February  1st/12

Guest speaker: Rob Keen – CEO of Trees Ontario.

Topic: “Saving our Environment, One Tree at a Time.”

Rob Keen joins 2 of our members who are significantly involved in  maintaining our forests -Gord Michener and Donald Macdonald.

On Wednesday February 1^st The Orillia Naturalists’ Club enjoyed hearing a very engaging speaker,
 Rob Keen - ”Planting Trees for a Healthier To-morrow”.  Rob Keen is the CEO of Trees Ontario,
 a not-for-profit organization committed to the re-greening of Ontario through tree planting efforts
 on rural lands and in urban areas.

He began by reminding us that trees are an ecosystem, which gives us clean air and water.
One large mature tree is the equivalent of 10 air conditioners. They are the lungs of
the earth, reducing smog and air pollution, give us shade, and are vital in the water cycle.
They sequester large amounts of carbon and are our great hope for addressing climate change.
 There is an increasing body of scientific evidence that our health and well being are intimately
connected to the health of our environment, and as naturalists, we can help spread
Rob Keen’s message: Trees are indeed a prescription for our health.

It was evident that everyone in the room really cares about large trees and about preventing
urban encroachment to our forests.

30 % tree cover is essential for a healthy and sustainable ecosystem, but in some parts of southern
 Ontario it is as low as 5 %, and 99 % of the old growth forest has been lost. 

Ever since Trees Ontario was established in 1994, it has promoted planting. In 2007 the
 Ontario Government committed to plant 50 million trees by 2020, predominantly in southern Ontario.
 Trees Ontario works with over 65 agencies in Ontario, including  regional Conservation Authorities
and local Ontario Stewardship councils to implement its tree planting programmes.
Planting agencies then work directly with landowners to determine site eligibility, and
allocate grant funding and coordinate tree planting areas.
Trees Ontario’s programme also includes landowner subsidies.  By participating in the programme,
 the cost to the landowner per tree is only about 30 cents, compared to the regular price of $2-3.

Trees Ontario also produces technical workshops, such as a seed forecasting course
(for collection of seeds for the nursery at Angus). You can participate in technical workshops,
and the Orillia Naturalists’ Club may be organizing a workshop next year. 

We can help plant trees. Several weekends are planned this coming spring, and we can participate
 in a project near us, as we did at the community tree planting event last May. Hosted by one of the partners,
 the Canadian Automobile Association South Central Ontario, with Trees Ontario,
some 300 trees were planted in Orillia’s Scout Valley.

If you have more than 2.5 acres available for planting, often marginal land, you can apply for landowner
subsidies and advice.

Or, you can donate to help pay for more trees.

Rob encouraged us to get involved. 

The Orillia Naturalists’ Club is proud to have 2 of its members involved in the restoration of our forests:
 Donald Macdonald who is vice-president of the Board of Trustees of Trees Ontario, and Gord Michener
who is the Chair of the Local Citizen Committee in Muskoka, which advises Government on logging on
 Crown land in the area.
 

Sunday January 15/12          Hike at Langman Sanctuary, led by Barb Ryckman
 

In July, when the programme is being organized, Barb has an uncanny ability  to choose cold days  for
 her trips in the winter. This year was no exception.
But there was no wind, lots of sun, and we were well dressed,so no real complaints of cold.
There was lots of happiness to see the beauty of the cedar swamp, traversed by creeks, and
the expanse of the marsh. Barb had brought a large thermos of hot apple cider.
We were all happy to enjoy Canada in the winter.
 

The hardy group  by the duck pond

Ice "flowers" on the recently frozen creeks

Stan Splichal among the Virgin's Bower
( wild clematis)

Wednesday January 4/12      THE KARST SCARPLANDS OF CANADA with Dr Derek Ford

AN INTENSE LESSON IN GEOLOGY
 

Ulrich Kretshmar, Ron Reid, Derek Ford and Alec Adams were discussing the talk,
but were interrupted by the photographer.

Orillia has many hidden treasures- people who have a great deal of knowledge and
have had wonderful experiences. Dr Derek Ford, Professor Emeritus from McMaster University,
an expert in Environmental Geography and Geology, is one of these people. He has worked in every
 province in Canada (except PEI) and in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
He has also worked all over the world, and is just back from his 11^th visit to China.

As outlined in the map, around the fringe of the Canadian Shield are great series of escarpments
 and low plateaus on limestone/ dolomite.  These are slightly soluble rocks that everywhere
display features of karstic (1) or epikarstic (2) formations.

 We saw spectacular photos of limestone barrens, escarpments and alvars beginning on the
Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, continuing through Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta,
and up to the western shores of Great Bear Lake.

Naturalists in Orillia are particularly interested in limestone formations because of the jewel in the
 Couchiching Conservancy’s land holdings –the Carden Alvar. However, Dr Ford pointed out that
 there is also a world class karst formation readily visible along the Rama Road towards Washago.
Photos from the Rama Road showed the drainage of water through the limestone, sometimes
small trickles, or sometimes rivulets. 

Dr Ford was instrumental in designating Little Limestone Lake as a Provincial Park
in June 2011. It is located in north central Manitoba, about 450 km north of Winnipeg.
This lake lies within karst landscapes, which feature sinkholes and caves shaped by the
dissolving action of water on limestone. About the size of Lake Couchiching, it is considered
 to be one of the most outstanding examples of a marl lake in the world.
Marl is 35-75% calcium carbonate, which precipitates and forms a suspension with dust
 that is blown in. A marl lake changes colour as the temperature rises, and the lake’s water
turns to a striking blue, resulting in beautiful photos.

We saw photographs of salt springs in the Manitoba Interlake country and of sinkholes with
masses of the red-sided garter snake, in its most northern known hibernaculum ( cf nest).
 In northern Alberta ,Wood Buffalo National Park has many interesting karst features such as
collapsed sink holes and fissures. In the Northwest Territories much of the visible limestone
looks like rubble –broken up because of the permafrost, but there are great sinking lakes and
the Disappearing River, which suddenly dives into an opening or swallow hole, and resurfaces
about a kilometre downstream, after flowing through a series of karst tunnels.
Ron Reid reminded us that the Talbot River in the Carden Plains also disappears, and reappears.

Anticosti Island, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, sounds like an interesting and accessible limestone
island destination – a trip next spring?

Naturalists are usually interested in the growth on the surface of the limestone,
 but very exciting things are also happening underground .

Thank you Dr Ford for a presentation with something for everyone –beginning naturalists or experts in geology.

     1 .  Karst: a distinctive topography in which the landscape is largely shaped by the dissolving action of water on limestone/ dolomite.
2. Epikarst : the uppermost weathered zone of carbonate rocks 

Saturday Dec 17 found over 45 people searching the Orillia circle, centered on Bass Lake.  The weather was beautiful
 (cold and sunny) and the lakes open –even Bass Lake.

We had 53 species,  2 more as count week birds –a Merlin and a Great Horned Owl.
An immature Red-headed Woodpecker cooperated on count day, and was new for our list.

The Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers were abundant, although not concentrated in the narrows as usual.
1257 was a new high for Canada Geese. 3 Bald Eagles matched our previous high in 2001.
3 Eastern Bluebirds were sighted, 2 Shrike, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Northern Flicker, 6 Ravens ,
19 Robins, 1 flock of 277 Snow Buntings, 30 Pine Siskins, and 7 Evening Grosbeak.

RAY KIFF HAS SUBMITTED HIS BLUEBIRD REPORT FOR 2011
Ray Kiff, Orillia Naturalists’ Club. raykiff@rogers.com 705-325-2693 home
 

2011 Orillia Naturalists’ Club Nesting Box Trails

History –My trail runs along the Old Barrie Road from the 15^th to 9^th Concession,(the Rugby-Edgar area).It is about 10km long with boxes on fence posts mainly. I was unaware that a trail had been started about 10 years before. I started in 1983.One day I was checking a box and a man on a motorcycle stopped on the roadside and asked what I was doing. He was the one that had started the original trail. We knew each other. He repairs our Grandfather clock. We decided that I would take over the trail. There was a similar occasion when Gord Luker met me on the Bass Lake Road Trail in 1988. He was interested in joining in the project, which he did admirably until 2005 when he passed away. Leanore Wiancko has managed that trail since 2005, and has added Robins, Chickadees, House Wrens, Starlings and Grackles to the nesting species.

Bird Nesting Activity began this year with the first sighting of an Eastern Bluebird (EABB) on Thursday, March 24 in the Marchmont area, west of Orillia. My first EABB nesting was Monday, April 18 and by July 3, peak nesting time there had been 46 nests, of which 6 had been double nestings.

