Editor & Production Coordinator Production Staff Joyce Recidoch Associate Editors Bill Gummer Peter Hall Business Manager & typing Coordinator Jim Montgomery Graphics Marc Guertin Coordinator • Jennifer Chaundy ■Gwen Jenkins Mailing Team Lisa Meyboom Telephone Coordinator Dorothy Greene ■oom Judy Kail Elisabeth Thomson Lynn Kaplanslcy Eleanor Thomson Barbara Campbell Proofread e rs VicvOs expressed in Trail & Landscape are not necessarily those of The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club The Ottawa Field - Naturalists’ Club Objectives of the Club: T o promote the appreciation, preservation and conserva- tion of Canada's natural heritage: to encourage investigation and publish the results of research in all fields of natural history and to diffuse information on these fields as widely as possible; to support and co-operate with organizations engaged in preserving, maintaining or restoring environments of high quality for living things. Club Publications: THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST, a quarterly devoted to reporting research in all fields of natural history relevant to Canada; TRAIL & LANDSCAPE, providing articles on the natural history of the Ottawa Valley and on local Club activities five times a year; and THE SHRIKE, a bimonthly newsletter on birdwatching in the Ottawa-Hull area, available by separate subscription. Field Trips, Lectures and other natural history activities are arranged for local members; see “Coming Events" in this issue. Sobscriptions to Trail & Landscape (libraries and institutions) $17 per year (Volume) — Founded 1879 — ' President E. Franklin Pope Membership Fees: Individual (yearly) $17 Family (yearly) $19 Sustaining (yearly) $40 Life (one payment) $400 Single copies of recent issues $3.50 each. Membership application, correspondence: Information: THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS’ CLUB (613) 722-3050 Box 3264, Postal Station C Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4J5 Seco.nd Class Mail ^ Registration #2777 © Vol 19 No 4 Published by The Ottawa Field - Naturalists’ Club Box 3264, Postal Station C Ottawa K1Y4J5 Joyce M. Reddoch, Editor 548 Rivershore Crescent Gloucester, Ontario K1J 7Y7 Editorial Address: Welcome, New Members ------- j 86 Help the OFNC Seedathon ------ 1 88 Alfred Bog Painting to be Raffled - - - - i 89 Alfred Bog: The Edge of Drainage - - - - ] 90 Frederick W. Schueler and Aleta Karstad Council Report ————————— 1 92 Bill Gummer Pot-luck Pays Off -------- 194 Peter Hall 1984 Honorary Memberships and OFNC Awards - - 196 Dr. Bernard Boivin FRSC ______ 200 Recent Bird Sightings ------- 2 0 1 Bruce M. Di Labio and V. Bernard Ladouceur New Ottawa District Bird Checklist - - - - 204 Roy John Driveway Comedian: the Common Grackle - - - 206 Ross Anderson Burdock Claims an Avian Victim ----- 208 Roger Taylor and Allan Cameron The Tenuous Barrier _____ 2 1 1 J.W. (Jack) Holliday Publications of Other Naturalists' Clubs - - 213 The Fulvous Whistling Duck in Canada - - 2 14 Richard Blacquiere and Bruce M. Di Labio Plate Morphs of the Threespine Stickleback in the National Capital Region - - - - 220 Brian W. Coad Annual Presqu'ile Park Field Trip - - - - 226 Bruce M. Di Labio and V. Bernard Ladouceur Coming Events --------- 229 185 Welcome, New Members Ottawa Area John Atkinson & Dora Boersma Ellen Badix & family Mrs. Nancy Barry Arthur Beeman & family Roger Bird & family Peter J. Blancher B. Broghman Greg Brophy Weldon Burlock Ian & Shirley Cameron Linda & Erus Capel Colin Cheshire & family Tim Coombs Lois M. Corey Alan P. Cranston Peter S. Cranston & family Mr. & Mrs. H.M. Cross Mrs. & Mrs. N. George Davies Sheelah M. Demetre Dr. A.W. Diamond Linda Ecklund & Ken Balderson Johanna B. Ede & family Don Fillman Katrina & John Fowler Lorette Goguen Bernice Goudge & family Ellen & Lome Grummisch Arlin Hackman Hope C.A. Haire Joyce M.C. Haire & family Dorothy A. Hansen Patricia Harrison & family Kringen M. Henein & family Mary E. Hoth-Campbell Ralph L. Hutchison & family Morris Ilyniak Sandy Joanisse Douglas C. Johnson & family Anne Joyce & Peter Ashley Steve & Judy Leuty Helene Levesque Fern D. Levine Anton Littahorsky Jack & Hanna Mawhinney Robert R. & Kathleen Mayes Dwayne Moore Thalia Nicas Lisa Nicholson Peggy O'Neill Pierre & Isobel Paquette Carmen Penty-Brunet & family Mary E. Pigden Gerard L. Pineault M. Prentice & family Charles E. Pryce & family Alice & Philip Ristow Douglas E. Sample & family Mr. & Mrs. K.J. Sewrey & family Jean & Bernard Shaw Joe, Morton & Elizabeth Shepstone Margo E.G. Smith Pamela A. Smith Peggy Smith Patricia J. & C. Martin Taylor Judy A. Tingley Teresa Torrealba & family Barbara R. Tunis Susanna M. Wood Jaroslav Zlenchuk Other Areas J.E. Cebek Little Briton, Ontario Dean Cluff Edmonton, Alberta Doug Collister Calgary, Alberta Kris J. Hundertmark Juneau, Alaska Rudolf F. Koes Winnipeg, Manitoba Dr. Scott M. Melvin Boston, Massachusetts 186 Other Areas, continued Scott Nevin Waterloo, Ontario Michael R. North Fargo, North Dakota Chris E. Pielou Lethbridge, Alberta July, 1985 Sean T. Sharpe London, Ontario Dr. George Wentel Montreal, Quebec Barbara Campbell Chairman, Membership Committee Call for Nominations for OFNC Council A Nominating Committee has been chosen by the Council to nominate persons for election to offices and membership of the Council for the year 1986, as required by the Constitution. We would like to remind Club members that they also may nominate candidates as officers and other members of the Council. Such nominations require the signatures of the nominator and seconder, and a statement of willingness to serve in the specified position by the nominee. Nominations should be sent to the Nominating Committee, The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, Box 3264, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario KIY 4J5, to arrive no later than November 20, 1985. The nominees 1985. It proposed Committee will also consider any suggestions for which members wish to submit to it by November 20, would be helpful if some relevant background on the nominees were provided along with the suggested names. Barbara Campbell Chairman, Nominating Committee 187 Help the OFNC Seedathon The fifth annual OFNC Seedathon will be held on September 8th. A team of birders will put in a full day's birding with sponsors contributing a pledged amount for each species record- ed. This year's team will consist of Bruce Di Labio (729— 6267), Richard Brouillet, Peter Dunn and Bernie Ladouceur. The contributions will be used to purchase bird seed for the Club feeders at Jack Pine Trail, Davidson Road and Pink Road. If there is money left over, it will be used for other bird activities of The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. Please send in your pledge - I wish to sponsor the OFNC team at the rate of ‘ itfe. clumAecf t£e & 'tea.cL/ i£ cuntoiis£y u+eiyA A/£p e^^^LcTt... ... "fAe-rt Cast -iJ-ecC ~A<’ ** /net** &y A?n**s*no<~ A- . 207 Burdock Claims an Avian Victim Roger Taylor and Allan Cameron Every naturalist who ventures out in the fall inevitably comes up against burdock burrs and, just as inevitably, spends a significant amount of time removing them from clothing. Encoun- tering these plants, we have all marvelled at nature's ingenuity for seed dispersal, but, probably more often, we have muttered nasty words as we laboriously picked them out of our sweaters or corduroys or whatever. Few of us have ever looked at these burrs as deadly traps for some creatures. On October 2, 1984, we found a Solitary Vireo caught by a wing and both feet in the hooks of some burrs in a small weedy field immediately to the north of the Montreal Road at the edge of the Rockcliffe Airbase, very close to the National Research Council of Canada. It was hanging upside down, as the accom- panying photographs show, and had only recently died. The bird was in excellent plumage; it was a pathetic sight as it hung there. We could only speculate that the bird, being a woodland species, was somehow attracted to the bushy appear- Solitar y Vireo caught by burdock burrs. Both photographs by Allan Cameron. 208 A closer view to show how the bird's feet and wing had become entangled . ance of Che burdocks in the field as it migrated south from its more northerly breeding grounds. It was obviously unfamiliar with the dangers of burrs and, perhaps, in trying to extract its feet, it panicked, snagged its wing and became hopelessly caught. As we removed the stalk of the plant with the bird still attached, we could not help noticing a Song Sparrow flit- ting unconcernedly through some dense concentrations of burrs - no problem for him or her. We handed the plant stalk and bird to Bruce Di Labio at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (NMNS). He was amazed to see it and could not recall a similar bird being trapped by burdock. Bruce subsequently undertook to search the literature for references to birds found entangled in burdock. Following is a summary of Bruce's findings. 209 Golden-crowned Kinglets caught up in burdock heads have been reported by several authors. Bowdish (1906) reported find- ing the mummified remains of one victim near Rochester, New York. Later, Needham (1909) reported finding, in a partly wooded pasture near Lake Forest, Illinois, scores of birds, all Golden-crowned Kinglets, attached to burdock heads. One was liberated, but all the rest died. Needham speculated that the birds were attracted to two species of insect larvae which were "present in considerable abundance". Other similarly impaled birds of the same species have been reported by Tozer and Rich- ards (1974) near Bowmanville in 1937, Brunton (1984 pers. comm.) near Oshawa in 1974, and Humphreys (1975) near Waterloo in 1974. Other species that have been reported entangled in burdock include American Goldfinch (Fisher 1876, Bowdish 1906, Wright 1984), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Fisher 1876, Bent 1940 and NMNS specimen no. 18708 collected from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in 1923), Yel low-rumped Warbler (Fisher 1876), Common Yellow- throat, Pine Siskin and Black-capped Chickadee (Brown 1970). Additionally, Terres (1980) makes the comment that "Small birds such as chickadees, goldfinches, kinglets, nuthatches are some- times caught and held in prickly burrs of burdock plants while extracting seeds." However, there seem to be no reports of vireos of any kind being caught in this way, and our sighting may be unique. We wish to thank Bruce Di Labio for his efforts in search- ing the literature, and also Dan Brunton for unearthing the Fisher (1876) reference. As a final comment, the bird and stalk have been turned over to the museum taxidermist and may very well become part of a future display. Literature Cited Bent, A.C. 1940. Life histories of North American cuckoos, goatsuckers, hummingbirds and their allies. U.S. National Museum Bulletin no. 176, Washington, D.C. p. 348. Bowdish, B.S. 1906. Bird tragedies. Bird Lore 8: 208. Brown, R.D. 1970. Yellowthroat caught in common burdock. The Wilson Bulletin 82: 464-465. Fisher, A.K. 1876. Small birds caught by the burdock. The American Naturalist 10: 239-240. Humphreys, G. 1975. Burdock as a threat to small birds. Can- adian Field-Naturalist 89: 326-327. Needham, J.E. 1909. Kinglets captured by burdocks. Bird Lore 11: 261-262. (Note that this reference is incorrectly cited by Humphreys (1975).). Terres, K. T. 1980. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. p. 3. Tozer , R.G. and J.M. Richards. 1974. Birds of the Oshawa-Lake Scugog region Ontario. Tozer and Richards, Oshawa. p. 224. Wright, S. 1984. American Goldfinch stuck on burdock. The Kingbird 34: 230. n The Tenuous Barrier J.W. (Jack) Holliday The population of gulls in the Ottawa area has increased many-fold since the 1930s. Then, the sight of a gull over the city was an event. Now, they are a common sight, circling on thermals or flying to or from their resting and feeding areas. The increase, no doubt, has resulted from the availability of food in garbage dumps and other less obvious sources. Gulls are great opportunists and, provided there is enough room for free flying, they will come down in heavily populated areas to scavenge food. During a football game in Hamilton, the television cameras showed many gulls flying over the field, and there was even a television view of four gulls on the grass feeding on what appeared to be french-fries. They seem to have a taste for what is commonly referred to as junk food, and early every morning they can be seen hastily landing in the temporari- ly-deserted areas of drive-in theatres, to gobble up the dis- cards of the movie viewers of the previous night. The