next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
face=3D"Helvetica Hi Jim & All, I very much enjoy reading yours and everyone's nature reports here on NatureNS and am also, very intrigued with the accounts of your trips with the Fosters. I certainly have always enjoyed their many previous nature programs on TV. Hopefully we'll see one highlighting their trip here to our NS coastline on The Nature Of Things or on a TV Nature Special sometime in the future. As for your poor ankle, what bit or stung you & why, I have no idea...most insects couldn't care less but there are some that, either want to sample your blood, or retaliate in some way if you have annoyed it in some way(regardless if you are aware of it or not)... Rub some Benedryl (or reasonable similar antihistamine) cream on it, or better still, if it flairs up again (& they sometimes do) get the pills as they really are much more affective. Hope it clears up soon! Sincerely, Gayle MacLean Dartmouth ---- "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> wrote: > AUG. 19, 2011 - My ankle sting from yesterday (yellowjacket wasp?) > continues to hurt and itch, despite several applications of calamine > lotion last night. It's not debilitating nor very swollen. BUT > later, 24 hours after the sting or bite, my whole right foot is very > swollen compared to my svelte left foot! Pat is wondering if I > should be taking something for it? I think I'm fine, not debilitated > at all, except that it's hard to get my right beach-walking rubber- > bottom shoe onto that foot. > > I forgot something relevant to roosting shorebirds: about two days > ago Raymond Parker told me he had been kayaking or canoeing in the > St. Croix River at Windsor during high tide recently; and about 1 km. > upstream from Windsor, he encountered large flocks of small > shorebirds or peeps (uncounted). > > I went to Evangeline Beach, the canteen area & parking lot etc., to > look for flocks of peeps 1.5 hours before high tide -- today's > daytime high tide was 5:15 p.m. with an amplitude of 11.0 metres > (mediocre). According to two visitors, I had just missed a good > "show" of lots of the flying and roosting peeps, but then they flew > away toward the east and out of sight. At the time, there was still > beach available for roosting, but scattered humans in the water of > the incoming tide probably made it difficult for the shorebirds to > land and rest there. > > Thus I drove east to Jean Merks' house on the shore of the eastern > part of Evangeline Beach, and, at one hour before high tide, there on > the very wide beach just west of her house was a large and very quiet > roost or "gray carpet" of an estimated 20,000 peeps. There were no > human fishers nor recreators, so at least today it was a great place > for them to stay and rest. > > Jean has lots of nice flowers and active feeders, and while I was at > the house I was buzzed loudly by a hummingbird, a male, that was > clearly defending his area of a hanging fuchsia plant full of > blossoms. It seems very late now for such territorial behaviour on > the part of any male. Also there were lots of goldfinches. I should > add here that Jean Merks' property is private, but I have access by > knowing here for quite a few years. > > Then I checked out Penny Beach south of Avonport Beach at 0.5 hr. > before high tide, and I saw scattered human fishers and recreators > along the narrow beach there and, out over the water, a flying flock > of perhaps 2000 peeps heading east toward Horton Bluff. > > I thought those flying peeps might have been going to roost on Blue > Beach, but today there was no big roost there, at high tide. There > were 8-10 fishers for striped bass there, and a small group of 23 > semipalmated plovers and 13 semipalmated sandpipers landed on the > shore. And I saw a couple of other small flying flocks of peeps. > The fishers had been catching only occasional non-keeper bass up to > 14 inches (35 cm.) long. > > Lastly, as usual during the high-tide period, there were about 20 > double-crested cormorants that crosses the Gaspereau River north of > the Highway 101 bridge over the same river. And those cormorants can > be fairly closely viewed and photographed at the end of a 2-km. road > that goes east from the area of the Hortonville Just Us! Coffee > Roastery. > > For anyone who wishes to find my usual place of public access to East > Evangeline Beach: At Grand Pre drive north on the paved road across > the dykelands to the T-junction, turn right and look for Pheasant > Road. Turn left and drive north to Sandpiper Lane, and then go right > or east for about 200 metres, where you will see a break in the trees > among the cottages. Park there, scramble onto the beach carefully, > then either walk to the east past Jean Merks' home and to the end of > the trees (best about 1 to 1.5 hours after high tide), or, before > high tide, walk west to get to the motel and canteen and viewing > platform area -- often at about 2 hrs. before high tide, there are > large numbers of flying and roosting shorebirds. If approached very > slowly, you can get very close to the birds and they will not even > notice you if you pick a nice rock for just sitting. > > This evening Pat & I had a nice supper and spirited conversation with > Janet & John Foster at Paddy's Pub in Wolfville, and then Pat & I > went to the Whittle Theatre for a play, "The Vigil". > ------------------------- > > AUG. 20, 2011 - My stung right ankle and foot got very stiff along > with its swollen, itchy, and achy condition overnight, but by this > morning I could walk again with it all right. The calamine lotion > did nothing to relieve any of those symptoms, and I continue to > wonder about what kind of critter stung me and why. > > This might be the end of my long reports on the shorebirds for now, > since the Fosters drove to Moncton today and then will fly back to > their farm between Toronto and Ottawa. > > Cheers from Jim in Wolfville.
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects