NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, October
30, 2020 (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)
** David Lilly got some photos of a
hawk that was perched in his Oromocto yard and stayed perched long enough for
photos. The differentiation between
Sharp-shinned Hawk, especially the female where size is considered, and the
Cooper’s Hawk, which would seem to be becoming much more common, is always tricky. This photo has been studied by several of us
and the final consensus is that it is strongly suspected to be a COOPER'S HAWK [Épervier
de Cooper]. Todd Watts pointed out to note the rounded
tail, blotchy head, pale nape, and small eye which Todd comments are classic
field signs of Cooper’s Hawk. Many thanks for all the input on this bird
and I suspect it will continue all winter. A nice learning experience in
deciding the identification of these two species from photos.
** Elaine Gallant had a great day at
her Pointe-du-Chêne feeders, especially with woodpeckers. Other than the expected DOWNY WOODPECKER [Pic
mineur] and HAIRY WOODPECKER [Pic chevelu], she was visited by a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
[Pic à ventre roux] and a NORTHERN FLICKER [Pic
flamboyant]. A BROWN CREEPER [Grimpereau brun] was spiralling up her pine tree, and
she was visited by both RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle
à poitrine blanche]. A great diversity of patrons for sure. To repeat again, it is looking like a great
bird-feeding season ahead.
** The SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] are swelling in number at Hay Island
where Aldo Dorio tallied 25 on Tuesday.
They are out of breeding plumage of course now, showing brown tones and
pale bill vs the dark bill of the breeding plumage. It is always interesting to watch the plumage
of Snow Buntings start to wear off to more solid black and white breeding
plumage as spring arrives. Aldo also got
a photo of a FOX
SPARROW [Bruant fauve] on
Thursday. Most of the Fox Sparrows seems
to have passed through as reports in feeder yards and elsewhere have
diminished. The gray on the head,
bi-coloured beak, fox-red tail, the breast streaking as small arrows, show
nicely.
** It is Friday and time to review the
next week’s Sky-at-a-Glace, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason. And yes, it is for the first week of November!
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2020 October 31 – November 7
Deep sky objects are often called faint fuzzies by amateur astronomers, but
many are bright enough to be seen with binoculars. Let us start by using the
Square of Pegasus as a guidepost. The southwest corner of the square is the
base of the winged horse’s neck, and moving away from the square by a couple of
stars takes us to the horse’s eye. Extending that line by the distance from the
middle of the neck to the eye is where you will find a small blurry patch
called M2, a globular cluster that is the second entry in the Messier list of
deep sky objects. Angling to the left at the eye we come to a star at the
horse’s snout, and extending by nearly half that distance is a larger globular
cluster, M15.
The star at the northeast corner of the square is Alpheratz, the brightest star
of Andromeda, from which spread two lines of stars. The second star away from
Alpheratz along the brighter string is orange Mirach, and moving up two stars
across the dimmer string we encounter the large Andromeda Galaxy, M31. From a dark
sky you might notice a fat star and a subtle hazy patch close by. They are M32
and M110, satellite galaxies of M31, which might require large binoculars to
separate them from M31. In the opposite direction from Mirach, and at about the
same distance as M31, is fainter M33, the third largest galaxy in our Local
Group behind Andromeda and the Milky Way. We see M33 face on, which makes it
appear dimmer.
The third brightest star of Andromeda is Almach, situated at the end of the
string from Mirach. Look in the area halfway between Almach and Algol, the
second brightest star in Perseus, for the open cluster of stars called M34.
Next, look above Andromeda for the familiar W-shape of Cassiopeia. A line from
the bottom right star of the W to the top right and extended the same distance
brings us to open cluster M52.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:59 am and sunset will occur at 6:05 pm,
giving 10 hours, 6 minutes of daylight (8:02 am and 6:12 pm in Saint
John). With clocks reverting to Standard Time at 2 am this Sunday, next
Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:09 am and set at 4:55 pm, giving 9 hours, 46
minutes of daylight (7:12 am and 5:03 pm in Saint John).
The most distant full Moon of the year occurs this Saturday, adding to the
ambiance of Halloween. Mars is fading slowly and getting smaller as Earth pulls
ahead, but it will remain large enough to show features in a backyard telescope
through the next two months. Jupiter and Saturn make a lovely couple in the
same field of view of most binoculars and they are setting around 9:30 pm.
Mercury is in its best morning apparition for the year, rising 90 minutes
before sunrise midweek and shining 15 degrees to the lower left of Venus.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold, you can watch the
local Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
