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panose --001a1140222adf409c0535f6ae50 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable We can't claim it, Donna. Ontario already has it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DqjLBXb1kgMo Rick Whitman On 23 June 2016 at 15:00, Donna Crossland <dcrossland@eastlink.ca> wrote: > Thanks, John, for offering the thought of blackflies being keystone > species. Being a non-aquatic person, I hadn=E2=80=99t thought of their f= iltering > abilities and incorporating organic matter. Do you think we=E2=80=99d g= et very > far offering the black fly as a new and official provincial insect of ou= r > wonderful province? Ha, ha. > > > > Donna > > > > *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto: > naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] *On Behalf Of *John Kearney > *Sent:* June-23-16 8:25 AM > *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > *Subject:* RE: [NatureNS] absence of insects > > > > As always Donna, you have given an excellent explanation of the possible > effects of forestry on Black Fly populations. In addition to the lack of > food for birds resulting from fewer flies, the Black Fly larvae are an > important food source for fish and the larvae of larger aquatic insects > such as mayflies and damselflies. As filter feeders, the Black Fly larvae > play a crucial role in incorporating organic matter into the aquatic food > chain. As filter feeders, they could also serve as indicator species for > aquatic pollution, and in Nova Scotia especially, for mercury pollution. > The adult male Black Fly, which feeds on nectar, may even play some role = in > pollination. Here we have a species that is crucial to both aquatic and > terrestrial ecosystems. Certainly the Black Fly is a keystone forest > species. > > John > > > > *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [ > mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>] *On > Behalf Of *Donna Crossland > *Sent:* June-22-16 19:20 > *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > *Subject:* [NatureNS] absence of insects > > > > In response to Susann=E2=80=99s question regarding whether other birders = have > noticed a lack of insects: I=E2=80=99ve noticed the past couple of years= that > black flies seem to =E2=80=98not be what they used to be=E2=80=99. Most= ly, the season > seems to be noticeably abbreviated. Also the past two spring have witnes= s > very cold temperatures in the mornings (last Saturday there was a frost a= t > Milford House and only 4 C when I arrived at 5:20 am). I measure the > temperature at every bird survey post and notice that 10-11 C is required > before I need to put on some bug deterrent. By then, on most mornings > until the warm temps of this week, I=E2=80=99ve pretty well completed the= bird > survey. > > > > Earlier this spring, some of the fishermen were commenting that the > blackflies were biting just like in the old days. Things started out > =E2=80=98normally=E2=80=99 enough, but then we hit the prolonged cold sna= p and waters were > rapidly dropping, too. The blackflies quickly became less of an issue. > > > > I=E2=80=99m not a bug expert, but I grew up in one of the buggiest areas = of the > province. My theory with the black fly is that it=E2=80=99s traditionall= y > successful life cycle in NS has been altered somewhat from the rampant > levels of deforestation. On private lands, it seems that operations have > reverted back to cutting right up to the stream edges with no trees > remaining (I=E2=80=99ve got photos of last winter=E2=80=99s cuts in the s= outhwest). Even > where buffers are left as per legal requirements, the lack of trees > remaining on the rest of the landscape serve to let streams rapidly fill > after a rain and then empty quickly, rather than retain moderate flows fr= om > filtering through forests. For the black fly, if waters keep running mor= e > will emerge, but streams are now drying up more quickly than before when > our great Acadian forest blanketed the landscape. The black fly season i= s > shortened. > > > > Also bear in mind that breeding success of black flies is sensitive to > water pollution in streams (which may be relevant to some areas of our > great province). > > > > Most folks will herald the shorter black fly season, but I=E2=80=99ve bec= ome more > reflective about our migrant birds now than I used to be. Neotropical > birds have been coming to this land solely for its =E2=80=9Cbugs=E2=80= =9D and the > remarkable =E2=80=98forest habitats=E2=80=99 found here for centuries! W= hat are we > indirectly doing to their precious food supply needed to feed young birds= ? > (I won=E2=80=99t go into habitat issues.) When I watch the chimney swift= s and tree > swallows flying around, I wonder how things are going for them and their > progeny... > > > > Donna Crossland > > > > > > *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [ > mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>] *On > Behalf Of *rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca > *Sent:* June-20-16 8:48 AM > *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > *Subject:* Re: [NatureNS] Golden-crowned Kinglet family group > > > > Maybe birders are noticing a lack of insects Susann! > > but anglers seem not in agreement but maybe birders > > blood is not in this year! Just like wine. > > Enjoy the last days of spring > > Paul > > > > On June 20, 2016 at 7:02 AM Susann Myers <myerss@eastlink.ca> wrote: > > Pat McKay and I did some woods birding yesterday along the Old Mineville > Road, a very quiet rough track that runs between West Porters Lake and > Mineville, HRM. In one area there were a lot of Golden-crowned Kinglet > calls, and we saw a group of more than 4 kinglets flitting around in the > woods together, feeding and calling. We couldn't get a good enough look = to > confirm fledgling plumage, but this appeared to be a family group. > > > > A little research confirmed that this is the right season for a first > brood of fledglings to be out of the nest and moving about with their > parents. Tufts gives April 16 for the average start of nesting on > Wolfville Ridge, and roughly mid-May for the completion of egg laying. *= The > Birders' Handbook* indicates that incubation takes 14-15 days, and > fledging another 14-19; it also indicates that this kinglet typically has= 2 > broods. > > > > Also notable were a good showing of butterflies and a lack of other flyin= g > insects - no black flies, and the only mosquitoes that bothered us were a= t > a salt marsh in the early morning, where we went to hear Sora. Although > the day became windy, there wa