NEWS AND NOTES 
     
    
   
   
    
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     FEBRUARY MEETING REPORT. At the February 2nd meeting a complementary membership ‘ 
     
     in the society for 1982 was voted to Lorraine MacLeod of Murray River in recognition 
     
     of her work in caring for sick and injured wildlife. Rosemary Curley reported on 
     
     the ongoing Barrow's Goldeneye surveys being carried out by members. Prizes of 
     
     $45.00 (senior) and $35.00 (junior) will be presented to winning Science Fair 
     
     projects on natural history and environmental themes; judges named were Sue 
     
     Stephenson and Bill Glenn. A visit to the Planetarium to see a program entitled 
     
     'The Jupiter Effect' is scheduled for Feb. 16. A committee was appointed to check 
     
     on the current status of plans by P.E.I. National Park to close the road to 
     
     Cavendish sandspit to protect the Piping Plovers nesting there. Another committee 
     
     was formed to investigate the possibility of reprinting The Plants of P.E.I. by 
     
     David Erskine. Two Montague area members are to prepare a proposal for the 
     
     establishment of a Christmas Bird Count in that area. Mary Willms is the new 
     
     chairman of the lunch committee. 
     
    

    
     ’ Guest speaker for the evening was Andy Dean, who presented a most enjoyable 
     
     slide-tape sequence on Corbett Pond in the University of New Brunswick woodlot 
     
     near Fredericton. Accompanied by music and the sounds of nature, the photographs 
     
     showed the multitude of life forms, colours, textures, sizes, shapes and moods 
     
     which inhabit the pond and its periphery through the seasons. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     NATURE SLIDE COMPETITION. Deadline for receipt of entries 
     
     is April 7th. Members may submit up to ten slides on any 
     
     natural history theme, as long as the slides have not been 
     
     entered in any previous.society contest. Slides may be 
     
     taken on P.E.I. or elsewhere. They should not bear the 
     
     owner's name (or name may be c0vered with masking tape). ‘ 
     
     The 10wer left corner should be indicated by a spot in 
     
     that corner of the mount. Entries should be sent to 
     
     Margaret Mallett at 53 Fitzroy St. in Charlottetown or may 
     
     be brought to the April meeting. Slides entered in the 
     
     contest will be shewn at the May meeting, at which time 
     
     prizes will be awarded. 
     
    
   
   
    
     HOW FAST CAN A BUTTERFLY FLY? For regular travel butterflies 
     
     ' can move at a rate of 15—20 mph, but during migration when they 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     are in more of a hurry, they can reach speeds of up to 25 mph! 
     
     (from The Countryman winter 1981/82 - submitted by Eleanor Lowe) 
     
    
   
   
    
     SAD NEWS. The Common Murre which was picked up in an oiled condition on the shores 
     
    

    
     of Tracadie Bay during the P.E.I. National Park Christmas Bird Count died on Friday, 
     
     Feb. 26. It had spent the intervening two months in the care of Lorraine MacLeod 
     
    

    
     of Murray River. Its feathers had been cleaned successfully with mineral oil, a 
     
     treatment which also renders a bird's natural oils incapable of maintaining their 
     
     water resistance. Thus it had been planned to keep the bird in captivity until 
     
    

    
     the fall, by which time a full moult would have been completed, with the new 
     
    

    
     feathers having the normal ability to shed water. During the time the murre had 
     
    

    
     been with Miss MacLeod, it had apparently recovered quite well on its diet of frozen 
     
     fish, gaining considerable weight and becoming quite tame. A few days before its 
     
     death, the bird's skin developed a purplish hue, a possible indication of circulation 
     
     problems. When Miss MacLeod examined the body she found a good sized breast muscle 
     
     and a thick layer of fat. A large clot of blood was discovered in one of the 
     
     arteries near the heart, which she speculates may have been the cause of death. ‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
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