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--Apple-Mail-10-426024246 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed MAY 13 2012 - Mother's Day, and Blomidon Naturalists Society Field Trip: CAPE SPLIT WALK I (Walk II will be next Saturday, starting at the trailhead at Scots' Bay at 9 a.m. (BNS with Halifax Field Naturalists) -- Pat Kelly and I, co-leaders, picked up one participant at the Wolfville Wharf at 8:15 a.m., then drove to Scots Bay, where we first checked out the bald eagle nest on Huntley Road behind the Community Centre and Fire Dept.: an adult eagle was sitting on the nest (brooding small chicks? or still incubating? -- later, after 4 p.m., I saw no eagle activity at all at the nest, so it needs to be monitored on future days and weeks. At the trailhead at 9 a.m. we found four more participants, for a total of seven; later an eighth caught up with us on the trail. Present were Patrick Kelly, Jim Wolford, Lynn Hood, Bernard & Sandra Forsythe, Nancy Nickerson, Herman Brunner?, and Heather ? (latter from Halifax). Morning weather was excellent, Sunny and calm and warm; then the afternoon was brightly overcast and still warm, and conditions out at the tip of Cape Split were quite nice and calm. Flowers seen included alder, shadbush or serviceberry, goldthread, red elderberry, Aralia or wild sarsaparilla (just one plant in bloom), American fly-honeysuckle, hordes and hordes of spring beauties, purple/red trilliums (one group of three pale whitish ones seen), toothwort, Dutchman's breeches, rosy twisted-stalk, yellow birch, wild strawberry, blue violets, and common dandelion. The spring beauties were in carpets and all open, thanks to the weather, and extended for at least two-thirds of the walk's distance. In many spots along the way, we saw bumblebees actively foraging on and pollinating the spring beauties. I guessed that the bumblebees were all overwintered queens, in the process of starting up new colonies. Regarding toothwort, a brief search did not turn up the mutant form with differently shaped leaves this year. However, on my return walk I found a few examples of toothwort leaves infected with Albugo cruciferarum whitish rust fungus on their undersides. Nancy also spotted a few stems of spring beauty infested with a yellowish fungus, Puccinia mariae-wilsoniae (fungus names courtesy of Nancy Nickerson). Other plants worthy of mention were the FERNS, which were diverse and mostly in tall unfurling fiddleheads: beech fern, cinnamon fern, lady fern (both green and reddish varieties), wood or spinulose fern, New York fern, and ostrich or fiddlehead fern. The latter fern mostly lives on floodplains, but there are lots of them along the couple of upland kilometres of the tip of the Cape (former Jodrey family property, now a Provincial Park Reserve. Bernard Forsythe and Pat Kelly will make up a bird list, including a couple of winter wrens, purple finch, several black-throated green warblers & overbirds & yellow-rumped warblers, ravens, etc. At the tip of the Cape, it was nice to see a new nesting colony of 20 + nests of double-crested cormorants, after seeing few or none for several years. As usual, there were about 60+ visible nesting/ incubating? great black-backed gulls and at least one nesting herring gull. At the trailhead we saw 1-2 snowshoe hares, and, out near the trail tip, we met two walkers who showed us a photo of a baby hare they found right next to the trail. Other mammals, besides lots of leashed dogs, were several red squirrels and also chipmunks. It was nice to hear the "chuck" notes of the chipmunks and, in one case, see the critter in the act of calling. --Apple-Mail-10-426024246 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII <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"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial"><b>MAY 13 = 2012</b> - Mother's Day, and <b>Blomidon Naturalists Society Field Trip: = CAPE SPLIT WALK I </b>(Walk II will be next Saturday, starting at the = trailhead at Scots' Bay at 9 a.m. (BNS with Halifax Field Naturalists) = -- Pat Kelly and I, co-leaders, picked up one participant at the = Wolfville Wharf at 8:15 a.m., then drove to Scots Bay, where we first = checked out the <b>bald eagle nest</b> on Huntley Road behind the = Community Centre and Fire Dept.: an <b>adult eagle was sitting on the = nest</b> (brooding small chicks? or still incubating? -- later, after 4 = p.m., I saw no eagle activity at all at the nest, so it needs to be = monitored on future days and weeks.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: = 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: = normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; = "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" = style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial">At the trailhead at 9 a.m. we found four = more participants, for a total of seven; later an eighth caught up with = us on the trail. Present were Patrick Kelly, Jim Wolford, Lynn = Hood, Bernard & Sandra Forsythe, Nancy Nickerson, Herman Brunner?, = and Heather ? (latter from Halifax).</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: = normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; = "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" = style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial">Morning weather was excellent, Sunny and = calm and warm; then the afternoon was brightly overcast and still warm, = and conditions out at the tip of Cape Split were quite nice and = calm.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial"><b>Flowers seen = included</b> alder, shadbush or serviceberry, goldthread, red = elderberry, Aralia or wild sarsaparilla (just one plant in bloom), = American fly-honeysuckle, hordes and hordes of spring beauties, = purple/red trilliums (one group of three pale whitish ones seen), = toothwort, Dutchman's breeches, rosy twisted-stalk, yellow birch, wild = strawberry, blue violets, and common dandelion.</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; = min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial">The <b>spring = beauties were in carpets</b> and all open, thanks to the weather, and = extended for at least two-thirds of the walk's distance. In many = spots along the way, we saw<b> bumblebees</b> actively foraging on and = pollinating the spring beauties. I guessed that the bumblebees = were all overwintered queens, in the process of starting up new = colonies.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial"><b>Regarding = toothwort</b>, a brief search did not turn up the mutant form with = differently shaped leaves this year. However, on my return walk I = found a few examples of toothwort leaves infected with <i>Albugo</i> = <i>cruciferarum</i> <b>whitish rust fungus </b>on their = undersides. Nancy also spotted a few <b>stems of spring beauty</b> = infested with a <b>yellowish fungus</b>, <i>Puccinia mariae-wilsoniae = </i>(fungus names courtesy of Nancy Nickerson)</font><font face=3D"Arial" = size=3D"4" color=3D"#00107c" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial; color: = #00107c">.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial">Other plants = worthy of mention were the <b>FERNS</b>, which were diverse and mostly = in tall unfurling fiddleheads: beech fern, cinnamon fern, lady fern = (both green and reddish varieties), wood or spinulose fern, New York = fern, and ostrich or fiddlehead fern. The latter fern mostly lives = on floodplains, but there are lots of them along the couple of upland = kilometres of the tip of the Cape (former Jodrey family property, now a = Provincial Park Reserve.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: = 13.0px Arial">Bernard Forsythe and Pat Kelly will make up a<b> bird = list</b>, including a couple of winter wrens, purple finch, several = black-throated green warblers & overbirds & yellow-rumped = warblers, ravens, etc.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: = 13.0px Arial">At the tip of the Cape, it was nice to see a <b>new = nesting colony of 20+ nests of double-crested cormorants</b>, after = seeing few or none for several years. As usual, there were about = 60+ visible <b>nesting/incubating? great black-backed gulls</b> and at = least one nesting<b> herring gull</b>.</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; = min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Arial" size=3D"4" style=3D"font: 13.0px Arial">At the trailhead = we saw 1-2<b> snowshoe hares</b>, and, out near the trail tip, we met = two walkers who showed us a photo of a <b>baby hare</b> they found right = next to the trail. Other mammals, besides lots of leashed dogs, = were several <b>red squirrels</b> and also <b>chipmunks</b>. It = was nice to hear the "chuck" notes of the chipmunks and, in one case, = see the critter in the act of calling.</font></div> </body></html>= --Apple-Mail-10-426024246--
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