Nature Moncton Nature
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**Nest Box Cleaning –
Volunteers Needed tomorrow, Saturday!
We’re looking for a few
more helping hands for our Nest Box Cleaning Outing this Saturday (April 4
at 1 PM) at both the Riverfront Trail and Wilson’s Marsh.
We’re hoping to add up
to 3 more volunteers per site (6 total) to round out our groups. It’s
a simple, hands-on way to support local birds as they get ready for nesting
season—and a great excuse to get outside for a spring walk.
If you’re available and
would like to join us, please email:
📧 outandabout4nm@gmail.com
We’d love to have you with
us!
**The camera on the peregrine
falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When
checking the link to watch activity, scroll down to the first large image which
shows what is happening in real time. By scrolling down a bit further, you will
see recent images from the past few days which shows that the adult birds have
been visiting the nest box and have created a scrape depression in the gravel
so activity is expected any moment with that first egg!
(Editor’s note: the
nest box does not look particularly inviting again this morning, with a layer
of ice pellets within the nest. However, the peregrine falcon couple knows, as
we do, that it's all about to change.)
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**It’s not that often we
get the opportunity to see a breeding plumage great cormorant, let alone
a flock of them!
Ted Sears was able to
photograph a dozen + great cormorants perched on a rocky island off Quaco Head
near St. Martins on Wednesday. The white flank patch of the breeding adult is
clearly visible, as well as the white patch in the upper neck area that helps
quickly differentiate the great cormorant from the double-crested cormorant.
A great photo to get with a
camera in hand at the right place at the right time!
**With spring
housecleaning of bird nest boxes going on, it is an appropriate time to mention
prevention of nest parasites. Many of us use permethrin and diatomaceous earth
at cleanup time to prevent parasites from affecting the well-being of our
patrons in these man-made boxes.
Fleas and other
bloodsucking parasites can be quite detrimental to nesting success. They can
survive deep freezing temperatures in wait for new occupants to arrive and
resume their mission. We have seen incredible numbers of fleas in untreated
boxes when cleaning them out.
It took a long time to get
a confirmed identification, but small bedbug-sized bugs were found in a cliff
swallow nest in 2017. They were collected and Brian Stone did the photography. The photos were sent to BugGuide, which recently confirmed them as the swallow bug
(Oeciasus vicarious), which the literature advises has been found in cliff
swallow and barn swallow nests. They are small, flattened, wingless blood-feeding
bugs, seriously harmful to nestling health. That old photo is attached today.
**A lot is going on in the
sky this week with the historic Artemis mission. There are things to be seen
that we haven’t seen before around that heavenly body we usually casually refer
to as the Moon!
**This Week’s Sky at a
Glance, 2026 April 4 – April 11
In April we can start a long goodbye to the winter constellations. Orion and
Taurus are setting together, which makes it easier to imagine their eternal
battle. The bull is protecting the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) from the amorous
advances of Orion, who is about to strike a downward blow to the bull’s head
with his upraised club. The bull’s long horns, one tip of which is the bottom
left star of Auriga (Elnath - officially the second brightest star of Taurus),
are not to be taken lightly. It is difficult to tell which of the two
combatants is more dangerous.
The winter constellations of Auriga and Gemini are still up past midnight but
Rigel, in the knee of Orion and the low point of the Winter Circlet of bright
stars, is setting around 11 pm. With the Pleiades sinking in the western
twilight, through a thicker layer of our atmosphere, they will twinkle more. I
have a pleasant memory of seeing them with binoculars when they were low in the
west, flickering wildly like candles on a birthday cake. I had the urge to make
a wish and blow them out. In a few weeks Venus will be beside the Pleiades,
perhaps to cast a love spell on the sisters.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:53 and sunset will occur at 7:51, giving
12 hours, 58 minutes of daylight (6:58 and 7:56 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 6:40 and set at 8:01, giving 13 hours, 21 minutes of
daylight (6:46 and 8:05 in Saint John).
The Moon is near Antares on Monday and it is at third quarter next Friday.
Venus dominates the western sky in the evening, setting around 9:45 this
weekend. This week telescope users can get an idea of how quickly its moon
Io orbits. On Tuesday it begins to transit the face of Jupiter at 10:29 pm,
followed by its shadow at 11:46, and the following evening it disappears behind
the planet at 11:21. Still a challenging binocular target, Mercury brightens
slightly over the week, rising about 45 minutes before sunrise this weekend and
40 minutes next weekend. Rural observers might see the subtle glow of zodiacal
light in the west 60 to 90 minutes after sunset.
The Saint John Astronomy
Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre at 7 pm on this Saturday.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and
Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt
Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
