NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December
4, 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)
** When
Mitch Doucet was in the Indian Mountain Rd area just outside Moncton on
Wednesday, he photographed 3 red birds.
He was not aware until he got home and looked at them that they were
actually 3 adult (or nearly so) PINE GROSBEAKS [Durbec des
sapins]. It would seem unusual to photograph 3 adult
Pine Grosbeaks altogether at one spot.
They are not that often in flocks as the females and immature males seem
to dominate. I tried several sources to confirm when the male took on the adult
pinkish-red plumage and was not able to locate it. Gilles Belliveau found it in Cornell’s
Birds of the World (formerly Birds of North America) as below:
“First-year
male usually indistinguishable from female until Second Prebasic Molt in summer
and fall of second calendar year, although some males may show a few scattered
red or orange feathers by spring.”
This
is obviously why we may see less adult males. The Purple Finch male also does
not take on adult plumage until the second fall.
** Things are looking great for a COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin
flammé] winter in
New Brunswick with more and more reports and some large flocks being
noted. Aldo Dorio noted a flock of
approximately 20 around the Neguac wharf on Thursday as well as a few AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle
d'Amérique] enjoying
crab apples, and 3 PINE GROSBEAKS [Durbec des sapins].
** Fred Richards has completed his
newly constructed workshop and is now filling it with cut-up lumber to
construct 80 swallow nest boxes for Nature Moncton to be given away and
hopefully all erected by April 15 of 2021.
The photos really look like it could be a Santa’s workshop!
** Susan Atkinson shares some real eye
candy forwarded from the Canadian Geographic Photo Club of the
photo-of-the-month of a male Northern Cardinal in the white snow by Kelly
Beckta. A very striking photo.
** Brian Stone visited the
Pointe-du-Chêne area on Thursday to get some great photos of a pair of LONG-TAILED DUCKS [Harelde
kakawi] showing
their winter plumage characteristics nicely.
** It is Friday and time to review what
to look for in next week’s Sky-at-a-Glace, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2020 December 5 – December 12
The constellation of Taurus the Bull has completely cleared the eastern horizon
by 6:30 pm this week. It is distinguished by two relatively close star
clusters: the compact dipper-shaped Pleiades in the bull’s shoulder and the
V-shaped Hyades that forms the bull’s face. The bright orange star Aldebaran
anchors one side of the V, representing the bull’s fiery eye, but it is not
actually part of the cluster as it is much closer. In mythology the Pleiades
(aka the Seven Sisters) and the Hyades were half-sisters; daughters of Atlas,
who obviously didn’t spend all his time holding up the sky.
Starting from the apex of the Hyades, extend each side of the V outward to a
star. These stars are the tips of the bull’s horns. The upper star is Elnath,
which forms one of the corners of Auriga the Charioteer although it is
officially part of Taurus. The other horn star has a famous dim neighbour,
which is about one degree away and slightly to the right of a line joining the
horns. Called the Crab Nebula or M1 for being the first entry in Charles
Messier’s 18th century catalogue, this little fuzzy patch is a gaseous
supernova remnant. The supernova, a death-explosion of a giant star, was seen
in daylight for three weeks in 1054. I have seen M1 in a transparent sky
with binoculars but a scope gives a better view.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:45 am and sunset will occur at 4:33 pm,
giving 8 hours, 48 minutes of daylight (7:48 am and 4:41 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:52 am and set at 4:33 pm,
giving 8 hours, 41 minutes of daylight (7:54 am and 4:41 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Monday and it will be approaching Venus next
Saturday. Also by next Saturday Jupiter will have moved to within one degree of
Saturn and they will remain that close for most of the month. Both planets will
be within a low to medium magnification view of telescopes, but their low altitude
will make it difficult to expect a sharp view. Mars remains close enough all
month to offer views of its surface features in a telescope, and high enough in
early evening for higher magnification observing. Venus has just crossed
between Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, the two brightest stars of Libra,
which were considered the celestial equivalent of the promontories defining the
Strait of Gibraltar and which ancient Greeks called the Pillars of Hercules.
Mercury is too close to the Sun for observing. By the end of the week we should
start seeing an uptick in meteors as the reliable Geminid shower peaks on
December 13/14.
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