Statistics-                                        NESTS                        EGGS              FLEDGED    DEAD

EABB Eastern Bluebirds                    19                    78                    41                    2                     

TRES Tree Swallows                                  20                    56                    33                    2

BCCH Black-Capped Chickadees            3                      10                    3

HOWR House Wren                           1                      4                      disappeared

TOTAL NESTS                                    43            13 BOXES-no nests; TOTAL # of Boxes 47

DISTANCES & VISITS: Average Travel per tour is 40km; 11 Tours this season. Total Km 440

NEW EABBs: over 28 years with 50+ EABBs/yr produced over 1400 EABBs fledged.

I am 75 now and will gladly share my trail with anyone who is interested in maintenance and record keeping.  

9/Nov/2011/rdk

On Sunday Nov 6, 20 members of the Orillia Naturalist Club had the privilege
 of being the first group to  tour the latest Couchiching Conservancy property acquisition  on the
 Carden Alvar. Mark Bisset, Executive Director of the Conservancy led the group around this
 beautiful 206 acre cattle ranch, which has been named Bluebird Ranch,
 after the Eastern Bluebirds which nest along the East and Southern fence lines of the property.
 The property is located just north of the Kirkfield Lift locks and
 bounded by City of Kawartha Lakes’ County Road # 6 and Wylie Road.  The property is very flat alvar
 grassland, dotted by numerous stands of white cedar trees. In the mid 1940’s a massive grass fire spread
through the Carden Plain , the charred remains of burned cedar trees can be seen throughout the property,
 a stark  reminder of  that daunting event! 

As we entered the property 3 Snipe flew up, ready to fly south and leave us.
As we left the property a flock of about 50 Snow Buntings circled us, and soon after we started home,
 a Rough-legged Hawk flew by, so some northern birds have started to cheer us for the winter.

Mark Bissett and David Homer tell us of their memories
 of the ranch and the plans for future stewardship.

Examining the thorns on the hawthorne

Wednesday November 3, 2011 with Mike Walters

THE HEALTH OF LAKE SIMCOE
 

Pat Woodford, Ray Kiff, Mike Walters and Jim Woodford

Pat Woodford thanking Mike Walters

Ontario Nature Fall Regional Meeting - Huronia Region

 October 29, Hosted by Friends of Minesing Wetlands, Tiffin Centre for Conservation, Utopia

We learned of the activities of other clubs, the activities  of Ontario Nature, and especially of their youth outreach, as well as the
 wonders of the Minesing Wetlands.

There were 32 people – representing 14 clubs who attended the Ontario Nature Regional Meeting on Saturday, October 29, 2011 .
Our hosts were the Friends of Minesing Wetlands who are project oriented club that raise funds for the protection and
awareness of the Minesing Wetlands.

Ontario Nature held a Rally for Nature on September 21 at Queen’s Park, Toronto and delivered 6000 signatures supporting
 the Biodiversity Charter of Ontario asking elected members to protect nature. The rally was also used to tell provincial
candidates in the fall provincial election that protecting nature would get your vote.

Ontario Nature is part of the GREEN PROSPERITY a joint effort by 21 of Ontario’s leading environmental
 organizations (www.greenprosperity.ca) We asked 4 major political parties where they stood on the environment.
For a summary of what they said about endangered species, the Greenbelt and the Far North Act,
visit www.ontarionature.org/connect/blog

Save the Oak Ridges Moraine AGAIN – Ontario Nature is called on its members and supporters to stand up for
the Oak Ridges Moraine during the critical weeks leading up to the provincial election. Even though this summer marked
the 10th anniversary of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, the construction of infrastructure, contaminated fill,
large-scale water removal and grandfathered development continue to undermine the integrity of this ecological treasure.
Despite the laws and policies in place to protect it, the moraine has suffered lower water levels, loss of agricultural land,
species in decline and habitat fragmentation.

The key on-going threats are: 1. Infrastructure: Roads, pipes and transmission lines continue to be built on the moraine,
even through core natural areas. 2. Dumping: Hundreds of thousands of truckloads containing fill, in some instances contaminated
with heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons from old industrial sites, are dumped into abandoned aggregate pits.
No provincial monitoring is in place to track dumping.  3. Water removal: More than 100 million litres of water are pumped out of
 (or leak out of) the moraine’s aquifers every day while runoff contaminates ground and surface water. One study looking at
golf courses on the moraine revealed that 10 courses alone can use as much as 3.1 billion litres of water annually. There are 47 golf courses
 scattered across what is one of southern Ontario’s most distinctive physical features.

