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--Boundary_(ID_m1wpkBgj45ByjBaHqZQyqw) Content-type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT JULY 15, 2010 - Robie Tufts Nature Centre in Wolfville at dusk: 34 chimney swifts counted -- clear sky, warm -- only time logged was 9:20 p.m., when the last one went in (Sunset was 8:57 p.m.) -- no indication of who was observer(s). JULY 16, 2010 - Robie Tufts Nature Centre in Wolfville at dusk: 63 chimney swifts counted -- the only time given was 9:17 p.m. (for what?)(Sunset 8:55 p.m.) -- clear, windy, chilly (?!) -- no indication of who was observer(s). JULY 17, 2010 - Great Backyard Campout Workshop in Willow Park in Wolfville, put on by The Trail Shop in Wolfville (Brian Conoley), with backup help from Wolfville and the Blomidon Naturalists Society. In mid-afternoon on a very hot, humid, and thankfully windy day, a bunch of us took a nature walk along the main dyke east of Wolfville. Guides were Rick Whitman, Ruth and Reg Newell, Sherman Boates, Patrick Kelly (esp. on star-gazing tonight with Sherm Williams), and myself. This walk was when the tide was conspicuously coming in and making the upper intertidal mud disappear, and thus it was a good time to see flights of shorebirds. Earlier we saw several large shorebirds that may have been yellowlegs? (or dowitchers?) on the mud of Wolfville Harbour. But later we saw at least two flying flocks of small shorebirds or "peeps", numbering about 35 and then another 10. These are part of the vanguard of the southward migrants that will feed here in the Minas Basin before heading further south. Then in the evening, at a bit after 8 p.m., Pat and I saw a very large flock (400+) of mostly or all starlings wheeling around in the air over the alder swamp across the road from Hennigar's Farm Market in Greenwich. This flock then headed east and south as we drove by. July 18, 2010 - Robie Tufts Nature Centre in Wolfville at dusk: 41 chimney swifts counted -- observations 9:05 to 9:25 p.m. (Sunset 8:55 p.m.) -- warm, partly cloudy, breezy -- observers the Bone/McMullin family (from Dartmouth). JULY 19, 2010 - Jana Tomek reported to me that at 11 Kencrest Ave. next door to her home, there is a hanging nest in an unknown shrub in a residential front yard, and the blackish insects (wasps?) associated with the nest have stung her while she was tending her lawn. I visited there in late afternoon, and Jana showed me the paper nest, which belongs probably to bald-faced hornets (I didn't see them well enough to be sure, but it's either them or a species of yellowjacket. The nest is fairly small now, but undoubtedly will grow substantially over the next several weeks. At the Robie Tufts Nature Centre today in late morning, I watched a female house sparrow feeding two fully-grown-and-fledged-but-still- dependent youngsters, who were not yet interested in feeding themselves. Also I'm pretty sure I was hearing the peeping calls of young house sparrows in a nest (under the pavilion of the nature centre). Wherever one goes in Wolfville, the calls of house sparrows seem to be everywhere (whereas in winter, the town flock becomes rather difficult to find at times). ------------------------ JULY 19, 2010 - 43 chimney swifts counted at Robie Tufts Nature Centre in Wolfville at dusk -- times written down were 9:05 to 9:17 (p.m.??)(Sunset was 8:53 p.m.) -- overcast -- observers were the Richardsons, from Ottawa. JULY 20, 2010 - CBC Radio News reported that yesterday? a LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE was spotted in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour not far from The Dingle Beach. Kathleen Martin of the Canadian Sea Turtle Network said that leatherbacks from the South show up in Nova Scotian waters at this time of year to feed on jellyfish and then migrate back to the South in September/October. At Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville today, I was surprised to find a male dark-eyed junco on a "Police Parking Only" sign only 2 metres tall at the edge of the parking lot and singing its heart out over and over at short intervals, with no cover anywhere nearby except a few small shrubs. (The next day I didn't see or hear it.) JULY 20, 2010 - At Gesner's Pond along Middle Dyke Road n. of Kentville, I saw a molting? or immature? male wood duck, a great blue heron, and 2 double-crested cormorants. Nearly every time I look there are 1-2 d.-cr. cormorants. I checked the bald eagle nest in Eagle Landing subdivision, and one of the two fledged youngsters (both fledged now) was perched on a branch just above the nest -- this youngster was the small one, almost certainly a male (males average about 1 kg. or 2 pounds less than adults, at all ages after fledging. I took another look at the two STRIPED BASS POSTERS in the Wolfville Post Office, where they have been for over a month now? Jeremy Broome of Acadia Univ. Biology (902-680-6061 -- leave message) (<acadiastripedbass@hotmail.com>) has been studying local striped bass and trying to track their movements for a couple of years now. One poster concerns acoustic tracking transmitters, which are implanted inside their bellies (stitches are obvious) -- these transmitters are to track movements in relation to the in-stream tidal-power installations in Minas Passage west of Parrsboro. The second poster concerns long blue tags that are attached externally near the dorsal fin. If a caught fish with a blue tag is to be kept, remove and save the tag and send it to Jeremy Broome, Box 11, Acadia