THE OSPREY Nature Journal of Newfoundland and...
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THE OSPREY Nature Journal of Newfoundland and Labrador spring 2010 Volume 41, number 2 Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
Transcript of THE OSPREY Nature Journal of Newfoundland and...
THE OSPREYNature Journal of Newfoundland and Labrador
spring 2010Volume 41, number 2
Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Osprey 2
Board of Directors 2010 - 11Executive HOME WORK
Michael Collins President [email protected] 737-7522 726-7236
To be confirmed Vice-president
Rita Anderson Past President [email protected] 895-2564 737-8771
Marjorie Evans Treasurer [email protected] 722-1925
Don Steele Secretary [email protected] 754-0455 689-4613
Directors
Carolyn Walsh Membership [email protected] 745-5534 737-4738
Ed Hayden Osprey Editor [email protected] 738-0358 729-1342
Dave Snow Indoor Program [email protected] 754-4094 722-3123
R. J. (John) Gibson Fish [email protected] 726-2498
Len Zedel Oil [email protected] 754-3321 737-3106
Allan Stein [email protected] 895-2056
John Jacobs [email protected] 738-3147 737-8194
Bobbie Mayer [email protected]
Raoul Andersen [email protected] 722-3192 737-8964
Lois Bateman Humber Rep [email protected]
Reade Davis [email protected] 722-3790 737-8866
Julie Huntington [email protected]
THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADORP.O. Box 1013, St. John’s, NL A1C 5M3 www.nhs.nf.ca e-mail: [email protected]
ISSN 0710-4847; Mail Registration # 8302
The Osprey is published quarterly (January, April, July and October) by the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Lab-rador. Subscription is free with membership, which costs $25.00 annually. Opinions expressed in The Osprey are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the society. Letters, articles, photographs, illustrations and book reviews about any aspect of nature are welcome. Please submit documents in MS Word through e-mail attachment using APA style and in a format compatible with photocopying in black and white. Submit images and tables as separate files, not embedded in the text. Writers replicating the work of others, including photographs and illustrations, should acquire permis-sion in writing to reprint that work in The Osprey. The editor reserves the right to make changes to submissions.
The past issues of The Osprey, from 1970 to the present, are indexed by Memorial University at the Newfoundland Periodical Article Bibliography (PAB), a free database available at www.library.mun.ca/qeii/cns/pab.php .
The Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, formed in 1910 and incorporated in 1972, is the oldest conservation organization in the province. The society promotes the enjoyment and protection of wildlife and natural history resources. The society is the provincial affiliate of Nature Canada, a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to protect and conserve wildlife and habitats in Canada by engaging people and advocating on behalf of nature.
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contents
4 Outdoors:TheEditor’sNote EdHayden
5 Tuck-WaltersAwardPresentation
6 SocietyMatters EdHayden
8 AGM:President’sReport RitaAndersonandMichaelCollins
10 SixGuys,SixCrossbillsandaMoose: SnowshoeingwithAllanStein EdHayden
13 SomeQuestionsAboutBees JohnJacobs
15 BiodiversityWalk HenryMannandAndrusVoitk
17 FromtheMushroomBasket: JellyTreeEar AndrusVoitk
18 2010AnnualForayNL(withtheVikings)20 QuarterlyBug:MourningCloakButterfly DaveLarsen
21 SandyPondAlliance
23 PikePopulationinMinipiLake JohnGibson
26 Kids’Page:ButterfliesandMoths PamelaHickman
28 TheValueofProtectedAreas: AvalonWildernessReserve RodHillyardandBillClarke
31 TrackingNaturalHistorySightings YolandaWiersma
32 MooseCullinourNationalParks? AllanStein35 TheNightSky:April,MayandJune FredSmith
37 St.PierreetMiquelonBirds:Winter2010 RogerEtcheberry
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OutdoorsThe Editor’s Note
THE OSPREYNATURE JOURNAL OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Volume 41, Number 2 Spring 2010
With this edition, we’ve reached a milestone: the April edition out in April. We’ve caught up, which means returning to a leisurely pace of publishing quarterly editions. How pleasant is that going to be!
It’s been a great winter for getting outdoors. One of my most delightful outings was a boil up at Freshwater Bay with my brother Dave. As we walked across the barachois towards the fire pit at the eastern end of the cove, we came upon an abandoned Grey Seal pup (see cover photo), which we guessed, by its white flippers, to be about three weeks old. Becky Sjare, marine mammal specialist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, later confirmed the species and age from photos I sent. Grey Seals have an almost straight, horse-like snout and spotted fur in various shades of grey. Its preference for offshore, isolated haul-out spots makes sighting of it much rarer than the less shy Harbour Seal. The pup was far in on the barachois, near the freshwater pond, and quite tame.
The following week, while monitoring the Purple Sandpipers at Cape Spear, we saw a Harbour Seal diving and surfacing, poking its head straight up out of the water just outside the surf, with a half-dozen gulls swimming nearby, apparently waiting to snatch food remnants. The Harbour Seal, the most common seal on the Atlantic coast, has a very different head – rounded and dog-like -- which slopes into the snout in a concave curve. These are the entrancing moments, walking along a shore path, scanning the rock ledges by the ocean for Purple Sandpipers, surrounded by the noise of the surf crashing into the rocks, spying a raft of eiders offshore and noticing small flocks of four or five Black-legged Kittiwakes flying low over the water towards their nesting sites to the north. Your brother motions with a nod of his head to look towards a black speck in the water near the surf. You stop to focus your binoculars, and you recognize the small, rounded, black-looking, wet head of a Harbour Seal poking out of the water. You creep closer, hide behind a boulder and pour your first cups of hot chocolate for the morning. You feel that you’ve arrived, and the journey doesn’t get better than this.
Following the huge ice storm in March that knocked out electricity on the Bonavista Peninsula, I hiked with a group of East Coast Trailers, led by Greg Bennett, up the 303-metre-high summit of Butterpot Hill in Butterpot Park. The hard crust of snow in March made the hiking easy. When we reached the outer edge of the tree line, though, we were glad to have grippers to strap onto our boots, for the summit was covered in ice. I have seen a lot of glitter on trees over the years in Newfoundland and in Labrador, but never five inches thick, with trees doubled over to this extent. Another spectacular winter hike!
Until the next Osprey in July, please get in touch to say hello or to send me a comment, article or photo. I enjoy hearing from you.
Ed HaydenEditor
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Congratulations to Dr. Allan Steinon being presented
with the Tuck-Walters
Award 2010
In acknowledgment and ap-preciation of his decades of sustained and selflessservice for the benefit of the Newfoundland and Labrador Natural History Society and for the people and natural environment of Newfound-land and Labrador, Dr. Allan Stein was awarded the 2010 Tuck - Walters Award, the society's highest award and distinction. For a complete list of award recipients, see page 41. Dr. Allan Stein, right, was presented with the Tuck-Walters Award by Dr. Bill
Montevecchi at the Natural History Society’s Annual General Meeting on March 18, 2010. Photo by Gene Herzberg.
congratulations toRaoul Andersen
Board member Raoul Andersen has been selected as a finalist with coeditor John Crellin for the Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing for their book Mi’sel Joe: An Aboriginal Chief’s Journey, published by Flanker Press. In 2009 the Atlantic Book Awards Society created the Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing to recognize authors who excel at illuminating the Atlantic region’s vibrant history. Through a series of taped interviews with Raoul Andersen and John Crellin, Mi’sel Joe tells his life story and speaks of a community fighting for the right to determine its own future. Raoul Andersen and John Crellin will be at Chapters, St. John’s, for a book signing on Sunday, April 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. and at the A.C. Hunter Library in the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s on April 13 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to participate in an oral history panel.
We’re delighted to Welcome New Board Members Reade Davis and Julie Huntington
We look forward to working with you
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Society MattersCompiled by Ed Hayden
The society presents a free indoor program on the third Thursday of each month, except July and August, at the MUN Botanical Garden at 8 p.m. and field events at various locations throughout the year. The board of directors is active in promoting natural history and protecting the environment.
Search a Free Database for 40 years of Osprey ArticlesDid you know that the past issues of The Osprey, from 1970 to the present, are indexed in the New-foundland Periodical Article Bibliography (PAB) at Memorial University, a free database available online at www.library.mun.ca/qeii/cns/pab.php? This is a fantastic resource for 40 years of nature and environmental articles on Newfoundland and Labrador.
Snowshoeing with Allan SteinOn the balmy Saturday morning of February 13, Allan Stein led a delightful snowshoeing excursion on trails behind Windsor Lake. See Six Guys, Six Crossbills and a Moose, by Ed Hayden on page 10.
Coyotes, Whales, and Moose: The Geoweb Goes Wild. Yolanda Wiersma and Roman Lukyayenko gave a presentation on February 18 at the Botanical Garden on a Canada-wide project to bring together the public, internet technology and geographical information to support research on environmental issues. Yolanda’s and Roman’s new website -- www.nlnature.com -- asks users to log sightings of wildlife and species at risk. See Yolanda’s article, page 31.
Winter GullsDon Steele led an introductory discussion and field trip on February 28 to identify common winter gulls at Quidi Vidi Lake. We identified Iceland Gull, the most common at the lake this time of year; the unmistakable Great Black-backed Gull, our largest, often called Saddle-back Gull in New-foundland; Herring Gull; and a lone Lesser Black-backed Gull, a visitor that has been here all winter. The gulls lined up on the edge of the ice about ten metres from shore, obviously cued by Don, and waited patiently to be identified by members of the Natural History Society. They rose in unison when
three eagles flew by and again when a Peregrine Falcon swooped over, but neither caught a lunch. Near the rower sculpture, an otter repeatedly dove and sat on the edge of the ice. Numerous ducks paraded through a stretch of open water in front of us as each batch of new food was delivered. Particu-larly stunning were the Tufted Ducks, with their gleaming black pony tails and bright yellow eyes.
Annual General Meeting and Slide Show The society held its annual general meeting and slide show on March 18 at the Botanical Garden. See President’s Report in this edition.
Water DayTo celebrate World Water Day on March 22 and recognize the contributions made by R. John Gibson to the study of freshwater systems in the province, 25 people walked from the Fluvarium to Quidi Vidi Lake. The focus of World Water Day is on the one-third of the world’s population that does not have access to clean water and sanitation facilities. The walk was sponsored by the Natural History Society, Canadian Parks and Wilderness So-ciety (CPAWS), Friends of Pippy Park, Quidi Vidi/Rennies River Development Foundation and Atlan-tic Coastal Action Program - Northeast Avalon.
Sandy Pond AllianceOn Monday March 22, the Sandy Pond Alliance, in which a number of Natural History Society mem-bers take part, held a press conference on the park-ing lot of the Fluvarium to announce the alliance’s legal challenge to the proposal of Vale Inco to use Sandy Pond as a “tailings impoundment area” for the disposal of its mineral wastes at Long Harbour. Sandy Pond will be effectively destroyed in the process. A Telegram article and photo on March 23 highlighted the Water Day Walk and outlined the Sandy Pond Alliance’s intention to launch a chal-lenge to the legality of dumping toxins into lakes.
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For more information, see page 21 and 22.
Recovery Strategy for the Boreal CaribouAllan Stein and Don Steele represented the society at a stakeholder workshop on the development of a national recovery strategy for the boreal caribou, led by Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, in St. John’s on March 10.
All participants recognized that the population crash is, in fact, occurring and is of major concern. There was wide acceptance that harvesting of the old-growth forest that is essential for winter survival and access as road networks develop contribute to the population decline. Opening the country with roads, trails and clear-cuts also facilitates predator access which, added to the other impacts, can cause a rapid decline in slow-breeding species like the caribou. Any protection area must include the his-toric caribou range, not just the current one, as the animals move. That will require large areas being set aside, perhaps easier in Labrador where alterna-tive uses and pressures on the land are less than on our more heavily settled island.A couple of additional points:• Firstly, the George River Herd is not considered
woodland or boreal caribou but, rather, barren grounds caribou. They migrate long distances with the seasons, while the woodland caribou have a home range.
• Secondly, when the decline in woodland caribou was first recognized in the mid-to-late 1990’s, our island herds were at or near their maximum size and, thus, were not included in the populations of concern. Hence, in the pres-ent consultations, only our Labrador herds were considered. Now, of course, it is clear that the island herds are in similar decline. Hopefully, though, the resultant protections will be applied to our island animals too.
Piping Up Against EnbridgeThe Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador has joined Nature Canada and 50 First Nations, organizations, businesses and prominent Canadians in signing an open letter opposing the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. The project would see oil from the tar sands piped to the BC coast, and crude oil tanker traffic in those coastal
waters. The society was among the environmental groups listed in a full-page advertisement in the Globe and Mail in March opposing the pipeline and crude oil tanker traffic in BC’s northern coastal waters.
Mealy Mountains National ParkOn February 5, 2010, Jim Prentice, Canada’s En-vironment Minister and Minister Responsible for Parks Canada, and Charlene Johnson, Newfound-land and Labrador’s Minister of Environment and Conservation, announced that they have agreed to take the necessary steps to establish a new national park reserve in the Mealy Mountains area of Lab-rador. The Osprey will have an article in the next edition, including a discussion of the significance of
revised boundaries for the park.
Upcoming Events April 15: The Nature of Northern California, including birds, flowers and some mammals.Presenter: Ken KnowlesBotanical Garden at 8 p.m.
April 22: Celebrate Earth DaySpecial Presentation: Environmental Aspects of Offshore Petroleum DevelopmentPresenter: Ken TaylorPlace: MUN, Room SN 2067 at 8 p.m. This introduction to the stages of offshore oil development includes information about seismic exploration, exploratory environmental risks and protection for each stage.
May 1: Long Pond Clean-upCheck www.nhs.nf.ca for details.
May 20: A Photographer’s Eye on Newfoundland and LabradorPresenter: Jean KnowlesBotanical Garden at 8 p.m.
June 17Bird Songs Across CanadaPresenter: John NevilleBotanical Garden at 8 p.m.
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Natural History Society of Newfoundland and LabradorANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
March 18, 2010
1. President/Past President=s Report: Michael Collins, Rita E. Anderson2. Minutes of the 2009 AGM3. Treasurer=s Report: Marjorie Evans4. Nominations5. Any other business
PRESIDENT and PAST PRESIDENT’S REPORT. Happy Spring! Once again, many, many thanks to our members and friends who have donated their time and effort to create and deliver interesting indoor programs and outdoor events and to the MUN Botanical Garden for allowing us to meet in this comfortable, friendly space. On behalf of the Board and all members of the Society, we wish to extend special thanks to Don Steele, John Jacobs and Marjorie Evans for generously expending time and energy to deal with the issues arising from the financial irregularities that befell our Society last year. And a thousand thanks to all who have worked behind the scenes to do the work of our Society.
Stay tuned for special events associated with our ACentenary.@
Some Program Highlights Indoor Program (Title - Speaker)
April: To the Roof of Africa - Leslie GrattonMay: Leatherback Turtles in Newfoundland and Labrador - Jack LawsonJune: Identifying and Admiring Aquatic Insects, an outing at South Brook (Bowring Park) - John
GibsonSept: Postponed to allow members to attend the 3rd Annual MUN Dialogue on Advancing
Global SustainabilityOct. Let=s Not Get Stuck in the Desert - Bobbie MayerNov. Atlantic Islands - Perspectives about the Sea and Sea Life: Newfoundland and the Azores -
Alison NeilsonDec. Annual Nature Lover=s Christmas Party (with all environmental groups in St. John=s)Jan. Cancelled due to weatherFeb. Coyotes, Whales, and Moose: The Geoweb Goes Wild - Yolanda Wiersma and Roman
Lukyayenko
Outdoor/Workshop Program (Activity - Leader)May 2. Annual Long Pond Clean-up - John Gibson and membersJune 6. Annual Charlie Horwood Lady Slipper Walk - Allan SteinDec 26. St. John=s (and others) Christmas Bird CountFeb 13. Snowshoeing near Windsor Lake - Allan SteinFeb 28. Workshop on Common Winter Gulls in St. John=s - Don Steele
Annual General Meeting
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The OspreyEditor Ed Hayden continued to put in long hours revitalizing the Osprey and bringing it up to date. Congratulations Ed. [Note: If you want to receive the Osprey electronically (in color), contact Carolyn Walsh by e-mail: [email protected]).]
Activities and Representations Many members of the Society have donated much time to review Project Registrations, Environmental
Impact Statements (EIS) and Environmental Protection Plans (EPP), to sit on management committees, to write letters, and to attend meetings and workshops. John Gibson, John Jacobs, Don Steele, and Allan Stein have been especially active over the past few years and should be applauded. Some of the issues addressed over the past year include:
$ Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Generation Project: Many aspects, including a grant from Phase II Participant Funding program to D. Steele and J. Gibson.
$ Stakeholder Round Table on Forest Health in TNNP and GMNP (A. Stein)$ Committee Membership: Avalon Forest Management Committee (A. Stein); Bay du
Nord Heritage River Management Plan (A. Stein)$ Kyoto plus action (J. Jacobs)$ Boreal Song Bird Petition (D. Steele)$ Environment Canada Boreal Caribou National Recovery Strategy Workshop (A. Stein,
and D. Steele)$ Natural History Society Workshop (M. Collins)$ Sandy Pond Alliance (J. Jacobs, J. Gibson, D. Steele, A. Stein, W. Montevecchi)$ Letters/Comments: Labrador-Island Transmission Link Environmental Assessment (A.
Stein) $ Attending meetings & workshops: Hebron information session (L. Zedel)$ Attending Seminar on Insurance for Non-profits (M. Collins)$ Numerous people (especially J. Gibson, J. Jacobs, D. Steele, and A. Stein) continue to
represent the Society on various other provincial, municipal, and non-governmental committees
Developing a Policy Manual for the Board of the NHSNL: M. Evans, R. AndersenSt. John’s Wellness Coalition: J. JacobsNLEN: M. EvansNature Canada: Canadian Nature Network Forum Meeting, Monthly Conference Calls, R. Anderson
Our Website We have a revitalized website at www.nhs.nf.ca thanks to the efforts of Carolyn Walsh and volunteer
webmaster, Aaron Goulding.
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Six Guys, Six Crossbills and a Moose:Snowshoeing with Allan Stein
ByEd Hayden
On Saturday, February 13, five natural history enthusiasts joined Allan Stein for a glorious day snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the woods. We met at the new parking lot at Sunshine Rotary Park, at the corner of Bennetts Road and Thorburn Road in Portugal Cove, and trekked on
trails along Gull Pond. With not a draft of wind and a very mild temperature, it was a veritable spring day. We dressed lightly, with ski jackets flapping open. We stopped to listen to the snow melting off the trees, dripping onto the snow beneath, tingeing it here and there a light moss-green.
A moose (Alces alces) had crossed the trail in several places quite recently, possibly overnight or early morning, its track clearly marked by holes in the snow about 12 cm long and 35 cm deep, with the prints of its two dew claws evident at the rear of the top of each hole. From the trail, peering into the woods where the moose had obviously gone, I was impressed, as always, at how these huge mammals can walk through the woods on such a small path.
The moose left a slight trailing swipe of its hoof along the top of the snow at each step. We peered into the track holes to see the blue tint of the snow. ‘Why is there a blue tint to the snow in the tracks?’ I asked John Jacobs. John replied:
The simple answer to your question is this: The snow is illuminated by sunlight (even on a cloudy day) which, as we know, is made up of radiation that is mainly in the visible part of the spectrum, ranging from blue (shorter wavelength) to red (longer wavelength). Sunlight penetrating snow is scattered and absorbed, but the absorption is strongest in the longer wavelengths. The result is
Greg Bennett, John Gibson and his dog Deaky, Ed Hayden, Bob, and hike leader Allan Stein near Gull Pond, Portu-gal Cove. Missing is John Jacobs, taking the photo.
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that at a depth of about 10 cm the light has a distinctly blue hue, and by 100 cm only blue is left. In other words, it is in the nature of snow crystals to absorb the reds and let the blues pass.
The damage to native vegetation by moose was evident everywhere, with moose eating up to 30
kg of vegetation a day. Browsing by moose and Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) was heavy, especially on Mountain Ash (Sorbus sp.). Allan pointed out the difference between browsing by hares, which results in a sharp, clean cut on a slant, and browsing by moose, with its telltale signs of a rough break that is caused by tearing the twig with its tongue and jaw teeth, as moose only have lower incisors (front teeth), and do not have upper incisors, though they have both upper and lower molars. The height of the cut on the tree or shrub can be misleading because hares, with their large paws and light weight, can walk on the top of the snow, as if on snowshoes (thus the name ‘snowshoe’ hare), and can browse quite high on trees when the snow is deep.
As well as twigs chomped and cut, we observed large and small patches of bark gnawed from trees
and shrubs, particularly Mountain Ash. The photo on the next page is of a mature Mountain Ash with severe bark removal caused by hares, as was evident in the shape and size of the indentations. The darker areas of bark removal from previous years were also evident on the same tree, including branches that apparently had died from over-browsing of the bark.
Our winter twig specialist, Michael Collins, having gone trotting off to Africa at short notice, was not available to join us, so we made do with a collaborative approach – otherwise known as the probabilities method – to shrub identification. Through observation of the colour and shape of buds and bark, height and overall shape, we identified, in addition to the plentiful Mountain Ash:
• Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus), with a whitish-grey bark;
• Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense), from rodon, Greek for ‘rose,’ with its light-brown seed capsules still on the shrub;
• Alder (Alnus sp.) with dark, chestnut-coloured buds and last year’s small hard ‘cones’ still persisting; and
• Though not shrubs but still interesting with their dark grey heads sticking up out of the snow in an open meadow – lots of Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra).
On a dead tree stump, we touched small blobs of yellow jellies with our fingertips. A few days later, when Andrus Voitk sent me an article on a jelly fungus that Henry Mann had found in the woods on Valentine’s Day (see From the Mushroom Basket in this edition), I inquired about the lovely jellies we had found, though I didn’t have a photo to send him. Andrus suggested that these are likely a species of Dacrymyces, the lichen known as Witches’ Butter. What an apt name that is not only lovely but also easy to remember.
Other highlights of our expedition included six crossbills eating cones at the tops of trees; Boreal Chickadees, distinguished by their brownish flanks
Snow in moose track with a distinctly blue hue. Indenta-tion of dewclaws is evident at bottom of photo. Photo by John Jacobs.
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and a call higher than their cousin, the Black-capped Chickadee; a squirrel’s fresh cone midden on top of the snow beside the trail; and, especially, meeting only one other human for the entire morning.
Dodging along through the woods at a leisurely pace, we stopped here and there to observe nibbles on tree bark, colours of snow, tracks of mammals
Bark of Mountain Ash (Dogberry) browsed by Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)
and the sounds of chickadees and snow melting. Towards noon, we dawdled back along the trail, staring at shadows in our path. What a grand Saturday morning we had along Gull Pond, six guys, trudging along in soft, melting snow, yakking about moose and birds and balsam fir, enjoying each others company and the stillness of the woods.
Nature NoteFuture Aliens
“The sun formed 4.5 billion years ago, but it’s got 6 billion more before the fuel runs out. Any creatures witnessing the sun’s demise 6 billion years hence, here on Earth or beyond, won’t be human -- they’ll be as different from us as we are from bacteria.” Lord Rees, President of the Royal Society, in the concluding chapter of “Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society,” edited by Bill Bryson, Harper Press, reviewed in The Economist, January 23, 2010.
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In 2009, the Avalon Peninsula experienced a mild and pleasant spring and summer, with adequate rainfall. Autumn was near the normal extension of summer that we have come to expect. There seemed to be more than the usual profusion of blooms, and the wild berries that followed were equally
abundant. The sight of a honey bee on an October dandelion in Bowering Park raised some questions in my mind about the pollinators that make this process work. The bee in question is an introduced species, the European honey bee. For many North Americans, A. mellifera is the most familiar bee because of its domestication and worldwide commercial use as a producer of honey and crop pollinator. Who knows where this particular bee came from?
Of course, honey bees are not the only pollinators; many other insects and even hummingbirds and bats serve this function. The mutual relationship between flowering plants (angiosperms) and pollinators is a fascinating chapter in evolutionary history.
Many readers will be aware that there are serious problems affecting honey bee populations. There have been widespread episodes involving the sudden death of entire commercial bee colonies, a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder (CCD). This problem has been reported in recent books, such as the highly readable Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen1, as well as in the popular media2 and scientific journal articles and reports3.
The current scientific consensus on CCD, if there is one, has been summed up as follows: Based on survey and analysis results indicating that many pesticides, parasites, and pathogens may be involved in CCD, efforts continue to explore the role of these factors…. Studies have also confirmed suspected links between poor colony health and inadequate diet and long distance transportation, indicating that both supplemental protein diets and natural pollen feedings can increase colony strength and offset the negative impacts of stresses such as pests and pesticides…Numerous causes for CCD have been proposed and investigated. Although the cause of CCD is still unknown, research has lent credence to the hypothesis that CCD may be a syndrome caused by many different factors, working in combination or synergistically….4
In other words, we humans - having domesticated and long-exploited honey bees - are now working them too hard, depriving them of a healthy diet, poisoning them, and generally stressing them to the point of collapse! Continued decline of the commercial honey bee would no doubt have an impact on agriculture – at least
Some Questions about Bees
by John D. Jacobs
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in the industrialized countries. But what of wild bees and other insect pollinators in the natural environment? Are the insects that perpetuate our annual cycle of wildflower bloom, fruit, and seed still in a healthy state, even as we change the landscape and the climate?
There is the evidence that wild pollinators, such as some species of bumble bee5, are in trouble too. The Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola Kirby) was once common across eastern North America, including Newfoundland and southern Labrador. By 1990, it was in serious decline across much of its range. According to recent reports, it is one of 10 bumble bees known to occur in Newfoundland6. Is it still to be found here?
Have you seen this bumble bee? The Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) was once common throughout eastern North America but has now disappeared from most of its former range. If you find Bombus terricola, Contact: [email protected]
Photo by André Payette, Insectarium de Montréal
The loss of even a few pollinator species can have serious implications for natural ecosystems. Recent studies have shown that, in areas where multiple bee species have become extinct, the abundance of some insect-pollinated plants appears to be declining7.
I am unable to find any recent surveys that indicate the status of bees in our province. The startling abundance of wild berries seen on the Avalon Peninsula and elsewhere in Newfoundland this past fall suggests there is no shortage of pollinators. Are there still plenty of wild bees here, or are other pollinators taking up the slack? It is probably no coincidence that some of the most productive blueberry and partridgeberry patches occur where black flies seem to be most numerous. Perhaps there is a “Newfoundland and Labrador Advantage” in our still comparatively intact natural landscapes!
________________________________1 R. Jacobsen, 2008. Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis. Bloomsbury USA, New York, 279 pp.2 ”Where have all the bees gone?” main feature in the September 2009 issue of The New Internationalist.3 F. Ratnieks and N. Carreck, 2010. “Clarity on honey bee collapse?”, Science v327 pp. 152-153.4 Colony Collapse Disorder, Progress Report - CCD Steering Committee, US Department of Agriculture, June 2009, 45pp. http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/agnic/bee/ccd.htm5 “Bumble Bees in Decline”.The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/ (Viewed 14 January 2010).6 D. Larsen, unpublished data, reported in B. Hicks, 2009, Observations of the nest structure of Osmia inermis (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) from Newfoundland, Canada, Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society 5: pp. 12-18.7 E. Evans, S. Jepsen, R. Thorp, and S. Black, 2008. Status Review of Three Formerly Common Species of Bumble Bee in the Subgenus Bombus. Report by The Xerces Society, pdf available on-line at http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/.
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Under the aegis of the Pasadena Ski and Nature Park, Humber Natural History Society, and Foray Newfoundland & Labrador, a winter nature walk around the Pasadena ski trails was held Sunday, Mar 14, 2010, led by Henry Mann, the primary organizer, with mushroom identification help from Andrus Voitk and Gary Warren.
Participants meandered through a variety of woods, clearings and fields observing tracks, birds, trees, shrubs, insect galls, wood decay fun-gi, lichens, mosses, and a variety of other natural features and ecological interactions. A thin layer of powder over the crusty snow allowed the iden-tification of snowshoe hare, squirrel, mink, moose, and small mouse-like mammal footprints. Squir-rels were particularly active and could frequently be seen as well as heard, with cone middens everywhere. A vole carcass was noted impaled on a sharp branch, probably a sign of shrike pres-ence. Many small birds could be heard in treetops throughout the walk, but only raven, crow, blue jay, grey jay, white-winged crossbill, and chickadee were actually identified by participants. A number of insect/plant interactions were noted including pinecone willow gall, willow stem gall, goldenrod stem gall, raspberry gall and overwintering pu-pae in hollow cow parsnip stems. As always, the identification of our native deciduous trees and shrubs in winter was an interest and challenge. The beautiful weather, leisurely pace, and nature’s abundance made for an enjoyable two-hour outing for all of the 35 participants.
Mycorrhizal mushrooms fruit when photosynthesis is active (trees are in leaf), so winter is the time for saprophytes, the decomposers of organic mate-rial. Hardier (and harder) species can withstand drought and freezing, growing as the weather warms. For more ephemeral mushrooms, depen-dent on water to fruit, beautiful warm and sunny weather with a gentle breeze comes at a price. To fruit, they need thaw with rain or melting snow to soak the branches. Thus, the beautiful Panel-lus violaceofulvus, so plentiful in February, was entirely absent. As were P. ringens and similar Tectella species. Only a few dried specimens of P. stypticus and Plicaturopsis crispa, two plentiful broadleaved wood rotters in our area, were found. The only jelly fungus found was dry Exidia glandu-
losa, dried to thin flakes in sunny but sere March.
An unexpected pleasure was finding dead stand-ing alders studded with myriads of Cyphellopsis anomala, each fruitbody about 1 mm in its great-est axis. As expected, they were shrivelled, but revived with new moisture. Many perennial conks were found, as well as dry remnants of annual bracket fungi. Among the former were several Phellinus species, including P. laevigata, seen for the first time. In addition several confusing cor-ticate fungi (fungi smeared on like layers of thin skin) were collected. Skyler May got to keep his Fomes fomitopsis, the tinder polypore (cover), thus bridging the 5,000-year gap with the Iceman of Ötzi, who also collected this polypore in the winter, to carry his fire.
A full Report, with pictures and other goodies, including an alder page, can be downloaded from the Foray Newfoundland & Labrador website <nl-mushrooms.ca>.
Mushroom Species List with number of collec-tions (an imperfect indicator of commonness)Cyphellopsis anomala 5Plicaturopsis crispa 3Cerrena unicolor 2Dibotryon morbosum 2Exidia glandulosa 2Fomes fomentarius 2Panellus stypticus 2Peniophora erikssonii 2Stereum hirsutum 2Amylostereum chailettii 1Dacrymyces chrysospermus 1Fomitopsis pinicola 1Gloeophyllum sepiarium 1Hymeochaete tabacina 1Hypoxylon fuscum 1 Laeticorticium roseum 1Phellinus laevigatus 1Phellinus prunicola 1Phellinus punctatus 1Plicatura nivea 1Polyporus arcularius 1Polyporus brumalis 1Spongipellis unicolor 1Trichaptum abietinum 1Trichaptum biforme 1Chlorociboria sp. 1Pyrenomycetes many, many, many
International Biodiversity Year:Nature Walk & Winter Mushroom Foray By Henry Mann and Andrus Voitk
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Although our purpose is to organize enjoyable mush-room forays, an interesting side product of our activity, our data and collection, has scientifi c value beyond our club’s borders. Our collection is valued because it is highly reliable, well documented and very accessible. It has contributed signifi cant information to mycologic research, and has been an active resource for studies in biodiversity, ecology, community ecology, mycogeog-raphy, taxonomy and discovery of new species, interalia (See Figure 1).
What do those terms mean? Come and fi nd out how spe-cies travel across continents, how new species evolve, how we are fi nally recognizing that although similar, many of our species differ from their European coun-terparts. See how a species, described over 100 years ago right here in Newfoundland has taken on a different identity with time, only to be rediscovered here again. Marvel at obviously different speceis that have escaped detection by even the most expert eyes. Meet the most arrogant of mycologists.
Our collection was housed at Gros Morne National Park, with Michael Burzynski as curator, as a tempo-rary measure, while our Provincial Museum underwent rearrangement to move to The Rooms. We have worked with its curatorial staff to identify a time for transferring the collection, but to date such time has eluded us. Un-fortunately, lack of space will bring an end to our pres-ent arrangement after the 2012 foray. We have had in-formal offers from museums of two Atlantic Provinces to take our collection, and assurance from the Curator of the National Mycological Museum in Ottawa, that it is willing to accept our collection. Our Board feels very strongly that this collection should stay in the province, and we are working with The Rooms for a solution.
This talk should open interesting new insights into the super-exciting world of mushrooms. It should also ex-plain why people primarily interested in picking mush-rooms for their moose stew, should feel concerned about the fate of a dusty old collection of dried inedible fungi.
FORAY COLLECTION21 Investigations to Apr, 2010
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Figure 1. To date, our material has contributed to 21 scientifi c studies, 9 of them published, 3 in print and 3 near completion; we are involved with 6 ongoing projects, aimed toward eventual publication. Primary investigators of these studies come from all aca-demic levels: Honours BSc, MSc, PhD, postdoctoral and senior scientist. Come out and hear about all 21 in one hour!
the foray collectionWednesday, April 14, 2009, 7:00 PM, in THE ROOMS, Andrus Voitk, Director of Foray Newfoundland & Labrador, will describe the scientifi c enquiries to have come out of the Foray’s activities. Come to get a glimpse of what’s new in Mycology, based on Newfoundland and Labrador material!
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In Western scientific literature this mushroom was first described from Europe as Auricularia auricula-judae, because it has the shape of an ear and was found on an elder tree, the same tree from which Judas hung himself. The common name in English soon changed from Judas’ ear to Jew’s ear. Because of the xenophobic potential of these names, the organism has been renamed Auricularia auricula, the common name Tree ear or Jelly tree ear. Closer examination revealed that the mushroom in North American differed significantly from that in Eu-rope, and the American species was named Auricularia americana.
Its European cousin grows primarily on elder and other deciduous trees, while A. americana is described as a rotter of coniferous wood. Similar mushrooms are also found on decidu-ous wood, but mating experiments showed that organisms from the two differing substrates would not mate, or would do so with great difficulty. This suggests the two are, or are evolving to become, different species. Unfortunately these results have not been explored further. Current DNA studies might quite likely confirm them as two different species. It is also possible that the mushrooms along the east and west coasts of North America have evolved into separate species, as they moved up and down the continent with their host substrates during periods of glaciation. Thus, there is plenty of genaeology to be mined here, including the genetic distinction of our species from the European ones and from those in the Far East, where a larger ver-sion, Auricularia polytricha, is cultivated for eating.
The jelly tree ear is edible. Like many jelly mush-rooms, it does not have much taste, but provides
an enjoyable consistency and is able to absorb and concentrate tastes of spices and other flavours in the food. This is the black mushroom most commonly found in Chinese foods. As many rotters of dead wood, it can be readily cultivated and because of its popularity in Asian cooking, is one of the common-est commercially grown mushrooms in the world.
Auricularia americana Jelly tree ear
Andrus Voitk, Humber Village, NL
Auricularia americana on coniferous wood (above) and deciduous wood (below, found by Henry Mann during a thaw on Valentine’s Day, 2010). The colour range, not related to the type of host wood, extends to even lighter and darker extremes than shown. It can be confused with a cup fungus or a member of the similar Tremella genus. The substrate separates it from tremellas, which are para-sites of living trees, while Auricularia is a rotter of dead wood.
From the Mushroom Basket:
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COME, FORAY WITH THE VIKINGS!Foray Newfoundland & Labrador’s 2010Annual Foray September 10-12, Great Northern Peninsula, headquartered in St. Anthony
Michael Burzynski, Anne Marceau, Jamie Graham, Maria Voitk, Andrus Voitk
The 2010 Annual Foray will take place on the Great Northern Peninsula, with head-quarters in St. Anthony. Friday will be devoted to a mycoblitz of the L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, followed by a welcome reception at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saturday’s forays will be in the surrounding Strait of Belle Isle Ecoregion, both the coastal barrens and forests in sheltered areas like Pistolet Bay Provincial Park. Participants can choose from an array of lectures and workshops covering identifi cation of local mushrooms, advanced mycology, microscopy, mush-room photography (both point and shoot and advanced SLR), collecting edibles, preparation and conservation, mushroom cooking, dyeing fabrics with mushrooms, and growing mushrooms for eating, decora-tion or interest.
If you are interested in attending this foray, please register early. Our experience has been that the farther away a person lives, the earlier she registers. Participation is limited, and this foray will be an-nounced to a North American audi-ence. The opportunity to explore a stark northern landscape and for-ay on a World Heritage Site, pick-ing the mushrooms the Vikings picked, is sure to appeal to many from outside our province, so that we expect an overfl ow of registra-tions this year.
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GUEST FACULTY*Renée LebeufEd LickeyBrandon MathenyPeterjürgen NeumannMachiel NoordeloosEsteri OhenojaRoger SmithGreg Thorn
*tentative at time of publication
Please check our website for Information & Registration Forms:
<www.nlmushrooms.ca>
The Great Northern PeninsulaSeptember 10-12, 2010
2010 2010 2010 2010 20102010 2010 2010 2010 20102010 2010 2010 2010 20102010 2010 2010
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The Quarterly Bugby
Dave Larsen
Mourning Cloak butterfly - Nymphalis antiopa (L.)
The mourning cloak is one of the few insect species that is unmistakable. The colour pattern of the dorsal surface of the wings -
rich maroon or purple brown with a bright yellow band along the irregular wing margin and with submarginal blue spots - is unlike that of any other butterfly. As specimens age this pattern fades to dark brownish with a white marginal band but is still distinctive. The range extends throughout North America south of the arctic, into northern South America, and across Eurasia. In spite of this wide range and the propensity of butterfly taxonomists to name every colour variant, there have been very few subspecies named, indicating the consistency of the species in colour pattern.
Larvae are almost as distinctive. They are black with white specks and a row of orange-red spots running down the back; they have several rows of black, branched spines; and the prolegs (abdominal legs) are reddish brown. The female lays eggs in a group and on hatching the larvae stay together and feed communally. The usual local host plants are willows and Manchurian elm. A group of caterpillars feeding on a tree can cause significant defoliation but as these groups are seldom abundant and a given tree is rarely attacked in successive years, these insects are at most only a minor pest and control is virtually never needed. In fact, a large number of the caterpillars are usually parasitized by various flies or wasps which kill them. In fact, this high level of parasitism may be what determines the population structure - that is larval colonies occurring in low density and with very erratic spatial distribution. When a parasite finds a colony it can lay eggs into a large number of hosts, but finding the colonies is difficult.
In Newfoundland there is probably only one generation per year. Adult butterflies overwinter in protected sites. In early spring they emerge (then faded and often with ragged wings) and lay eggs on the host plants. Larvae develop over summer, pupating in late July or August and new generation adults (brightly colored) emerge in late summer and fly during early fall, usually disappearing into hibernation sites by mid-October. In September the butterflies are at peak abundance and in prime condition as they fly in sunny spots along woodland paths and forest margins.
ReferencesLayberry, R, P. Hall, D. Lafontaine. 1998. The butterflies of Canada. U. of Toronto Press. 280 pp.Morris, R. 1980. Butterflies and moths of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Macrolepidoptera.
Research Branch, Agriculture Canada. Publication 1691. 407 pp.
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Development Not Destruction
An Open Letter to the Residents of Long Harbour/ Mount Arlington Heights
Dear Residents:
The Sandy Pond Alliance is a recently formed organization of Newfoundland and Labrador citizens joined by knowledgeable people from across Canada who are concerned with the continued destruction of natural environments around mining and smelting sites in our province.
The Long Harbour nickel smelting project brings great hope for an area that is in great need of economic development and job creation. We support the realization of that hope if done in a manner that respects people, communities and the environment. However we do oppose unnecessary damage to the natural environment, in particular natural ponds, lakes, and streams. These forms of natural habitat are unique and cannot be replaced once destroyed. We want to see this smelter development completed properly so that your children, grand-children, community, and region are not left with a legacy of an unhealthy community and a toxic natural environment.
The fundamental problem with this development has to do with a flaw in the Fisheries Act. Under that Act, it would be illegal to dump harmful substances into fish-bearing waters but under a little known subsection of the mining effluent regulations, a lake or a pond can be classified as a “tailings impoundment areas.” [Please see attached Fact Sheet for more detail.]
When nickel was first discovered in Labrador in the mid-1990s there was much discussion that this time the development should be “different” and undertaken for the benefit of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We hold to the position that the benefits should be both short-term and long-term. Under the current situation there will be many benefits over the next 20 years, however when the smelting operation is finished we will be left with a toxic tailings pond (Sandy Pond) and the responsibility to look after it forever, with little if any funds to do so. Is this what we want to leave to future generations?
Both levels of government have approved Vale Inco’s Hydromet Nickel Processing Plan but itis not too late to speak out and seek less destructive environmental alternatives for the development. If you are concerned and support such an approach, you can call your MP, MHA, Town Council and Vale Inco officials, write a letter to the editor or call an open line show to express your concern and promote a change in the method chosen to manage toxic waste from this project. Finally, we ask you to join our group and support our efforts to stop the destruction of Sandy Pond and ultimately, the destruction of any pond or lake in Canada through revisions to the Fisheries Act.
This is the time to make the decision to do the right thing. No more give-aways.
Thank you for your consideration,
[email protected] or P.O. Box 354 Water Street St. John’s, NL A1C 1C0
Sandy Pond Alliance
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In March 2010, the Sandy Pond Alliance issued the following media advisory about its intent to initiate a challenge in the courts.
On World Water Day, the newly formed Sandy Pond Alliance for the Protection of Canadian Waters will announce the group's intent to initiate a challenge in the courts questioning the legality of "Schedule 2" - a loophole in the Federal Fisheries Act which allows for metal mining companies to seek exemptions from provisions of the Act that prevent the dumping of toxins into lakes by having them redefined as 'tailings impoundment areas.' The group is hoping to protect Sandy Pond near Long Harbour, which has already been approved to be used as a dump site for the toxic waste of a nickel mining project by Brazilian company, Vale Inco. Where: Fluvarium (parking lot), 5 Nagles Place, St John’s When: Monday March 22, 10:00 am press conference Who: The Sandy Pond Alliance is comprised of community members representing the Saint John’s chapter of the Council of Canadians, NL Natural History Society and Sierra Club and is supported by Mining Watch and the Council of Canadians. Speakers at the press conference will address the problems of Schedule 2 and the plans to legally challenge the Fisheries Act to save Sandy Pond from imminent destruction. Why: “We’ve just provided all residents of Long Harbour with information about our intent to challenge the Long Harbour project”, says Ken Kavanagh of the Sandy Pond Alliance and Council of Canadians. “We want people to know that we recognize the need for job and development in the area but we don’t believe this has to happen at the expense of a beautiful natural lake. The federal government must close this loophole and put people and the environment first.”
Sandy Pond Media Advisory
You Better Watch Out!Photo by Jim Costello, taken at Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John’s. Immature Eagle approaching Otter eating a trout. s
napshots
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([email protected]; [email protected])
This past summer we were invited by Jack Cooper (of Coopers’ Minipi Camps, Labrador) to his camp at Minipi Lake. The camp is at the northern end of the lake, near the outlet river, about 90 km southwest of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and is reached by float plane. Jack has four well equipped
camps throughout the watershed, with every modern convenience. The system is best known for giant brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) which can be caught up to 10 lbs in weight. Large Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) also provide angling, averaging 7 lbs but also up to ten pounds. Angling is permitted by fly only, and most fish are returned to the water. The system therefore retains its unique giant brook trout stocks. Jack’s motto for his camps is “The Way It Was Is How It Is,” an unusual and very welcome situation in
Pike Population in Minipi Lake, Labradorby
R. John Gibson and Richard L. Haedrich
A nice pike, held by the guide, Ed. An orange Floy tag can be seen just under the dorsal fin. Photo by R.J.
Gibson.
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these modern times. Minipi Lake is a large lake, 35 miles (56 km) in length and relatively shallow. Dr. David Larson found that the insect fauna is a rich one, and that large-bodied insects are very abundant. Some systems produce large fish related to the abundance or size of food, such as the trophy trout of Star Lake in central Newfoundland feeding mainly on dwarf arctic char (both the trophy trout and the dwarf char now unfortunately are virtually extinct after the lake was turned into a fluctuating hydroelectric reservoir in 1997, see Gibson et al., 2008), but the exceptional size of Minipi trout is probably due to the presence of pike (Esox lucius). ‘Small’ trout, up to about 30 cm in length, are found in the rivers, but only migrate to the lake after exceeding this size, and becoming quite ‘slab sided,’ to avoid predation by the pike. This strategy is sometimes called a ‘size refuge.’ The pike are very numerous and large, reaching 20 lbs in weight. Our trip took place between July 1 and July 8, and our main purpose was to get an estimate of the pike abundance. We caught pike by angling, on a fly rod, casting and trolling poppers and streamers. This actually is enormous fun, as they are a very strong and active fish. Each pike was tagged with a Floy tag, imbedded in the bones below the dorsal fin with a special ‘gun,’ and released. We fished in a bay near the river outlet, and estimated population size by the multiple catch and release method. The bay we fished was about 12.4 ha in area, 1 to 2 m in depth, with patches of underwater vegetation, and we could see pike from the boat. Over the seven days we fished we caught 95 pike, and estimated a population size of 106 (95% C.L. 70 – 200), which was about 8.6 fish/ha (C.L. 5.7 – 16.2). All the pike we caught were large, most
about 4 to 5 lbs, but the largest was 14 lbs in weight, and the second largest 10 ½ lbs. The first two days were ‘scorchers,’ after which the air temperature dropped remarkably. The water temperature over the week dropped from 24° C. to 12° C., and probably affected the success rate. On July 2 to 4, our catch rate for the two anglers was 6.2 fish/hr, dropping to 2.4 /hr on July 7. The optimum temperature for linear growth in the natural environment for pike is 19.8 + 0.6° C. (Casselman 1978), which would affect activity. Pike spawn over flooded vegetation in shallow, sheltered areas in spring, shortly after ice-out (Casselman and Lewis 1996). Pike stocks can be limited by lack of suitable spawning areas, and
in some places have declined due to loss of marshy areas, but suitable sites are not limiting in Lake Minipi. Optimal juvenile and adult habitat requires vegetative cover that ranges from 35% to 80%, the amount inversely correlated with pike body size (Casselman and Lewis 1996). Conditions appear favourable in Minipi for all age groups. In two highly productive rivers in southern England, densities of pike older than 0+ ranged from 32/ha to 80/ha (Mann1980). The population densities were considered high related to other English waters. Pierce and Tomcko (2003; 2005) found in a number of Minnesota lakes that the densities of pike greater than 350 mm total length ranged from 3.2 to 59.0 fish/ha. Densities of pike
A 7-lb Minipi brook trout (caught by Barry Davies). Photo by R.J. Gibson
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over 600 mm averaged only 1.6 fish/ha. They remark that because old fish are susceptible to over fishing, management aimed at producing large fish must severely restrict the harvest of large fish.
The pike of Minipi are virtually unexploited, contributing to the high densities of large fish. Forage fish include suckers (Catostomus catostomus, Catostomus commersoni), lake chub (Couesius plumbeus), and burbot (Lota lota) in addition to trout when the opportunity presents itself. Small pike, and sometimes large pike, eat invertebrates. Pike are exceedingly voracious, are cannibalistic, and will also take small mammals and small waterfowl (perhaps that is why loons at first carry their young on their backs?). One of the Minipi guides, Kelly Groves, told us that he had seen a pike thrashing at the surface, probably suffocating, with a 2 lb sucker stuck in its gullet, and another similar incident where a 3 lb arctic char was stuck in the pike’s gullet. The strike of pike on a lure as they come up from the depths is very exciting. Pike fishing at Minipi can be a lot of fun! Wildlife of course was around, such as moose, otter and loon, and we saw bears a couple of times (see photo). As a postscript, a month after our trip, four bears broke into Minipi Lodge and trashed it. They left through the plate glass windows, leaving Jack and his staff to clean up the mess and put the lodge back in order. That’s much easier said than done, and just goes to show that operating a wilderness camp can have pitfalls and problems that few small businesses have to deal with.
ReferencesCasselman, J.M. and C.A. Lewis. 1996.
Habitat requirements of northern pike (Esox lucius). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53 (Suppl.
1): 161-174.Gibson, R.J., R.L. Haedrich, J.C. Kennedy, K. Vodden, and
C.M. Wernerheim. 2008. Promoting, blocking and diverting the flow of knowledge: four case studies from Newfoundland and Labrador. Chapter 9, pp. 155-177, in: J.S. Lutz and B. Neis (eds), Making and Moving Knowledge: Interdisciplinary and Community-based Research for a World on the Edge. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal.
Mann, R.H.K. 1980. The numbers and production of pike (Esox lucius) in two Dorset rivers. Journal of Animal Ecology 49: 899-915.
Pierce, R.B. and C.M. Tomcko. 2003. Interrelationships among production, density, growth and mortality of northern pike in seven north-central Minnesota lakes. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 132: 143-153.
Pierce, R.B. and C.M. Tomcko. 2005. Density and biomass of native northern pike populations in relation to basin-scale characteristics of north-central Minnesota lakes. Transactions of the American
Fisheries Society 134: 231-241.
One of the locals contemplating Minipi Lake. Photo by R.L. Haedrich.
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Kids’ Page
How to Tell a Butterfly from a Moth
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Material from The Jumbo Book of Nature Science, written by Pamela Hickman and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists and illustrated by Judie Shore, is used by permission of Kids Can Press Ltd., Toronto. Text © 1996 Pamela Hickman and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Illustration © 1996 Judie Shore. www.kidscanpress.com
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The Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) states that protected areas constitute an
important aspect of the biodiversity of Canada’s forests. Consistent with the
national forest accord, the biodiversity strategy and other national and international agreements, the commonly accepted guideline is maintenance of 12% of the earth’s area under complete protection.
The Newfoundland and Labrador section of the CIF supports 12% of each ecoregion of the province being held in complete protection and believes that the remainder of the land base should be managed carefully in a sustainable manner. As
a case study for this approach, let us consider the Avalon Wilderness Reserve, which is prominent on the landscape of the Avalon Peninsula.
Long before Canada adopted the Brundtland Commission, recommending protecting 12 % of representative ecosystems to conserve biodiversity, the Avalon Wilderness Reserve Area was under protection.
The Avalon Wilderness Reserve Area was established in 1964, mainly to protect the Avalon caribou herd. Initially it comprised some 85,000 hectares. The area was modified and expanded to include more woodland area in 1984. Now known
The Value of Protected Areas – A case study with the Avalon Wilderness Reserve
by Rod Hillyard and Bill Clarke
Typical forested moraine in Avalon Wilderness Reserve. Photo by Bill Clarke.
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as the Avalon Wilderness Reserve, this area covers approximately 107,000 ha and represents 2 of the 9 ecoregions found in insular Newfoundland.
Having a large tract of protected land encompassing portions of these ecoregions on the Avalon Peninsula lightens the task of achieving the 12% target for each. Depending on whose figures you use, the Avalon Forest Ecoregion has some 9 to 14% of its area protected under existing legislation. The lion’s share of the area of the Avalon Wilderness Reserve is within of the Maritime Barrens Ecoregion, where it contributes
adequate proportional protection.
The Avalon Wilderness Reserve management plan prescribes what activities can be conducted in the reserve. Enforcement of regulations is carried out mainly by Parks and Natural Areas staff and
conservation officers of the Department of Natural Resources, who are often assisted by staff of other agencies, such as Wildlife Division, Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the RCMP.
Protection afforded by the Avalon Wilderness Reserve extends beyond caribou. The heath land, wetland and forested ecosystems within the Avalon Wilderness provide habitat for a variety of flora and fauna. As one such example, the Boreal Felt Lichen (which has been listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as a species of “Special Concern”) is known to occur
in more than thirty sites throughout the reserve through preliminary searching of less than 1% of the reserve. More species, yet to be discovered, are likely housed in the boreal forest of the reserve.
Boundary between old burn and forest in Avalon Wilderness Reserve. Photo by Bruce Roberts.
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As with all protected areas, the natural cycling of forests is promoted. Consequently, the forests contained within the Avalon Wilderness Reserve are affected by natural disturbances, such as insect outbreaks, fire and wind. Fire events are nowadays anomalies because they are put out by suppression crews.
The forested area within the reserve augments the many natural wildlife corridors outside the wilderness reserve. The terrain of the Avalon Peninsula and, indeed, across insular Newfoundland is conducive to natural corridors. With a significant amount of water and bogs, along with rough and broken terrain, a large portion of the forested land cannot be under development. These natural reserves help maintain connectivity across the landscape.
Last, but not least, the recreational benefit is important. The Avalon Wilderness Reserve is in a relatively undisturbed state that allows people the opportunity to appreciate the natural environment. It also gives individuals a better understanding of what management decisions (such as leaving forest to follow natural succession) look like. The forests currently in the reserve are mostly over-mature and have been affected by significant insect and wind events. The reserve also affords the opportunity to observe natural forest succession, as well as to see the effects and interactions of species in an environment not affected by development.
Protecting areas does not necessarily ensure all values within them are safeguarded. As an example, forests deteriorating as a result of insect infestation and blow down (and which are not naturally growing back due to over-browsing) would likely not be regarded as high-quality landscape for aesthetic purposes or as providing adequate wildlife habitat. Sometimes, intervention is required to maintain a forest cover for a variety of purposes.
The Avalon Wilderness Reserve provides a valuable contribution to understanding forest ecosystems, conducting biological research in undeveloped areas, and contributing to biodiversity and protection targets and objectives, locally and nationally. Protection of adequate, representative areas provides a balance with the sustainable management of natural resources and must occur in the economic, environmental and social context of a sustainable
Newfoundland and Labrador way of life.
The Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) is one of Canada’s oldest and most respected forest conservation organizations. Its members work in government, industry, and academia, and include foresters, technicians, biologists, ecologists, educators, economists, scientists, and many other individuals with an interest and passion for our forests and the complex ecosystems that they support. Members are dedicated to sound forest stewardship and sustainability across Canada and throughout the world. The Institute is entering its 102nd year in 2010. For more information of CIF/IFC please see www.cif-ifc.org.
Avalon Wilderness Reserve. Used with permission of Peter Hearns.