L-R, Noella Storry, Pat Taylor, Ray Kiff, Sid Hadlington,
Joan Rosebush, Harold Parker, Nancy Ironside, Barb M-Wynia, Margo
Holt, Phyllis Tremblay, Paul Harpley, Lori McLachlan . Some members are
 heading up the viewing tower
 

The 40-km view from the "Huronia lookout" ( under development)
on George Johnston Road, showing the Minesing Wetlands and
Niagara escarpment in Blue Mountain.

Photos by Ray Kiff

Wednesday, October 5, 2011        Erica Lagios – Grassland Bird Survey Coordinator

Topic: “The Eastern Loggerhead Shrike: A Species on the Edge”

Judy and Rob Cutler, Barb Ryckman, Erica Lagios , Marilyn Wynn,  Carole Paccagnella and John Wynn visit after the talk.
 

  People in Orillia have often heard about Loggerhead Shrikes; and so they should,
since the remaining two breeding hotspots for this subspecies are in Napanee and Carden-
and Carden is only 30 minutes away from Orillia.

      Erica Lagios, a graduate of the University of Toronto in Zoology and Environmental Science, supervised
 the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Survey and Recovery Programme. Since 2008 she has been the coordinator
 of the Grassland Bird Survey, which has been appended to this project. She came to give the Orillia
Naturalists’ Club an overview and update of these programmes. 

     Loggerhead Shrikes are songbirds that hunt like birds of prey, and are often known as the butcherbird,
 since they hang their catch on a hawthorn spike, and return there to feed.

     Their numbers have been declining since the 1960’s and no one knows the precise reason for this
decline. They are now designated a Species at Risk, and as such the study has funding from Environment
 Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service, as well as private money. Since 1997 the group has been
capturing and breeding the captured birds. By 2011 over 100 birds had been captured. So far 609 young
shrikes have been released into the wild. 28 birds have returned. These numbers are somewhat
 disappointing, although there are happy and surprising stories. For example, one bird released in
 Carden paired with a bird in Quebec, where they never had had a nesting pair before. Another bird
 released in 2006, returned to Carden in 2010. 

     All released birds are banded, but more sophisticated methods of tracking, such as Radio
 telemetry and Geolocators, have so far failed. A new technique will be tried next year.

     Since shrikes like managed land, (such as land with cattle grazing,) many are released
onto private lands. This has bothered many local landowners. A plan is being investigated that would
 help compensate the private landowner at $10/acre for land within 400 meters of a nest.

     The Grassland Bird Survey recognizes that grassland birds are in decline in the same areas
 at the Loggerhead Shrike – most notably the Bobolink,one of our favourites. They are upside
down birds, with a black belly and the yellow and white markings are on their back, but they
 are especially loved for their cheery bubbly song. This project was piloted in 2008 and by 2011
 they had enlisted over 100 volunteers to participate in the survey. The 3year data is still
statistically insignificant.

     The hope is that all the effort being put into protecting habitat for the Loggerhead Shrike
 will benefit other grassland birds. In future grassland habitat will probably be protected, to the
benefit of Shrikes and the other declining birds.

     The audience caught Erica’s enthusiasm and dedication, and we will be interested to learn
what the future holds.

Saturday, October 1, 2011         Nature walk around the pond edge at Six Mile Lake with Ellen Dennig.
 

The group at Six Mile Lake, trail head for the
David Milne trail: Ellen Dennig, Carole Paccagnella,
Barb Ryckman, and Donald Macdonald.

The insects on one of the ponds made for an interesting
 picture because of the reflected colour from the trees &c,
 almost as if it were a Monet painting, reports Donald
 

very relaxed turtles

unidentified sparrow

pine needles on water

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Trip to the Fawcett Reserve near, Washago to see the Couchiching Conservancy's Turtle Monitoring,

and restoration Pilot Project, with Mary E. Mick
 

The Fawcett Reserve is a 93 acre Wetland
donated to the Nature Conservancy and
managed by the Couchiching Conservancy.

Barb Ryckman and Mary E Mick beside the
 sign for the Snapping Turtle Nesting Site Restoration Pilot Project.