Univ., Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6. If the tagged fish is to be released, just write down to info' on the tag and then let the fish go back into the water where it was caught. JULY 20, 2010 - 54 Wolfville chimney swifts counted at Robie Tufts Nature Centre at dusk -- the only time written was 9:25 p.m. (why?) (Sunset was 8:52 p.m.) -- sky mostly clear, warm, not much wind -- observer Paula Magwood. JULY 21, 2010 - At home in the late afternoon, I sat on our shaded back deck, nice and cool, and watched our feeders for perhaps a half- hour. I saw 4 n. cardinals, one an adult male, plus 3 juvenile females with flesh-coloured beaks. One juvenile had a crest that swept up vertically from the front of the top of its head. And the male did not associate in any way with the independent youngsters. No sign of an adult female for a long time -- probably she is busy with another set of domestic chores? Also visiting the feeders were a single adult purple finch (I know these are regular at other feeders in town), 3-4 bl.-c. chickadees (a family?), 2 mourning doves, 3 crows, a single c. grackle, a few song sparrows, and a downy woodpecker. I'm also hearing red-eyed vireo, r.-n. pheasant male, and Am. goldfinches, but the latter are not visiting the feeders (at least not when I am looking). I haven't seen our occasional chipmunk nor red squirrel for quite a while now. Speaking of squirrels, I don't think I have reported that Bernard Forsythe saw GRAY SQUIRRELS in the Kingston area back in June? when he was banding young barred owls. He reported these at the June 21 Blomidon Nat. Soc. meeting. He saw 2 of them near Barb & Pat Giffin's home and one more somewhere else in the Kingston area. I'll have to find out from Bernard how far apart these two areas were. --Boundary_(ID_m1wpkBgj45ByjBaHqZQyqw) Content-type: text/html; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY = 15, 2010 - Robie Tufts Nature Centre in Wolfville at dusk: 34 chimney = swifts</b> counted -- clear sky, warm -- only time logged was 9:20 p.m., = when the last one went in (Sunset was 8:57 p.m.) -- no indication of who = was observer(s).</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY 16, 2010 - Robie Tufts Nature Centre in = Wolfville at dusk: 63 chimney swifts </b>counted -- the only time given = was 9:17 p.m. (for what?)(Sunset 8:55 p.m.) -- clear, windy, chilly (?!) = -- no indication of who was observer(s).</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY = 17, 2010</b> - <b>Great Backyard Campout Workshop</b> in Willow Park in = Wolfville, put on by The Trail Shop in Wolfville (Brian Conoley), with = backup help from Wolfville and the Blomidon Naturalists = Society.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">In mid-afternoon on a very hot, humid, and thankfully = windy day, a bunch of us took a <b>nature walk along the main dyke</b> = east of Wolfville. Guides were Rick Whitman, Ruth and Reg Newell, = Sherman Boates, Patrick Kelly (esp. on star-gazing tonight with Sherm = Williams), and myself. This walk was when the tide was = conspicuously coming in and making the upper intertidal mud disappear, = and thus it was a good time to see flights of <b>shorebirds</b>. = Earlier we saw several large shorebirds that may have been = <b>yellowlegs? (or dowitchers?)</b> on the mud of Wolfville = Harbour. But later we saw at least two<b> flying flocks of small = shorebirds or "peeps"</b>, numbering about 35 and then another 10. = These are part of the vanguard of the southward migrants that will feed = here in the Minas Basin before heading further south.</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">Then in = the evening, at a bit after 8 p.m., Pat and I saw a <b>very large flock = (400+) of mostly or all starlings</b> wheeling around in the air over = the alder swamp across the road from Hennigar's Farm Market in = Greenwich. This flock then headed east and south as we drove = by.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>July 18, 2010 - Robie Tufts Nature Centre in = Wolfville at dusk: 41 chimney swifts </b>counted -- observations 9:05 to = 9:25 p.m. (Sunset 8:55 p.m.) -- warm, partly cloudy, breezy -- observers = the Bone/McMullin family (from Dartmouth).</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY = 19, 2010</b> - Jana Tomek reported to me that at 11 Kencrest Ave. next = door to her home, there is a<b> hanging nest </b>in an unknown shrub in = a residential front yard, and the <b>blackish insects (wasps?)</b> = associated with the nest have stung her while she was tending her = lawn. I visited there in late afternoon, and Jana showed me the = <b>paper nest,</b> which belongs <b>probably to bald-faced hornets</b> = (I didn't see them well enough to be sure, but it's either them or a = species of yellowjacket. The nest is fairly small now, but = undoubtedly will grow substantially over the next several = weeks.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">At the Robie Tufts Nature Centre today in late = morning, I watched a female <b>house sparrow feeding two</b> = fully-grown-and-fledged-but-still-dependent <b>youngsters</b>, who were = not yet interested in feeding themselves. Also I'm pretty sure I = was hearing the peeping calls of young house sparrows in a nest (under = the pavilion of the nature centre). Wherever one goes in = Wolfville, the calls of house sparrows seem to be everywhere (whereas in = winter, the town flock becomes rather difficult to find at = times).