NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
August 29 2025
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
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your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Pierrette Breau and Rosita Lanteigne spotted a rare-to-New-Brunswick black vulture at Miscou center on Miscou Island on Wednesday. Pierrette was able to capture three excellent photos of the bird, both perched and in flight.
The black
vulture is an uncommon accidental visitor to New Brunswick. They saw it in
the company of six turkey vultures.
The black
vulture is resident to the southeastern US and down into South America, where
the literature advises it is doing well, but it seldom strays from home turf to
make it a very welcome guest to New Brunswick.
**Aldo
Dorio shares photos of two different willets at Hay Island on Thursday.
One appears to be an adult and the other may be a juvenile.
Aldo also
sends photos of some members of an eastern bluebird family. The female
is carrying food for a nestling with its head at the nest box opening in wait.
(Editor’s
note: The eastern bluebird can nest more than once in a season, and that potentially
is the scenario here due to the late date a nestling is appearing.)
**The white
underwing moth is a large moth that typically does not appear until late
summer and into fall.
Nelson
Poirier had one visit on Wednesday night for a perched photo; then it suddenly
opened its wings to show the beautiful black and white banded underwings, which
are used to scare off predators such as nature photographers. The tactic worked
well, allowing a quick second photograph before it flew off into safer
territory.
**This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 August 30 – September 6
The constellation Capricornus is a large chevron shape that is south-southeast
around 10 pm this week. A pair of stars marks each upper corner, and both stars
of the western pair are colourful wide double stars. The sea goat arises from a
tale of the Olympian gods being surprised by Typhon, the most ferocious of the
rival Titans. Knowing Typhon was not fond of water, the gods changed into fish
and escaped to the sea. The god Pan, who was half-goat and half-man, panicked
and dove in before the transformation was complete and wound up with a goat’s
head and the tail of a fish.
There are four common targets for backyard telescope users near Capricornus,
but only the globular cluster M30 off the east side of the chevron is
officially within its borders. It is also the easiest of the targets for
binoculars. The globular cluster M72 and the four-star (literally four stars,
it is not an observing highlight) asterism M73 are above in Aquarius. Nearby is
the more challenging, but worth the effort, Saturn Nebula (NGC7009), the
gaseous remnant of a dead star that somewhat resembles the ringed planet.
A few millennia ago the Sun was in Capricornus at the winter solstice, when at
midday it was overhead at latitude -23.5 degrees. This is the southern border
of the tropics, and it is still called the Tropic of Capricorn despite the Sun
being in Sagittarius at this time. Earth’s 25,800 year polar wobble, called the
precession of the equinoxes, is responsible for this shift.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:37 and sunset will occur at 8:00, giving
13 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (6:43 and 8:04 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 6:46 and set at 7:47, giving 13 hours, 1 minute of
daylight (6:52 and 7:51 in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter near Antares this Sunday, and it maintains a
low altitude all week as it orbits near its maximum distance below the ecliptic
(a major lunar standstill). Mercury rises an hour before sunrise this weekend,
but by next weekend the gap shortens to half an hour. Venus slides to the right
of the Beehive cluster in Cancer this Sunday and Monday, a possible binocular
treat around 5 am. Jupiter is prominent in the early morning sky among
the stars of Gemini. Telescope users under high magnification might see the
shadow of Saturn’s moon Titan crossing the planet early Thursday morning,
starting at 2:25 and reaching halfway at 4:09. Over the next two weeks Mars
will be making a ten-degree run toward Spica, low in the west in evening
twilight.
The Saint
John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on
September 6 at 7 pm.
Questions?
Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
