_2_ 
     
    
   
   
    
     was necessairly reared on P.E.I. The present record is the first . 
     
     proof of nesting by Hooded Mergansers on the Island. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Hooded Mergansers are the smallest merganser and compare in size 
     
     to a Ringneck Duck. They nest in tree cavities around fresh water 
     
     ponds. 
     
    

    
     Paul Strain 
     
     123 Nassau Street 1 
     
     CharlottetOWn, P.E.I. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Francis Bain Bird—a—thon and Census, 1978 
     
    
   
   
    
     The first annual Francis Bain Bird-a—thon was held May 28, 
     
     1978. The event was a great success in that it provided approximately 
     
     $650 to the Natural History Society coffers. Those of us participating 
     
     has a great birding day observing a total of 116 species including a 
     
     number of migrants. Results of the bird-a-thon are published in the 
     
     summer issue of "The Environeer".“'Participants were Judy Allen, 
     
     Lenore Andrew, Roger Andrew, Winnie Cairns, Rosemary Curley, Connie 
     
     Gaudet, Winston Johnston, Simon Lunn, Margaret Mallett, Kathy Martin, 
     
     Danny McAskill, Mindy Rowse, Dave Smith, Paul Strain and Mary Willms. 
     
     We thank our sponsors for their~support. 
     
    
   
   
    
     I Preparations for the 1979 Francis Bain Bird-a—thon will begin early 
     
     in the new year. 
     
    

    
     Dave Smith 
     
    

    
     Newton, P.E.I. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Whale Wash—ups Still Poorly Understood 
     
    
   
   
    
     Despite mammoth size, importance in marine ecosystems, and historic 
     
     status as human prey, the great whales remain poorly known to science. 
     
     The recent spate of whales washing up on Island shores has left biologists 
     
     scratching their heads.‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     Toothed whales normally find their way through dark or murky 
     
     waters by listening to echoes of the sounds they produce. This echoloca- 
     
     tion system is extraordinarily accurate, but for reasons known only to 
     
     themselves, whole "pods" of toothed whales sometimes swim up onto beaches 
     
     where they strand themselves and die. One species which regularly 
     
     commits suicide in this way is the pilot whale or bluefish, which is 
     
     occasionally seen in Island waters. 
     
    
   
   
    
     All of the whales that came ashore on the Island recently were 
     
     fin whales, a medium—sized (adult length about 20 m) species in the 
     
     baleen whale group. It is still unclear if most, or any, of this group 
     
     navigate by means of an echolocation system, although they too are some- 
     
     times the victims of mass strandings. Whales, of course, may wash up 
     
     after having died from natural causes, but the question that remains un- 
     
     answered about the five P.E.I. arrivals (all dead before washing up) is 
     
     why so many in such a short period of time? These whales have but one 
     
     natural enemy: The killer whale, which consumes only the tongues of its 
     
     large victims. Killers are occasionally seen in the Gulf, and their 
     
     presence was confirmed several years ago by the wash-up of a number of 
     
     tongue—less carcasses on the north shore of the Gulf. But since the 
     
     whales washing up on our beaches have their tongues intact, the answer 
     
     must lie elsewhere. 
     
    
   
   
    
     One possible explanation is that these whales are victims of last 
     
     winter's ice in the northern Gulf, since winter ice conditions are be- 
     
     lieved to be the major enemy of whales in this area. A whale inadvertently 
     
     caught beneath a large ice mass could suffocate before reaching open 
     
     water, while an individual trapped in an ice flow could sustain injuries 
     
     from the moving blocks of ice and later die from infected wounds. The 
     
     badly decomposed whales now appearing in Island waters may have died as 
     
     long ago as last winter. Early autumn changes in prevailing wind patterns 
     
     and current flow in the Gulf could be the reason the carcasses are only 
     
     now showing up.