Archive for February, 2009

Photo courtesy of E.J. Lanigan

The second lighthouse to be built on Prince Edward Island was the Panmure Island Lighthouse. It was constructed in 1853 to aid in the heavy shipping at the eastern end of the Island. It is located ay the northeast point of Panmure Island. The Island was in fact an isthmus being connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land that was only visible at low tide. Several ships has run aground by sailing over the isthmus as they attempted to enter Cardigan Bay. It was the first octagon lighthouse built on the Island.

This lighthouse has one of the earliest fog alarms.  A Type F diaphone and compressed air fog alarm was built in 1908. It was replaced by a Stone Chance electric fog horn in 1971. The light was automated in 1985.  The lighthouse can be found on Route 17, the King’s Byway, look for the turn-off to Panmure Island. The lighthouse is in view while driving across the causeway. After crossing the causeway, take the second driveway to the right.

LIGHT White: flash, 4 seconds; eclipse, 4 seconds

FOCAL POINT 25.0 m (82 ft)

TOWER HEIGHT 17.7 m (58 ft)

NOMINAL RANGE 27.3 km (17 miles)

Courtesy of www.cleanandfunny.com

A man who won millions in a lottery was once asked how the money had changed his life. The man answered: “People you to say I was rude and they now say I’m refreshing and I’m not witty where I once was a guy who new the punchlines to all he dirty jokes.”

For anyone who does not have the luxury of being considered “witty” then learning a few inoffensive jokes is a must. This may not be as easy as it sounds as different people are offended by different things and some people are offended by almost anything. This not to say that there is not a time or place for the more colorful jokes. These jokes should be avoid in public meetings, workplaces and when you first meet someone. Commonsense will go a long way in determining if a joke is safe to tell. Here are a few tips.

1) If the joke has offensive language which cannot be cleaned up then it should be saved for when you are with your friends.

2) Any joke that deals with any sexual situations or innuendos should likewise be avoided.

3) It should go without saying that racial jokes are big no. This also extents to nationality jokes as well. Telling a joke about a drunk Irishman or a penny-pinching Scot may seem harmless but people do take offense them just the same. Just because you are a member of a certain race or nationality does not give you the right to make self-deprecating jokes of that race or nationality.

4) Sexist jokes, whether about males or females, are also to be avoided.

5) You may think that blonde jokes, lawyer jokes or doctor jokes are safe to tell. If you do not know the professions of the people you are talking to, you may want to tread carefully.

Everyone should learn at least three inoffensive jokes to see them through any situation. To help with this task, three inoffensive jokes are listed below.

Joke 1

A man in a supermarket was pushing a cart which contained, among other things, a screaming baby. As the man proceeded along the aisles, he kept repeating softly, “Keep calm, Fred. Don’t get excited, Fred. Don’t yell, Fred.”

A lady watched with admiration and then said, “You are certainly to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little Fred.”

“Lady,” he declared, “I’m Fred!”

Joke 2

Why are there no romantic restaurants on the moon? Because there is no atmosphere.

Joke 3

The cowboy lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh Tucson theatre.

When the usher came by and noticed this he whispered to the cowboy, “Sorry, sir, but you’re only allowed one seat.”

The cowboy groaned but didn’t budge.

The usher became more impatient. “Sir, if you don’t get up from there, I’m going to have to call the manager.

The cowboy just groaned.

The usher marched briskly back up the aisle, and in a moment he returned with the manager. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move the cowboy, but with no success.

Finally, they summoned the police.

The cop surveyed the situation briefly then asked, “All right buddy, what’s your name?”

“Sam,” the cowboy moaned.

“Where ya from, Sam?”

With pain in his voice Sam replied “the balcony.”

A Male Osprey

The Osprey may look like an eagle but has narrower wings and its feet and claws are so unique that it has been placed in a separate subfamily, Pandioninae, of which it is the only member. The adult birds have a dark brown black and white forehead, cheeks, neck, breast and belly. The female Osprey is larger than the male with a wingspan of up to 163 cm. The adult Osprey measures anywhere from 53 to 65 cm in length.

