Nature Moncton Nature
News
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Nature Moncton members, as
well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their
photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost)
daily edition of Nature News.
If you would like to share
observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Please advise the editor
at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo
labelling.
Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
The camera on the peregrine
falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When
checking the link to watch the activity, scroll down to the first large image,
which shows what is happening in real time.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
Lots of action from photographs captured recently at Action Central!
**Georges Brun was able to
photograph the peregrine falcon nest from Landing near Chateau Moncton.
The parent female was on the ledge, two juveniles (female on the left, then the male) were inside, while the firstborn female was just to the right on the ledge
of Assumption Place.
George was able to photograph
an osprey across the Petitcodiac River over the Riverview marsh. A
song sparrow was collecting titbits of broken potato chips.
**Louise and Glen Nichols
were in Ontario for a week visiting family, and they spent a bit of time hiking
in Goderich. They investigated a trail behind the Maitland Cemetery,
which is an area that was replanted after the 2011 tornado, which destroyed
sections of the town. The trails moved through some bush and newer growth
and past a marshy pond. Louise photographed a silver-spotted skipper
butterfly (upper and hind wings) and an eastern towhee that was
singing loudly. The biggest surprise along the trail was when Louise saw
something running toward her and realized it was a short-tailed weasel
carrying prey. When it saw Louise, it dropped its prey and scurried
into the bush. Louise walked over to the prey and saw it was what looked
like an American woodcock, which must have been taken by surprise by the
weasel. When Louise stepped back a bit, the weasel returned, grabbed its
treasure again, and moved on down the trail.
In the afternoon, Louise
and Glen visited a wonderful conservation area called Morris Tract.
Louise was in heaven with many dragonflies around a big pond, and she was able
to photograph both male and female calico pennants (a dragonfly on her
bucket list), as well as male and female widow skimmers. Later on
the trail, Louise was surprised by a butterfly she knew she'd never seen
before. It turns out to be a subspecies of white admiral, which is called
red-spotted purple due to the red spots and purple shading of the
underwing. This subspecies is apparently found from southern Ontario
southward and would not be seen in NB."
(Editor’s note: Should
Nature Moncton ask Louise to guide a field trip in all this area??)
**Yolande and Eudor LeBlanc
see a gray catbird every day, several times a day, around their Memramcook garden
and yard. They believe it's nesting nearby in the woods, on their side of
the road.
On Thursday afternoon,
Brian Stone visited Evandale, just above the Kingston Peninsula, and noticed
swallow nest boxes attached to the sides of the ferry crossing the Saint John
River at that spot. He took a few photos of the action around those nest boxes.
The tree swallows were very active, flying in and out of the boxes and
perching on the ferry railings.
On the Evandale side of
the ferry crossing, there were Canada anemone flowers blooming
alongside the roadway, and a large pink birdhouse was occupied by
European starlings. Deer flies were out and biting, and later in
the day white-tailed deer were grazing beside the condo parking lot.
**This Week’s Sky at a
Glance, 2026 June 27 – July 4
Sagittarius is an old constellation of a centaur with a bow and arrow aiming
toward Scorpius the Scorpion. If he tries to shoot Aquila the Eagle above,
chances are the arrow will be deflected by a shield.
Scutum the Shield is a relatively new constellation, created by the Polish
astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the late 17th century. It commemorates the
Polish king John Sobieski III, who defended his country against the Turks.
Originally named Scutum Sobiescianum (Sobieski’s Shield) it is generally just
called the Shield. Seeing it can be difficult, for its main stars are dim and
shielded within the Milky Way. One way to locate it is to find its most
prominent deep sky object, the Wild Duck Cluster or M11.
Find the bright star Altair in the head of Aquila and then identify the wings
and tail of the eagle. Binoculars will reveal a string of stars leading from
the tail to M11 at the top of the shield. The rich Wild Duck Cluster looks good
in binoculars and great in a scope, and an imaginative observer can see a
V-shape or maybe two. Star cluster M26 is also in Scutum, a binocular width
south of M11.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:30 and sunset will occur at 9:14, giving
15 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (5:38 and 9:16 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 5:33 and set at 9:13, giving 15 hours, 40 minutes of
daylight (5:41 and 9:14 in Saint John).
(Editor’s note: We have
just turned the corner and started the other way with length today!)
The Moon is near the orange supergiant star Antares in Scorpius on Saturday
and it is full on Monday. With Mercury and then Jupiter setting in late
twilight Venus rules the western sky, setting around 11:30 this weekend. It
inches toward Regulus over the week, a prelude to a close conjunction on July
9. Saturn is high in the south-southeast by the onset of morning twilight, but
Mars steals the morning show this week. It moves to within a wide binocular
view below the Pleiades, and on the morning of July 4 it is a third of a
Moon-width below Uranus with a star between them. Uranus can be seen with
binoculars.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and
Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay; the last show until mid-September.
Reruns are available on YouTube, The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the
Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on July 4 at 7 pm.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
