Angela MacLean

Diptera and a Coleoptera review

DR. SALLY STUART’S SEASONAL SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF ALBER-

TA: 180 YEARS OF TURKEY VULTURE RESEARCH

Early one morning in late May, we drove past a road-killed fox near our acreage. One hour later, the crows and ravens had started to remove its entrails, but later that day a pair of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) appeared. One of them had a large yel-low band patagial tag bearing the letters ANY. Further research showed this bird was banded in Alberta as a nestling on August 5, 2014 near Two Hills, AB. Turkey Vultures are the only vulture found in Canada belonging to a group known as “New World Vultures.” They are not closely related to Old World Vultures, despite sharing the same ecological role of eating carrion. Vultures are remarkable birds with incredible anatomical and physiological adaptations which enable them to be efficient fli-ers and live in a wide variety of environments (particularly hot climates). Their beaks, which have nasal slits so large that day-light can be seen through them, are of special interest to me. Despite it being long believed that all birds have a poor sense of smell, scent plays an important role for birds in terms of loca-tion of mates, food and navigation. Turkey Vultures have played a pivotal role in the research of bird olfaction, a field of study that has been long and complicat-

ed. This history has been summarized by Tim Birkhead in his book Bird Sense. The research began in early Victorian times, when experiments conducted by the American Ornithologist, John James Audubon, led him to believe that Turkey Vultures had little to no sense of smell. Such was his influence in the scientific community that—despite evidence to the contrary (such as Richard Owen who in 1837 revealed a large trigeminal nerve which takes info from the nose to the brain)—scientists continued to believe birds lacked a keen sense of smell. It was not until 1964 when a scientific illustrator, Betsy Bang, using meticulous observation and dissecting skills revealed the com-plexity of the nasal cavity. The remarkable nasal cavity con-tained sinuses and scrolls of bone and cartilage called nasal con-chae, which would greatly increase the surface area. It is now known that the nasal conchae are covered with epithelial tissue sup-porting many chemorecep-tors which are extremely sensitive to volatile odours. The Northern Fulmar has similar elaborate folds in its beak that also play a role in olfactory reception. Kiwis are renowned for their sense of smell: they have 600 genes coding for chemoreceptors, which allow them to respond to hundreds of different odours. Chemoreceptors form part of the olfactory nerve which gener-ates electrical messages which terminate in an area of the brain called the olfactory bulb. There, further specialized mitral cells take this information to regions of the brain such as the cerebral cortex, an area which allows for perception of the odour. In 1968, Bang and Cobb made painstaking measurements of the olfactory bulbs in birds brain. They determined that the bulbs ranged in size from tiny in songbirds to much larger in Turkey Vultures. It is now known that the relative size of this area is correlated with smell. As recently as 2017, a scientific paper examined scent guided foraging in Turkey Vultures, finding high numbers of mitral cells and confirming Bang’s research. Although studies have proven that Turkey Vultures also have excellent sight, they are very dependent on their sense of smell. Canada is at the northern part of their breeding range, so by September, Turkey Vultures are migrating to warmer climates. Despite weighing about 2 kg, they are magnificent fliers, migrat-ing up to 6,000 kms. Their long, narrow pointed wings enable them to soar with ease. I can’t help but imagine what their long extinct relatives, the Teratorns, would have looked like soaring majestically, high in the sky. The largest species weighed ap-proximately 80 kg with a wing span of 6 to 8 m! Today, the New World Vultures consist of only two condors and five vul-tures. Only one species, the Turkey Vulture, is found in Alberta.

