147 June to August 2012

THE HALIFAX FIELD NATURALIST No. 147 June to August 2012 In This Issue ...................................................... 2 HFN Field Trips ............................................... 6 Editorial & Nature Notes ................................ 3 Almanac ............................................................ 9 HFN Talks ......................................................... 4 Hfx Tide Table: July to September ...............11 Return address: HFN, c/o NS Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 3A6 1 Summer 2012, #147 is incorporated under the Nova Scotia HFN ADDRESS Societies Act and holds Registered Halifax Field Naturalists, c/o N.S. Museum of Natural History, Charity status with Canada Revenue 1747 Summer St., Hfx, N.S., B3H 3A6 Email: [email protected] HFN Website: halifaxfieldnaturalists.ca Agency. Tax-creditable receipts will be issued for individual and corporate gifts. HFN is an affiliate of Nature Canada and NNS ADDRESS an organisational member of Nature Nova Scotia, the provin- Nature Nova Scotia, c/o N.S. Museum of Natural History, 1747 cial umbrella association for naturalist groups in Nova Sco- Summer St., Halifax, N.S., B3H 3A6 Email: [email protected] (Doug Linzey, NNS Secretary and tia. Objectives are to encourage a greater appreciation and Newsletter Editor) Website: naturens.ca understanding of Nova Scotia’s natural history, both within the EXECUTIVE 2011/2012 membership of HFN and in the public at large, and to represent President Janet Dalton .......................................443-7617 the interests of naturalists by encouraging the conservation of Vice-President Clarence Stevens ...............................864-0802 Nova Scotia’s natural resources. Meetings are held, except for Treasurer Doris Balch .........................................423-3342 July and August, on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 Secretary Richard Beazley .................................429-6626 p.m. in the auditorium of the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural Past President Allan Robertson..................................422-6326 History, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax; they are open to the Directors Grace Beazley, Elliott Hayes, Burkhard Plache, public. Field Trips are held at least once a month; it is appreci- Ingrid Plache, Lillian Risley, Stephanie Robert- ated if those travelling in someone else’s car share the cost of son. the gas. Participants in HFN activities are responsible for their COMMITTEES 2010/2011 own safety. Everyone, member or not, is welcome to take part Membership Lillian Risley ......................................422-8652 in field trips. Memberships are open to anyone interested in Programme Talks/Trips Richard & Grace Beazley ..................429-6626 the natural history of Nova Scotia. Forms are available at any Janet Dalton ......................................443-7617 meeting of the society, or by writing to: Membership Secretary, Elliott Hayes ......................................835-9819 Halifax Field Naturalists, c/o N.S. Museum of Natural History. James Medill .....................................405-7446 Members receive the quarterly HFN Newsletter and HFN Burkhard Plache................................475-1129 Programme, and new memberships received from September Design Stephanie Robertson .......................422-6326 1st to December 31st of any year are valid until the end of the Newsletter following membership year. The regular membership year is Editor & Design Stephanie Robertson ........................422-6326 from January 1st to December 31st. Almanac Patricia Chalmers .............................422-3970 Taxonomy Ursula Grigg ......................................681-1264 Distribution Bernice Moores .................................422-5292 Labels Doug Linzey ......................................582-7176 Tea Break Regine Maass Conservation Bob McDonald...................................443-5051 NNS Rep. Burkhard Plache................................475-1129 YNC Rep. David Patriquin ..................................423-5716 PSAs Jim Medill ..........................................405-7446 Web Design David Patriquin ..................................423-5716 FEES 2010/2011 Student ....................................................................$15.00 per year Individual ................................................................$20.00 per year Family .....................................................................$25.00 per year Supporting .............................................................$30.00 per year NNS (opt.) .................................................................