NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
October 10, 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
**The amphibians were no doubt in
ecstasy with the delicious rain we experienced on Wednesday. Issac Acker was also in ecstasy as he was out sleuthing for amphibians and got some excellent photos of a red-backed
salamander, a bullfrog, and -- most special of all -- a great photo of
the four-toed salamander. These were all taken in the Riverview area.
(Editor’s note: the four-toed
salamander is a special find, as it is known only from a few spots in New
Brunswick at this point. A few points that help distinguish it from others include
the dark spots on its white belly and the fact that it is the only native salamander with four toes on its rear legs, whereas all others have five digits
on all four legs. It also has a distinct ridge at the base of the tail, which
is arrowed in Issac’s photo.
**Shannon Inman also photographed a bullfrog
enjoying the rain and appearing to be smiling from tympanum to tympanum!
**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins was
surprised to see a red-bellied woodpecker in her yard on Thursday. She
doesn't remember seeing one there before. Her neighbour on Main Street has them
often, but it may be a new yard species for Jane.
(Editor’s
note: It is looking like this may be a juvenile male bird as the crown of the
head is showing muted red up to the bill base.)
**To
correct an error made on the October 8 edition, the width measurements of the Petitcodiac
River were recorded from the piers of the old Gunningsville Bridge. That
edition has been corrected.
**This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 October 11 – October 18
Being between moose and deer seasons, and with the full Moon out of the way,
this weekend might be a good time for some good old-fashioned giraffe hunting.
No guns allowed, just find a place where the sky is not tainted by light
pollution and bring binoculars for an added treat.
The large constellation Camelopardalis is somewhat easier to pronounce than it
is to locate in the sky. Look below Cassiopeia and between Perseus and Ursa
Minor (the Little Dipper, which has the North Star at the end of the handle).
Any stars you can see in this area compose the not-so-stellar giraffe. The
constellation was imagined and charted on a globe by Dutch astronomer Petrus
Plancius in 1612 and later adopted by other prominent makers of star charts.
The name derives from how the Greeks regarded giraffes as camel leopards, with
their long neck and spots.
An interesting binocular object called Kemble’s Cascade is an observing
highlight within Camelopardalis. This asterism, forming a line of about 20
stars, was noticed by Canadian amateur astronomer Father Lucien Kemble, who
reported it to a columnist at Sky and Telescope magazine. One method of finding
your way there is to imagine a line across the top stars of Cassiopeia’s W
shape, right to left, and extend it an equal distance. Another is to extend an
equal length line from Algol to Mirfak, the two brightest stars in Perseus.
Near one end of this asterism a telescope will reveal the open star cluster NGC
1502, which is nicknamed the Jolly Roger Cluster.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:31 and sunset will occur at 6:39, giving
11 hours, 8 minutes of daylight (7:35 and 6:45 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 7:40 and set at 6:27, giving 10 hours, 47 minutes of
daylight (7:44 and 6:33 in Saint John).
The third quarter Moon rises near Jupiter around midnight Monday evening.
Saturn is at its highest and best for observing in late evening. Mars will be
half a binocular field above Mercury in evening twilight next Friday, a
challenging target. Around 6 am Venus will be making its presence known
low in the eastern sky. Late in the week we might start seeing some early
streakers from the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks on October 21.
The
William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry-Earth Sciences
building on Tuesday at 7 pm. 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
