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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