[NatureNS] report on NNS/FNSN a.g.m. & field trip at Bible Hill, June 3/07

Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:48:05 -0300
From: Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Cc: Ross & Linda Hall <ross.hall@ns.sympatico.ca>,
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June 3, 2007 - NATURE NOVA SCOTIA (aka FED. N.S. NATURALISTS) ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING ETC. IN TRURO, at N.S. Community College.

On my drive there, just west of the Highway 101 Falmouth exit, 3
WHITE-TAILED DEER together crossed the highway safely, not all at once, at
8:20 a.m.  

FNSN/NNS Field Trips in afternoon (after a.g.m.) at Bible Hill: Beautiful
sunny and warm day, but strangely no black flies and very few mosquitoes.
Heather Drope took about 8 people? on a plants walk somewhere, while I
elected to go with about 8 birders with Linda Ross.  We started in the rock
garden on the N.S. Agric. College campus, where Linda hoped we might see the
resident and very rare pair of GRAY PARTRIDGES.  Well, indeed we lucked out
and found them walking together along the bank of the Salmon River just
east? of the rock garden and steam plant -- Linda told us that a recent
check by herself and Ross Hall of the steam plant chimney at dusk turned up
only 4 CHIMNEY SWIFTS.

After the campus, Linda led us to a portion of the Cobequid Trail system,
about 2 km. east of the NSAC campus.  This trail along the bank of the
Salmon River is really nice and quiet (re human noises) and wanders through
nice mixed forest.  Other ³birders² on this walk were Linda Hall, Bob
McDonald, Wayne Neily, Doug Linzey, Jeannie Gibson Collins, David and Janie
Hughes.  Other people should list our BIRDS seen or heard, but there were
hummingbirds, golden-crowned kinglets, blue-headed and red-eyed vireos,
black-throated green warblers, magnolia warbler, 2 male BLACKPOLL WARBLERS,
CEDAR WAXWINGS (common), robins, pheasants, alder flycatcher (WN), an old
bald eagle nest on top of the river bank.

An interesting sighting was a RED SQUIRREL that crossed the path with
something long and white that turned out to be a hip-BONE perhaps of a young
deer -- the bone showed old gnawed surfaces (source of calcium for various
rodents or perhaps deer? and ??.

Along this trail we spent lots of time slowly observing PLANTS that were in
bloom: especially DWARF GINSENG (Panax trifolium) was fairly common and just
beginning to bloom; TROUT LILY and PAINTED TRILLIUM were abundant
(trillia?), ROSY TWISTED STALK was common; also in bloom were GOLDTHREAD,
CLINTONIA or BLUE-BEAD LILY, RED ELDERBERRY, PIN CHERRY, and a species of
BLUE VIOLET; STARFLOWER just starting to bloom; nearly in bloom were WILD
LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY and FALSE SOLOMON¹S SEAL.

LEPIDOPTERANS seen on our birding walk: lots of WHITES, presumably mostly or
all CABBAGE WHITES, plus one RED ADMIRAL that was intact but with faded
colours, and cooperative COMMA butterfly that landed on a tree-trunk beside
the trail and sat there for a long time, mostly closed up.  After the walk,
I checked in Kaufman¹s focus guide for butterflies plus the Payzants¹
checklist for N.S., and I have concluded from the silvery mark on its
hindwings plus the fact that two kinds of commas are unlikely in N.S., that
our individual was very probably a GREEN COMMA.  It was definitely NOT a
question mark, which is a close relative of the commas.
----------------
Cheers from Jim in Wolfville

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