May 25—26 species count: Judy Boyd, Count Compiler

Canada Goose 1062

Trumpeter Swan 3CW

Wood Duck 1

Gadwall 299

American Wigeon 43

Mallard 666

Blue-winged Teal 347

Cinnamon Teal 20

Northern Shoveler 263

Northern Pintail 16

Green-winged Teal 61

Canvasback 60

Redhead 161

Ring-necked Duck 127

Lesser Scaup 384

Bufflehead 124

Common Goldeneye 77

Hooded Merganser 1

Common Merganser 16

Ruddy Duck 141

Gray Partridge 2

Ruffed Grouse 7

Common Loon 11

Pied-billed Grebe 9

Horned Grebe 27

Red-necked Grebe 24

Eared Grebe 239

Western Grebe 21

American White

Pelican 52

Double-crested

Cormorant 37

Great Blue Heron 18

Turkey Vulture 4

Northern Harrier 4

Osprey 8

Bald Eagle 7

Cooper's Hawk 1CW

Swainson's Hawk 9

Red-tailed Hawk 100

Virginia Rail 1

Sora 20

American Coot 691

Sandhill Crane 11

Semipalmated Plover 1

Killdeer 39

Black-necked Stilt 13

American Avocet 21

Spotted Sandpiper 21

Willet 7

Marbled Godwit 5

Semipalmated Sandpiper 4

Least Sandpiper 2

Wilson's Snipe 51

Wilson's Phalarope 87

Franklin's Gull 10

Ring-billed Gull 40

California Gull 2

Black Tern 68

Common Tern 8

Forster's Tern 16

Rock Pigeon 211

Eurasian Collared-Dove 4

Mourning Dove 28

Great Horned Owl 20

Great Gray Owl 1

Ruby-throated Humming-bird 19

Belted Kingfisher 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 20

Downy Woodpecker 44

Hairy Woodpecker 25

Northern Flicker 13

Pileated Woodpecker 11

American Kestrel 11

Merlin 3

Peregrine Falcon 2

Prairie Falcon 1

Olive-sided Flycatcher 1

Western Wood-Pewee 1

Least Flycatcher 58

Eastern Phoebe 7

Great Crested Flycatcher 1CW

Western Kingbird 1

Eastern Kingbird 9

Warbling Vireo 2

Canada Jay 1

Blue Jay 38

Black-billed Magpie 277

American Crow 249

Common Raven 144

Purple Martin 135

Tree Swallow 462

Bank Swallow 132

Cliff Swallow 937

Barn Swallow 109

Black-capped Chickadee 124

Boreal Chickadee 11

Red-breasted Nuthatch 16

White-breasted Nuthatch 25

House Wren 108

Marsh Wren 12

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9

Mountain Bluebird 62

Hermit Thrush 1 CW

American Robin 347

Gray Catbird 11

European Starling 554

Black-and-white Warbler 1

Tennessee Warbler 1 CW

Common Yellowthroat 3

American Redstart 1

Yellow Warbler 126

Yellow-rumped Warbler 30

Spotted Towhee 2

Chipping Sparrow 108

Clay-coloured Sparrow 223

Vesper Sparrow 51

Savannah Sparrow 145

Song Sparrow 51

Lincoln's Sparrow 8

White-throated Sparrow 27

White-crowned Sparrow 29

Dark-eyed Junco 13

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 22

Red-winged Blackbird 1160

Western Meadowlark 58

Yellow-headed Blackbird 271

Brewer's Blackbird 278

Common Grackle 22

Brown-headed Cowbird 74

Baltimore Oriole 32

Purple Finch 33

House Finch 22

Pine Siskin 23

American Goldfinch 84

Evening Grosbeak 14

House Sparrow 279

Participants: 54 –Karin Bjorge, Myron Bjorge, Judy Boyd, Larry Boyd, Phil Burkinshaw, Lois Burkinshaw, Colleen Caddy, Jerry Caddy, John Caddy, Jillian Callihoo, Sandra Cameron, Wally Cameron, Vern Connelly, Izzy Deutsch, Sharon Guest, Connie Haustein, Bill Heinsen, Colin Hill, Katelyn Hill, Shaye Hill, Roy Jamieson, Emily Jamnicky, Gordon Johnson, Pat Johnson, Carol Kelly, Keith Kline, Jim Leslie, Joyce Lemke, Claudia Lipski, Lynda Mar-shall, Ron McDonald, Vi McDonald, Mark Meunier, Ruby Meunier, Dorothy Murray, Sandy Murray, Tanya O’Donaghue, Myrna Pearman, Doug Peder-sen, Bonnie Potter, Jim Potter, Linda Prockiw, Darlene Reimche, Lydia Sancetta, Heather Saunders, Joanne Susat, Sandra Sutherland, Rick Tallas, Bev Thompson, Rick Varjassy, Lucas Wessner, Chastity Wheeler, Althea Williams, Diane Wilton. Number of Species: 130 + 6 CW Number of Birds: 13,010 + 49 CW Highlights: Highest recorded numbers since 2000: 11 Sandhill Crane (11 also seen in 2012 and 2015), 211 Rock Pigeons, 11 Pileated Woodpeckers (11 also seen in 2013), 38 Blue Jays, 144 Common Raven, 108 House Wren, 1160 Red-winged Blackbird, 14 Evening Grosbeak (14 also seen in 2003). This was the first time a Virginia Rail was seen. Wood Duck was seen for only the second time since 2000 (other time was in 2001). American Redstart has only been seen 2 other times (in 2011 and during count week in 2009). Count Week birds were: 3 Trumpeter Swans, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 42 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 1 Great Crested Flycatcher, 1 Hermit Thrush, 1 Tennessee Warbler. Number of participants was up from last year's 29 to 54. The number of bird species went down from last year's 133 to 130. (The highest recorded number of species since 2000 was in 2008: 153.) The count of individual birds was up from last year's 10294 to 13,010. Mammals: Chipmunk, Coyote, Long-tailed Weasel, Mule Deer, Muskrat, Pronghorn Antelope, Red Fox, Red Squirrel, Richardson's Ground Squirrel, Snowshoe Hare, Striped Skunk, White-tailed Deer, White-tailed Jackrabbit. Amphibi-