The group is looking at a protection site,- part of a sand pit
 has been fenced in

Thirteen nest-protection ‘cages’ were placed at sites where turtles where observed laying eggs. It was estimated that 180 eggs of three turtle species – Blandings, Snapping, and Painted - were protected; only one nest was predated. With seven out of  eight native turtles in Ontario classified as threatened, the Couchiching Conservancy Volunteers were doing their part in the protection of   turtles.

The  Orillia Naturalists visited the Fawcett Reserve and the neighbouring property on September 24^th to see the sites where the Project took place. The known nesting sites had been prepared in the Fall of 2010 (gravel and sand spread, and some fencing and signs placed), and the placing of the Protection-cages took place in the Spring and early Summer of 2011.

Naturalists always observe all aspects of nature – naturally!!! – so we had many other ‘sightings’
  and many photos were taken; to name only a few  - a Green Heron; an active Wasps’ Nest;
 beautiful white bunches of  fruits of the White Baneberry; Elderberries
 (some 'tasting' here!);  Partridgeberry; Mosses( the ‘Hair Cap’Moss was especially prolific); Lichens;  Fungi (including  Lobster and Blue-Stain etc.etc.); fresh prints in the sand
 of a Moose; a Barred Owl calling. 
 All of this is just a ‘taste’ of what was observed on September 24^th , a very pleasant Fall Day.

                               Submitted by Mary E. Mick .      Photos by Ray Kiff

JOINT MEETING OF HURONIA CLUBS SEPTEMBER 13/2011

Every September the nature clubs  from Barrie, Carden, Midland-Penetang and Orillia hold a joint meeting.
This year the meeting was hosted by Orillia, meeting at the Royal Canadian Legion.

Anthropologist Dr Timothy Kaiser of Lakehead university ( Orillia campus)  spoke about his recent
archeological studies in Croatia.

The Nakovana Caves proved to be a fascinating area for exploration and involved uncovering many rocks at the entrance,
dark tunnels, and larger cavities. Many pieces of Hellenistic ( Greek)  pottery pots and drinking vessels were found.
 Other items indicated that this cave might have been used as a centre for religious rituals.

As Dr. Kaiser’s audience of naturalists listened to his fascinating and illustrated account of unsealing and
discovering the inner or middle chamber of the Nakovana Cave, they were given the rare treat of actually
sensing the degree of excitement that must have gripped him as he squeezed through the long, narrow and
 sinister access tunnel to gaze upon a sight that had not been seen for some 2000 years.  

There before him were broken pieces of pottery and other artifacts and, in the centre of the chamber,
an unmistakable phallic stalagmite. As Dr. Kaiser and his team investigated further, they uncovered a
vast array of Illyrian and Hellenistic pottery, mostly broken, which was tightly clustered about the large
 phallic stalagmite and offered insight into the history of the cave and the people who had occupied or
made use of it. In early times, these were thought to be nomadic shepherds, who understandably viewed
 caves as a place of shelter for themselves and their flock, and indeed Dr. Kaiser pointed to evidence of
 their use of the cave for this purpose.

Although the cave always remained a place of shelter, the success achieved in reconstructing some of the broken pottery,
much of which was in the shape of vessels associated with the consumption of wine and to a lesser extent food,
 and some of which bore decipherable scratchings in Greek and Latin, allowed Dr. Kaiser to conclude that at
some point, likely in the Hellenistic period, the cave and inner chamber was used for ritualistic activities, perhaps
in the nature of offerings or some sort of cult behaviour, and maybe even orgies. Yet the recurrent depiction of
manhood in its full stature, as seen on various of the artifacts and icons of the period, also revealed a focus on
warrior skills, and this in turn lends support to the theory that pirates, whose forbears had perhaps been shepherds
taking refuge in the cave, were raiding the rich sea lanes of the Adriatic overlooked by the cave and repairing to its
 sanctuary with their booty of wine and other articles of commerce. Indeed, Octavian, who became the first Roman
emperor Augustus, finally decided to put an end to the piracy and other aggravations in the region, and Dr. Kaiser
believes that this led the defenders to seal the passageway to the inner chamber.  

Although the chamber and its contents remained undisturbed by human intruders for the next 2000 years until
Dr. Kaiser and his team discovered it, he believes that the pottery and artifacts which were intact at the time the
chamber was sealed (why else go to that effort) were broken over the millennia by earthquakes, common to the
region and small animals. 

The research was funded through the  Royal Ontario Museum Foundation and by the Institute
 for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia. 

Dr. Kaiser gave his audience a most interesting and inspiring talk. Over time, scavengers, plunderers and tomb robbers
 have been the bane of archaeologists and most can only dream of entering a sealed chamber full of artifacts of such
 historical significance. This was an incredible find and the story is still unfolding. His remarkable tale is truly reminiscent
 of the stuff of Heinrich Schliemann, Sir Arthur Evans and Howard Carter and others, whom we have all read about. 

 The students at Lakehead are indeed fortunate to have a professor who has both dreamed and lived his exciting dream.  

Dr Tim Kaiser joins the presidents of the area naturalists' clubs : Kate Haries- Midland
 Penetang Field Naturalist' Club; Bruce Wilson-Brereton  Field Naturalists Club (Barrie); Tom Wilson - Carden Field Naturalists' Club, and Dr Ray Kiff of the Orillia Club .

Dr Tim Kaiser with Barb Ryckman
 -vice-president of  the  Orillia club

Do you see yourself in the audience?

LEANORE WIANCKO REPORTED TO US ON HER BLUEBIRD TRAIL FOR 2011

Leanore does a wonderful job on her bluebird trail and her swift monitoring.  When Leanore takes on a job, she will do it faithfully - thank you from us all.

Red Trillium
 

Red Trillium yellow-flowered form

Red Trillium pale-flowered form

Wednesday May 4/2011    PICNIC POTLUCK and AGM
 

People take the AGM very seriously apparently, from the photo. 
 All the motions were accepted and passed, and the minutes will be posted next year.
2 new members joined the executive during the year.   Dennis Paccagnella and Wendy Caston,
 replaced Sara Street and Nancy  Green.Thanks to Sara and Nancy
for what they did for the club, and thanks to Wendy and Dennis for taking over.

For those with little interest in the AGM, we had a members’ slide show as well,
 that we all enjoyed.
Photos of water by Ellen Dennig, showed her eye for beauty and art. She also showed a
video of a map turtle laying eggs, which was quite exciting and unusual to see.
 Ray Kiff and Donald Macdonald had photos that they took in this area – mainly birds,
and Adam Thomson showed us what we were all missing if we had not been to the Galapagos.

April 18, 2011........Evening Walk..... Freezing, again         Muley Point Rd and McRae Provincial Park 
 

Greater Yellow Legs and Walk through swamp on boardwalk -photos by Donald Macdonald

Mother Nature   seems determined to hang on to the last vestiges of winter with persistent  cold days and nights and the usual
April snow squalls. In spite of this , signs of spring continue to appear. The ice seems to have left most of the ponds and the
 Northern Harriers are very busy checking out the wetlands. Mallard Ducks were sheltering in the grasses in a pond and in
 the wet fields. Some Pintails were cruising the quiet stream  on Muley Point Rd. Best of all was the sight of a Greater Yellow Legs
 teetering its way across the flooded  field calling as it went, a flute-like  dear! dear! dear!    We heard the Wilson's Snipe
 flying over the field making  its winnowing sound. A true sign that spring is here.  The usual Canada geese  , Red-winged Blackbird
noises floated around us but the Osprey remained  the silent watchers as they guarded their nests. 

As we entered the park everything seemed rather quiet except for the Robins busily flitting from tree to tree. The swamp was very still:
 Barely a sound of any kind of frog. Spring is waiting for a warmer day here.
There was , however ,a treat waiting for us at the water's edge. Through some mystery of nature there were beautiful ice sculptures,
 icy fingers dangling from a tree branch, icy bouquets growing from the grasses around the tree and in the background,  a cold glowing sunset.
Perhaps this was a fitting conclusion for  our final, official , evening walk for April 2011.
However we will all be out checking out what's new everyday, as the days get warmer.

Watch and listen for the Woodcock!!!!

Photo by Ray Kiff

Dale Leadbeater and Sean Spisani Presented  TWILIGHT TO 2000 on April 6/11.03/02/2012. 
 

The Greening of Ontario, The Evolution of Ontario’s Landscape

By Jim Watt 

The greening of Ontario was the topic at the April meeting of the Orillia Naturalist Club.  Dale Leadbeater, a wetland evaluator and botanist,
 as well as her colleague Sean Spisani provided an illustrated talk on how Ontario got to be what it is.

