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NEWFOUNDLA ~D ;r-.;ATVR AL m STOH Y socn T J

THE

OSPREY Vol . 9 I~o . 3 l'ovember 1978

Leac h I s St or m- petr el ••••••••••••••••••••••• 7·':l

Bird News •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 79

Nature SPN ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 80

Flor a News ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 82

Nak1 ng Blueberry Nine •••••••••••••••••••••• 85

The Ugly Goat11ng • •••••••••••••••••••••••• • 8~

;';oveoher t~eet1ng

( f a BE ANNCiUl\C : i j i

1'hursday , t.ovember 16 , at 8 : 15 p . lll o At Cxen r'ond

THE NEWFOUNDLAND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

P. O. Boll 1013

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND Ale 5M3

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President Vice- president .3ecretary Treasurer Past President

I,egular Members

Er11 tor of the OSPREY

EXECUTIV::: ~lEt'.:BE.RS

1977 - 1978

Allan Stein Robin Dey David Larson Bodil Larsen Charles Horwood

Richard Blacqulere Judy Blakely John BridsoD Clarence Burry Charles Loader Dianne Savory Joan Scott

John rlaunder 18-A Taylor Place St . John's

579- 0580 579- 9144 754-0446 437- 6173 579- 6983

364-4596 753- 8664 753- 3555 579- 3645 753- 0049 579- 4364 753- 5925

75~-985(

-----------------------------------------------------------------ITEKS AVAILABLi:: FH( 1'1 '!'Ht; !jCCliTY

~:e.found18nd Bird Checklists are available at 5 cento each to emLers and 25 cents each to non-members. Please lnclucie postage.

Back iRsues of the OSPREY are avallo!tble . \';0 do not have <111 numbers, but we have quite a few. They are 50 cents eR.Ch-pflls postage.

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The tlnew" OSPREY

As reported in the October 1978 NEWSLETTER, the OSPREY and the

NEWSLETTER are combining, a8 ot this issue, t o become the "new",

monthly ( I hope) OSPREY newsletter. As things usually do, our main

publication bas comB full circle since its creation as 8 monthly

newsletter 1n Marcb 1970. With the Hay-June 1975 1ssue, the OSPREY

became a bi-monthly. I n Oc t ober 1975 , the NEWSLETTER wss instituted

to publish the ~ news and information that could no longer be

provided by the OSPREY. The January-March 1976 1ssue of the OSPREY

marked its beginni.nge as a quarterly. Now, in November 1978, the

OSPREY bas become a monthly once more.

December Meeting

Jon L1 e n has agreed t o talk t o us about h1.e experiences with wbal ss .

~ e Pleass note that this lIleeting Will be held one week early on ~ II and will be held at Coughlan College Auditorium. All meetings,

s tarting with the December one, Will be held at Coughlan College until

further notice. This is because ot anticipated slippery road conditione

and parking problems in the area ot Oxen Pond Botanic Park this winter.

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Exb1.bition at Oxen Pond

The Oxen Pond Botanic Park will be holding AN EXHIBITI ON OF

GARDENING AND NATURAL HISTORY PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS in the

Field Centre at the Park troll November 25 to December 9. The

exhibition 1 s expected t o include photographs, slides, and a rtwork

on a wide range ot horticultural and nature-oriented subjects. All

ages, 1nclud1ng children, haTe been encouraged to enter. Hope to

see you there I It should be a great show. It's also a good place to

l earn BODleth1ng •

78.

Bird at the Month tor October -- Leach's stor m-petrel

(Also appears 1n the EVENING TELEGRAM ot October 21, 1978 on page 15)

Although this month ' s bird 15

truly a seab1rd, October 1s a time when

the landsman 1s most likely to see a

Mother Carey's Chicken, or S torm-petrel ,

since they sometimes 1 08e their way on a

dark, foggy n1ght and are found 1 n city

s treet. and gardens. They are almost as

b1g aa a Robin, but Booty- grey w1 th a

white band across the lower back and have

a torked tail. They are a lmost impossible

to feed in capti vi ty and are best re turned

to the sea to tend tor themeel ves, as

quickly as possible . The only hospitality

they may accept is a little cod liver 011.

There are at least 20 kinds of Storm-petrels in the oceans of

the world but only oDe, Leach's Storm-petrel, nests here 1n Newfound­

land. Their hab1 t of nesting 1n shallow burrows makes them easy prey

for predators like rats and weasels 80 that they can only breed safely

on offshor e 1slands such a8 the Bird Islands at Witless Bay. Where

they nest, the ground 18 honeycombed nth burrows 60 closely spaceti

that it 1s estimated there are •• 11 over a m1.1110n pairs nesting 1n

the province. Each !elllale lays onl,. one egg a year, usually 1n

early J uly_ It hatches about 5 •• eks later . Both pa rents incubate 1n

turns ot three or tour days while the other 1s awa:y at sea feed1ng.

The change over takes plac e only at night since the birds are very

awkward on the ground and would be easy prey to gulls dur1ng the day .

However, as soon as 1t 1s dark, the air 1e filled with the fluttering

at wings and the cries at the b1rds &s they exchange greeti ngs . The

homing ability at these petrela, which can find their way t o a two­

inch burrow on a small ieland atter a sea journey at several hundred

miles, certainly exceeds that ot any pigeon I

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Once the chick has hatched. both parents feed it on 011y

regurgitations of tbeir normal food: tiny !ish and plankton picked

from the Burface ot the BeB in !light. When, in September, the chick

1s a fluffy ball about double their weight, the parents a ba ndon their

offspr1ng in its burrow, to starve down to size and grow its feathers.

It 1s these young birds emerging without parent al gu1dance 1n October

that sometimes 1088 their way and are attracted by the city lights .

Otherwise , they spend their next eight or rUne months wandering about

the Atlantic Ocean and tar trom any such temptations.

Howard Clas8

All observers this month comment on the very large number of Evening Grosbeaks which have returned for the winter. The first ten or twelve were found by Bernard Jackson at Oxen Pond on October 14, but shortly afterwards, flocks of thirty or more were observed. Also back for the winter was a single Black-Headed Gull at Quidi Vidi Lake on October 25.

A field trip on October 15 taken by Cathy Pennachetti, Richard Blacquiere, Chuck Bourgeois and myself, was quite successful. We were delighted to find a pair of Mallards on Mundy Pond - really the only unusual sighting of the last few weeks. As well, we discovered a Pied-Billed Gr ebe on Kenny's Pond, and Clarence Burry reports that it remained for at least another week. We also fOWld several small flocks o f Water Pipits (still present on October 27) , a Golden Plover at Mundy Pond and three Semipalmated Plovers at Quidi Vidi Lake . Still around Quidi Vidi Lake on October 26 were small numbers of Semipalmated and Whi t e-Rumped Sandpipers (Clarence Burry). Clarence ' s brother also r eports large flocks of Snow Buntings appearing in Bonavista North, so we should watch out for these very attractive birds in the next few weeks.

Michael Parmenter .

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"Nature SPM"

Hais, qu lest ce que ce '1

A magazine 1 Its OSPREY-sized cover la decorated with animal

tracks, dragontli.a, and waterll11es. Printed in large letters on

the front is "Nature SPM" and !!AEPNT" and "Prix: 2 Francs!!. It 1s

produced by a group wbose name translat.s 8S II The Association

for the Study of Nature in tbe Territory". As you have probably

guessed, it comes from Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. N .... s familiar to

OSPREY readers are listed among the executive, and two of the

writera, Roger Etcheberry and Michel Borotra, have contributed to

our "Bird News" over the years.

In issue No.1, fro. this association founded in 1975.

M. Borotra contributes not.s of observers on Le Canard Noir and

Le Hacareux Hoine. Fro. his drawinga (If not frOID the paragrapb) lt

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is possible to recognize "tbe aoet well-known duck here" a8 the e, Black Duck, and "perhaps our aoet odd-looking bird" &s the Puffin.

Tbe sue author &lso has a page on "Where to Go"! Here be bas listed

walks of interest, not only on Saint-Pierre, but aleo on the i slands

of MiqueloD and Langlade, and tbe 200 year old, 6 mile lengtb of

sandy isthmus tbat joins the two. "Surtout", says H. Borotra,

"n'oubliez pas V08 jumelle8." As 1f you might target your

binoculars. Another artlcle by H. Borotra is called "Caaplng and

Degradations" and has a lIe8sage faa111ar to Newfoundland.rs. He

li8ts lte.a of garbage whicb ba.e accumulated ln once beautiful

places as a result of their US8 by caJllpers. In naaing the locations

he bopes to attract Dlore visitors and to encourage the. to clean up

before they leave. Be 1s convinced tbat tbe,.. ba.e tbe chance of

possesslng, ln splte of their cllaate, a little countr,. whose Wild

cbarm ia undeniable. But, be s..,.., it the,. are going to protect it

1n order to protl t from 1 t ln the lonl tera, ao.e lovernaent

department lDust undertake to collect garbage 1n an organJ.zed manner. •

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Roger Etcbeberry, president or tbe association, was in

Newfoundland again this summar and lI.et With several of our lIe_bers.

He also has some articlss in the magazine. In "Observing Nature"

Roger writes that the appearance of 8011800& go1.ng into the country­

side with binoculars, lenses and books often strikes those used to

hunting and fishing 8S wiard. He sess an appreciation of his "petit

pays" complete nth ita 600 known species of vascular plants and

225 species of birds, 8S the best way of preventing the horrors of

a future dominated by pollution, over-population, etc. A detailed

plan for observation of the birds at each season 1.s described, and

the best birding places are listed. Host of these good places are

not on the island of Saint-Pierre, but it is in and around that

town that most of the new species for the archipelago have been

discovered for the first time. Roger ends with a pronee that the

study of nature is a certain remedy against boredom.

Concerns of the AEPNT also include private property owners

who never clean up, Le Pissenlit ( you may know lem a8 dandelions,

ma I am ), rational exploitation of marine resources, and risks to

the environment resulting trom tourism. As well there is the

proposal for. second runway at Saint-Pierre. This runw.y will

alter forever a large region of coaetal ponds with their associa ted

plant and an1mal life, while it may only slightly alleviate the

admittedly difficult transportation situation.

Flower structure, pollination, insects, and temperature, and

how they relate to the variability of the bakeapple crop are

described inside the back cover.

For more information contact Joan Scott, or write to

AEPNT, Boite Postale 212, Sa1.nt-Pierre, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon.

Joan Scott

82.

OSPREY Art1.cles

The OSPREY has become a .onthly publ1.cat1.on aga.1n. Th1.s,

8JIlong other thing8, aeana that art1.cle8 mU8t now arr1.ve on the

edi tor I 8 desk at a steady trickle (t). and not in n ts and starts

as bas been the case of late. Unfortunately, it has become 1.ncreasing­

ly diff1.cult to get good lI1ater1.al for publ1.cat1.on. And it 1.s hard to

know why. Perhaps some people have beeD discouraged in the face of

the long and involved, and often technical treat1.ses that have crept

1.nto the OSPREY recently. Perhaps 1.t 1.s the confu81.on of hav1.ng two

publ1.cat1.ons. Or perhaps people are too busy nowadays to take time

to expres8 themselves on paper. Who knows? Whatever the trouble, the

OSPREY n~eds art1cles. ~ of art1.cles ( on natural history, of

course ). An accoUllt of a natural hi6tory experience or discovery 1.8

tine. An 'account ot a series of personal observations is fine too.

Even a letter to the editor 1.8 good. In lIany caees, halt a page 1s all

that 18 required. The OSPREY need8 lIaterial tro. the melD.berah1.p. The

talent is there, going to waste. It i8 your newsletter .

Deadlines tor articles are generally a week. atter the monthly

meeting ••• anything delivered after will have to wait until the next

issue. Typed articles are preferred, but please don't hold back an

article just because you can't get it typed. The article ls the thing .

Go get that pencil and paper I The OSPREY needs your stuff !

Flora Ifewe

There are 'fery taw reports in the plant department th1.s month.

The only one of real interest was of a Diapen81a in full bloo. on

the top of Hawke Hll1 ( S. of Holyrood near the T.C.H.) on October 10 .

This should be 1.nterest1.ng to Rob1.n Day who recently talk.ed to the

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Society on the 2 fOl'lll.a of DiapeDs1. . ... the June flowar1.ng tOl'll and e' the August floweriDg form I The record was provided by John Maunder.

Peter J. Scott

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Halting Blueberry Wine ( A Very Practical Aspect of Natural History

Perhaps this 1sn f t really the year to make blueberry wine. Not

only was the crop poor this year ( Allan Stein would disagree - Ed.) I

but l1Dusual quantities of rain made harvesting aIaost i.possible. Bnd

the berries became flaccid witb exceS8 water and early frost. All

the more reason why we should make a FANTASY brew, and ruminate upon

the special problems involved. ( As Mr. Sugg 1s reputed to have sud

on his 106th birthday, "There 18 alw.ys another year."). It 1.s I

think, a legitimate natural history subject, since we are discussing

the action at a natural organislI (yeast) .orting witb the wild

fruit of our hills.

There 1e no simple recipe tor good blueberry wine . I t s product­

ion 1s almost as much an art as a science. Many of the standa rd

prac tic es ot wine making do apply, but it you take a standard reCipe

for grape wine and simply substitute blueberries, tailure i s almost

guaranteed. Blueberries are somehow different and need special care.

Whether they may perbaps contain some yeast inbibitor. or whe ther

they are deficient in some important nutrient, I simply do no t know.

First of all you need a larger proportion of fruit t o water

than is recommended 1n popular recipes. Equal measures of wa ter and

crushed berries seems to be a good rule ot thumb, though the optimum

would of course vary wi tb tbe water content ot the berries. Crushing

~ e may not be absolutely necessary, especially if tbe berrie s ar e

over-ripe, but it certainly does make Measuring more a ccura t e and

reliable . Do not boil tbe berries, &s boiling will impair the

excellence of the flavour. But do b011 the water, s1nce water may be

a source of undes1rable organiaas; e.pec1allY certa1n putrefact1ve

bacter1a. The water should be cooled before 1I1xing with the crushed

berriee. It is better too 1f the berries are picked on high land

well away from hWlan habitation, as they are less likely to carry

contaminat10n from house flies.

Some small amount of sugar lIust be added at the onset , in

order to bring the sugar content of the lli.xture back to something

like that of the natural f r uit. But possibly the commoneat miatake of

all is to add all the augar at the beginn1ng. With blueberr1es th1s

w1ll almost certa.1nly lead to difficulties, if not disaster. Too

lIuch sugar 1nh1bits the growth of -yeast; the opt111Wl is said to be

about 10 percent.

A plastic bucket lIakes a good conta1.ner for the brew. It must

be carefully washed, preferably with an ox:1d1zing agent or some other

anti-bacterial agent that will not leave an odour. It lIuet be filled

very close to the top, allowing onl,. tor the tloating ot the berries

and the bubbles ot CO2

• Any 8ubstant1al a1r-space will greatly

reduce the cbance at Buccess. A wide piece ot Saran Wrap will make 8

most convenient and a1r-tigbt cover, and may be held in place with 8

ring ot elastic bands.

The wild yeaets which occur witb the berries can ecarcely be

expected to produce an acceptable flavour. So.e people 11ke to use

a spec1al wine yeast, and tor 80me special types of wine this may

be necesear,.. But my experience suggesta that the commOD heer yeaat

is 1D0re reliable and Quite capable of producing a sufficient alcohol

content. Enough yeast shOUld be added to assure a head- start over

the wild yeasts; perhaps a halt package to a five gallon bucket. One

of the co_onest ai.atak88 is to keep the brew in a very .arJI place.

It is true that yeaet gro.s taster in very W&rlll temperature", but

flavour will certainly be sacriticed. In order to av01d lIyeaat-bite"

and to retain natural trui t flavour. the hre. !lUst he allowed to

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progress slowly. The optimum temperature seems to be somewhere near

60°F ,

From time to tims you must opeD the bucket t stir 1. t down With

a wooden spoon it it 1.8 'becol11ng dry on top, and add just enough

sugar to keep the yeast happy uDt1.l your Dext visit. By tasting the

wine before adding sugar, it 1& possible to avoid the error of mak1ng

it too sweet . Especially t oward the end, sugar should be added mo e t

cautiously and sparingly. I t sufficient care 1.s taken, it should be

possible to produce a nne 8S dry 8S may be desired. From time to

time inspect your Saran Wrap, and it it becomes torn ever so

slightly, replace it immediately.

At last, atter maybe tour months, sugar will ta1l to 1nep1re

the yeast, the berries will sink, and you will know that your wine

1a ready to bottle. At this point it needs the extra protection of

bottles, but cork closure only must be used because at the danger

that ferment may start up ag.u.n. A bursting bottle CM be a very

seriou8 hazard, and even a 8111all 8.1Ilount in the bottom o f the bottle

s hould not be lett With a screw-on cap.

Charlie Horwood

( A master ! - Ed.)

Th. Story of the USly Goatlin!j

It's a classic story of the ugly duckling, or in thie case it

W8.S the ugly goatlins. Tiny, our eight-yeAr-old Saanen soat spent her

summer motherins a ver~ odd-loo.lt1ng kid by the n .. e of Charlie.

perhaps the oddest-looking kid a doe ever raised. Although there

were more than the usual nUlllber of difficulties, her mothering has

succeeded. Charlie baa grown to be an exceptionally handsome young mooa ••

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Often in late Kay or early June, newly-born. apparently lIother­

leSIl 1I00S8 calves are found in the Newfoundland woods by campers and

tishermen. These young moose Ilay be weak second calves trom the

birth ot tWiDS, too slow to tollo. their mother, or the,. may be calves

accidently separated trom their mother. In either case the hUBo

intruder should withdraw trom the are. 1.n the bope at fac1.1:1tat1ng

a mother-young reconciliation. This 1.8 the calfls best chance to

live. However, on occasion Buch forlorn-looking "lost" calves are

taken bome. In Buch C8S8S, the Wildlife Service 1e usually called and

the task at rearing the youngster talla to 801D80ne without the

proper eqUipment or instincts, and u8ual1y Without much experience

8S a mooee mother. The artificial rear1n! of 1II00se calves has proved

very dift1cult and 1II0st otten has failed. Those animals that do

survive sucb alternate rearing require .uch .edical attention and

great in'Yestment of t1l1e and supplies by their hWllan caretakers.

This year at Memorial University and the SallDonier Nature Park, Tiny

the goat was used in an attempt to find an bproved alternate moose

mother.

After exaJD.1.ning the eompos:1tion of moose m.1.lk and their

foraging habits, we felt that if we could get a goat to accept an

alien youngster, she Jlight make a substantial improvement in the

quality of mothering 1I00se calves rece1ved and save a great deal of

human labor. Goat milk, nth sOlie bottle-ted supplements of colustrum

milk, condensed IIlilk, and yogurt, appeared to be an adequate milk

diet. And because of s1.m1lar1t1.es in the browse eaten by goats and

young moose, we hoped that foraging by the goat would facilitate

early toraging and browse teed1ng by the mooae calf.

Charlie arrived at our laboratory at f1.ve days ot age, and

we1gh1n! 22 pounda. He aeemed like a healthy, Yigorous youngster,

but certainly did not look even remotely 11ke a goat k:1d. Tiny hes

always been tolerant of ldds and wetve cross-fostered goat k.1ds to

ber for rearing ••• but this waa perhaps too much. I placed Charlie

in the bedding beside Tiny and stepped back to watch. At first

there appeared to be a concerted effort by both ani.alA not to

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notice the other. After long minutes there •• s a period of hesitant

mutual sniffing. Then Charlie became buoyantly enthusiastic •••

Tiny more wary. The time had come. I gave Tiny a special bowl of

feed, held her gently, and encouraged the calf to Buckle. Despite

difficulties in tangling and untangling its long front leSs, the

calf Bucked well. Tiny's BeDse ot surprise was perhaps mediated by

a sense of history ••• the first goat to ruse a 1II006e. For several

weeks in each of the supervised reeding sessioDa, w. a1 •• ys had to

gently hold Tiny while Cbarlie sucked. But the bond bet.een Tiny and

Charlie grew. At firet I noticed tbat when Tiny would begin eating

fresh browse, Charlie would approach to check. out this actlv1.ty and

take a rew bites. One morning in the third week, I arriYed to

supervise the first scheduled feeding of the day only to find that

Charlie had a.lready sucked Tiny dry I For a while I thousht we would

have to build an eleVated platform for Tiny so the taller-than­

mother kld could suckle. But they worked that out too; Charlie

learned to lie down during suckling. To date, allis well With

Charlie and Tiny. TheY've been moved to a five acre natural enclosure

in the Salmonier Nature Park. Charlie, the ugly goatling 18 now a

handsome young bull moose . Visitors to the park are sometimes

startled to see Tiny, now dwarfed in size by the lIoose trailing

along behind her. Park naturalists just say, " Ob, the white one

that1s his mother." •

Jon Lien

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