ans: Boreal Chorus Frog Insects: Alfalfa Butterfly, Bumblebee, Cabbage Butterfly, Caddisfly larvae, Dragonfly larvae, mosquito larvae, Mourning Cloak, Northern Cloudy Wing, Pond Skater, River Snails, Six-spotted Fish-ing Spider, Spring Azure, Water Tiger, Whirlygig Beetle

DID YOU KNOW? By Susan van der Hoek A group of finches is called a charm or chirm. The finches are a beautiful and diverse group of birds that grace the feeders with their colour and character, with a beak designed for eve-ry type of seed. OXFORD LIVING DICTIONARIES

By Keith Kline

FALL BIRDING TRIP SCHEDULE

FLOWER FOCUS KWNC ● 10:00 AM — 12:00 PM

Our thanks to NOVA for underwriting the cost of newsletter printing

Congratulations to Judy Boyd for receiving a Mayor's Recog-nition Award for “Community Builder.” The award was pre-sented at the Mayor’s Gala in June. Congratulations Judy on this well-deserved recognition!

The Red Deer River Naturalists, the first natural history organization to be established in Alberta, was incorporated as a society in 1906. The objectives of the society are to foster an increased knowledge, understanding and appreciation of natural history, and to support conservation measures dealing with our environment, wildlife and natural resources.

Annual membership is $15.00 for individuals and $20.00 for families.

Regular meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of most months at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, 6300-45 Ave., Red Deer, AB. Non-members are welcome.

Members are encouraged to contribute to this newsletter. The deadline is the last Friday of the month.

Box 785 Red Deer, AB T4N 5H2 Phone/Fax: 403.347.8200

rdrn.nature@gmail.com www.rdrn.ca http://wearenaturalwise.blogspot.com

Cover

Poster by Doug

Pederson

Photos, unless otherwise noted,

by Myrna

Pearman

SEPTEMBER 18: Don Wales will be returning to lead Flower Focus meetings. This meeting will be a “Berry Nice Walk” where we remind ourselves of various fruit types, sample some syrups of local wild berries and go for a short walk in the sanctuary to see what is fruiting there. Don would like someone else to take over this project.

Our thanks to the Bjorge family for invit-ing RDRN to participate in their family weekend get together at Ferry Point. The weekend entailed hiking through their beautiful property, bird watching, plant walks and—as always—a celebration of Judy Boyd’s birthday. From left: Dean Bjorge, Myron Bjorge, Judy Boyd, Karin Bjorge.

September 7: Slack Slough and PCRAP - Meet at Slack Slough parking lot

September 14: Hazlett Lake - Hwy 11A west. I will be standing at the entrance, located 200 m before exit to QE 2

September 21: Nova Chemicals Community Nature Trail

http://www.lacombetourism.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/01/Nova-Nature-Trail.pdf

September 28: 20th Ave. Red Deer - Meet at the very end of 22nd Street East past Lindman Ave.

October 5: River Bend Golf & Recreation Area - Meet in the first parking lot on the right at the bottom of the hill

October 19: Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary - Meet in KWNC

October 26: Maskepetoon Park - Meet at the playground on the west side of Kerry Wood Drive

November 2: Bower Woods - Meet across the street from 37 Selkirk Blvd. in the green space

November 9: McKenzie Trails Recreation Area - Meet in the main parking lot