Ring-billed Gull is the commonest gull in our area. There is a breeding colony on two islands in the Ottawa River between Lemieux Island and the Quebec shore. The islands are not easily accessible and thus provide safe places for nesting. The two islands are heavily populated in the breeding season, and, no doubt, nesters will spread to other islands in the group in coming years. Certain areas of the Ottawa River are favourite resting and 21 1 sleeping sites for gulls. They congregate by the thousands in late afternoon and early evening in these select areas. People living near the Champlain Bridge are accustomed to flights of gulls passing overhead as sundown approaches. They stream over in ones, twos and small groups of up to 50. Sometimes a group will form a respectable V formation, not to be compared with the magnificent flight formations of the geese, but quite good for gulls, which all seem to be hardy individualists. (Have you noticed that if there are a hundred suitable perches, a gull always prefers the one that is occupied by another gull?) The area upriver of the Champlain Bridge is a favoured one for sleeping gulls. The booms and rock cribs that used to be half a kilometre from shore were crowded at night with gulls. Now the gulls sit on the water. One assumes they sleep, but the continual yakking and yukking at all hours indicates that at least some of them are awake and quarreling with their neigh- bours. This is apparently a safe "roost", free from disturbance and predators. Regardless of the weather (except for winter when they go further south) the gulls wend their way through the skies each evening to the haven of the booms. On warm, late spring evenings the flight is leisurely, taking advantage of available thermals, and with much wheeling and turning on even- ings when there is a hatch of flying ants or mayflies. Then the gulls, taking advantage of a food source, become oversized flycatchers . On stormy evenings in late fall, when the northwest wind streams down from Hudson's Bay, the flight is a difficult one. Then they must fly close to the earth and river with much tack- ing and tipping from side to side as the wind gusts impede their progress. Up and down they go, first left, then right, trying to find the easiest course. Until a year ago, 100,000-volt power cables stretched a- cross the river between steel towers, bringing electricity from the Quebec side to the Ontario side of the river. At their lowest point, the cables were still high above the water. Ducks and other birds travelling up or down the river flew under the cables (sometimes even under the bridge). Not so the gulls. Even in the face of the strongest winds, they strained and struggled to gain the necessary altitude so they could go over the cables. Since first making the observation some ten or more years ago, I have not seen one gull fly under those cables. One suspects that magnetic or electrical radiation from the cables was detected by the gulls and in some manner made flying under them forbidding. Certainly, they are not a physical barrier. As stated, other birds do not seem to be similarly affected. Have any of you readers also noticed this strange occurrence? n 2 12 Publications of Other Naturalists' Clubs The publications of a number of other clubs are received by The Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, either on an exchange basis, through personal subscription or otherwise, and our members should be aware of what is on hand. At present, the list is as follows: Calgary Field Naturalists - Newsletter (M) -Pica (Q) Catharine Traill Naturalists Club (Pointe Claire) - Newsletter (M) Club des ornithologues de l’Outaouais (Hull) - L' Ornitaouais (3) Ducks Unlimited - Conservator (Q) Hamilton Naturalists Club - The Wood Duck (M) Ottawa Duck Club - Newsletter (M) Rideau Trail Association - Newsletter (Q) Rimouski - Le Naturaliste , a catalogue of lab and outdoor tools and guides Second Marsh Defense Association - Wetland Alert (Q) Thunder Bay Field Naturalists - Newsletter (Q) Toronto Field Naturalists - Toronto Field Naturalist (M) Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists Club - The Field Natural- ist (Q) - Living World (Biennial) L’Union quebecoise pour conservation de la nature (Quebec) - Francnord World Society for the Protection of Animals (London, England) - Animals International (Q) Without a Club reading room it is difficult for interested members to get a look at these publications. For some time it has been the practice to take the recent issues to the Club's monthly meetings and to display them on the stage in the audi- torium before and after the meeting, and, if there is room, again during coffee. Currently, I have the responsibility of retaining our growing collection, and in addition to taking them to meetings I would be willing to arrange loans of items of interest on a trial basis. In the list above, M is monthly (perhaps only eight or nine months in the year), Q is quarterly, and 3 means three times per year . Bill Gummer (phone 596-1148) The Fulvous Whistling Duck in Canada Richard Blacquiere and Bruce M. Di Labio The Fulvous Whistling Duck ( Dendrocggna bicolor, formerly Fulvous Tree Duck) is a bird of the marshes of the southern United States that occurs only irregularly in Canada. During the early 1960s there were northward movements of this species with several records of large flocks in northeastern United States and southeastern Canada (Baird 1963). There was specula- tion at the time that these birds were the vanguard of a future breeding population. This did not prove to be the case. By the mid-1960s records were again few in number, usually of single birds or small flocks, with a slight preponderance of fall sight- ings . Despite the numerous records from the minor invasion in the early 1960s, the Fulvous Whistling Duck remains an irregular and unusual species in Canada. A specimen collected recently at Lower Rideau Lake in eastern Ontario (Di Labio and Blacquiere 1984) prompted this review of all the Canadian records. Localities of Fulvous Whistling Duck records in eastern Canada British Columbia - 3 records 1. Barnston (186 1) writes of D. fulva (an early synonym for D. bicolor) : "... have shot one out of a pair ... on the banks of the Columbia, above Okanagan". There is no specimen to substantiate this record. 2. Out of a group of 11 birds, five were collected at Alberni, Vancouver Island, September 29, 1905. (Some references mis- takenly give the date as November 29, 1905.) One of this group is now a specimen in the British Columbia Provincial Museum and constitutes the first authenticated Canadian re- cord (Macoun and Macoun 1909). The other four specimens are thought to be no longer extant. 3. A sight record of a single bird at 100 Mile House in autumn, 1962 (Rodgers 1963). Ontario - 10 records 4. A single bird was collected at the Big Point Club, south of Mitchell's Bay, Lake St. Clair, Kent County, on December 8, 1960 (Barlow 1966). The specimen resides is the Royal On- tario Museum (ROM 95559). Barlow refers to this specimen as the second Canadian collection, but one from Lake St. Peter, Quebec, predates it by five years. 5. A sight record of two birds at Port Abino, Lake Erie, August 10, 1961 (Sheppard 1970). 6. A photograph of two birds at Yacht Harbour, Welland County, August 20, 1962 (Baillie 1964). The photograph is in the Royal Ontario Museum collection. 7. A single bird collected from a group of three at Frenchman Bay, November, 27, 1962. This specimen (ROM 93291) was thought formerly to be the first Ontario record (Woodford 1963a, Barlow 1966). 8. A sight record of one bird at Fanshaw Lake, near London, from April 7 until early May, 1963 (Woodford 1963b). 9. A sight record of one bird at Hamilton, June 4-5, 1976 (Goodwin 1976) . 10. A sight record of one bird at Point Pelee, May 3 and 10, 1979 (Goodwin 1979). 11. A sight record of one bird at Erieau, October 23-25, 1979 (Goodwin 1980a) . 12. A sight record of one bird at Rodney, early May, 1980 (Good- win 1980b) . 13. A single bird collected at Sawlog Bay, Lower Rideau Lake, near Smiths Falls, October 22, 1983. This specimen is in the National Museum of Natural Sciences (NMNS 75124; Di Labio and Blacquiere 1984). Quebec - 5 records 14. A total of six birds out of a flock of 25 was collected at Lake St. Peter near Nicolet, late September or early Octob- er, 1955. One was mounted and donated to Laval University (Munro 1967). The disposition of the other five is not known . 15. A sight record of five birds on the Ottawa River near Thurso, mid-September, 1964 (Munro 1967). 16. A sight record of one bird on the Ottawa River near Thurso, May 12, 1965 (Munro 1967). 17. A sight record of one bird on the Ottawa River near Thurso, August, 1966 (Munro 1967). 18. A single bird collected at Montmagny, November 3, 1973. It now resides in the National Museum of Natural Sciences Col- lection (NMNS 59932) (Ouellet 1975). New Brunswick - 4 records All of the following New Brunswick records are from Squires ( 1962) . 19. A single bird was taken taken from a flock of 21 at Middle Dam, Seal Cove Brook, Grand Manan Island, November 4, 1961. This specimen was mounted and is now in the Grand Manan Mus- eum. 20. A sight record of 9 or 10 at Seal Cove Meadow, Grand Manan Island, November 11, 1961. 21. A sight record of one bird at Big Pond, Grand Manan Island, November 12 , 1961. 22. Five birds were collected from a flock of six near Evan- dale, November 21, 1961. The New Brunswick Museum has three of these specimens, the National Museum of Natural Sciences has one (NMNS 49152), and one was destroyed. Nova Scotia - I record 23. Several birds from a flock of 14 were shot by hunters at Bon Portage Island, January 15, 1976. A single wing was saved and deposited in the National Museum of Natural Sciences collection (NMNS 63345; Finch 1976a, S. Tingley per s . comm. ) . Earlier hypothetical records for Nova Scotia could not be traced. Prince Edward Island - 1 record 24. A photograph of a single bird at Tignish, August 17-18, 1975, was examined and verified by Dr. W.E. Godfrey of the National Musuem of Natural Sciences (Finch 1976b). The location of the photograph is not known. A sight record for Alberton in September, 1975, (Tingley 1976) almost cer- tainly refers to the same bird. The biological significance of these northern records of the Fulvous Whistling Duck is not evident. The speculation that this species was about to expand its breeding range northward based on the numerous reports in the early 1960s was unfounded. The factors involved in some birds straying so far from their normal haunts may never be known. The results of this review of the Fulvous Whistling Duck records for Canada indicate that little pattern exists with respect to season or location. Apparently these birds are individuals that were "lost", not just in terms of geography but also as breeding birds. This propensity to wander may be the result of a genetic factor present in a very low frequency in the breeding population that is continually being selected against by having those individuals with the factor leave. Alternatively, perhaps, they simply got caught in a weather system moving north. Whatever the reason, the Fulvous Whistling Duck remains an unusual species for Canada, well worth recording when it occurs. Ac know 1 edge men ts We wish to thank the following people for helping us to locate the specimens and photographs mentioned in this article: W. Earl Godfrey, Ross James, Ian McLaren, Peter Pearce and Stuart Tingley. Thanks also go to Louise Damant who typed the manuscript and who patiently retyped various parts of it as the authors changed their minds. Literature Cited Baird, J. 1963. The changing seasons: a summary of the fall migration. Audubon Field Notes 17(1): 4-8. Baillie, J.L. 1964. Ontario's newest birds. Ontario Field Biologist 18: 1-13. Barlow, J.C. 1966. Status of the Wood Ibis, the Fulvous Tree Duck and the Wheatear in Ontario. Canadian Field Naturalist: 80(4): 183-186. Barnston, G. 1861. Recollections of the swans and geese of Hudson's Bay. The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist 6(5): 337-344. Di Labio, B.M. and R. Blacquiere. 1984. A recent specimen of Fulvous Whistling Duck for Ontario. Trail & Landscape 18(2): 70. Finch, D. 1976a. Northeastern Maritime Region. American Birds 30(3): 690. Finch, D. 1976b. Northeastern Maritime Region. American Birds 30(1): : 30. Goodwin, 949. C.E. 1976. Ontario Region. Amer ican Birds 30(5): Goodwin, 766. C.E. 1979. Ontario Region. Amer ican Birds 33(5): Goodwin , 156. C.E. 1980a. Ontario Region. American Birds 34(2) Goodw in , C.E. 1980b. Ontario Region. Amer ican Birds 34(5) 77 I . Munro, W.T. 1967. Ocurrence of the Fulvous Tree Duck in Cana- da. Canadian Field Naturalist 81(2): 151-152. Macoun, J. and J.M. Macoun. 1909. Catalogue of Canadian birds. Dept, of Mines, Geological Survey Branch, Ottawa. 761 pp. Ouellet, H. 1975. An additional record of the Fulvous Tree Duck in Quebec. Canadian Field Naturalist 89(1): 74. Rodgers, T.H. 1963. Northern Rocky Mountains - Inter-mountain Region. Audubon Field Notes 17(1): 51. Sheppard, R.W. 1970. Bird Life of Canada's Niagara Frontier. Special Publication No. 3. Niagara Falls Nature Club. 2 18 Squires, W.A. 1962. Fulvous Tree Duck in New Brunswick. Cana- dian Field-Naturalist 76(2): 120. Tingley, S. 1976. Two firsts for Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Bird Society Newsletter 18(2): 100. Woodford, J. 1963a. Ontario and Western New York Region. Audubon Field Notes 17(1): 29-30. Woodford, J. 1963b. Ontario and Western New York Region. Audubon Field Notes 17(4): 400. n THE OTTAWA DUCK CLUB presents its NINTH ANNUAL WILDLIFE ART SHOW AND SALE prints Friday 25 Saturday 26 Sunday 27 - painting - October 5 p October 10 October 10 carving .m. - 10 p .m. a.m. - 10 p.m a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Nepean Sportsplex Admission $1.00 Come early for the best selection! Plate Morphs of the Threespine Stickleback in the National Capital Region Brian W. Coad Ichthyology Section National Museum of Natural Sciences Ottawa, Ontario K 1 A 0M8 The Threespine Stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) is a small fish which is comparatively rare in the National Capital Region. Populations found here are relicts of the Champlain Sea episode which followed the last glaciation. A Green's Creek nodule contained a fossil stickleback and was dated to about 10,000 years ago (McAllister, Cumbaa and Harington 1981). The Threespine Stickleback appears occasionally in local newspaper reports as an unusual fish found in Pink Lake, and it figures prominently on information signboards at the lake. It has no direct economic importance in Canada, and it is too small (usually less than 8 cm) to be a sport fish, yet it has attract- ed an immense amount of attention. Books and literally thou- sands of scientific and popular articles have been written about it (Coad 1981). Some scientists devote much of their working life to studies on this species. What then are its attractions? There are several, includ- ing a complex and unique reproductive behaviour, easy mainten- ance as an aquarium fish used in laboratory studies, and an importance in the ecology of northern waters, but a particular attraction is the morphological variation exhibited by this spec ies . One fascinating aspect of this variation is the occurrence and frequency of plate morphs. Populations of the Threespine Stickleback in the National Capital Region have a bit part to play in the continuing story of scientists' attempts to account for this variation. The classical situation has been studied by Hagen (1967) in the Little Campbell River in British Columbia. Sticklebacks lack scales but have a row of bony plates along the side of the body which may become expanded laterally into a keel on the caudal peduncle (Figure 1). A fully-plated morph has a continuous row of these plates including a strong keel. This morph lives most of its life in the sea. A low-plated morph, which always lives in freshwater, has no keel and only a few anterior plates. 220 1 Figure 1. Plate morphs in the Threespine Stickleback 1 = fully-plated morph 2 = partially-plated morph 3 = low-plated morph. 221 The marine, fully-plated morph migrates into freshwater to spawn. If it should meet the low-plated morph, as it did in Hagen's study, hybrids may result. The hybrids have a keel but with a gap between it and the anterior plates. This hybrid is called the partially-plated morph. These differences in plate morphs and other attributes of the marine and freshwater populations have been examined closely and shown to reflect genetic differences. The fully-plated and low-plated morphs acted as species in Hagen's study. It would seem impossible for there to be populations com- posed wholly of "partials" or hybrids for where are the parents which gave rise to them? But there are several populations of partials found in various parts of the world from Turkey to Canada. The classical explanation for plate morphs is not universally applicable, therefore, and the partial morph must be adaptive by itself. The two "parental" morphs may act as good species in some areas and not in others. There are several populations of Threespine Sticklebacks in the lakes and streams of the National Capital Region (Figure 2). These are all presumably derived from the fully-plated marine morph which was swimming about in the Champlain Sea (Rubec 1975). Other remnants of this marine incursion in the Great Lakes region are composed of the fully-plated morph (Miller and Hubbs 1969, Garside and Hamor 1973, Gibson 1982, and museum collections examined by me totalling 489 specimens), but certain of the populations in the National Capital Region are partially- plated while others have retained their plates (Table 1). 1. Priest Creek 2. Blanche River 3. Pink Lake 4. Lapeche River 5. Hawley Lake 6. Ramsay Lake 7. Kidder Lake 8. Eardley Stream 9. Jock River 10. Kemptville ditch Figure 2. Distribution of the Threespine Stickleback in the National Capital Region. Note that we do not have adults from all these localities; only adults have fully developed plates. 222 Table 1. Plate Morphs of adult Threespine Sticklebacks from the National Capital Region* Water Body Plate Morph Low Partial Full Hawley Lake ~ 1 Pink Lake - 3 - Kidder Lake - 2 - Ramsay Lake - 1 - Lapeche River - 49 27 Eardley Stream ]** 207 - Priest Creek - - 96 Quyon River - - 34 Kemptville ditch 1 - 1 * Collection data are on file in the National Museum of Natur- al Sciences . ** Modern science does not permit fudging of data. This fish was a low morph on its left side and a partial morph on its right. All other fish from this locality were partials on both sides. This fish mag be regarded as an anomaly. Gone are the good old days when anomalies were pitched out. Incidentally, the sparsity of data for lakes in this table is not an indication of sloth but of the difficulty of catching these fish. Their numbers appear to be low in lakes, perhaps because of competition with a variety of other species or be- cause they live beyond seining depth and are not readily caught in gill nets. The Quyon River fish represent the fruits of a single excursion; I have been unable to catch any more from this river. The Priest Creek, Eardley Stream and Lepehe River fish, in contrast, are easy to catch. The Eardley Stream fish are particularly interesting. This is only the fourth population in eastern North America which is believed to be composed wholly of the partially-plated morphs. It is unusual for two reasons: distance from the sea (ca. 400 km by air), and being a stream rather than a lake habitat (Coad 1983). Hagen and Moodie ( 1982), in an extensive survey, found the few partially-plated populations to be in lakes 10 km or less 223 from the sea. The lake populations in the National Capital Region may also prove to be wholly partials, but the sample sizes are too small to be certain of this. The sample from a ditch near Kemptville is both intriguing and frustrating. Only two fish are large enough (greater than 34 mm total length) to be scored for plate morph, and one is the only known low morph found in the National Capital Region. A much larger sample is necessary to assess the plate morph frequencies in this population. Perhaps it will prove to be polymorphic, a mixture of all three morphs. The Lapeche River population appears in Table I as a mixture of the fully- and partially-plated morphs. This is an oversimplification. I scored all fish with one or more plates missing as the partially-plated morph. The clear-cut differences between the two morphs shown in Figure I were found in some specimens, but it would be possible to find a complete range of specimens in transition from fully-plated to partially-plated, progressively lacking one more plate until a large gap is found between the tail plates and the anterior plates. Many "partials" did not have regular gaps in their plate row but a small gap, one or more plates and then another gap. Even the division of specimens in a population into three morphs is not as simple as first thought. Why have fully-plated populations, left behind by the retreat of the Champlain Sea, in some parts of the National Capital Region retained all their plates and in others lost some? The answer is we don't know. Perhaps environmental factors play a part, but a lot more work in the field and at the genetic level will be necessary before a fuller understanding of stickleback variation is gained. We need more specimens from new localities and from those only poorly sampled, but anyone who does collect Threespine Sticklebacks should return fish less than 34 mm total length to the water to give such juveniles a chance to grow and reproduce. Collections should be deposited in the National Museum of Natural Sciences where they will be available for study and serve as voucher specimens. Literature Cited Coad, B.W. 1981. A bibliography of the sticklebacks (Gastero- steidae: Osteichthyes) . Syllogeus 35: 1-142. Coad, B.W. 1983. Plate morphs in freshwater samples of Gaster- osteus aculeatus from Arctic and Atlantic Canada: complemen- tary comments on a recent contribution. Canadian Journal of Zoology 61( 5): 1 174-1 177 . 224 Garside, E.T. and T. Hamor . 1973. Meristic variation in the Threespine Stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. , in eastern Canadian waters. Canadian Journal of Zoology 51(5): 547-551. Gibson, D.W. 1982. Range extension of the Threespine Stickle- back, Gasterosteus aculeatus , to Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist 96(1): 86. Hagen, D.W. 1967. Isolating mechanisms in Threespine Stickle- backs (Gasterosteus) . Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 24(8): 1637-1692. Hagen, D.W. and G.E.E. Moodie. 1982. Polymorphism for plate morphs in Gasterosteus aculeatus on the east coast of Canada and an hypothesis for their global distribution. Canadian Journal of Zoology 60: 1032-1042. McAllister, D.E., S.L. Cumbaa and C.R. Harington. 1981. Pleis- tocene fishes (Coregonus , Osmerus, Microgadus , Gasterosteus) from Green Creek, Ontario, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 18(8): 1356-1364. Miller, R.R. and C.L. Hubbs. 1969. Systematics of Gasterosteus aculeatus , with particular reference to intergradation and introgress ion along the Pacific Coast of North America: a commentary on a recent contribution. Copeia 1969(1): 52-69. Rubec, P.J. 1975. Fish distribution in Gatineau Park, Quebec, in relation to postglacial dispersal, man's influence, and eutrophication. Canadian Field-Naturalist 89(4): 389-399. n REMINDER: As noted in the last issue of Trail & Landscape (page 140) no collecting is permitted on National Capital Commission lands unless a proper research permit has been obtained. 225 Annual Presqu'ile Park Field Trip Bruce M. Di Labio and V. Bernard Ladouceur This year's trip took place on March 31, 1985. A full bus load (42 people plus two leaders/authors) left Carlingwood Shop- ping Centre at 6:35 a.m. The weather was cloudy, windy and cool, and this made for an uneventful drive down. Only a single Turkey Vulture and the occasional hawk were noticed. We arrived at the park at 10:30 a.m. and found few birds until we reached the waterfowl observation points. Thousands of scaup and Ring-necked Ducks were present, and closer scrutiny revealed smaller numbers of Redhead, Canvasback, Common Golden- eye and other diving ducks. An adult Bald Eagle that had been observed by Ron Pittaway and Doug McRae earlier that morning made a brief appearance over Presqu'ile Bay. Unfortunately, the bird was not near enough for most of the group to identify, but a few lucky people, including the leaders, were able to get a reasonable view of the bird drifting off towards the north. There were other highlights, however, including a flock of 17 Red Crossbills which were too busy eating to notice 44 people setting up 20 power scopes to view them at point blank range. Later, the group had excellent leisurely views of male Oldsquaws with their long, pointed tails, pinkish bills and unusual face patterns . We ate lunch at the lighthouse as usual. At this time the weather changed from uncomfortable to miserable as the winds picked up and freezing rain began to fall - not a good sign for a flock of 35 Tree Swallows which blew past us. After lunch, we checked a few woodland trails before making our last stop in the park at Owen Point. Here we could see thousands of Ring-billed Gulls on Gull Island, as well as a few Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, and two Killdeers. Our drive home featured blowing snow between Brighton and Smiths Falls, making further stops impractical. The weather was clear by the time we reached Carleton Place, but it caught up to us a few hours later. We arrived at Carlingwood Shopping Centre at 6:30 p.m. The major purpose of this trip, of course, is to see and study waterfowl; 14 species and 5,000 - 6,000 individuals were observed. The final tally for the trip was 43 species, 34 of which were actually seen in the park. 226 Birds observed at Presqu'ile Provincial Park by the group Mallard 10 Black Duck 2 American Wigeon 30+ Redhead 275+ Ring-necked Duck 800+ Canvasback 350+ Greater Scaup 3000+ Lesser Scaup 300+ Common Goldeneye 400+ Bufflehead 50+ Oldsquaw 40+ Hooded Merganser 9 Common Merganser 75+ Red-breasted Merganser 16 Bald Eagle 1 adult American Coot 2 Killdeer 5 Great Black-backed Gull 8 Herring Gull 100+ Ring-billed Gull 1000+ Tree Swallow 35 Blue Jay 6 Common Crow 8 Black-capped Chickadee 8 American Robin 15 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 European Starling 7 Red-winged Blackbird 100+ Common Grackle 18+ Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Pine Siskin 48 American Goldfinch 3 Red Crossbill 17 Song Sparrow 5 Additional species observed outside the park Pied-billed Grebe 3 Canada Goose 8 Northern Pintail 4 Turkey Vulture 1 Red-tailed Hawk 6 American Kestrel 4 Rock Dove 6 Mourning Dove 8 House Sparrow 12 Diane Lepage used Bruce's camera to photograph the group in the woods near the lighthouse at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. n 227 Wanted: Volunteer Coordinators and Lecturers The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club is interested in promot- ing awareness of natural history to groups external to the Club, such as school children, adult community groups, and youth groups including scouts and guides. Some preliminary work has been done to develop short bird slide talks, full-day workshops and courses on birds and bird- watching. We would like to expand this service first. We feel there is potentially a large demand for lectures on birds that is not currently being met. If you are interested in volunteering your time to do occasional talks, to help develop slide talks or to develop and implement this service, please contact Betty Marwood, Chairman, Education and Publicity Committee, at 692-4195 for more details. University of Ottawa Noncredit Course CURRENT TOPICS IN ORCHID BIOLOGY Six Wednesdays: October 3 - November 7, 7 - 10 p.m. This program will explore current topics including germina- tion and growth of seedlings, hormone-assisted vegetative propa- gation, genetics and taxonomy. Laboratory investigations will give the participant the opportunity to design simple experiments, collect data and draw conclus ions . Fee: $50. Limited enrolment. For further information and registration, contact the Uni- versity of Ottawa Service for Continuing Education, 5 Osgoode Street, Ottawa, Ontario KIN 6N5, telephone 564-4263. 228 arranged by the Excursions and Lectures Committee Philip Martin (729-3218), Chairman Times stated for excursions are departure times. Please arrive earlier; leaders start promptly. If you need a ride, don't hesitate to ask the leader. Restricted trips will be open to non-members only after the indicated deadl ines . * If you register for an event and subsequently decide not to * * go, please cancel your registration because there may be a * * waiting list. On many occasions we have had to turn down * * would-be participants only to have the bus leave with sev- * * eral empty seats. * Saturday 3 1 August 7:00 a .m. BIRDING IN THE WEST END Leader: Ray Holland (225-9655) Meet: Britannia Drive-In Theatre, Carling Avenue. The emphasis will be on early fall migrants, includ- ing shorebirds if the level of the Ottawa River is not too high. For this three- or four-hour outing, binoculars are essential and waterproof footwear is advisable . Wednesday MIDWEEK AFTERNOON BIRDING FIELD TRIP 4 Sept. Leader: Bruce Di Labio (729-6267) 4:00 p.m. Meet: Ottawa Beach (just east of Andrew Haydon Park on Carling Avenue) The emphasis will be on shorebirds if conditions are appropriate. Bring a snack because this outing will last until dusk. Sunday BIRDING IN THE WEST END 8 Sept. Leader: Tom Hanrahan (230-5290) 8:00 a.m. Meet: Entrance to Britannia Filtration Plant; #51 bus stops here. The emphasis will be on migrants, including shore- birds, if the level of the Ottawa River is low enough. For this half-day outing, binoculars or a scope are essential, and waterproof footwear is ad- visable. Bring a lunch. 229 Tuesday 10 Sept. 8:00 p .m. Saturday 14 Sept. 8:30 a .m. Saturday 14 Sept. 7:00 a .m. Monday 16 Sept. 7:30 p .m. OFNC MONTHLY MEETING MEMBERS' SLIDE NIGHT Meet: Salon , National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets. Admission: At least one natural history slide or a 5 0<^ donat ion to the Alfred Bog Fund. This popular event will be an excellent opportunity to share your favourite natural history slides and reminiscences of past trips, both local and far afield, with fellow members. Any number of slides up to a maximum of 15 will be welcome, and up to 15 minutes will be allotted for each slide presentation. Those bringing the mandatory one slide need not speak if they do not wish to do so. Those bringing more than one or two slides, please contact Rick Leavens 835-3336) to prearrange your presentation, p.s. Last year we collected $26 for the Alfred Bog Fund . FALL WILDFLOWERS FIELD TRIP Leader: Frank Bell (521-8046) Meet: Neatby Building, Central Experimental Farm, one block west of the Irving Place-Maple Drive stoplight on Carling Avenue. Use the parking lot west of the Neatby Building and south of the greenhouses. The emphasis will be on identification of goldenrods and asters. Bring a lunch for this long half-day out ing. BIRDING AT NAIRNE ISLAND AND CORNWALL POWER DAM Leader: Bruce Di Labio (729-6267) Participants will visit Nairne Island east of Morris- burg and the Cornwall Power Dam to observe shore- birds, gulls and migrating landbirds. Dress warmly, wear waterproof footwear, and bring a hearty lunch for this all-day outing. Binoculars and/or scopes are essential. Transportation will be by private cars. Only a limited number of participants will be accepted. To register and learn further details, telephone the leader. BIRD STUDY GROUP Meet: Activity Room #15, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets Coordinator: George McGee Projects will include the continuation of (a) group and individual programs associated with the study of populations and distribution of local birds, 230 (b) workshops on bird identification, (c) the promotion and use of the "Bird Study Kit" for youth and other non-member groups. Saturday 21 Sept. 8:30 a .m . MUSHROOM FIELD TRIP Leader: Jim Ginns Meet: Neatby Building, Central Experimental Farm, one block west of Irving Place-Maple Drive stoplight on Carling Avenue. Use the parking lot west of the Neatby Building and south of the greenhouses. Since only 25 persons can be accepted, participants must register by telephoning the Club number (72 2— 3050). Sunday 22 Sept. 8:00 a .m. ANNUAL PICNIC: BUS TRIP TO NAIRNE ISLAND Meet: National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets, front entrance Nairne Island is located in the St. Lawrence River ******* several kilometres east of Upper Canada Village. Although it is an excellent spot at this time of year for waterfowl, shorebirds and migrants, the walks will not focus exclusively on birding. Note Change of Date ******* Participants will be able to top off their pic- nic lunches with the traditional cheddar cheese, ap- ples and cake, for which $1.75 will be collected. The National Museum of Natural Sciences will provide the Dinobus free of charge for transportation. Those wishing to go should register at least ten days in advance by telephoning the Club number (722-3050). Wednesday 25 Sept. 8:00 a.m. MIDWEEK BIRDING FOR THE RETIRED Leaders: Frank Bell (521-8046) and Ellaine Dickson (722-3050) Meet: Entrance to Britannia Filtration Plant; #51 bus stops here. This outing will concentrate on ducks and other mi- grants including shorebirds, if the water level of the Ottawa River is not too high. Bring a snack for this half-day outing. Wednesday 2 Oct. 4:00 p .m . MIDWEEK AFTERNOON BIRDING FIELD TRIP Leader: Bruce Di Labio (729-6267) Meet: Ottawa Beach (just east of Andrew Haydon Park on Carling Avenue) The emphasis will be on migrants, ducks and, if the water level of the Ottawa River is low enough, shore- birds. Bring a snack because this outing will last until dusk. 231 Saturday 5 Oct . 9:00 a .m . AUTUMN COLOURS BUS TRIP Leaders: Aileen Mason (722-2279) and Ellaine Dickson (722-3050) Meet: National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets, front entrance Enjoy a general interest stroll amidst the beautiful colours of autumn at Le Centre Educatif Forestier du Lac-La-Blanche. Not surprisingly, some emphasis will be placed on tree identification. The National Museum of Natural Sciences' Dinobus will be provided free of charge for transportation. Those wishing to go should register at least ten days in advance by phoning the Club number (722-3050). Bring a hearty lunch for this all-day outing. Tuesday 8 Oct. 8:00 p .m . OFNC MONTHLY MEETING BREAKFAST WITH THE RARE AND ENDANGERED VANCOUVER ISLAND MARMOT Speaker: Bob Milko Meet: Auditorium, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets Bob Milko is a habitat ecologist and a recent M.Sc. graduate from the University of Victoria, where he spent two summers studying the foraging ecology of the Vancouver Island Marmot. He has also spent many years studying alpine ecology in the Canadian Rockies . Sunday 20 Oct. 9:00 a.m. EIGHTH ANNUAL JOINT OUTING WITH THE OTTAWA RIDEAU TRAIL CLUB: BUS TRIP TO PERTH WILDLIFE RESERVE AND MILL POND CONSERVATION AREA Meet: National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets, front entrance The Perth Wildlife Reserve, a Wildlife Management Demonstration Area, employs improvement of habitat for birds to create variety. Carson Thompson, the manager, will lead a tour of the Reserve then take us to the Mill Pond Conservation Area, which features a variety of habitats. There are interesting trees and a sugar bush. Bring a lunch. For further infor- mation, call Eileen Evans (741-0789). To register, telephone the Club number (722-3050) at least one week in advance of the trip. The Dinobus will be provided free of charge by the National Museum of Natural Sciences. Monday 2 1 Oct. 7:30 p .m. BIRD STUDY GROUP Meet: Activity Room #15, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe and McLeod Streets See entry for Sept. 16. 232 Sunday 27 Oct. 8:30 a.m. BIRDING IN THE WEST END Leader: Roy John (226-20J9) (Frank Bell (521-8046)) Meet: Britannia Drive-In Theatre, Carling Avenue The emphasis will be on ducks and fall migrants. Bring a lunch for this half-day outing. Tuesday 12 Nov. 8:00 p.m. OFNC MONTHLY MEETING DON’T BRING' THEM BACK Speaker: W.P. Campbell Meet: Auditorium, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Metcalfe mi McLeod Streets Dr. Campbell, Special Projects Director in the Plant Health Division, Agriculture Canada, will discuss the reasons for plant quarantine and the role that can be played by collectors and fanciers in protecting Cana- da's agriculture, forestry and environment from the establishment of new pests. PROPOSED GASPE TRIP The Excursions and Lectures Committee is planning an eight or nine day bus trip to the Gaspe in Jure of 1986. The cost per person based on a full busload will be about $400 for surface Dd and boa" T" transportation and double occupancy accomodation. Food and boat charters will be additional expenses. The trip will focus on seabirds, especially on Bonaventure Island, caribou on Mount Jacques Cartier, boreal birds and flora, and whales. -4Zm^-€ 1. « ^ ' V . r :V : •' .*■ sy Sa, - ' Anyone interested should telephone the. Club number ( 7 22— 3050). If there is an encouraging response1, further details will appear in future issues of Trail & Landscape. OTTAWA DUCK CLUB OPEN HOUSE * ’ • - ' m This year the Ottawa Duck Club Open House will take place on October 19th and 20th at the sanctuary on Fourth Line near the end of the Klondike Side Read, Kanata. Ot.tawa Field- Naturalists' Club members will be welcome to visit the sanctuary on these dates. After arriving, they should report to a Duck Club member. WL ;.;r V J DEADLINE : Material intended for the November- December issue must be in the Editor's hands before August 31 at the latest.