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As part of a nation-wide research project investigating the way the general public interacts with maps, particularly web-
based ones, Dr. Yolanda Wiersma, of the Biology Department at Memorial University, and her research assistant, Roman Lukyayenko, have launched a website aimed at encouraging the public to become engaged with the plants and animals of our province. The site (www.nlnature.com) has two main goals, in addition to the wider social geography research goals. The first is public outreach and education. Currently the site has basic information on some common species, as well as links to some of the excellent websites and resources out there to help identify a variety of species. We plan to expand some of our “fact sheets” to provide information on key species in the province.
The second goal of the website is to encourage public participation in sharing sightings of plants and animals. Individuals are encouraged to set up a membership profile (which takes less than 5 minutes) and to post sighting using the interactive Google map. Submission of photos is possible (and encouraged). By submitting photos, those who are just learning to identify species can benefit from more experienced members who can comment on postings and offer insights as to possible identification. Thus, the site is also providing an online community of individuals with similar interests in wildlife and plants in Newfoundland and Labrador, and information
flow is multi-way. Members are allowed to post comments on each others sightings and may also participate in the online forum – which has discussion threads on a variety of topics (including one to post upcoming nature-based events).
Although this is very much a “citizen science” endeavour, the sightings are not being collected systematically and, thus, cannot be used in any comprehensive ecological analysis. However, many “eyes on the ground” reporting on what they see while out and about may help indicate trends of interesting
phenomena, and are more likely to see novel species than researchers who are limited in the amount of the province they can survey at any given point in time.
We hope the natural history community will actively participate on the site. Many members of the Natural History Society are very skilled at identification of birds, mushrooms, wildflowers and other species. Some of you already contribute to online databases, such as e-bird, and nlnature.com is not intended to supersede these. Members of the NHS can help by offering to identify species in photos uploaded by those trying to build their natural history skills. You are also welcome and encouraged to contribute any interesting sightings while on your travels around our province. We are always open to suggestions for ways to make the site more useful and user-friendly. Please visit!
www.nlnature.com
New Website to track Natural History sightings in Newfoundland and Labrador
by Yolanda Wiersma
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Not possible! Central mandates of Canada’s National Parks have always been protection, conservation and allowing
natural processes to occur without interference. A cull of one of our National Parks’ most charismatic species and one that tourists love to see during their visit? No way!
Background Canada’s first national park, Banff National Park was established about a century and a quarter ago. Initially it was a small park, designed to protect the recently discovered Banff Hot Springs as a tourism site to increase railroad passenger travel. With time, the principal focus of our national parks became the protection of spaces and species, especially charismatic mega species, while allowing natural processes to continue without overt interference other than fire-fighting. To protect the forest in national parks, fires were suppressed until relatively recently when it was recognized that forest destruction and regeneration involving fire was part of the natural cycle for our Boreal Forests. In fact, burning in a controlled, intentional fire removes the fuel on the forest floor and the dead trees, reducing the risk of catastrophic fires. The regenerating forests include a range of plants rare or absent in mature forest, providing cover and browse for a wider range of animals. Biodiversity is increased. Otherwise, park staff remained in a “protect and study” mode especially regarding birds and animals; natural processes were allowed to continue. With time, the parks became islands of protection in a sea of development and modification. But parks have never really been islands. What happens on surrounding lands has a major impact. For example, large predators tend to have large home ranges that overlap park boundaries so grizzly and black bears and wolves are killed when they stray onto farms and ranches or into hunting areas. Game species find protection in parks during hunting season so they tended to migrate into the parks. The net effect is reduced numbers of predators and increased numbers of
ungulates and other prey species. In the western national parks, the deer and elk populations burgeoned, while at the same time much of their former browsing area was being converted to accommodations, ski resorts and highways. Increasing human populations within park boundaries thus resulted in increasingly serious over-browsing and human-animal conflicts. Newfoundland never had deer or elk but early in the 20th century, the alien species, moose, was introduced. They continue to prosper with, at present, an estimated 120 000+ animals. In recent years there have been numerous vehicle-moose encounters, all too often serious, even fatal for the car’s occupants, almost always fatal for the moose. There are campaigns to reduce the moose population, especially in the vicinity of our highways, to improve visibility by pruning trees along the highways and even to fence dangerous sections of those highways. A more insidious consequence of high moose populations has been damage to our forests. Articles in the Osprey, (by Ian Goudie, “Moose Matters”, The Osprey, Vol. 39, No. 3, page 102 and by Allan Stein, “A Tolkien Forest of the Avalon”, The Osprey, Vol. 40, No. 1, page 24) and a number in local newspapers, have pointed out the damage being done to our forests by browsing moose. Regeneration suffers and plant species are changing radically as moose devour the understory. Hardwoods and berry bushes and evergreens like yew and balsam fir are being eliminated. As the mature trees succumb to “old age”, butt-rot, insect damage, blow-down or fire, without that regenerating understory, large areas of our woods are changing to savannah or open spruce forest—moose do not like spruce.
Moose, a hyper-abundant alien species If damage is serious in our forests in general, think about what is happening in parks where the moose population is not pruned by hunting and moose find sanctuary. Large areas in Terra Nova and of Gros Morne are being severely impacted. As with forest fires, park staff have
A Moose Cull in Our National Parks? by Allan Stein
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made a cosmic shift, from PROTECTION! to acceptance that moose populations in the parks must be controlled. Hopefully, the public will too. Park naturalists have convened three Stakeholder Roundtables on Forest Health in Terra Nova and Gros Morne National Parks. The first roundtable in Gros Morne considered the impacts of hyper-abundant invasive alien species, species including slugs, plants, hares, squirrels and moose. It was obvious that the forest impact of moose overwhelmed the impacts of the other species. The second and third roundtables were held in Gander; I represented the Natural History Society at those, in May and December of 2009. At the second meeting it was generally accepted that some moose population control plan was necessary and that lethal control was the most practical approach. The third session focused on possible approaches to lethal control, that is, to a cull. Hopefully, reducing the moose population now instead of waiting for the population to decrease naturally will reduce, if not prevent, serious, long-term, deleterious forest changes. For both parks, plans call for the removal of all meat accessible on the ground or by helicopter. Meat will most likely be distributed to charities, used for conference dinners and the like. Culls will most likely take place in late autumn or early winter to minimize visitor impacts. Terra Nova National Park has suffered severe forest damage, but it is a small park with quite good access, so culling the moose will be relatively simple. Park naturalists are planning a relatively modest moose cull of about 30 animals for two or three years, followed by a dozen or so in subsequent years to maintain a lower population (The Telegram, January 16, 2010, page A10). It will be carried out by park staff during the winter, using snowmobiles for the most part as was explained in the recent Telegram article. Gros Morne is much larger and has a many more moose, up to 15 per square kilometre in some areas. Park naturalists propose removing about 1400-1500 in the first years, decreasing to an
annual cull of 250 per year after five years. To put the number in perspective, the moose management areas surrounding the park, Areas 2, 3, 4 and 5 have annual hunter quotas of 1,700, 1,250, 900, and 1,250 respectively, and the island as a whole, 27,855. Thus, once the moose population is lowered to the more reasonable density of about two animals per square kilometre, the annual kill numbers would be well below those in adjacent management areas. Given the generally inaccessibility of the most seriously overpopulated sections of Gros Morne, the areas on the western slopes of the Long Range Mountains, the logistics of any cull will be challenging. It will not be possible to do such a major cull with Park staff so it is likely that experienced hunters and professional guides will be hired to assist. An initial test hunt is proposed for the lowlands north of Rocky Harbour, an area that is considerably more accessible but still challenging. The proposal called for an initial cull of about 1000 animals, decreasing to a steady state of about 110 after year five. For much of that area, existing trails and bogs allow some snowmobile access.
Alternatives considered Why a cull? Why not non-lethal approaches? A range of alternatives were considered and rejected. Firstly, culls and other approaches to control wildlife causing damage to park ecosystems are allowed under Management Directive 4.4.11, “Management of Hyperabundant Wildlife Populations in Canada’s National Parks”, December 2007. According to 4.1, “...the hyperabundant wildlife population must have exceeded the upper range of natural variability that is characteristic of the ecosystem, and there must be demonstrated impact on ecological integrity.” 4.3 requires that, “the survival or condition of one or more native species in the park...are threatened or likely to be threatened by the hyperabundant wildlife population unless mitigation is undertaken.” Those conditions are certainly met as anyone penetrating the forest even to a half
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kilometre from a road can attest. But what alternatives were considered? A number of those suggested and why they were rejected follows: 1. Let nature take its course. Doing nothing will result in moose populations decreasing, probably catastrophically, as they eat themselves out of house and home. That, in fact seems to be happening in Terra Nova where estimated moose population has fallen to less than half of its maximum, to about 120. Unfortunately, that is still about double the population density that would be considered relatively high over most of the moose’s range on the mainland, so serious forest regeneration issues will continue, especially in the few areas which still have fair browse. Since moose live twelve or fifteen years and the life cycle of a typical boreal forest is about eighty-five years, recovery from the effects of the excessive moose population will be a slow process. 2. Relocation. Relocation, especially of problem bears, is common practice in Canadian parks. It involves darting, carting and releasing into an already fully occupied adjacent forest. Mortality is high and cost and challenges are prohibitive on the required scale. 3. Herding animals out of the park. Herding moose in woods is likely to be even more difficult than herding cats! 4. Birth control. There is no successful fertility control for ungulates in the wild. Plus, administering the hormone pellet, probably annually, to all fertile females is not a simple matter. There is no non-surgical alternative for males. Since moose live for a decade or more, population decline, and hence reduction of severe browsing, would be a slow process.5. Fencing the parks to keep moose out. It would still be necessary to remove moose from inside the fence or you are simply fencing them in!6. Opening the park to outfitters and hunters. Out-of-province and foreign hunters want bull moose with large racks. A bull may impregnate a dozen or more females through the fall so almost
all bulls would have to be removed to much affect the birth rate. Besides, cows and calves also browse vegetation. In fact a cow hunt would be much more effective at lowering moose population over time. At the meetings, outfitters and local hunters lost interest in hunting in the parks when told that ATV’s would not be permitted and snowmobiles would have very limited access due to terrain and the lack of trails, especially in Gros Morne.
Allan Stein [email protected] Portugal Cove
Nature Note
Who’s More Intelligent?
“It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars and so on – whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man – for precisely the same rea-sons.”
Douglas Adams. 2002. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. London: Picador. p. 132.
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Star Chart Commentary APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2010
By Fred Smith April 2010
Tues 6 Moon Last Quarter Fri 9 Moon at apogee Sun 11 Jupiter 6o south of Moon (12 moon diameters) Wed 14 New Moon Thurs 15 Mercury 1.5o south of Moon Fri 16 Find Mars in binoculars and about 2 moon diameters south find the Beehive collection of stars. Venus 4o south of the Moon Sat 17 Moon 0.5o south of the Pleiades Wed 21 Moon first quarter Thurs 22 Mars 5o north of Moon Lyrid meteor shower peak Sat 24 Venus 4o south of Pleiades Moon at perigee Mon 26 Saturn 8o north of Moon Wed 28 Full Moon
Planets in April
Mercury is in the evening western sky, below Venus, and will be especially clear during the first half of the month. By mid-month it will be fading and also the Moon will be near by making observation difficult.
Venus can be found in the western sky at twilight. It will become brighter as the month progresses. Venus is so bright it is hard to miss.
Mars is in the constellation Cancer and is a bit brighter than Castor and Pollux on the right.
Jupiter is low in the eastern sky in the morning but as the month progresses it will be higher in the sky and easier to spot.
Saturn can be seen all night. Find the bright star Regulus in Leo and Saturn will be the bright object well to the left.
May 2010
Tues 4 Venus 6o north of Aldebaran Thurs 6 Moon last quarter Eta – peak Aquarid meteor shower Moon at apogee Sun 9 Jupiter 7o south of Moon (14 Moon diameters) Wed 12 Mercury 8o south of Moon Fri 14 New Moon Sun 16 Venus 0.1o south of moon Thurs 20 Moon at perigee Mars 5o north of Moon Moon first quarter Sun 23 Saturn 8o north of Moon Thurs 27 Full Moon
Planets in May
Mercury may be seen in the morning in the eastern sky in the last half of the month but will be very close to the sun and hard to spot. Warning, never look in the direction of the sun with binoculars or telescopes; eye damage will result.
Venus is still in the western sky at sunset and will appear very close to the Moon on May 16th.In some parts of the world, but not Newfoundland, the Moon will occult Venus on this day.
Mars can be seen high in the western sky in the evening. It is moving away from Cancer and towards Leo. It is getting dimmer.
Jupiter is bright and can be seen low in the eastern sky in the morning.
Saturn is in a good location for observing in the evening sky. It is in the constellation Virgo.
June 2010
Thurs 3 Moon at apogee Fri 4 Moon Last Quarter Sun 6 Jupiter 7o south of Moon Mars 0.9o north of Regulus Wed 9 Mercury 6o south of the Pleiades Venus 5o south of Pollux Thurs 10 Moon 0.6o south of the Pleiades Friday 11 Mercury 5o south of the Moon Sat 12 New Moon Tues 15 Venus 4o north of Moon Moon at perigee Thurs 17 Mars 6o north of Moon Sat 19 Moon first quarter Saturn 8o north of Moon Sun 20 Use binoculars to see Beehive cluster near Venus Mon 21 Solstice Sat 26 Full Moon
Planets in June
Mercury may be visible during the first half of the month in the eastern morning sky but is lost in the glow of the sun for most of the month.
Venus is visible high (for Venus) in the west in the evening. The Moon will be 4o
away on the 15th
Mars is visible in the evening in Leo. It will be just north of Regulus on the 6th
Jupiter is bright and can be seen easily in the morning. It is in the constellation Pisces.
Saturn is easy to see in the west in the late evening. Look to the upper left of Mars.
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THE NIGHT SKY 1 May and 1 June 2010
By Fred Smith
The Eastern Newfoundland Sky 1 May 2010 10:30 pm
The charts will be useful for April, May and June. You will notice that the charts show East on the left and West on the right. The charts are intended to be held over the head looking up at the sky. Hold a chart up to the sky and rotate the chart until North on the chart points towards North from your location. Note the Moon subtends an angle of 0.5 degrees and since the moon is easy to identify it is used as a reference in the chart commentary. WARNING: Never point binoculars or telescopes at the sun. Serious eye damage will result.
The Eastern Newfoundland Sky 1 June 201011:30pm
For more information contact [email protected]
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The weather deteriorated, rather briefly, around mid-December. The rest of the winter was rather mild and almost without snow. The CBC took place as follows : in Miquelon on December 20 and in St. Pierre on December 27. There was an obvious absence of winter finches.Common Loon: There was a total of 22 birds off the west coast of Miquelon and off the N. coast of the Cape on December 14 (RE). There were 47 during the Miquelon CBC and 7 only in St. Pierre’s. Few other reports.Pied-billed Grebe : One bird was in St. Pierre on December 7 (LJ).Red-necked Grebe: None reported from Miquelon ! Only 2 were tallied during the St. Pierre CBC. There was a maximum of 43 birds on February 7 and 92 on February 15 (LJ) off the south coast of St. Pierre.Northern Fulmar: There were two adults and one immature off St. Pierre on December 1 (FPA).Double-crested Cormorant: Three were in St. Pierre during the CBC. Last seen one seen and photographed in St. Pierre on January 14 (PB).Great Cormorant: 83 birds were tallied in Miquelon during the CBC, mostly on the cliffs of Cape Miquelon while 42 were counted in St. Pierre during the same event. Snow Goose: The bird that arrived in St. Pierre on July 2008 is still there. Is it still a wild bird ? It is always in company with white domestic geese, although always somewhat apart, never seen in the middle of the flock. It can hardly be considered a wild bird anymore !Canada Goose: 11 were at Grand Barachois on December 17 (LJ) 6 birds were seen at Grand Barachois four times between December 20 and January 13 (RE).Brant : The bird reported in the fall was still at Grand Barachois, as seen on December 17, 20 and 27 (RE).American Black Duck: 889 were tallied during the Miquelon CBC, of which 884 were at Grand Barachois. Highest count for January was 791 on the 13 (RE) and highest for February: 688 on the 21th (LJ). A maximum of about 60 were on the salt
pond near the village of Miquelon on January 25. The winter conditions were quite acceptable for the species this winter.Mallard: One male and one female were at Grand Barachois on December 18 (LJ) and one male only on December 20 and 27 (RE) while two females were present on January 20 (RE).Northern Pintail: Two birds were at Grand Barachois between December 20 and January 20 (RE). One male was in St. Pierre on February 9 (LJ).Green-winged Teal: Reported for St. Pierre only. Up to 7 was near the town on December 1 and 2 (PB/JD). One male and one female were present in December, last seen on January 1 (PB).Greater Scaup: 109 were tallied during the CBC with 95 on the salt pond near the village and a few at Grand Barachois. About 90 were on the salt pond on January 25 (RE) and 95 on February 21 (LJ).Lesser Scaup: One immature male was in St. Pierre in December (present during the CBC) and up to January 23 (PA).King Eider: One male was with Common Eiders in St. Pierre on January 5 (LJ), 12 (JD) and February 6 (LJ).Common Eider: 2240 were tallied during the Miquelon CBC, mostly off the East coast, while 2279 were seen in St. Pierre during the same event. Highest counts were 1950 off the South coast of St. Pierre on January 15 (LJ) and about 2800 on February 7, same area (LJ).Harlequin Duck: Very well reported, and only in St. Pierre throughout the season. Highest counts were 47 during the CBC, about 30 on Jan. 9 and 26 (JD), 58 on Feb. 7 and 87 in three flocks on February 11 (LJ).Surf Scoter: 41 were present during the Miquelon CBC. There was a maximum of about 30 mixed with White-wings off Mirande lake on December 27, and a few, same area on January 13 and 25 (RE).White-winged Scoter: 670 were tallied during the Miquelon CBC, mostly off the east and south-east coasts of the Isthmus. about 350 were off the gully
The winter season (2009-10) in St-Pierre and Miquelon island
By Roger Etcheberry
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of Grand Barachois on December 27 and about 100 off Mirande lake on January 25 (RE).Black Scoter: Three off the west coast of Miquelon during the CBC is the only report ! Long-tailed Duck: 507 were counted during the Miquelon CBC, widespread around the coasts, while only 13 were seen in St. Pierre during the CBC. No significant numbers reported for the rest of the season, possibly just underreported ! Bufflehead: Two females and one male were seen at Grand Barachois on December 14 and 20 (RE). Only one male was seen there on January 6 and 20 (RE) while LJ had one male and one female on February 21.Common Goldeneye: 153 were counted during the Miquelon CBC on Grand Barachois. This lagoon has a surface area of about 900 hectares ! Considering our weather conditions and the fact that, most of the time, counts are made by only one observer, numbers could be underestimated. A careful count by LJ on February 21 revealed 230 birds on February 21 while we usually consider the population to be around 150 birds.Barrow’s Goldeneye : One male was seen by LJ on December 17 and February 21.Hooded Merganser: One female was in St. Pierre between December 2 and 19 (LJ/JD/PB/PA).Red-breasted Merganser: Common, about as usual. We had 181 birds during the Miquelon CBC while there were 153 birds at Grand Barachois on January 20 (RE) and 141 on February 21 (LJ). The species is always fairly rare in St. Pierre. This winter there were a few birds (up to 6) reported a few times in December and January.Bald Eagle : 7 (4 adults and 3 immature) were seen during the Miquelon CBC and 4 (2 adults, 2 imm.) in St. Pierre. There was a maximum of 7 birds, 3 adults and 4 immature on the Isthmus on February 18 (LJ).Sharp-shinned Hawk: Up to two birds spent the winter in St. Pierre, seen between December 31 and February 28 (PHA/JD/FPA/LJ). This may explain why not a single Am. Goldfinch was reported in January and February ! One immature was feeding on a Horned lark near the village of
Miquelon on December 18 (LJ).Northern Goshawk: One only was seen during Miquelon CBC. LJ had 3 birds together near the north-east coast of Langlade on January 20. There was one bird in Miquelon on February 18 (LJ).Merlin: One bird was in St. Pierre on December 15 and 19 (JD/PB). and one on February 5 and 7 (FPA/LJ).Peregrine Falcon: One was seen several times in St. Pierre between December 26 and February 20 (m. ob.). One was seen feeding on a Black Guillemot on January 6 (LJ) and on a Black-headed Gull on February 20 (PA).American Coot: The bird present in November was last seen on December 1 (PB).Red Knot: 2 birds were on the Isthmus on December 18 (FPA), 3 were near the village of Miquelon on January 19 and 24 and only two on February 17 (LJ)Sanderling: 17 were present during the Miquelon CBC, most of them near Grand Barachois. 6 were, same area on December 27 and 7 on January 20 (RE). Eleven birds were on the south-western corner of the Isthmus on January 21 and only 6 on February 17 (LJ). Purple Sandpiper: Only 22 were tallied during the Miquelon CBC. Several reports of 20 to 30 individuals seen in St. Pierre and in Miquelon throughout the season (m. ob.). 137 birds were counted at Grand Barachois on February 21 (LJ).Dunlin: Five birds at Grand Barachois on December 17 were still there for the CBC and on December 27 (RE). Only 3 were seen on January 20 (RE) while LJ had 4 on January 22. No other reports. Wilson’s Snipe: One was in St. Pierre on January 5 (JD).Black-headed Gull: 8 only were seen during St. Pierre CBC. Few other reports ! Is the species low this winter or underreported ? Herring Gull: 320 were seen during Miquelon CBC and 299 in St. Pierre.Iceland Gull: 146 tallied during Miquelon CBC were mostly on the S-W. corner of the Isthmus (FPA). 164 were in St. Pierre during the CBC.
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They were numerous on the north-west coast of Cape Miquelon on Jan. 25 (RE).Glaucous Gull: All immature : one seen near the west coast of Miquelon on January 25, one was on the Isthmus on February 18 (LJ) and one in St. Pierre on February 24 (PB).Great Black-backed Gull: 61 only were seen during Miquelon CBC and 106 in St. Pierre.Black-legged Kittiwake: A few birds were flying off Mirande lake on December 3 (RE).Dovekie: 22 only were seen during Miquelon CBC and 7 only in St. Pierre. Common Murre: One only during the Miquelon CBC off the west coast of the Isthmus (RE).Thick-billed Murre: One only was seen during the Miquelon CBC and one in St. Pierre on January 1 and 7 (JD/PA). 3 Murre sp. were seen during St-Pierre CBC.Black Guillemot: 81 were counted during the Miquelon CBC and 156 in St-Pierre. About 20 were near the north-west coast of St. Pierre on January 6 (JD).Rock Pigeon: 38 were in the town of St. Pierre during the CBC.Mourning Dove: 6 were at PHA’s feed during the month of January while he had 4 only in February. Other feeders are reporting 3 or 4 birds only throughout the season (FPA/JD).Snowy Owl: The first one appeared in St. Pierre around Christmas, 2 were present during the CBC. One bird at a time reported up to February 7 in St. Pierre (PB/JD/LJ). 1 was near the west coast of Miquelon on Jan. 20 (LJ).Hairy Woodpecker: One was near the NE coast of Langlade on January 20 (LJ).Black-backed Woodpecker: One, first reported by J-P. Detcheverry was confirmed by SA, during the Miquelon CBC. One bird was seen in St. Pierre between January 9 and 23 (LJ/PB/PHA).Northern Flicker: One was in St. Pierre on December 12 (JD), one was seen at Langlade during the Miquelon CBC (FPA). 2 were seen in St. Pierre during the CBC. One was still in there on February 23 (PHA).Northern Shrike: One in St. Pierre was seen 5
times between December 3 and 13 (PB/LJ/PHA). One was seen at Langlade during the Miquelon CBC (FPA). One was in St. Pierre between January 25 and February 7 (PHA/JD/LJ/PB). One was on the N-W. corner of Langlade on February 17 and 20 (LJ).Blue Jay: 3 were seen during the Miquelon CBC (LJ/PHA). The same number was seen during St. Pierre CBC. A few throughout the season at feeders in St. Pierre (JD/FPA). The maximum is reported by JD who had 4 to 8 birds in February.American Crow: 55 were tallied during Miquelon CBC and 46 in St. Pierre.Common Raven: 58 were tallied during Miquelon CBC and 14 in St. Pierre.Horned Lark: 10 only was a rather low number for the Miquelon CBC. Unusual were 2 birds in St. Pierre on January 17 (LJ/PB) and one on January 24, February 8 and 12 (JD/LJ). There was a maximum of 15 birds near the village of Miquelon on February 18 (LJ).Black-capped Chickadee: The single bird present in our islands was seen again between in St. Pierre on December 27 and January 20 (PB). Boreal Chickadee: Only 30 were seen in Miquelon during the CBC while 54 were in St. Pierre. About twenty birds were on western Langlade on January 19 (LJ) and a few here and there throughout the season (m. ob.).Red-breasted Nuthatch: One was on North-eastern Langlade on January 20 and February 18 and two on January 24 (LJ).Golden-crowned Kinglet: About 10 were in St. Pierre on December 14 (JD). Only 5 were seen during the Miquelon CBC while they had 34 in St. Pierre. A few here and there, about as usual. American Robin: One was in St. Pierre on December 9 and 10 (PHA/JD) and 2, also in St. Pierre on January 13 (LJ/PHA).VARIED THRUSH : An interesting record we knew about just a few weeks ago : a male was seen and photographed by Frédéric Olaisola in St. Pierre on October 24, 2009. This is a second record for us. The first one was seen by Daniel Abraham in St. Pierre on December 4, 1989.
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Northern Mockingbird: One in the town of St. Pierre on January 14 (LJ).European Starling: 38 in Miquelon and 175 in St. Pierre were tallied during the CBCs.American Pipit: One in St. Pierre on January 17 is the only report (LJ).Bohemian Waxwing: Two small flocks of respectively 11 and 7 individuals were seen in St. Pierre on December 7 and 21 were near the north shore of Grand Barachois during the Miquelon CBC (LJ).Yellow-rumped Warbler: One was seen near the north shore of Grand Barachois during Miquelon CBC (LJ).Fox Sparrow: One bird was in St. Pierre in December (JD/FPA/JD) and present during the CBC.Song Sparrow: 4 birds were present in St. Pierre and in Miquelon during the CBC. 1 to 2 birds were reported at various feeders up to the end of the season (JD/PHA/FPA).White-throated Sparrow: One was seen in St. Pierre during the CBC. Two birds were present at JD’s feeder to the end of the season.White-crowned Sparrow: Two were at JD’s from December 7 to 31.Dark-eyed Junco: 62, mostly seen at various feeders were tallied during St. Pierre CBC. Up to 30 birds were reported at various feeders throughout the season (JD/PHA/FPA). Two were at Langlade on January 19 (LJ), Three were in the woods of St. Pierre on January 6 (PA).Lapland Longspur: 20 were near the village of Miquelon on December 19 and 20 (FPA/SA). 25 were, same area, on February 18 (LJ).Snow Bunting: 120 only were seen during Miquelon CBC, mostly near the village. The snow cover being rather scarce this winter, birds were mostly in the field. A few birds were here and there throughout the season, about 50 were in Cape Miquelon on January 14 (RE), about 60 near the village on January 25 (RE), and 96 near Grand Barachois on February 21 (LJ).MEADOWLARK SP. One very wary bird was seen near the village of Miquelon on December
14, and, consequently not identified to species (RE/DL). Common Grackle: One only was in St. Pierre during the CBC. up to two birds were at JD’s feeder in January and February.Brown-headed Cowbird: One near the village in December was absent during the CBC, seen on January 27 (RE) and February 11 (LJ).Pine Grosbeak: Very scarce, the first ones (about 20) were seen on N-E. Langlade on January 20 (LJ).White-winged Crossbill: Two only were in Cape Miquelon and 6 in St. Pierre during the CBC. 6 were in the woods of Eastern Miquelon on January 23 (LJ).American Goldfinch: Two only seen during the CBC in St. Pierre. There was a maximum of 10 birds at JD’s feeder in mid-December. None reported in January and February, it may be related to the presence of two Sharp-shin hawks in St. Pierre this winter.House Sparrow: 30 in Miquelon and 16 only in St. Pierre during the CBC. Contributors: Frédéric & Patricia Allen-Mahé (FPA); Sylvie Allen-Mahé (SA); Pascal Asselin (PA); Patrick Boez (PB); Patrick Hacala (PHA); Laurent Jackman (LJ); Danielle Lebollocq (DL);
Miquelon, March 31, 2010Roger Etcheberry
Nature NoteSpruce Gum
‘Spruce gum results when pitch, which flows at sites of injury to the tree, has hard-ened enough to be chewable – generally after about four years.’
Infor Inc. (2009). Spruce Gum in Maine and Atlantic Canada. From our Atlantic woods: Non-timber forest products directory 2009-10. Online at www.fromourat-lanticwoods.com
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This award is named in memory of Dr. Leslie M. Tuck and Captain Harry Walters.
Dr. Les Tuck was Newfoundland’s first Dominion Wild-life Officer, and Harry Walters was the Director of the Newfoundland Rangers Force. Following Confederation with Canada, Dr. Tuck headed the Canadian Wildlife Service in the province—a position he held for more than twenty-five years. In the latter part of his long and distinguished career, Dr. Tuck held the L. J. Paton Research Professorship in the Psychology Department of Memorial University. He was instrumental in the reactivation of the Natural History Society in the 1950’s. Captain Harry Walters served for many years as the Head of the Newfoundland Wildlife Division, which he was instrumental in establishing.
Both Walters, working provincially, and Tuck, work-ing federally, were instrumental in establishing our province’s first seabird reserves (Funk Island, Cape St. Mary’s, Witless Bay, and Hare Bay) and the former Avalon Wilderness Area. Their combined efforts put natural history awareness, protection and apprecia-tion on a solid footing in Newfoundland and Labrador. Although they were employed in resource conserva-tion and management careers, their enthusiasm and dedication transcended their duties, and it is for these qualities that the society has chosen to honor their memory with this award.
The Tuck/Walters Award is discretionary - it does not have to be given out every year. On the other hand, it may be given to more than one recipient if the Nomi-nating Committee feels this is appropriate. Successful candidates are individuals who have made outstanding
and enduring contributions to the advancement of natu-ral history appreciation and protection in Newfoundland and Labrador, outside the parameters of their employ-ment responsibilities.
Tuck/Walters Award WinnersDr. Don Barton Gregory MitchellGeorge Brinson Michael NolanBill Davis Dr. Harold PetersDr. John Gibson Dr. Roger Tory PetersonDr. Leslie Harris Tony PowerStephen Herder Dr. Don SteeleCharlie Horwood Clyde TuckBernard Jackson Laura JacksonHenry Mann Lois BatemanDr. Jon LienDr. Allan Stein
For more information or to make a nomination for the Tuck/Walters Award, contact:Dr. Bill MontevecchiChair, Tuck/Walters Award CommitteeCognitive and Behavioral Ecology ProgramMemorial University of NewfoundlandSt. John’s, NL A1B 3X9 Telephone: 737-7673 E-mail: [email protected]
Gift Ideas from the Natural History Society
Society Memberships - Any time is a great time to give a membership to the Natural History Society, which in-cludes four issues of The Osprey and notices of all society functions. $25.00.
Society Lapel Pins - four-colour enamel pins reproduce the society’s The Osprey, designed by John Maunder, in blue, brown and white on a gold back: Oval. $3.00.
Society Jacket Crest - based on the original “half moon” design drawn by Newfoundland artist Reginald Shep-herd, featuring a stylized osprey snatching a fish. Embroidered in five colours, approximately 4” wide by 1 3/4” high. $4.00.
Getting to Know the Weeds - the collected writings of Charlie Horwood, a long-serving member of the society and a thoughtful and insightful naturalist with a gift for capturing his views of the natural world in writing. 160-page book with over fifty of Charlie’s best short pieces. Soft cover. $14.95.
Tuck/Walters AwardNominations are invited
The Osprey 42
Dear Members,
Membership in the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador runs from January-December 2010. Simply fill out the form on the bottom of this letter and mail a cheque or money order for $25 payable to the “Natural History Society of Newfoundland & Labrador” to the address below. Or, better yet, feel free to bring to it to us in person at the next NHSNL meeting! Society notices and contact information can be found at http://www.nhs.nf.ca.
As many of you are aware, our society’s long-standing publication, The Osprey, is available in electronic (pdf) format. If you do not receive the electronic version and would like to, either in addition to or in place of a hard copy, please indicate your preference below (and include your e-mail address).
Wishing you the best for 2010,
Carolyn WalshMembership [email protected]
Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador Membership Form 2010
Name: ____________________________ New Member ___ OR Renewal ___
Address: __________________________ If you would like to receive society e-mails,__________________________________ and/or an electronic copy of The Osprey, __________________________________ please submit your e-mail address: __________________________________ __________________________________ ___________________________________
“The Opsrey” is available via e-mail in pdf format. Please indicate how you would like to receive it: via post _____
via e-mail _____ both in post and by e-mail _____
Please enclose a cheque or money order for $25 and mail to: NHSNL, PO Box 1013, St. John’s, NL A1C 5M3
