Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 6 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December 6, 2019 (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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** Wayne Corcoran reported in yesterday’s edition he was pleased to have approximately 30 EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] arrive to his near Quarryville feeder yard. That apparently was the advance guard, as Thursday brought the flock up to 85 Evening Grosbeaks along with a few more AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune].

** So nice to hear Yolande LeBlanc’s comment that her Memramcook feeder yard was overwhelmed with new arrivals on Thursday. The AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] number has ballooned to 60+, over triple of what she has been having, along with 4 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES [Sittelle à poitrine rousse], lots of WOODPECKERS [Pic] and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire]. Yolande comments she’s noting that not all are feeding at the feeders, using nearby wild food as well.

** Clarence Cormier had a visit from a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] on Thursday to his Grande-Digue feeder yard. The equal-length tail feathers and narrow white basal tail band help to distinguish it from the similar Cooper’s Hawk we are seeing more of. Clarence seems to be cornering the market on AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien], now up to 10. My feeder is still at one AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien]. I’ve attached some photos to show the solid rufous crown, the rufous line behind the eye, strongly bicoloured beak, and the rufous spot just ahead of the bend of the wing.

** Doreen Rossiter leaves a report from her Alma yard, commenting on the scarcity of birds in her yard other than a few expected regulars. Doreen comments it’s her 37^th year of keeping records at her site and the first year that all the Mountain Ash berries were not stripped bare by October. She keeps monthly species records, and reports October of 2018 tallied 30 species while October of 2019 tallied 17 species, and November 2018 tallied 32 species while November 2019 tallied 18 species. However, Doreen did have her moment to make it all worthwhile when a male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER [Pic à ventre roux] dropped by for a feed of suet, but she did not see it later in the day.

Aldo Dorio captured a photo of a SUN PILLAR as the sun rose in Neguac on Friday morning. Am attaching an explanation of this phenomenon below:

A sun pillar is a halo phenomenon of a vertical shaft of light extending upward or downward from the sun. Typically seen during sunrise or sunset, sun pillars form when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds (e.g.cirrostratus clouds). The hexagonal plate-like ice crystals fall with a horizontal orientation, gently rocking from side to side as they fall. When the sun is low on the horizon, an area of brightness appears in the sky above (or below) the sun as sunlight is reflected off the surfaces of these tipped ice crystals. However, often only the upper pillar appears.

Sun pillars are seen best within a few minutes of sunrise or sunset. Initially the have about the same colour and width as the sun, but sun pillars will gradually change their colour from orange-white to red-orange. Sun pillars generally fade 20 to 60 minutes after sunset. Under favourable conditions, e.g. icy fog, sun pillars might stretch out up to 30° above the sun, while light streaks of 5° to 10° are most common.

** It’s always a heartbeat moment to see a bird you don’t recognize at your feeders, which happened to me on Thursday. It cooperated for some fast photos in the snow flurries to get clear enough photos for Gilles Belliveau to tell me it was an INDIGO BUNTING [Passerin indigo] which I had not considered, but I could so easily see remnants of blue in the plumage once Gilles had identified it. It came to a hanging feeder of white millet, seeming to know just where to go, but I feel certain it was not visiting before Thursday. It may or may not have been just passing through. There are ample breeding records of Indigo Bunting in New Brunswick, but I suspect it is getting very late to see one. Gilles felt it to be an immature male or a female bird. What a contrast from that brilliant breeding plumage we see in the spring male. I’m attaching several photos from different angles as I suspect others may not be accustomed to seeing this species in winter plumage.

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this edition courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason. There are some interesting meteor showers coming up, with one on Moncton Christmas Bird Count day afternoon and evening, to get some owls and meteors at the same time.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019 December 7 – December 14
Perhaps the year’s best meteor shower radiates from near the star Castor in Gemini next weekend. Under ideal conditions the Geminids can average two shooting stars per minute, but don’t expect to see anywhere near that number. With the bright moonlight, be very happy if you see ten 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 pm on December 14, making that morning and evening the best time to watch. 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 days before and after could also be worthwhile if the weather forecast isn’t promising for December 14.

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.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:47 am and sunset will occur at 4:33 pm, giving 8 hours, 46 minutes of daylight (7:49 am and 4:41 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:53 am and set at 4:33 pm, giving 8 hours, 40 minutes of daylight (7:55 am and 4:41 pm in Saint John). After this week the sunsets will gradually occur later but the later sunrises will continue into January.

The Moon is full on Thursday morning, the Long Night Moon as it is the one nearest the winter solstice. Mercury rises 95 minutes before the Sun this weekend but that gap lessens by 20 minutes over the week. On Thursday morning Mars is very close to the double star Zubenelgenubi in Libra, looking like a colourful triple star through binoculars. In the evening sky, Jupiter sets around 5:30 while Venus has a rendezvous with Saturn, appearing below the ringed planet on Tuesday and to its left on Thursday. The Geminid meteor shower peaks on Saturday afternoon and, despite the bright moonlight, it should reward us with several shooting stars from Friday evening to Sunday morning.

The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on December 7 at 7 pm. The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Fredericton Forestry-Earth Sciences building on Tuesday at 7 pm. All are welcome.

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

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton