Prior experience with this species

Although rare but annual in Minnesota (mostly SE), I have never seen a Golden Eagle in my state. But I have seen them elsewhere a half dozen times in my life, most recently a couple'individuals in various plumages January 2003 in south New Mexico while birding with a VENT tour. I have never carefully studied their plumage

variations in the field, and relied heavily then (and this time) on collective opinion of the group to confirm the identification.

TWO NEW DRAGONFLY SPECIES FOR PEI: by Robert W. Harding

The number of dragonfly species known from PEI now stands at 67, and the latest two additions are from the Emerald (Corduliidae) family: the Forcipate Emerald (Somatochloraforcipata) and the Incurvate Emerald (S. incurvata). These medium to large sized dragonflies have dark bodies with metallic green reflections and the most brilliant emerald green eyes. They are strong graceful flyers, are secretive and rarely encountered, and can be quite challenging to net. The two species discussed here are very similar and can only be positively identified by close examination in the hand.

The newest dragonfly recorded from PEI, the Forcipate Emerald, was found earlier this summer by my son Jake, as part of his summer job with the provincial environment department assessing the status of selected insect species. It was collected in Prince County, near the Ellerslie Bog Interpretation Site along the Confederation Trail. This inhabitant of slow moving waters is of generally northern distribution, and has been found elsewhere in the Maritimes. .

The second most recent addition to the PEI list, the Incurvate Emerald, was first recorded in 2001 from a bog near the Old Pisquid Road in Queens County. This species has since been found in Kings and Prince counties, again through Jake’s work this summer with the PEI environment department. The Incurvate Emerald’s breeding habitat is Sphagnum bogs, and in Maine it has been designated a Species of Special Concern.

When the Atlantic Dragonfly Inventory Program (ADIP) was established ten years ago, the PEI list stood at 49. Besides the current efforts of the provincial environment department, work on dragonflies has recently been done by UPEI, Parks Canada, and on Natural History Society field trips. As more dragonfly surveying is done, the list of species known from PEI will likely continue to grow.

KITE FLYING OFF EAST POINT: by Dan McAskill

I never thought flying a kite would be part of an offshore birding and whaling adventure but fact is often stranger than fiction. A phone call from Lorne Yeo on July 28'h led to an offshore adventure that I will long remember. Lorne recently retired and his fellow staff at the Guardian, knowing his passion for fishing, presented him with a tuna fishing trip as a gift. Thus, just before 9 am on July 31“, Lorne and a group of four friends whom he invited boarded Captain Jeff MacNeil’s boat at North Lake for a day of fishing on the waters off the north shore.

The harbour itself had a significant number of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls and a small number of Ring-billed Gulls. Just off the harbour buoy, we were joined by a few Bonaparte’s Gulls and we seen small numbers of these small gulls during the day as they plucked up tidbits from the surface of the water. As we cruised out in the morning sunshine, the water was very calm with only a gentle swell. Our first stop was about a kilometre off the harbour where we were surrounded by the tuna fleet as each boat fished for mackerel for the boat’s live well (a circular plastic container which has a water jet circulating the water to keep the mackerel alive). Only a few were caught at this spot so we moved to a second area to the east. Here we quickly caught about 40 mackerel on unbaited streamer flies. We then headed eastward along the shore. The sonar revealed huge numbers