NATURE MONCTON'S NATURE LINE, November 11, 2016 (Friday)
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Edited by : Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
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** Louise Nichols gets RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide] visitors
to her Sackville yard, but for the first time she is now getting visits from a
dark male Pheasant of somewhat different plumage from the normally accepted
Ring-necked Pheasant so common to the Sackville and Tantramar area. This one has
no neck ring, a brown rump rather than gray, to make one wonder what the genetic
background may really be. Is it truly a melanistic variant or is it the result
of hybridization of individuals that carry these genetic traits that have been
released or escaped from hunting facilities or private collections?
Hybridization would seem the most likely scenario. It's not unusual to see the
odd differently plumaged bird, especially darker, among the many pheasants that
occupy the Tantramar marsh area as their habitat. I suspect only the pheasants
know for sure!
** Anna Tucker visited the Sackville Waterfowl Park on Thursday afternoon.
She reports it's starting to get quite barren there now with most of the
waterfowl being GADWALLS [Canard chipeau] and MALLARDS [Canard colvert] and some
YELLOWLEGS [Chevaliers], but she did get a photo of a group of NORTHERN
SHOVELERS [Canard souchet]. A fresh nest of the summer was exposed now that the
leaves had dropped. It appears to be a Robin's nest. The Gray Birch trees seem
to be holding their yellow leaves longer than usual.
** Gabriel Gallant was in the Surrey, PEI area on Thursday and was able to
gather some very fresh HORSE MUSHROOMS on a lawn, the latest he has ever found
this species. If the frost does not get to this species first, some excellent
Horse Mushrooms can still be had.
** This week's Sky-at-a-Glance is added to today's transcription, courtesy
of Curt Nason.
This Week’s
Sky at a Glance, November 12 – November 19
I like to observe the sky at least once every day that I can, even if it
is just for five 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 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 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 aptly called the Double
Cluster. Next week we will visit several more star clusters among the
winter constellations.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:16 am and sunset will occur at
4:50 pm, giving 9 hours, 34 minutes of daylight (7:19 am and 4:57 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:26 am and set at 4:43
pm, giving 9 hours, 17 minutes of daylight (7:29 am and 4:50 pm in Saint
John).
The Moon is full on Monday morning just a few hours after reaching
perigee, its closest to Earth for the month. In fact, it reaches perigee
around the time it is setting in New Brunswick. Not only is it the
closest full Moon for the month and for the year, it is the closest for
a couple of decades. Yes, it has been called the Superdupermoon and it
will look awesomely large when near setting that morning thanks to the
Moon illusion, but you can still block it out with a little more than
half your pinkie finger at arm’s length. Perhaps a little less than half
if you are horribly inept with a hammer. A truly impressive way to enjoy
the perigean Moon is to see its effect on the tides early in the week.
Mercury sets 20 minutes after sunset this weekend, and stretches that to
a half hour by next weekend. Saturn is fading fast, being only four
weeks from conjunction. Venus is truly Hesperus, the Evening Star,
shining through the bright western twilight and it is even noticeable
before sunset if you know where to look. Mars sets around 9:45 pm and
will continue to do so into next year. Jupiter and Arcturus make a
pretty sight at approximately the same altitude in the morning sky. The
North Taurid and Leonid meteor showers might add a bit of fun for early
stargazers this weekend and Thursday, respectively. Fifty years ago the
Leonids produced a spectacular meteor blizzard, reaching rates of 50 per
second for a brief time. This year, with its comet progenitor farthest
from the Sun rather than closest, we can count ourselves lucky to see
five per hour.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
I like to observe the sky at least once every day that I can, even if it
is just for five 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 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 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 aptly called the Double
Cluster. Next week we will visit several more star clusters among the
winter constellations.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:16 am and sunset will occur at
4:50 pm, giving 9 hours, 34 minutes of daylight (7:19 am and 4:57 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:26 am and set at 4:43
pm, giving 9 hours, 17 minutes of daylight (7:29 am and 4:50 pm in Saint
John).
The Moon is full on Monday morning just a few hours after reaching
perigee, its closest to Earth for the month. In fact, it reaches perigee
around the time it is setting in New Brunswick. Not only is it the
closest full Moon for the month and for the year, it is the closest for
a couple of decades. Yes, it has been called the Superdupermoon and it
will look awesomely large when near setting that morning thanks to the
Moon illusion, but you can still block it out with a little more than
half your pinkie finger at arm’s length. Perhaps a little less than half
if you are horribly inept with a hammer. A truly impressive way to enjoy
the perigean Moon is to see its effect on the tides early in the week.
Mercury sets 20 minutes after sunset this weekend, and stretches that to
a half hour by next weekend. Saturn is fading fast, being only four
weeks from conjunction. Venus is truly Hesperus, the Evening Star,
shining through the bright western twilight and it is even noticeable
before sunset if you know where to look. Mars sets around 9:45 pm and
will continue to do so into next year. Jupiter and Arcturus make a
pretty sight at approximately the same altitude in the morning sky. The
North Taurid and Leonid meteor showers might add a bit of fun for early
stargazers this weekend and Thursday, respectively. Fifty years ago the
Leonids produced a spectacular meteor blizzard, reaching rates of 50 per
second for a brief time. This year, with its comet progenitor farthest
from the Sun rather than closest, we can count ourselves lucky to see
five per hour.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
AMERICAN ROBIN NEST (SUSPECTED).NOV 10, 2016.ANNA TUCKER
GREY BIRCH.NOV 10, 2016.ANNA TUCKER
NORTHERN SHOVELERS.NOV 10, 2016.ANNA TUCKER
RING-NECKED PHEASANT DARK (a). LOUISE NICHOLS. NOV. 8, 2016
RING-NECKED PHEASANT DARK (a). LOUISE NICHOLS. NOV. 8, 2016
RING-NECKED PHEASANT DARK (a). LOUISE NICHOLS. NOV. 8, 2016
Winter clusters 1
