Nature Moncton Nature
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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.
The action in the
peregrine falcon box on the summit of Assumption Place has now become nonstop,
with two very busy parents tending to the insatiable appetites of four
teenagers.
Keeping a clean house seems to have become a challenge!
Https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**Tomorrow, Saturday, May
30, is on schedule for the Nature Moncton outing on spring ducks. All details below:
**Nature Moncton Outing—Spring Ducks
Location:
Sackville Sewage Lagoon, Retention Ponds, and Waterfowl Park
Date and
start time: Saturday, May 30, at 9:30 AM
Hosts: Gwen
Clark and Jessica Belanger-Mainville
Spring in
New Brunswick is a perfect time to appreciate one of the most striking groups
of birds, the ducks, as they return to New Brunswick to breed or pass through
on their northward migration. The Sackville Sewage Lagoon, Retention Ponds, and
Waterfowl Park offer important breeding and stopover habitat for many species,
from the familiar Blue-winged Teal and Ring-necked Duck to less common visitors
like Wood Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Hooded Mergansers, and Northern Pintails.
If you’re lucky, you may even find a rare vagrant (a species far outside its
native range) like the cinnamon-headed Eurasian Wigeon!
We will start at the Sewage Lagoon and proceed to the Retention Ponds,
concluding with a short walk along the boardwalk loop in Waterfowl Park.
Bring a
snack, water, and sun protection, and don’t forget your name tag. All are welcome, Nature Moncton
members and non-members alike.
Sackville
meeting location: Sewage Lagoons on Crescent Street. From Moncton, take the
Trans-Canada Highway and get off at exit 506 (Cattail Ridge). Continue on
Cattail Ridge as it becomes Crescent Street. Where Crescent Street curves west (to the right when
coming from Cattail Ridge), turn left onto the gravel road and continue to the
sewage lagoons. Park along the side of the road.
Carpooling
meet-up location and time: We strongly encourage carpooling from Moncton to
Sackville to reduce the environmental footprint of this event. For those
wishing to carpool, we will meet at the parking lot of the Sobeys on Elmwood Drive (77 Filles de Jesus Ave,
Moncton) at 8:45 a.m.
**Pat Gibbs
photographed a pair of ring-necked ducks at the Ste. Anselme Park
recently. It is interesting to note that Pat’s camera actually caught the ring
on the neck of the male that gave it its name. We usually don’t see it!
**David Lilly
was able to photograph a mating pair of bobolinks. David’s photos also
clearly show the distinct difference in the gender plumage in this species.
**Penny
Clark got quite a start when she bent down to plug in the charger for her cell phone and a fishing spider (Dolomedes) happened by.
These large
spiders are more often seen near the edge of a stream or body of water where
they lie in wait for water insects. They are capable of going underwater, taking
a bubble of oxygen with them to hunt underwater prey.
**Jim
Johnson in Scotch settlement spotted two turkeys in the back field behind
his home that wandered off into the woods.
Reports of
turkeys appearing to be feral are getting much more common.
**For those of you who didn't see it, there was an article on ticks in a recent issue of a New Brunswick newspaper. It is very worth the four-minute read. The blacklegged tick is now calling New Brunswick home with no plans of leaving. It is something we have to learn to live with, like we have with so many other things.
The article does not discuss the significance of the use of permethrin-impregnated clothing, which is now available in Canada. It is widely used in the US and by our Armed Forces.
We have many other species of ticks in New Brunswick that are no problem; it is so very important to be able to recognize those that are problematic and those that are not.
The site ticktalkcanada.com has a wealth of further information.
**This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2026 May 30 – June 6
Arcturus and Vega, the fourth and fifth brightest stars of the night sky, are
seen high above in evening twilight. I use them to locate the constellation
Hercules, which is one third of the way from Vega to Arcturus. Another
constellation, the nominal crowning glory of the northern sky, is one third of
the way from Arcturus to Vega. Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, does not
stand out among its neighbours or contain any popular telescopic treasures like
Hercules does, but its semicircle of stars is pretty to look at. For two years
astronomers have been waiting for the Blaze Star, too dim for binoculars, to go
nova and briefly become the constellation’s second brightest star.
In mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete. She helped
Theseus slay the bull-headed Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth, and then
accompanied him and his crew on a voyage home to Athens. Along the way they
stopped at the island home of Dionysus, the god of wine. After a night of
revelry the crew was made to leave without Ariadne, and Dionysus presented her
with a beautiful crown if she would be his bride. The crown was placed in the
sky to commemorate their wedding. The constellation also represents a bear’s
den in a local aboriginal legend of the bear and seven hunters, which includes
stars in the Big Dipper and Boötes.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:32 and sunset will occur at 9:01, giving
15 hours, 29 minutes of daylight (5:40 and 9:03 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 5:29 and set at 9:06, giving 15 hours, 37 minutes of
daylight (5:37 and 9:08 in Saint John).
The Moon is near Antares this Saturday and on Sunday it is full and near
apogee, what I call the Puny Moon. Throughout the week it will not climb very
high. The highlight of the week will be watching Venus close the gap to
Jupiter, with the two brightest planets making an eye-catching pair next
weekend. Mercury is well to their lower right, setting around 11 pm by next
weekend. On Sunday telescope users might see Jupiter’s moon Europa disappear
behind the planet at 10:21, followed by Io 11 minutes later. By 4:30 am this
weekend Saturn will be about 13 degrees above the eastern horizon, whereas
equally bright Mars will be just a few degrees high,
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and
Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in
the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on June 6 at 7 pm.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
