Natural History

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Natural History of forested lands in Kings Co., Nova Scotia

A chapter on “Forested Lands” in the The Natural History of Kings County* is the best general and readily readable description of the natural history of Nova Scotia forests that I have seen. It deals only with forests of Kings’ Co, but the descriptions are more widely applicable to NS forests. See

Forested Lands
Pages 102 to 131 in Section III Habitats of The Natural History of Kings County (Blomidon Naturalists Society, 1992).

Thanks Blomidon Field Naturalists, for making this material freely available.

– david p

A few excerpts:

In winter, the ground cover of snow is less deep under thick conifer stands than in open areas making it easier for mammals, such as deer, to forage and move about. Here, under the overhanging branches that protect them from the cold and chilling winds, deer form extensive networks of travel lanes, often called “yards”. In winter, deciduous woods, where the snows are much deeper and the winds stronger, offer less protection to large mammals than the coniferous woods. Small mammals, however, tend to avoid areas of shallower snow depths and prefer the protective cover of deep snows where they tunnel at the soil surface safe from predators and colder air temperatures. Deciduous woods in winter, where the snows are much deeper and the winds stronger, are less protective than coniferous woods.

Several species of shrubs are common in the understory. Shadbush and Witch-hazel grow in open areas. Shadbush is the first shrub to flower each spring with large, white blossoms covering the shrub. Witch-hazel is the last to flower in the autumn. Sometimes its yellow flowers persist through the early snows and for this reason it is also called Winterbloom. Wild Raisin, Bayberry and Sheep Laurel are also part of the shrubbery of open woods. In spring, Wild Raisin produces magnificent displays of white flowers and in autumn it provides an abundance of blue berries which are eagerly eaten by many birds and mammals. The flowers of Bayberry are small and inconspicuous, but in autumn the twigs of the female shrubs are coated with clusters of waxy berries. These berries are the winter favourites of Yellow-rumped Warblers as well as Northern Flickers and other birds

A common lichen is the fruticose Old Man’s Beard, Mince, which forms dense tangles of pale green tendrils hanging from the branches of many trees. Parula Warblers build their nests within entangled strands Lichen of this lichen. Lung Lichen is a striking foliose lichen that looks like its name-sake and grows in large masses on the trunks of the larger trees. British Soldiers, a fruticose lichen, has bright red fruiting bodies that are easy to find on old stumps and poor forest soils. In dry winter weather, the orange rosettes of Wall Lichen are sometimes the brightest and most conspicuous objects in the woods. They grow on tree trunks and rocks and turn a dingy yellow-green when wet. On the forest floor are clusters of the Reindeer Lichen. They are grey and look like miniature trees. Crustose lichens form thin coloured patches on trees, rocks and soils. Shield Lichen and Leather Lichen are two of the most common grey, m t o s e types.

The magnificent Luna Moth is a common woodland insect but is highly nocturnal in habit and is often overlooked. During the day this impressive moth remains virtually undetected as it hangs motionless among the leaves of deciduous trees. It is green in colour, with a wing span of 11.5 cm, and resembles a leaf. Other equally impressive large moths, such as the Cecropia and Io [Automeris io], are also rarely seen because of their nocturnal
life styles.

Flocks of small birds flit through the woods and search acrobatieally about the ends of the branches for insects. These mixed flocks include Black-mpped and Boreal Chickadees, Orange-crowned Kinglets and Red-breasted Nuthatches. While Black-capped Chickadees occur in deciduous woods and frequently visit gardens and birdfeeders, the Boreal Chickadee usually remains in the company of kinglets in coniferous woods. It resembles the Black-amped in appearance and habits, but it has a brown head and its “chick-a-dee-dee” call is harsher and more nasal. Both the Red-breasted Nuthatches of coniferous woods and the White-breasted Nuthatches of deciduous woods are sometimes referred to as “upsidedown” birds because they scamper head-first down tree trunks and under limbs while searching for insects. The Red-breasted Nuthatch has the curious habit of smearing sticky resin, of fir or spruce gum, around the entrance to its nesting hole, perhaps to discourage predators from entering the cavity. A few of these birds migrate south in winter, but most of these four species remain in our woodlands throughout the year.

Read more in Forested Lands

On Annapolis valley Naturalists

The Annapolis Valley has produced a lot of very good naturalists, some with many letters after their names, some with none, some professionals in the field, most not. It doesn’t seem to matter. There is a common underlying love and respect for nature to all of them, they have keen eyes and ears and they like to explain and share their observations. (It’s the combination of observation and explanation that makes them “naturalists”.)

These naturalists have produced over time a plethora of very readable books on the natural history of the Annapolis Valley or for Nova Scotia more generally. Some classics:
– – The Natural History of Kings County (Blomidon Naturalists Society, 1992). This book was a collective effort by the Blomidon Field Naturalists; it lists four 5 primary authors and illustrators, 8 additional contributors and “the assistance of the members and friends of BNS who shared their observations and expertise”. It’s a comprehensive work with chapters on Geography, History and Habitats, spiced with sketches of wildlife and landscapes.
– Birds of Nova Scotia by Robie Tufts with its beautiful colour illustrations by Roger Tory Peterson from the collection of the Newfoundland Museum, 1st ed. in 1961 (NS Museum, Nimbus Publishing);
-Merritt Gibson’s Nature Notes for Nova Scotia Summer (Lancetot Press, 1982), and Winter Nature Notes for Nova Scotians (Lancetot Press, 1980);
–Forest and Field, a 52 page pamphlet by John Erskine (NS Museum, 1976; I wish they would reprint it or make it freely available electronically – it should be in every school kids’s hands.

Related

The Winter Lives of Salamanders & Other Nature Stories from New Hampshire & Vermont.
by Jenna O’del in northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/ Dec 9, 2024. Many more wonderful nature stories, most applicable to NS, under The Outside Story. “The Outside Story is a series of weekly ecology articles that has been appearing in newspapers across New Hampshire and Vermont since 2002.”

Deer a nuisance? No. But people who don’t want density in Halifax are
Suzanne Rent in Hfx Examiner Mar 20, 2025 “At Halifax regional council’s meeting on Tuesday, Cole Harbour-Preston Coun. Trish Purdy introduced this motion asking for a staff report on the possibility of increasing the fine for feeding wildlife, in particular, deer.Purdy said she and her constituents have been concerned for years about the increasing number of deer in their neighbourhoods, their backyards, and on their streets where they could be hit. The real problem, Purdy said, is that people are feeding the deer… I was waiting to hear someone talk about the real issue –why there are so many deer in our neighbourhoods. I mean, I see them in Fairview, too. And finally, Coun. Becky Kent said it. “It’s concerning but I also think it’s a relation of development and things that are happening in and around the city that is displacing [the deer],” Kent said. “It’s not just that they’re being fed…Kent said continued sprawl is one of the reasons we’re seeing more deer in our yards and that the municipality can do something about it. “That’s why density is more appropriate in a city like ours, if we want to maintain our natural habitats around the city,” Kent said…Cuttell brought up concerns about Lyme disease because deer are the carriers of the ticks whose bites can carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Maybe the spread of Lyme is another byproduct of sprawl? More sprawl means more deer, which means more ticks, which means greater risk of contracting Lyme…But also black bears in her District 13, which she [Coun. Nancy Hartling] said are roaming around, including in the rural backyards of her constituents because of more development…Feeding wildlife is not the issue, but feeding our need for giant single-family homes on huge lots in sprawling country subdivisions while opposing any kind of density in the city is. That is never the fault of the deer.” Comment by Bradley Toms: “Deer are an invasive species in NS. They have caused incredible damage to our forests and altered their natural composition that developed over thousands of years. Well documented in this paper. https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/cfn/index.php/cfn/article/view/880 We are victims of shifting baselines. Reading this paper always reminds of what our forests were like and what they could be.”

Continuing Environmental Change – An Example from Nova Scotia
by E.S. Telfer, Scientist Emeritus, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada in THE CANADIANFIELD-NATURALIST Vol. 11 pp 39-44 (2004) “Information from personal experience, from community elders and published literature served as a basis for evaluating environmental changes in the District of North Queens and adjacent areas of Southwestern Nova Scotia over the past century. Major events included disappearance of the Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), the arrival of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus),the severe reduction of Canada Yew (Taxus canadensis), disappearance of Lynx (Lynx canadensis), a major dieoff of Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis), decline of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), the loss of mature birch (Betula spp.), the severe reduction of Moose (Alces alces), the arrival of the American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and Coyotes (Canis latrans),and the restoration of Beaver (Castor canadensis). The proximate cause of many of those changes were plant and animal disease, while the ultimate causes were naturally occurring animal range expansion and human impacts. The warming of the climate over the past 150 years probably played a role. The nature and timing of the events could not have been predicted.”