I found two yellow-crowned night herons at Crescent Beach in the same spot as the last two years. By house number 28 and 4930. There was an immature little blue heron in the pond beside the road at Dublin Shore.
James R. Hirtle
LaHave
An acquaintance has been finding wings
of Luna Moth around their place (Cape Breton).
Is this a sign of predation?
If so, would bats be a possibility? - Or Nighthawks?
Thanks,
Burkhard
Sam Bissix and her mother Sue, had TWO Little Brown Bats flying around their
Kencrest Ave home in Wolfville. They had reported a single bat there on Aug
10, and are enthused about now seeing a second one join the first one. Sam
has reported both sightings to Nova Scotia Bat Conservation.
Judy Tufts
>>>>>>>>
Judy Tufts
Wolfville
<<<<<<<<
Dear All,
   While having an afternoon snack in the yard yesterday at a plastic
table with cranberry cocktail with a bit of white sugar to wash down
crackers I was visited by yellowjackets who tried to walk down the
inside of the glass and usually ended up swimming. So I rescued the
swimmers and spooned about 10 ml onto the table surface.
   When a wasp was feeding at a puddle large enough to feed many it
would at first viciously attack any wasp who tried to join it and they
would both try to sting each other while flying a foot or so above the
table doing impressive flight stunts.
   There seemed to be some learning involved because after several
such violent encounters the usual reaction, when an arriving wasp was
about to land nearby, was to simply take off and circle around it as it
landed or flew off, seemingly to not be caught in a vulnerable position;
the worst apparently being on the table. And today there were no violent
reactions and often up to five feeding in a saucer sized area.
   Their feeding gave me an opportunity to watch this up close many
times. When drinking, the two or three terminal abdominal segments
appeared to be rapidly withdrawn and then rapidly extended a very small
amount so the overall impression was a quivering up and down of the end
of the abdomen.
   I gather this is a mechanism for drawing liquid into the digestive
tract via the mouth.
YT, DW, Kentville
Hi ALL:
Barbara McLean and I found an adult little blue heron today at Shore Drive in Blue Rocks. It is moving between the ponds on the shoreline.
James R. Hirtle
LaHave
Hello list:
I have a cocoon of small (3/4 inch) worms making a cocoon (like spider
web material) in my quince tree. Urban Dartmouth. The cocoon is
expanding daily, and the worms seem to be leaving small (about 1 mm)
black dots, and brown leaves.
So my bewilderment is, should I
*) cut all the affected branches off and put them in the green bin
*) let the system (whatever it is) mature, and maybe provide food
for whatever birds happen to come by.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
Douglas.
I know it is late posting and the bird is likely long gone. I had a flycatcher calling repeatedly at Kenny Road on Cape Sable Island on Aug. 5. It was the definite call of a willow flycatcher. By the time I thought that I should be making a recording of the call to confirm it, the bird conveniently stopped calling altogether. I only have a bad photo of it. I put it down as a result as an alder flycatcher even though I know that it was not. I've listened to the calls on Audubon/Cornell and they match exactly the bird that I heard calling for the willow flycatcher.
James R. Hirtle
LaHave
Last evening around 11 pm, my indoor Cat , Buster, who patrols his indoor
property constantly became very excited and called for back up by knocking
once a chair and shoving things off the desk downstairs as he tried to get
closer to what I describe as a "Glow." It was about 4' from the window,
tucked into the grass (well weeds here) and not very large. maybe 2-3"
irregularly. I looked about to see what it could be. It did not appear to be
a bit of light coming from next door. I could find no explanation for it
with light from my windows.
It was very still but radiated out with a softer and softer light toward the
outer edge.
I did not go out to check. I went to get the camera but it was gone when I
returned.
This am I went to check. I think I found the approximate area. It is a bit
of almost bald dirt with a Queen Anne's Lace stem coming, a hole and a
spider web with a tunnel. I know we have Fireflies but this would have had
to be a huge one.
Before you ask I was and am not taking anything that could bend my mind in
any way. So that in mind, any idea what was happening there? It does happen
to be in an area with a lot of Ant traffic. We live in an ant hill.
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tunes without the words
And never stops–at all." (Emily Dickinson)
