EVENING SKY 
Moon, Sept 2004 
6 Sept Lost Quarter; 14 Sept New 
Moon; 21 Sept First Quarter; 28 
Sept Full Moon 
September Stars 
September skies are full of birds. 
Overhead is the constellation 
Aquila, the Eagle. Its bright star 
Altair is flanked by two smaller 
stars. 
Below Aquila to the north, Cygnus 
the Swan is flying across the 
northern sky. Its bright star 
Peneb is about halfway between 
the horizon and overhead. Less 
bright stars form the swan's body, 
wings, and long outstretched neck. 
To the left (west) of beneb is the 
brilliant star Vega. The Milky 
Way, a wide pale band made up of 
millions and millions of stars, 
stretches across the sky from 
northeast to southwest. The 
Milky Way is the galaxy to which 
our Sun belong. 
Between Cygnus and Aquila is a 
very dark stretch of sky in the 
middle of the Milky Way. This is 
known as the great rift; it appears 
dark because of dust obscuring 
our view of the stars behind. 
Pegasus the Flying Horse is rising 
in the east (to the right of 
Cygnus). This large constellation 
is easy to spot as the stars form 
a huge square shape in the middle 
portion, and do not have the stars 
of our own galaxy in the 
background. 
Scorpius is setting headfirst in 
the west (look on the 19th - the 
crescent moon is nearby). 
Scorpius is followed by the 
constellation Sagittarius, the 
Archer, shaped like a teapot or 
kettle. 
Planets, Sept 2004 
Venus shines brightly in the 
morning sky, rising around about 
2 hours before the Sun. Look on 
September 13th - the Beehive is 
nearby. The Beehive is a 
prominent star cluster in the 
constellation of Cancer the Crab. 
At a distance of 500 light years, 
these stars are close neighbours 
of ours. The individual stars can 
be made out by the naked eye if 
the sky is very clear but it is more 
fun to use some lenses for a 
better view. Cancer is currently 
low in the sky before sunrise, and 
directly east-northeast. 
Saturn is now in the morning sky; 
it seems to be in the constellation 
Gemini. This is a good time for 
viewing because the air is cleaner 
at dawn. 
Sun 
On September 22nd the sun 
crosses to the south of the 
celestial equator, marking the 
start of spring (the vernal 
equinox) in the southern 
hemisphere, and the start of 
autumn in the northern 
hemisphere. 
rt J 
NATURALIST’S 
CORNER 
A 
Nest 
in the 
North 
By Dino Martins 
Comments or inquiries 
email dinom@elci.org 
In the hooked tangle of a thick, 
thorny acacia, sits a tiny nest. 
Woven from silken spiderwebs, 
fluffy seeds and lichens, it is 
pear shaped, and hangs in an 
oval from the thorny twig. From 
the nest, through the criss¬ 
cross of thorn-studded 
branches, the.vast valley 
shimmers with heat. The haze 
fades to blue and purple in tire 
distance, where the rocks meet 
the sky. Flowering acacia trees, 
resplendent with ivory-tinted 
blossoms, dot the flat valley 
floor. 
A noisy twittering stirs the air. 
Flying rapidly through the 
tangle of thorns, a female 
sunbird swiftly sweeps down to 
the nest. She hovers outside 
for a second, then moves 
forward and wriggles in. Once 
safely bedded down and 
comfortable, having checked on 
the precious eggs within, she 
pokes her head out. Her throat 
is bright orange, not from the 
colour of her plumage, but of 
the pollen that has rubbed off 
on her chin. This is the pollen 
from numerous aloe flowers 
where she has been feeding. 
Bird Hotline 
3749957 
(August Sighting) 
Lemon Doves Nairobi 
Arboretum Wednesday Morning 
Birdwalk 
Buff-throated Apalis Eseki 
Forest Bernard Chege 
Aloes are pollinated by 
sunbirds, whose long, narrow 
beaks are adapted to reach for 
nectar in the tubular flowers. 
The sunbird watches the world 
from the vantage of her nest. 
This is a Shining Sunbird 
Nectarinia habessinica 
turkanae, described in Birds of 
Kenya and Northern Tanzania 
as 'An uncommon thorn-bush 
species'. It is a real treat to 
find the nest and watch the 
female feeding at aloes. The 
nest is located in a short thorn 
bush, an Acacia mellifera. This 
shrubby species is armed with 
wickedly sharp, recurved 
thorns. The nest is well-placed, 
located deep inside the bush, 
where predators cannot easily 
reach it. This nest was located 
in the Kerio Valley, in a flat 
area of thorny bush near the 
western wall of the valley, and 
observed on 22nd June 2004. 
Keep an eye out for sunbird 
nests wherever you go - they 
are often found in thick bushes, 
hedges and other similar 
vegetation. The sunbird nests 
are easily recognised by the 
shape (drooping and pear-like) 
and the mixture of lichens and 
cobwebs used as a building 
material. Please remember - if 
you do find a nest, of any bird, 
do fill out a Nest Record Card. 
These can be obtained from the 
Museum's Ornithology 
Department. 
