Parrsboro Field Naturalists Events
Aug 13-Sep 24, 2016
Here is the schedule for the Parrsboro Field Naturalists events for the remainder of the summer. There is an event every Saturday except during the Gem and Mineral Show on the 20th of August when the Fundy Geological Museum is offering a variety of geology and dinosaur excursions.
For all events but one, we meet at the Fundy Geological Museum at !:00 pm and then proceed from there by car caravan to the site of our exploration. All sites are within 15 km of Parrsboro. The one exception is the star gazing night on the 27th of August, when we meet at the museum at 9:00 pm., not 1;00 in the afternoon.
These excursions are family oriented. We don't walk more than a couple of km at most and events last for about one and a half hours. I will bring nets and buckets for frog catching events and the museum will lend out binoculars free of charge.
- John Brownlie
AUGUST 13th: Baby Blue Frogs
Sitting on the sphagnum mat at Diligent River bog pond are about 50 baby Green Frogs that have recently lost their tails and are now breathing air. And two of them are BLUE!!! The large darners are laying eggs in the wet peat, while other dragons and damsels are mating on the wing.
Bring your boots and your camera.
AUGUST 20th: Gem and Mineral Show
See the Fundy Geological Museum website for a list of their events
AUGUST 27th: Starry Starry Night
On the very day that NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to make its first very close approach to Jupiter, we will be gazing into the Universe to locate various constellations and hear the Greek legends associated with them. At Partridge Island, we can escape the bright lights of Parrsboro and gain an unobstructed view of the heavens.
SEPTEMBER 3rd : Dragonflies ARE Migrating
We will observe darners, skimmers and meadow hawks with white noses as they make their long journey southwards to destinations which are still a mystery to scientists who study these incredible, long-distance voyageurs. Where they go? why they go? what route do they take? do they lay eggs along the way? -- all questions still to be answered. The methods currently being used to sort this out are equally incredible!
SEPTEMBER 10th : Mushrooms
We will explore a Sugar Maple forest in search of Dead Man's Fingers, Winter Slippery Cap, Corrals, Scarlet Elf Cups, boletes and many others. It has been extremely dry. If we don't begin to get some decent rainfall events and the mushrooms do not emerge from the forest floor, we will visit Jeffers Brook waterfalls and investigate the interesting mosses and liverworts growing in the wetness provided by the falls.
SEPTEMBER 17th : Spiders are Preparing for Winter
The average date for our first frost in Parrsboro is the 20th of September -- just three days from now. Before they die with the cold nights, these Argiope spiders (black with bold yellow markings) must create egg cases in which hundreds of their babies will be able to survive the winter -- something they themselves cannot do. Is there anything stronger than spider silk? Learn how spider genes inserted into moth caterpillars are creating tough new materials!
SEPTEMBER 24th : Our Winter Canada Geese Have Arrived
Hundreds of geese, Black Ducks, and Green-winged Teal will be feeding on the vegetated mud flats at the "Aboiteau" in Parrsboro. We'll walk out onto the mud flats to see what it is that sustains them here all winter long. If we fixed the leaky gates and permanently flooded these mud flats, could geese stay here during the winter? What would happen if we returned this area back to a tidal saltmarsh?
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