By William Halliday, Journal Manager of CFN

The latest issue of The Canadian Field-Naturalist has now been published online! This issue contains a lot of content focused on birds: from Bald Eagles and Merlins to Red-winged Blackbirds, Buffleheads, and Herons. Other manuscripts focus on the influence of salmon on foodwebs, and new records for fish species in Canada, among other topics. Special this issue, we have a summary of BioBlitzes in the Northwest Territories as part of the Canada 150 celebrations.

Below are descriptions of all articles and notes in the latest issue, 131(4). Simply click on each description to view the full article on the CFN website.

1) Lisa Baril and colleagues describe the fall migration of raptors through Yellowstone National Park from 2011-2015. This article identifies a key stop-over site for migrating raptors.

2) Gord Hammell studied trends in the population status of Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes in Manitoba, and found that local populations are following general patterns from the Breeding Bird Survey, where Horned Grebes are decreasing and Red-necked Grebes are increasing.

3) Susan Ellis-Felege and colleagues document increased breeding activity by Buffleheads in Minnesota, based on surveys in Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge between 1990 and 2014.

4) Thomas Reimchen measured the flow of nutrients from salmon through foodwebs in an estuary, stream, and old growth forest in coastal British Columbia.

5) Lawrence Igl documented brood parasitism by Sora in two nests of Red-winged Blackbirds in North Dakota. This parasitic behaviour is rare for Sora, and may be linked to high population densities and intense competition for nesting sites.

6) Craig Purchase documents the first evidence of Dealfish in Canada, based on one individual that washed up on the beach of fjord in northern Newfoundland.

7) Colin Chapman and Michael Oldham confirmed that Reversed Clover is found in Canada, based on two established populations in southern Ontario. This species was originally reported in Canada in the 1800s, but original reports suggested that it did not persist.

8) Brian Morrison and Daniel Moore document Chain Pickerel in the Ontario waters of Lake Ontario for the first time, which suggests a significant westward range expansion.

9) Sean Hartzell describes a bilaterally partitioned colour variant of an Appalachian Brook Crayfish, which may be the first report of this colour variant for this species. This colouration has been reported in other crayfish species.

10) Ryan Lamoureux and colleagues found the first evidence of Merlin breeding in the Yukon, based on seeing two adults copulating and then defending an area throughout the summer.

11) Aditi Gupta and colleagues document the negative influence of Double-crested Cormorants on invasive European Fire Ants, where Fire Ants were less abundant around nesting sites of Cormorants.

12) Bill Thompson documented the effects of nesting Bald Eagles on the behaviour and reproductive rates of Great Blue Herons when eagles and herons nested in the same colony. Herons in this mixed colony fledged more young than herons in single-species colonies.