this Tuesday at 7 pm. All are welcome.

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

Winter clusters 2018.jpg

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton