Wm i | \jJm \ l|||l^ \ ^@k THfe Tk 4 ” m \ ! \ \ US \ \vk X j. «r| % M rl wmusjk^&p* Kj V \ jwpiiii \ ipnE f. B& IK * W‘\ I* BV t ft ' % ■ m3 \ t % j ^Hai v^Usk i a i^JH^ TK:.*!*. sy^jL A dS!'H4’'v':' i-‘«-It IHpr $< 'Vg p. -^ ,■ - ■ *P Irk «**• ..•*** S H&!:t" W mi-.*- * J B65 v. 66 no. 4 2008 SCI/TECH Ex Libris Universitatis Albertensis £L/MQOt Blue Jay Vol. 66 No. 4 December 2008 193 Nature FIELD SKETCHES: BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. Paul Geraghty.202 MULE DEER.Paul Geraghty.238 Editors’ Message.195 Birds RECENT CATTLE EGRET BREEDING RECORDS FOR THE LAST MOUNTAIN LAKE AREA, SK. Kerry Hecker and Philip S. Taylor.196 AN EXTRAORDINARY RAVEN NEST. Peter Taylor.203 RAPTORS NESTING IN WASCANA PARK, REGINA. Jared B. Clarke.. 206 SPRING 2008 - A DEVASTATING TIME FOR MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS ON THE PRAIRIES. Lois M. Johnson.209 Plants THE SALTBUSHES (ATRIPLEX) OF THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES. Diana Bizecki Robson.211 Insects RESULTS OF THE 2008 INTERNATIONAL BUTTERFLY COUNT IN SASKATCHEWAN. Mike Gollop and Anna Leighton.226 Nature Library ECOLOGY, CONSERVATION, AND STATUS OF REPTILES IN CANADA. Carolyn N. L. Seburn and Christine A. Bishop (eds.).233 Poetry DISPLACEMENT. Victor C. Friesen.225 DEER. Victor C. Friesen.236 Nature Saskatchewan News.239 Mystery Photo .241 Index to Volume 66. Teresa Dolman.242 193 66 (4) December 2008 Front cover: Snows hoes Wayne Lynch Back cover: Atypical, scarlet leaves of Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloldes), 3 October 2008, near Bjorkdale, SK John Kozial Inside front cover: top: Sclssor-tailed Flycatcher near Blackstrap Lake south of Saskatoon on 3 November 2008 Nick Saunders bottom: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) in fruit in Manitoba Ardythe MacMaster Inside back cover: top: Garden Orache (Atriplex hortensis) near Saskatoon Jim Romo bottom: Figure 2. Two Cattle Egrets at Stalwart NWA with buffy plumes on back of head. (See article on page 196) Kerry Hecker, EC - Cl/VS Close-up of male Polyphemus Moth antennae John Kozial THIS ORGANIZATION RECEIVES FUNDING FROM: Saskatchewan LOTTERIES 194 UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Blue Jay UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA EDITORS' MESSAGE It’s time for the year-end thank you to the people who help make Blue Jay what it is, and this time, we extend our gratitude to nearly a decade of submissions and assistance during the course of our term as editors. After nine years in the editor’s seat, we are stepping aside to give new people the privilege of editing this fine and unique publication, and to give the publication a chance to stretch its legs in new directions. We’ve enjoyed all aspects of the job immensely-the work, the people, and the Society-and look forward to becoming avid recreational readers and future contributors. The new editors, Vicky Kjoss (pronounced ‘chus’ as in Massachusetts) and Chris Somers (pronounced ‘summers’), are a Regina couple who will be starting their term as editors with the March 2009 issue. We are delighted to be turning the publication over to this new team. The email address for contributions to the March and subsequent issues is <[email protected]>. We wish Vicky and Chris good luck with their new job, and an enjoyable term as editors. And to all of you who have worked with us over the last nine years, many, MANY thanks; we have greatly appreciated your generous contributions and willing assistance. We also want to acknowledge the importance of the readers, whose interest in regional natural history gives Blue Jay its purpose. Anna and Ted Leighton, Editors “The Solstice past, the year tends toward spring. But you would never know it. The old saying, ‘Days lengthen, cold strengthens,’ is proved in January. But it is a good time to study snowflakes. I go out wearing a dark coat or carrying a piece of black cloth and catch a few flakes and examine them first with the naked eye, then under the glass.” Hal Borland, Beyond Your Doorstep, p. 354. “Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary.” -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) 66 (4) December 2008 195 BIRDS RECENT CATTLE EGRET BREEDING RECORDS FOR THE LAST MOUNTAIN LAKE AREA, SK KERRY HECKER, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, RO. Box 280, Simpson, SK, SOG 4M0 E-mail: <[email protected]>, and PHILIP S. TAYLOR, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, 115 Perimeter Road, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X4, E-mail: <[email protected]> During the summer of 2005, Cattle 2005 Egrets successfully bred at Stalwart On 2 June 2005, D. Duncan National Wildlife Area (NWA) near (Environment Canada, Canadian Stalwart, SK. This was the third breeding Wildlife Service, Edmonton) visited record for Cattle Egrets in Stalwart NWA and saw one small, white, Saskatchewan; the two earlier records heron-like bird, carrying a strand of were of single pairs at Old Wives’ Lake vegetation in its beak, fly up from the Migratory Bird Sanctuary in 1981, and east-west grid road that runs through Eyebrow Lake in 1994.6'78 Subsequent the north part of the Stalwart NWA. He to 2005, Cattle Egret nests were found tentatively identified it as a Cattle Egret in Saskatchewan at Middle Quill and and reported to the CWS staff at Last Goose Lakes,2 and in a marsh north of Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife (LMLNWA) that it might be nesting. Area but the 2005 record remains the only nesting record for Stalwart NWA. Subsequent visits by the second This record was mentioned briefly in author (PST), and later by both of us, previous articles.24 Here we provide found the egrets flying to and from, and details of that event and additional landing in, an area of reeds and grass, observations of this species’ recent comprised primarily of bulrush Scirpus nesting efforts in the area. sp. and Common Reed Grass Phragmites communis. Some of these Stalwart NWA (Figure 1) consists of a birds were carrying nesting material in large marsh just east of Highway #2 their bills. On 7 June 2005, we saw two adjacent to the hamlet of Stalwart (51 adult Cattle Egrets flying from north¬ 40 N; 105 28 W). The area is an west of the Stalwart grid road to land in important stopover for migrating the same reeds. On 9 June 2005, PST waterfowl and shorebirds, as well as a observed five adults in the same area, highly productive breeding marsh for and two flew from the reeds with strong, many water dependent birds including purposeful flight to the north-west, colonial nesting species like Eared presumably to forage. This area of Grebe, Black-crowned Night-Heron, and reeds interspersed with shallow open Franklin’s Gull. water was also used by Eared Grebes, 196 Blue Jay Figure 1. Stalwart NWA and Last Mountain Lake NWA. Figure 3. Cattle Egret nest with eggs Kerry Flecker, Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service 197 66 (4) December 2008 Black-crowned Night-Herons and containing between two and four eggs. Franklin’s Gulls for nesting. (Figure 3) This description is consistent with that of Black-crowned On 11 June 2005, we conducted an Night-Heron nests,3 and similar to aerial census of colonial waterbirds in Cattle Egret nests.5'10 some NWAs and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in Saskatchewan, While visiting the nests, we could including Stalwart NWA. While flying distinguish two distinct types of eggs over the Stalwart marsh, we counted a in nests, although the nest structures minimum of four potential egret nests were all similar. We used these and took photographs. observed differences in eggs to decide which nests belonged to which On 16 June, we made a brief survey species. One type of egg, surmised to of the Franklin’s Gull colony by canoe to be a Cattle Egret egg, was evaluate and enumerate species approximately 4 cm long by 3 cm wide, nesting in the area. At this time, we distinctly elliptical, and pale blue. observed seven Cattle Egrets in the (Figure 4) The other, surmised to belong marsh - unmistakably adults in to Black-crowned Night-Herons, was a breeding plumage (Figure 2, see inside bit larger, 4.5 cm long by 3 cm wide, back cover) - and numerous Black- pointed at one end and a slightly darker crowned Night-Herons. We found a blue. These were verified later using number of nests in the marsh. Of descriptions in Davis, Harrison and particular interest were those Telfair.3 5 10 During our visit, which we constructed of both dead and live reeds, kept as brief as possible, we found plucked and woven into standing dead three Cattle Egret nests with four, four, and green reeds. The nests were and three eggs, and five Black-crowned elevated approximately 40 cm above the Night-Heron nests, each with four surface of the water, and were up to 20 eggs. Not wishing to disturb the birds cm deep, with a firm rounded cup further, we then continued our gull Figure 4. Comparison of smaller, more rounded and lighter blue Cattle Egret egg (right), and larger, more pointed, and darker blue Black-crowned Night- Heron egg (left). Kerry Hecker, Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service 198 Blue Jay survey and left the marsh shortly the remaining bulrush stands at the thereafter. 2005 Stalwart NWA breeding colony. One pair copulated. During this time, We do not believe that we found all five additional egrets in breeding the egret and night-heron nests plumage flew south-west over the present in the colony during our brief marsh nearby but did not land. On 31 visits by aircraft and canoe. In the May, PST saw no egrets in the bulrush canoe, we only visited the periphery of stand, but observed at least two egrets the colony and did not search deeper in a dense stand of Common Reed into the reed bed or in several sites Grass 100 m west of the old colony where adult egrets were seen from the site. Black-crowned Night-Herons air. Observations of adult egrets flying established a small colony (<25 pairs) to and from the nesting area suggest in this reed grass stand in 2006. On there may have been as many as seven June 12, PST saw a single egret in a or eight pairs in total. The number of different reed grass stand south-east night-heron nests in this colony was of the 2005 colony site. There were no estimated to be between 25 and 40 further egret sightings and no indication pairs. of successful breeding at Stalwart NWA in 2006. We, along with Al Smith and Ross Dickson (RDD), continued to record Cattle Egrets were locally common egret sightings through autumn. The at LMLNWA in 2006, approximately 14 sightings of both adult and young-of- km north-east of Stalwart NWA. As year birds in the Stalwart area were described in Dickson et al 20074, the plentiful until the end of September, and Cattle Egrets at LMLNWA showed the last sighting was on 18 October behaviour indicative of nesting at a 2005.4 On 9 December 2005, the specific site in June and July 2006; authors went to Stalwart NWA to count during August and September, a flock old nest structures in the colony. While of Cattle Egrets foraged with a cattle the specific reed and grass beds herd near Highway 15 north of the NWA containing the nests were found, no headquarters. The last sighting was 19 nest platforms or other evidence of the October 2006. bird colony were present. 2007 2006 The first Cattle Egret sighting in 2007 High water levels and a large local was of a single bird on 29 April, 5 km muskrat population in the fall and winter west of Last Mountain Lake NWA of 2005-2006 resulted in the dying back Headquarters by RDD. Visits to the of a number of the bulrush and 2005 and 2006 breeding colony Common Reed Grass beds at Stalwart locations found no evidence of nesting NWA in 2006, including those egrets; these visits occurred on 18 May supporting the Franklin’s Gull, Cattle 2007 by Beyersbergen,2 and on 1, 15 Egret and Black-crowned Night-Heron and 31 May, and 11, 18 and 29 June colonies. Eared Grebes and Franklin’s 2007 by one or both of the authors. The water levels at Stalwart NWA in spring Gulls initially returned to these areas 2007 were within the normal variation but did not stay to nest in any numbers. for the spring runoff period. On 11 July 2007, a mixed colony of Cattle Egrets On 17 May, between 1600h-1640h, and Black-crowned Night-Herons was PST saw seven Cattle Egrets in discovered by PST 15 km north of LML breeding plumage perched in one of 199 66 (4) December 2008 Figure 5. Three Cattle Egret chicks on a stick nest in flooded willows on 14 August 2007. Joseph Kotlar, Environment Canada NWA and documented with These nests were quite different in photographs. Unlike the previous two materials, structure and height than the years, this egret and night-heron colony nests found at Stalwart NWA in 2005, was established in flooded willows however they were more typical of nests (Salix spp.) 3-5 m tall, bordering an described for this species.10 This open wetland. Nest structures were nesting habitat is similar to our first built of sticks among the willow recorded sightings of Cattle Egrets that branches, often more than one nest to seemed indicative of breeding a one willow and some only 1 m above behaviour, which were made in the the water surface. Some unoccupied high-water years of the mid- 1990s.4 nest structures were in disrepair and On 26 July 1996, PST and M. Tataryn could have been built in a previous year. observed several adult Cattle Egrets Stains on the willow trunks indicated perched in and flying around a live that water levels had been at least 25 willow stand 3-4 m tall, surrounded by cm higher in the recent past, very likely nesting American White Pelicans and including the record high spring flood Double-crested Cormorants on an event of 2006. RDD and Joseph Kotlar island in Last Mountain Lake Migratory visited this colony on 14 August to Bird Sanctuary.9 determine success of the breeding effort and noted that all 10 active egret During the 14 August 2007 visit, RDD nests that they located were 1.25-3 m counted 16 egrets capable of flight - above the water surface in August some are assumed to be fledglings - (Figure 5). This position appeared to plus one large chick that stayed at the allow adults to land on the platform or top of a willow. In addition, he found on nearby branches and to leave seven active nest platforms; three with quickly. downy chicks crouching in the bowl, 200 Blue Jay