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It's nice to read postings by members such as Andrew Steeves about
flying squirrels and fisher sightings. They are forest dwelling species
that I often think about when knowing that forests are being chopped
down during both day and night. My father had once cut down a large
hemlock tree that threatened a cottage structure, and the owners wanted
it felled. As the tree was being felled, several flying squirrels came
dashing out. Dad felt badly about destroying their nest cavity, knowing
that it might not be easy to find another shelter in the dead of
winter. Of course this happens everyday/night these days, but harvest
operators are not able to notice as much from "the seat", though some
have told me about flying squirrels leaping about in mature forest at
night as they are chopping and processing. I am not sure if they draw
the link to their activities. Perhaps.
Fisher sightings seem to be higher in some locations presently. Perhaps
they are now crammed into the last bits of forest cover. I saw a set of
tracks going along the lake edge of Corbett Lake in December, this small
patch of natural forest slated for cutting this spring apparently.
Years ago in NB, there was a sudden increase in the reporting of "black
panthers" from local folks who had clearly seen a large animal with a
long tail and a cat-like walk. Given their habit of following a circuit,
the sightings were predictable and regular in certain places. I was
able to piece together that the "black panthers" were fisher sightings.
The following year, one was caught in a trap outside the park. Perhaps
fisher are not as exciting as panther (cougar) sightings (for believers
or otherwise), but nonetheless it's uncommon sighting and notable.
Shortly thereafter, we noted a drop in a very high porcupine population.
I appreciated reading the article forwarded by Nancy Dowd written by
Barry Sabean who has since retired from Kentville Wildlife, DNR. The
statement of particular importance:
/Mixed forests with a wide variety of tree species makes good fisher
habitat. Although abundance of prey is important, they require *large
areas of continuous overhead cover* and suitable denning sites such as
hollow trees./
The department seems to no longer give this kind of management
consideration to such wildlife, with regards to maintaining "large areas
of continuous overhead cover"; unable to do this with the current
management approaches and mindset in place. Let's hope the fisher are
able to hang on, along with forest songbirds and other species that
require continuous canopy, mature forests.
Donna Crossland
On 2019-03-03 5:36 p.m., nancy dowd wrote:
> Agree wholeheartedly with your comments. After I read of your Fisher
> sighting I looked them up to find out more. This older but very
> informative article gives some background- extirpation,
> reintroductions. . Wonder how the overall population has fared since?
> You are fortunate to have one nearby (and maybe fewer porcupines).
>
> https://novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/conserva/fishers.asp
>
> Nancy D
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Mar 3, 2019, at 10:26 AM, Andrew Steeves <andrew@gaspereau.com
> <mailto:andrew@gaspereau.com>> wrote:
>
>> It’s not that uncommon for me to see the markings that their landings
>> make in the snow, but I don’t often get to see flying squirrels in
>> action, I assume largely because they are nocturnal. So I was pretty
>> thrilled to see one gliding across the road last night just as the
>> snow was starting, maybe 20 feet ahead of me. It must have leapt off
>> a pretty high branch and caught a good draft because it made it all
>> the way across the road, from the tree line on one side to the tree
>> line on the other. It was gliding at a pretty shallow angle when it
>> passed me, perhaps 10 feet off the ground. I have no idea which of
>> the two species it was (I understand we have both here in the
>> Gaspereau Valley). This occurred on Davison Street (a rural road with
>> a rather urban sounding name) near Jake Reid Road, Kings County.
>>
>> Another interesting recent sighting of note was of a Fisher along the
>> Gaspereau River near the White Rock. I have seen a Fisher in that
>> same spot multiple years running. Very dark coloration, almost black.
>>
>> I don’t post to this list as often as I should. I appreciate those
>> who do post here regularly. These local reports help us to understand
>> what is going on in other neighbourhoods of the province as well as
>> our own. The protection of our natural world relies not only on the
>> wonder and respect of the citizens who engage with it, but also on
>> the ability of those citizens to communicate that wonder and respect
>> to the rest of society.
>>
>> Andrew Steeves
>> Black River, Kings Co.
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<font size="+1" face="Calibri"><span style="display: inline
!important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color:
rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12.26px; font-style: normal;
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word-spacing: 0px;"></span></font>
<p><font size="+1"><font face="Arial">It's nice to read postings by
members such as Andrew Steeves about flying squirrels and
fisher sightings. They are forest dwelling species that I
often think about when knowing that forests are being chopped
down during both day and night. My father had once cut down a
large hemlock tree that threatened a cottage structure, and
the owners wanted it felled. As the tree was being felled,
several flying squirrels came dashing out. Dad felt badly
about destroying their nest cavity, knowing that it might not
be easy to find another shelter in the dead of winter. Of
course this happens everyday/night these days, but harvest
operators are not able to notice as much from "the seat",
though some have told me about flying squirrels leaping about
in mature forest at night as they are chopping and
processing. I am not sure if they draw the link to their
activities. Perhaps.<br>
</font></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><font face="Arial">Fisher sightings seem to be
higher in some locations presently. Perhaps they are now
crammed into the last bits of forest cover. I saw a set of
tracks going along the lake edge of Corbett Lake in December,
this small patch of natural forest slated for cutting this
spring apparently. <br>
</font></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><font face="Arial">Years ago in NB, there was a
sudden increase in the reporting of "black panthers" from
local folks who had clearly seen a large animal with a long
tail and a cat-like walk. Given their habit of following a
circuit, the sightings were predictable and regular in certain
places. I was able to piece together that the "black
panthers" were fisher sightings. The following year, one was
caught in a trap outside the park. Perhaps fisher are not as
exciting as panther (cougar) sightings (for believers or
otherwise), but nonetheless it's uncommon sighting and
notable. Shortly thereafter, we noted a drop in a very high
porcupine population. <br>
</font></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><font face="Arial">I appreciated reading the
article forwarded by Nancy Dowd written by Barry Sabean who
has since retired from Kentville Wildlife, DNR. The statement
of particular importance: <br>
</font></font></p>
<p><i><font size="+3"><span style="display: inline !important;
float: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0,
0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 12.26px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: 0.36px; line-height: 14.72px; text-align:
left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mixed forests with
a wide variety of tree species makes good fisher habitat.
Although abundance of prey is important, they require <b>large
areas of continuous overhead cover</b> and suitable
denning sites such as hollow trees.</span></font></i></p>
<p><font size="+1"><font face="Arial">The department seems to no
longer give this kind of management consideration to such
wildlife, with regards to maintaining "large areas of
continuous overhead cover"; unable to do this with the current
management approaches and mindset in place. </font></font><span
style="display: inline !important; float: none;
background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:
Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12.26px;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: 0.36px; line-height: 14.72px; orphans: 2;
text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font size="+1"><font
face="Arial">Let's hope the fisher are able to hang on,
along with forest songbirds and other species that require
continuous canopy, mature forests.</font></font></span></p>
<p><span style="display: inline !important; float: none;
background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:
Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12.26px;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: 0.36px; line-height: 14.72px; orphans: 2;
text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font size="+1"><font
face="Arial"><br>
</font></font></span></p>
<p><span style="display: inline !important; float: none;
background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:
Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12.26px;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400;
letter-spacing: 0.36px; line-height: 14.72px; orphans: 2;
text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font size="+1"><font
face="Arial">Donna Crossland<br>
</font></font></span></p>
<p><span style="display: inline !important; float: none;
background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:
Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12.26px;
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400;
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</span></p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2019-03-03 5:36 p.m., nancy dowd
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:529603C2-A796-4918-AD72-B99006F73F48@gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
Agree wholeheartedly with your comments. After I read of your
Fisher sighting I looked them up to find out more. This older but
very informative article gives some background- extirpation,
reintroductions. . Wonder how the overall population has fared
since? You are fortunate to have one nearby (and maybe fewer
porcupines).
<div><br>
</div>
<div><a
href="https://novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/conserva/fishers.asp"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/conserva/fishers.asp</a>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Nancy D<br>
<br>
<div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr">Sent from my iPad</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
On Mar 3, 2019, at 10:26 AM, Andrew Steeves <<a
href="mailto:andrew@gaspereau.com" moz-do-not-send="true">andrew@gaspereau.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="WordSection1">It’s not that uncommon for me
to see the markings that their landings make in the
snow, but I don’t often get to see flying squirrels in
action, I assume largely because they are nocturnal.
So I was pretty thrilled to see one gliding across the
road last night just as the snow was starting, maybe
20 feet ahead of me. It must have leapt off a pretty
high branch and caught a good draft because it made it
all the way across the road, from the tree line on one
side to the tree line on the other. It was gliding at
a pretty shallow angle when it passed me, perhaps 10
feet off the ground. I have no idea which of the two
species it was (I understand we have both here in the
Gaspereau Valley). This occurred on Davison Street (a
rural road with a rather urban sounding name) near
Jake Reid Road, Kings County.</div>
<div class="WordSection1"><br>
</div>
<div class="WordSection1">Another interesting recent
sighting of note was of a Fisher along the Gaspereau
River near the White Rock. I have seen a Fisher in
that same spot multiple years running. Very dark
coloration, almost black.</div>
<div class="WordSection1"><br>
</div>
<div class="WordSection1">I don’t post to this list as
often as I should. I appreciate those who do post here
regularly. These local reports help us to understand
what is going on in other neighbourhoods of the
province as well as our own. The protection of our
natural world relies not only on the wonder and
respect of the citizens who engage with it, but also
on the ability of those citizens to communicate that
wonder and respect to the rest of society.</div>
<div class="WordSection1"><br>
</div>
<div class="WordSection1">Andrew Steeves</div>
<div class="WordSection1">Black River, Kings Co.</div>
</div>
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