Nature Moncton Nature
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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)
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**Katie Girvan found another
neat find in the yard: a yellow-spotted salamander.
Katie points out it was
just hanging out on the walkway to the front door. It was approximately 2.5”
long. It was traveling alone on the cement walkway.
(Editor’s comment: The
night of September 30 was a cool, rainy night of perfect conditions to find
various salamanders on the move on paved or muddy roadways. They’re easy to
miss because they travel at night. It is always worth searching around with a light
after dark at this time of year under those conditions for amphibians crossing paved or unpaved roadways/walkways.)
**Jane LeBlanc was home
from work and noticed some activity in her blooming witch hazel shrub.
She photographed an eastern phoebe and a blackpoll warbler but missed the yellow-rumped warbler.
(Editor’s note: It is
always nice to get photos of the fall edition of the blackpoll warbler, which
makes such a dramatic change from spring breeding plumage. It is migrating
through our area at the moment, as it tends to breed north of us and winter
south of us.)
On her tour Thursday, her guests saw a bald eagle, great blue heron, and ruffed grouse.
(Editor’s note: Jane is a
cruise guide for the Saint John terminal.)
**Shannon Inman has a few
mushroom photos to share as well, including a group of honey mushrooms,
a grey coral fungus, a true chanterelle, and an aborted
entoloma.
(Editor’s note: We rarely
see the aborted entoloma. The literature suggests it occurs when the entoloma
fungi parasitize developing honey mushrooms to produce this unique, lumpy white
mushroom.)
**This Week’s Sky at a
Glance, 2026 October 3 – October 10
The Pleiades star cluster, which is located in the shoulder of Taurus the Bull,
is rising around 8:30 pm now as a harbinger of winter. In a month it will be
rising at sunset. Due to its shape, this eye-catching cluster has been mistaken
for the Little Dipper. Most of us can count six stars in the Pleiades under
good conditions but keen-eyed wonders have picked out twice that number from a
dark sky. A low power view of it in binoculars will show a couple of dozen
stars and it is one of the prettiest sights you will see in the night sky.
According to Wikipedia, the name Pleiades likely comes from the ancient Greek
word “plein,” which means “to sail.” Sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea
typically began when the cluster was first spotted before sunrise. In mythology
it became the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, hence its common name of
the Seven Sisters. Somewhere along the way one of them got lost. Astronomers
also know it as M45 from the Messier catalogue. The cluster played a
significant role in marking time for several ancient cultures, including the
Maori, Mayan, Aztec and some First Nations.
Perhaps you have seen the Pleiades while stuck in traffic and just haven’t
realized it. The six-star logo of Subaru automobiles depicts the Pleiades, as
Subaru is the Japanese name for the cluster. The name, which means “united,”
was chosen because the large company was formed from a merger of five.
This Week in the Solar
System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:20 and sunset will occur at 6:55, giving
11 hours, 35 minutes of daylight (7:24 and 7:00 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 7:29 and set at 6:42, giving 11 hours, 13 minutes of
daylight (7:33 and 6:47 in Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter this Saturday and it is new next Saturday. The
Moon is very near Mars Monday morning, and early risers can see it occult
Jupiter at 5:33 Tuesday morning, with the planet reappearing an hour later.
A challenging target very low to the southwest, Mercury sets 40 minutes after
sunset this week as it slides above Venus. By next weekend Venus will be
setting with the Sun. Saturn is at opposition on Sunday, gaining in brightness
somewhat as its rings reflect sunlight toward us. Keen telescope users can
see the shadows of Jupiter’s moons Europa and Callisto crossing the planet
between 4:30 and 6:50 on Tuesday morning. Late in the week rural observers
might see the zodiacal light in the east an hour or two before sunrise.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre
this Saturday at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on
the Facebook page or YouTube site of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt
Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
