Halifax Field Naturalists

Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society AGM. Keynote speaker: Sean Blaney on Rare plants of the Lahave River Lunenburg Co. & Pollets Cove/Blair River Cape Breton. All welcome. Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Auditorium, N.S. Museum of Natural History, Summer St., Halifax

Two speakers are touring Canada to educate consumers about the history of, and the effects of, genetically modified foods. They will be speaking in Halifax on April 24th at the Dalhousie Potter Auditorium, Rowe Building at 7:00 p.m. Entrance to the event will be by donation. Continue reading →

In a submission to the N.S. Hydraulic Fracturing Panel, Dr. Barrie Clarke lays out some of the processes involved in movement of fracking fluids and concludes “Poisoning of the groundwater again in Nova Scotia could, therefore, become the undesirable 2114 legacy of a fracking time-bomb set in 2014.” Read more

Come and enjoy an early spring hike in one of Nova Scotia’s Provincial Parks. Located on Grand Lake, this park was extensively renovated in 2011, and Shirley McIntyre, a long-time HFN member, will lead you through it. (Note it was originally scheduled for Saturday with Sun as rain date.. so now it’s set for Sunday.) Read more

Have you heard a squeaky-hinge song lately, or seen a flash of rust-tipped feathers under a bright yellow eye? Although occasionally overlooked as “just another blackbird,” Rusty Blackbirds face an unfortunate and remarkable notoriety: this species has endured a decline more severe than that of any other once-common landbird – 85-95% in the past 40 years. The Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz challenges birders to scour the landscape for Rusty Blackbirds during this species’ northward migration. Read more

From EAC: Why Are Our Birds Dying? By Dr. Richard Elliot, Director of Wildlife Research, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada. Last year, Dr. Elliot authored a paper which listed the main causes of bird mortality, from windows to pesticides. The top cause was cats, with the authors estimating that anywhere from 190 to 400 million birds are killed each year in Canada by cats. Join us at 7:00pm on April 16, 2014 at Saint Mary’s University Scotiabank Theatre to learn more! For more information, contact Mark Butler at EAC 429-5287 or www.ecologyaction.ca/alliedcats.

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after being absent nearly 70 years, something astounding happened. View Video

At our regular monthly meeting, Peter and Gillian Webster will talk about their June, 2013 trip to the Masai Mara, Serengeti, and other national parks in Kenya and Tanzania. Continue reading →

RINGING HERE & THERE: A NATURE CALENDAR
By Brian Bartlett
Book Launch & Reading Tues, Apr 15, 7:00 pm
Spring Garden Road Memorial Library
Continue reading →

This talk by Dal ornithologist Cindy Stacier to the NS Bird Society will be of interest to many HFNers. “There are 5 species of Landbirds at risk which breed in the forested landscapes of Nova Scotia: Canada Warbler, Chimney Swift, Common Nighthawk, Olive-sided Flycatcher and Rusty Blackbird. This talk will present a summary of their status, population, trends, life history, ecology, threats to their populations and habitat stewardship actions that can help conserve their populations. ” 7:30 pm at N.S. Museum of Natural History on Summer Street.

The Backlands, sometimes known as the Pucell’s Cove Backlands, are lands enclosed by Herring Cove and Purcell’s Cove Roads, extending from Williams Lake at the northwest to Power’s Pond at the southeast. Protecting as much as possible of the Backlands would add an important chunk to the set of protected areas and parks on the Chebucto Peninsula. The Board of the Halifax Field Naturalists recently voted in favour of becoming a member of the Backlands Coalition, becoming one of the ten founding members. See Backlands Coalition website for more about the coalition.

A snowy-owl bonanza, thanks to a stubby-legged Arctic rodent: the lemming. Article by
Darryl Fears for the Washington Post Guardian Weekly, Monday 24 February 2014. Read article