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We present surface photometry of a very faint, giant arc feature in the haloof the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5055 (M63) that is consistent with being a partof a stellar stream resulting from the disruption of a dwarf satellite galaxy.This faint feature was first detected in early photographic studies by van derKruit (1979); more recently by Mart\'inez-Delgado et al. (2010) and aspresented in this work, the loop has been realized to be the result of a recentminor merger through evidence obtained by deep images taken with a telescope ofonly 0.16 m aperture. The stellar stream is confirmed in additional imagestaken with the 0.5 m of the BlackBird Remote Observatory and the 0.8 m of theMcDonald Observatory. This low surface brightness structure around the disk ofthe galaxy extends ~29 kpc from its center, with a projected width of 3.3 kpc.The stream's morphology is consistent with that of the visible part of a"great-circle" stellar stream originating from the accretion of a ~10^8 M_sundwarf satellite in the last few Gyr. The progenitor satellite's currentposition and fate are not conclusive from our data. The color of the stream'sstars is consistent with Local Group dwarfs and is similar to the outer regionsof M63's disk and stellar halo. We detect other low surface brightness"plumes"; some of these may be extended spiral features related to the galaxy'scomplex spiral structure and others may be tidal debris associated with thedisruption of the galaxy's outer stellar disk as a result of the accretionevent. We differentiate between features related to the tidal stream and faint,blue features in the outskirts of the galaxy's disk previously detected by theGALEX satellite. With its highly warped HI gaseous disk (~20 deg), M63represents one of several examples of an isolated spiral galaxy with a warpeddisk showing strong evidence of an ongoing minor merger.

A Petal of the Sunflower: Photometry of the Stellar Tidal Stream in the Halo of Messier 63 (NGC 5055)