May 25 2009 - The Aurora Newspaper

Page 8Lake Pleasant CampersClub • Cabin Rentalto make your stay a pleasant one.To book the cabin:Call 902-547-2882Bookings can be of 2 weeks duration.Check in time – 1300 hrsCheck out time – 1100 hrsMay 25, 2009For the BirdsBy: Patrick Giffin19 May 09In Kingston, AnnetteBourgeois saw a bird,approximately the size of anAmerican Goldfinch, with agreenish/yellow body and agrey looking throat andhead. It ignored the seedsthat other birds were takingfrom feeders and from theground; instead it appearedto be investigating anunoccupied Nest Box.Referring to, “Birds of NorthAmerica”, a Golden FieldGuide, Annette thought thisindividual was most like aConnecticut Warbleralthough she had notnoticed an eye-ring; thisspecies would beconsidered a very raresighting for NS. Wediscussed the possibility ofit being a Mourning Warbler:without further details weleft it at that. Referring to theMourning Warbler, RichardStern commented; “We getthem in thick, tangled, 2ndgrowth, bushy areas on theN. Mountain, e.g. at Baxter’sHarbor, and Blomidon Prov.Park. They are usually oneof the latest Spring migrantsto arrive. They generallystay low, and skulk, and arehard to see.” Perhaps thisindividual was investigatingthe nest box and area insearch of insects which areits preferred food. Aftercapturing an insect theMourning Warbler removesits wings and legs, thenswallows the body whole!Bug Sushi!In woodland near his cottageat Trout Lake, GeraldKeil was startled when a largebird took off at very closerange. At the base of a tree,near the water’s edge, he discovereda grassy, nest linedwith feathers and down, containing10, large, white, eggslarger than a domestic, hen’segg. Based on nest location,number, size and colour ofthe eggs, the size and colourof the departing bird we expectGerald has discovereda nest belonging to a CanadaThe cabin sleeps four (two double beds plussofa) and consists of a kitchen complete withfridge and stove, hot and cold water, electric heat,living room, patio deck, outside fire pit, and agreat view of the lake. The kitchen is set up withan electric kettle, toaster, microwave, cutlery,dishes including mugs, glasses, bowls, potsand pans.The only items you must provide includebedding, food and other convenience itemsMembers with Rec Card:$35.00 per night$210.00 per week (Monday to Sunday)Non Members:$40.00 per night$240.00 per weekwww.lakepleasant.caGoose. UFN surveillance willbe at long range, with binoculars.Recently, Barbaraand I have had the pleasureof watching a Canada Goosefamily, with 6 offspring atArthur Uhlman’s pond.Tony Chaulk’s NSMCcount day highlights were:Rose-breasted Grosbeak,male, Ruby-throated Hummingbird,Tree Swallow andPurple Finch. NSMC Coordinator,Sheila Hulford reported,“Very few birds ofprey were seen: 1 Bald Eagle,a Harrier, a Red-tailedhawk and a Sharpie. At theshore, 213 Black Scoters wereobserved, along with CommonEiders and other scoters.As for warblers: Yellow, Yellow-rumped,Chestnut-sided,Palm, Black-throated Green,Parula, Black and White,Nashville, Ovenbird, andNorthern Waterthrush. Therewere plenty of finches, sparrows,one Northern Cardinal,one Bobolink, two RedCrossbills, a Rusty Blackbird,and 50 A. Robins on aNictaux driveway.”In Kingston, ourneighbours Ross and Jillarrived home at about 2230.In their headlights, in a treenear the end of theirdriveway, they saw a pair ofOwls. Ross returned to hisoffice to get a camera: a 10minute drive: the owls werenot disturbed by theirpresence or by the camera’sflash. The owl’s appeared tobe kissing. Bernard Forsytheadvised us that the “kissing”is part of the pair bondingexhibited by this specieswhich mate for life. It is alsopossible that the male couldhave been feeding the female.Nesting takes place this timeof year and the female will notleave the nest unless calledby her mate to receive foodthat he has obtained. Duringthe nesting phase and rearingof the offspring, the adult,male’s sole responsibility isto gather food for the entirefamily. Of 18 owl, nest boxes,monitored by Bernard, only5 have eggs: this is directlySubmitted by: EricMacKenzie, 14 WingCommunity CentreWho’s excited for summercamp? We are! Here at the 14Wing Greenwood CommunityCentre, our summer camp14 Wing GreenwoodSearch & RescueSpotters Volunteers List413 Squadron CASARA office will be running a MilitarySpotters course in the next few months. This willbe to act as a vital part of 413 Squadron during actualsearches as a spotter. You would be required to fly onthe Hercules and Cormorant. You must be a CF member(Regular or Reserve). For more information or ifinterested, please call Sgt. Al Daigle at local 3113 andleave a message.Under The Story TreeTuesday May 26this our last Story Tree forthe season at 14 Wing Library.To register your little ones please phone765-1494 local 5430.The Aurora Newspaper, 14 Wing Greenwood, NSrelated to the shortage offood resulting from the depthof snow this winter. Thefollowing day, in thesewoods, we saw a number ofNorthern Parula, Ovenbirdsand a female, Brown-headedCowbird. At our feeders wehad Red Crossbills, PurpleFinches, Rose BreastedGrosbeaks, ChippingSparrows, a White-throatedSparrow and CommonGrackles.In Middleton, at AdoraParson’s feeders there were,male Northern Cardinal, m, f,Ruby-throatedHummingbirds, a f, RosebreastedGrosbeak and aRobin building a nest onHerb’s Ham Radio Antenna.Low power UFN.Helene Van Doninck,DVM, at the Cobequid WildlifeRehabilitation Centre reports,“CW is still with us butas I suspected the flightfeathers all dropped off of theinjured wing along with someskin. I need to grabher tomorrow to make surecoordinators are busy planning8 fun filled weeks ofsummer camps. Day Campand French Camp will be offeredfor children ages 6-12years old and Sports Campfor children ages 9-14 yearsnone of the bone went withit. Otherwise she is eating upa storm and seems happy.”From Trout Lake, TedKajdas reports: “Femalehummers have arrived. Righton schedule, one week afterthe males had staked outterritorial boundaries wehave 4f, 3m, hummers at camp.I suspect there may be morehowever they won’t stay stilllong enough. At one feederit appears that a maturefemale and I suspect lastyear’s sibling feed together.The two feeders on the eastside of camp are reserved forfemales only, while the othertwo on the south side are forthe male species. The male,Purple Finches are in fullcourting colours. It isinteresting to watch one maleperform his vaudeville dancefor a female friend at one ofour platform feeders. Seemsto me this ritual is alsoperformed by the humanspecies during their youngeryears. We are at 765-8688,p_giffin@hotmail.comSummer Day CampsJust Around the Corner!old. Please note that due tothe last day of school onMonday, June 29 th , this willbe the new date of the SummerKick-Off Party and thefirst day of camp will be onTuesday, June 30 th . Thecamps will continue all summerlong Monday to Fridayfrom 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. andwill wrap up on August 21 st .A before care service will beavailable beginningat 7:30a.m. and anafter careserviceuntil 4:30p.m. foran additional cost.Please note therewill be no camp onJuly 1 st and August 3 rd . Registrationfor all camps will beginon Wednesday, June 17 that 9:00 a.m. at the 14 WingCommunity Centre. Pleasenote this change from lastweek’s article. Spaces arelimited and fill up quickly ona first come first serve basis.We have tons of new ideasand are currently planningweekly themes and activitiesthat we will share once theyhave been confirmed as wellas camp prices in theupcoming editions of TheAurora Newspaper.For more information, updatesand changes you canalso call the Community Centreat 765-1494 ext. 5341, 5337,or 5331.