</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" = size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Helvetica">------------------------</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY = 19, 2010 - 43 chimney swifts</b> counted at Robie Tufts Nature Centre in = <b>Wolfville</b> at dusk -- times written down were 9:05 to 9:17 = (p.m.??)(Sunset was 8:53 p.m.) -- overcast -- observers were the = Richardsons, from Ottawa.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY 20, 2010</b> - CBC Radio News reported that = yesterday? a<b> LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE</b> was spotted in the Northwest = Arm of Halifax Harbour not far from The Dingle Beach. Kathleen = Martin of the Canadian Sea Turtle Network said that leatherbacks from = the South show up in Nova Scotian waters at this time of year to feed on = jellyfish and then migrate back to the South in = September/October.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">At Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville today, I was = surprised to find a <b>male dark-eyed junco</b> on a "Police Parking = Only" sign only 2 metres tall at the edge of the parking lot and = <b>singing</b> its heart out over and over at short intervals, with no = cover anywhere nearby except a few small shrubs. (The next day I = didn't see or hear it.)</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY 20, 2010</b> - At Gesner's Pond along Middle = Dyke Road n. of Kentville, I saw a molting? or immature? male <b>wood = duck</b>, a <b>great blue heron</b>, and 2 <b>double-crested = cormorants</b>. Nearly every time I look there are 1-2 d.-cr. = cormorants.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">I checked the<b> bald eagle nest</b> in Eagle Landing = subdivision, and one of the two fledged youngsters (both fledged now) = was perched on a branch just above the nest -- this youngster was the = small one, almost certainly a <b>male</b> (males average about 1 kg. or = 2 pounds less than adults, at all ages after fledging. = </font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">I took another look at the two <b>STRIPED BASS = POSTERS</b> in the Wolfville Post Office, where they have been for over = a month now? Jeremy Broome of Acadia Univ. Biology (902-680-6061 = -- leave message)(<<a = href=3D"mailto:acadiastripedbass@hotmail.com">acadiastripedbass@hotmail.co= m</a>>) has been studying local striped bass and <b>trying to track = their movements </b>for a couple of years now. One poster concerns = <b>acoustic tracking transmitters</b>, which are implanted inside their = bellies (stitches are obvious) -- these transmitters are to track = movements in relation to the in-stream tidal-power installations in = Minas Passage west of Parrsboro. The second poster concerns long = <b>blue tags</b> that are attached externally near the dorsal fin. = If a caught fish with a blue tag is to be kept, remove and save the tag = and send it to Jeremy Broome, Box 11, Acadia Univ., Wolfville, NS B4P = 2R6. If the tagged fish is to be released, just write down to = info' on the tag and then let the fish go back into the water where it = was caught.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY 20, 2010 - 54 Wolfville chimney swifts = </b>counted at Robie Tufts Nature Centre at dusk -- the only time = written was 9:25 p.m. (why?)(Sunset was 8:52 p.m.) -- sky mostly clear, = warm, not much wind -- observer Paula Magwood.</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>JULY = 21, 2010</b> - At home in the late afternoon, I sat on our shaded back = deck, nice and cool, and watched our feeders for perhaps a = half-hour. I saw <b>4 n. cardinals</b>, one an adult male, plus 3 = juvenile females with flesh-coloured beaks. One juvenile had a = crest that swept up vertically from the front of the top of its = head. And the male did not associate in any way with the = independent youngsters. No sign of an adult female for a long time = -- probably she is busy with another set of domestic = chores?</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">Also visiting the feeders were a single adult = <b>purple finch</b> (I know these are regular at other feeders in town), = 3-4 <b>bl.-c. chickadees</b> (a family?), 2 <b>mourning doves</b>, 3 = <b>crows</b>, a single <b>c. grackle</b>, a few <b>song sparrows</b>, = and a <b>downy woodpecker.</b> I'm also hearing <b>red-eyed = vireo</b>,<b> r.-n. pheasant</b> male, and <b>Am. goldfinches</b>, but = the latter are not visiting the feeders (at least not when I am = looking). I haven't seen our occasional <b>chipmunk</b> nor <b>red = squirrel</b> for quite a while now.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: = normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; = "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" = size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">Speaking of squirrels, I = don't think I have reported that Bernard Forsythe saw <b>GRAY = SQUIRRELS</b> in the Kingston area back in June? when he was banding = young barred owls. He reported these at the June 21 Blomidon Nat. = Soc. meeting. He saw 2 of them near Barb & Pat Giffin's home = and one more somewhere else in the Kingston area. I'll have to = find out from Bernard how far apart these two areas = were. </font></div><div><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" = style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br></font></div> </body></html>= --Boundary_(ID_m1wpkBgj45ByjBaHqZQyqw)--
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