The Osprey can be found throughout the world, on ocean coasts and along the shores of large lakes and rivers. The exceptions are polar and subpolar locales where the water is usually frozen. The Osprey lives on fish and an adept fisher. It will hover at a height of up to 30 m until it has a fish lined up. Then it will fold its wings and go into a graceful dive, disappearing completely underwater. It re-emerges a few seconds later holding a fish in both talons. They have been known to fly away with a fish weighing in at 2 kg. On occasions Ospreys have caught fish too large to lift and were unable to release its catch. In these situations the Osprey has drowned.

The Osprey will nest in large spruce or pine trees where the tops have been broken by the weather. These trees make a natural platform. In places where there are no trees, the birds will sometimes nest on the ground or atop of artificial structures. To build its nest the Osprey will gather branches from the ground or break them off of trees. These branches are interwoven with other materials such as rope, cloth and plastic. The nest can be up to 2.5 m in diameter and 60 cm deep. The Osprey will add material to its nest every year.

The female will lay an average of three eggs and will take the role of sole incubator while the male will hunt and provide food during the incubation and fledging periods. The eggs hatch after a month and the chicks will require up to six fish a day. The chicks are able to fly after nine weeks but up until that time they require constant care.

Most Ospreys that nest in Canada migrate to their wintering sites in Latin America and the northern part of South America.  The one-year-olds remain on the wintering grounds all summer. Of the two-year-old birds, 30 to 50 percent return in spring to the area where they were hatched, although they do not nest. Ospreys three years and older, which have reached sexual maturity, return to their hatching sites every spring to breed.

The Osprey can live for 15 to 20 years. The longevity record for the species is held by a banded bird that died at age 35. The greatest recorded number of breeding seasons for a single bird is 23.  You can learn more about island birds in Get your copy of Familiar birds of Prince Edward Island

 Get your copy of Familiar birds of Prince Edward Island

The Northern Shrike

The Northern Shrike is a smallish bird with a body length of 24 cm (9.9 inches) and with a wingspan of between 30-35 cm (12-14 inches). The Northern Shrike has a gray back and whitish throat and chest. It’s head is large compared to it’s body and it has a stout bill with a hook at the end. The wings of the Northern Shrike are black with white patches while the tail is black with white outer feathers.

Although only the size of a robin, the Northern Shrike is a fierce predator which has earned the nickname “butcher bird” Since this bird does not have talons it will impale its prey on the thorns of a hawthorn tree or barbwire. Unlike the hawk which will kill for food, the Northern Shrike will kill more food than it can eat.

The Northern Shrike will sit on the highest part of tree and look as though it is sleeping. In truth it is searching for prey and when something approaches within striking distance, it attacks swiftly. The prey of the Northern Shrike is sparrow sized birds and small rodents.

The Northern Shrike can be found throughout North America. Its breeding range is in the subarctic, from Labrador to Alaska. The bird nests in shrubs or trees about three metres off of the ground. The nest is made out of grass and twigs and is lined with feathers. The female lays between five and seven eggs which are incubated b both birds. The eggs hatch after sixteen days and the bird are fledged after twenty days.

The Northern Shrike is not a common bird on Prince Edward Island. According to the Natural History Society of PEI, the bird is rare on PEI with the exception of between December 15 and March 15 when it becomes ranked as uncommon. This means that between 1-12 birds are spotted per a two-week period

If you spot what you believe to be a Northern Shrike on the Island during the summer months, you have most likely seen it’s cousin the Loggerhead Shrike. These two species are very similar in action and in looks while the Northern Shrike is a little larger in size.  The Island has a wide variety of birds. To find out more about Island birds, get your copy of Formac Pocketguide to Prince Edward Island Birds: 130 Inland and Shore Birds