The Egret Article

By Tera Shewchenko, Invasive Species Centre

In the summer of 2021, several sightings of invasive jumping worms were reported in Ontario, predominantly in home gardens. Jumping worms, species of pheretimoid earthworms belonging to several genera including Amynthas, Metaphire, and Pheretima, are native to East-Central Asia and had previously invaded the Northwest and Midwest regions of the United States. They can be introduced into urban gardens through mulch, compost, nursery stocks, or potting mixes from areas with established jumping worm infestations, and have the potential to cause major harm to surrounding forest areas. Given their relatively recent spread into Ontario, early detection and rapid response (EDRR) is critical to managing the Canadian jumping worm population. So, if you see a jumping worm, the best way you can help is to report it! 

The easiest time to spot jumping worms is late summer. You can find them in the topsoil where they tend to appear in large numbers and will thrash wildly from side to side if disturbed. If you suspect your soil is contaminated, you can also coax them to the surface using a mustard pour. Jumping worms can be distinguished from other earthworm species by their smooth, firm skin, and their grey-white clitellum (a collar-like band around their bodies which allows them to create cocoons for their eggs). See JWORMfactsheet (ccetompkins.org) for a useful guide to jumping worm identification.

Another sign of jumping worm infestation is unusual soil properties such as quicker than usual consumption of mulch from the topsoil, and changes in soil texture caused by their coffee ground-like castings (see photograph below).

Other ways you can combat the invasion of jumping worms into Ontario include:

1. Avoid buying mulch, compost, nursery stocks, or potting mixes from areas with established jumping worm infestations.
2. Avoid buying baitworms, especially those advertised as “snake worms,” “Alabama jumpers” or “crazy worms”.

Any jumping worms encountered should be killed before being disposed of. The most humane method to euthanize jumping worms is using isopropyl alcohol, which will kill them within seconds.

For more information on jumping worms, you can visit the species profile on the Invasive Species Centre website.

References

Asian Jumping Worm. National Invasive Species Information Center. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2021, from: https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/invertebrates/asian-jumping-worm

Chang, C.-H., Bartz, M. L., Brown, G., Callaham, M. A., Cameron, E. K., Dávalos, A., Dobson, A., Görres, J. H., Herrick, B. M., Ikeda, H., James, S. W., Johnston, M. R., McCay, T. S., McHugh, D., Minamiya, Y., Nouri-Aiin, M., Novo, M., Ortiz-Pachar, J., Pinder, R. A., … Szlavecz, K. (2021). The second wave of earthworm invasions in North America: Biology, environmental impacts, management and control of invasive jumping worms. Biological Invasions, 23(11), 3291–3322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02598-1  

Clitellum – an overview. ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/clitellum.

Hunter, G. (2020, October 19). Invasive jumping earthworms: Coming to a forest near you? Cottage Life. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/invasive-jumping-earthworms-coming-to-a-forest-near-you/. 

Jumping worms. Wisconsin DNR. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/jumpingWorm.html.  

Reynolds, John & Mctavish, Michael. (2021). New Asian pheretimoid “jumping earthworm” records (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) in Canada. Megadrilogica. 26. 83-89.

 Asian jumping worms. University of Nebraska. (n.d). Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/asianworms.shtml.

By Jennifer Nantais

The Global Bird Rescue is an annual week-long event where citizens search for birds that have collided with windows in urban areas. The goal is to find injured birds quickly to get them the help they need and increase their chances of survival, and record all collision incidents, casualties and survivors. The purpose is to identify the extent of the losses taking place in order to mitigate hazards and make communities safer.

Previous participation in the area was limited to a few entries submitted by Erie Wildlife Rescue in 2020, and this year the Bird Friendly Windsor team conducted the first volunteer outing in Windsor. While many individuals agreed to check around their home or workplace, a small group headed out to actively search for collision victims. The team consisted of PIBO Executive Director Suzanne Friemann, Urban Bird Educator Jennifer Nantais, and Essex County Field Naturalists club member Carl Maiolani, who of course took care of organizing the weather for the day.

The team gathered at City Hall just before sunrise, and when the three met in the still dark morning, Carl had already found the first bird of the day. The team walked around municipal buildings, several others in the downtown and Riverside area, and the University of Windsor campus, finding 10 birds during their morning effort.

While conducting the search, the team assessed the built environment, to see Windsor through the eyes of the many birds we share the city with. They soon began to recognize which sites present potential dangers, knowledge which as it continues to grow, will streamline future Global Bird Rescue events.

Migration is a dangerous time for birds. They travel long distances, expose themselves to potential predators, and need to be able to find necessary resources like food, water and shelter along the way. For many of these birds, this journey would be their first fall migration, and for too many, their last. Of the young born this past spring, many will never make it to their wintering grounds as the result of a hazard that can be prevented. This problem has a solution – windows can be adapted to prevent bird collisions. To solve this problem, it first has to be identified. Proving that certain areas present a danger can be done through demonstrating the sheer number and variety of birds that have died at a certain location.

Sad though it was to find beautiful birds dead at the base of expansive glass which reflects the habitat that they were striving to reach, with each bird recorded came a sense of purpose. Millions of birds lose their lives this way across the globe, but these birds at least, won’t be forgotten.

If you find a bird that has collided with a window, contact your local wildlife rehabilitation organization. If you find a bird that has died as a result of a window collision, make it count by uploading it on the Global Bird Collision Mapper, or sending a photo, date and location to

Wings Rehabilitation Centre (519) 736-8172

Erie Wildlife Rescue (519) 735-3919

Birdmapper.org

By Laura Foy

If you’ve ever subscribed to a rare bird alert notification, you’ll be all too familiar with descriptions like this, “Travel west 2/3^rd of the way down Army Camp Road from Hwy 21, look for orange flagging tape on the fence on your left. Look for hydro pole 2146.” It gets even worse if there’s no roads involved, “5 in weedy areas near flooded fields, 2 at least along trail behind pond (north side toward transmission tower).”

These descriptions are somehow overly wordy while at the same time being imprecise.

Enter what3words, a geocoding system that breaks the world down into 3 m squares and assigns each square a unique three-word address. For instance, the front door to the Ojibway Nature Centre is located at ///rattler.whistle.dust. The bird blind at Hillman Marsh is at ///chicken.garments.good. The Serengeti Tree at Point Pelee is at ///feasting.pitted.bypasses.

Land-based what3words addresses are available in more than 45 different languages. In English the algorithm uses 20,000 words in a pseudo-random distribution to try and avoid similar words and homophones from ending up too nearby to one another. Once an address is identified, the app will integrate with Google Maps or your chosen navigation system to provide turn-by-turn directions. For off-road locations, the app has a built-in compass mode. The app can even be used without an internet connection.

The UK-based company was initially launched in 2013 but has been gaining mainstream recognition in the last few years. More than 85% of emergency services in the UK now use what3words to help coordinate their responses for situations like wilderness rescues. Dozens of services across Canada have also adopted the system, including the Ontario Provincial Police. Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Triumph Motorcycles and Lamborghini have all integrated what3words into their navigation systems. The country of Mongolia has even adopted the system in place of postal addresses!

The system’s usefulness extends to conservation and citizen science applications. The Tees Rivers Trust accepts user reports of giant hogweed in the form of what3words addresses to target and control the invasive species. Endangered species can be similarly reported. Organizations can use it for volunteers to join a remote tree planting, find parking, locate a trailhead, designate accessible entrances, and pinpoint bathroom locations (particularly if they are temporary).

While it probably won’t supplant the more technical uses of GPS, it does make it far easier to communicate hard-to-describe locations. From now on, you’ll see me popping up in your rare bird alerts using what3words addresses.

The free app is available for iPhone and Android. For more information or to use the service via their website, visit https://what3words.com/.