$5.00 per year ✑ Almanac ............................................................9 IN THIS ISSUE Natural Events ..............................................................9 Editorial & Nature Notes ........................................3 Interesting seasonal phenomena .....................................9 From the Editor ............................................................3 Organisational Events .................................................9 Nature Notes – April, May, June ...................................3 Blom. Nat. Soc. – birds, Lady’s Slippers, the Moon ......9 New & Returning – one new member ..........................3 Burke Gaffney Observatory – 1st & 3rd Saturdays ..10 HFN Talks ......................................................................4 Friends of McNab’s Island – picnic; paddle/clean-up . 10 Butterfly Atlas – uncovers the rare Dorcas Copper ......4 N.S. Bird Society – terns, pelagic boat trip ................10 Coyotes in N.S. – human meddling; wolf/coyote hybrids . 4 N.S. Dept. Nat. Resources – Parks for People .........10 HFN Field Trips ...........................................................6 N.S. Museum of Natural History – ...........................10 A Living Building – fresh air - inside! ............................6 N.S. Wild Flora – Moonwort at Conrad’s Beach ........10 Waterfalling – beauty in Colchester County...................7 YNC – fossils at Blue Beach, Annapolis county ..........10 Bluff Trail Paddle – Moose & Bear spoor .....................8 Halifax Tide Table – Jul. to Sept.; all times AST! . 11 GRAPHICS All uncredited illustrations are by H. Derbyshire or from copyright-free sources. P. 8 - mosses, Rosie Vane-Wright; Front Cover - Blue Flags at Bon Portage Island, June 21st; Back Cover - young gull, Bon Portage Island, Allan Robertson, June 22nd. 2 Summer 2012, #147 editorial AND Nature NOTES FROM THE Editor very bright planets, Mars and Jupiter, in the night sky. – Stephanie Robertson Stephanie Robertson saw a Painted Turtle in a pond at Point Pleasant Park (later determined to be an exotic Red Well, we Nova Scotians missed it. Unless there was a Slider by herpetologist John Gilhen), and a Pine Siskin small patch of sun somewhere in the province at around at her bird feeder. Peter Wells was able to photograph a 7:00 p.m., June 5th, (and for six hours onwards), no one Red-bellied Woodpecker at his feeder in February, and saw the very rare transit of Venus across the Sun, which Ian McLaren reported that a Bronzed Cowbird, a very will not occur again until 2117. (At 8:00 p.m. Venus was by rare avian visitor, was being seen at a backyard feeder in then fully in front of the Sun.) Yarmouth. Venusian transits occur in pairs eight years apart, but then, each of those paired transits is separated by roughly MAY – Grace Beazley a century; so, no luck for us, and most probably, not even Bob and Wendy MacDonald made a visit recently to the for our grandchildren. Only six transits have been recorded Avon Peninsula, east of Windsor. It’s an area bordered by in historical records; the last one occurred in 2004, and three rivers. The karsts or limestone rock there has given before that, 1882. rise to a unique set of flora and fauna. They saw Hepatica Astronomers used this event to to take measurements in bloom, which was really rare; Bob has never before which will aid them in finding other earth-sized planets tran- seen more than six to eight plants in his life. Its status is sitting other stars in the universe similar to our Sun. The S1, the most highly-endangered-species category. They measurements can be used also to calculate the distance also saw early- blooming Leatherwort. between Venus and Earth. With this latest transit, Venus Nancy Cunningham reported that she saw a Bear during dimmed the Sun by less than one percent. mid-March in the Indian Point area of Mahone Bay. More locally, in the second week of June, we saw three Gareth Harding saw a pair of Beavers on Williams or four beautiful Canadian Tiger Swallowtails flitting about Lake. He also observed a Painted Turtle and an Osprey, at Whynacht’s Point, and we also spotted another gleaning all in the same area. nectar from one of our rhododendron bushes in Halifax. Lesley Jane Butters was in the process of weeding out Cinquefoil from the river near her house (near Kejimkujik National Park), when she heard an alarming sound like a Nature NOTES derelict truck. She looked around and suddenly observed APRIL – Bob McDonald a swirl of water in her river by her house that churned Dennis Hippern had just returned from Clearwater, up - and rose into a column of water 40 feet high! The Florida, where the general consensus among members of whole episode lasted about 20 seconds, and the river then the local Audubon Society was that there appeared to be returned to normal, except that big waves were generated, little or no

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