The process of greening began 10,000 years ago, according to the speakers, as the huge glaciers began to retreat from Canada’s south,
leaving behind a raw exposed landscape occupied by giant mammals that included mastodons, short faced bears and giant buffalo.  Using different
 disciplines, such as geology, archaeology, and climate reconstruction, to glean clues, Leadbeater and Spisani theorized on how
our various landforms and soil types evolved.

The retreat of the glaciers 12,000 years ago formed lakes, scoured rocks, deposited sand and gravel, created beaches and alvars. 
With the depression of the earth by the weight of the glaciers, salt water inundated parts of eastern Canada spreading the seeds of Atlantic plants

With the arrival of First Nations People human activities conspired to further sculpt the landscape that we know today. Huron and Iroquois
 people developed agriculture, necessitating the clearing of the land and the cutting down of trees of trees for palisades and long houses. 
 When European settlement began, the landscape further changed when loggers began the extraction of the pine forests of Ontario.

The speakers’ explanations of the greening of Ontario not only provided insights into the creation of our landscapes, but also provided a valuable
context for land managers and restoration ecologists when designing future environments.

2011   Evening  Spring Walks............Mon.  April 4 ...........10 degrees  Celsius

            Very overcast and chilly, slight misty rain at times. 

            Mother Nature is so fickle at the beginning of April and can't make up her mind..snow , rain, a little sun , cold , warm .

What a mixed bag! This year the snow is nearly all gone, but there are still snow flurries appearing some days. The rail trails are all clear and there is
 an abundance of water flowing in the streams and marshes. There is still ice in the lakes and ponds. The Osprey are not back yet.

            We checked Woodland Drive south of Georgian College.

The open water in Brough's Creek treated us to Hooded Mergansers, male and female , Common Golden Eye, Bufflehead, Common Mergansers and a
Great Blue  Heron. We could hear a woodpecker tapping away beside the water but couldn't find him.

There was a dead muskrat beside the bridge, perhaps a victim of  a car. I had seen one crossing a road earlier in the day.

A Turkey Vulture, Canada Geese  and a flock of Robins were seen near the trail. The Robins were very vocal, landing in a tree and  having  a great discussion,
 perhaps about the state of worms on this cold evening.

As usual the Red- winged Blackbirds flew around the marsh.

  The pores of the red tree fungus were still very brilliant in the near darkness- Cinnabar-red Polypore - ( Pycnoporus cinnabarinus) 

Someone saw a Raccoon cross the trail probably searching out an evening snack....and surprise , surprise , an adult Leopard frog
 was sitting in the middle of the trail. He looked healthy but not in the mood to sing yet.

At 7:45 p.m. the first Woodcock was heard bzzzing on the ground in the marsh. Perhaps on Thurs. night when it is clear we will be able to see the mating flight. 

 Report by Muriel Sinclair

The Ontario Hummingbird Project        March 2, 2011
 

 Club members Sara Street and Ron and Doreen Field meet Cindy Cartwright

Cindy talks to the Glogers about a possible banding site at their home north of Coldwater,
 where they feed about 100 lbs of sugar a summer to their many hummingbirds..

The guest speaker for the March Orillia Naturalist’s Club meeting was Cindy Cartwright, coordinator of the Ontario Hummingbird Project. 
 Cindy is one of only 30 people in Canada who are trained to band hummingbirds, and only 1 of 4 active banders in the country. 
 Cindy started the Ontario Hummingbird Project in 2005 after realizing there had been very little research done on hummingbirds in Canada and the United States. 

The goals of the project include:  identifying migration routes and peak migration dates, documenting spring arrival and fall departure dates,
defining the northern limits of the breeding range, locating concentration points, studying the nesting cycle, documenting rare species visiting
 the province, and collecting information on nesting locations, population estimates, reproduction rates and site fidelity. 

Most people believe that hummingbirds arrive in Ontario around Mother’s Day and leave by Labour Day. 
In fact, there have been reports starting April 12, and many birds stay into late October or early November. 
The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common species present in Ontario, however since the project began
there have been sightings of Rufous, Green Violet-ears, Black-chinned, Broad-bills and Anna’s hummingbirds. 
 Some of these species can be difficult to tell apart, especially the females.  In one case, researchers from the
University of Guelph Barcode of Life project were able to identify a female Rufous from a single feather left on a feeder. 

Hummingbirds frequent feeders for energy-providing nectar, however this only makes up part of their diet. 
Protein and vitamins are obtained from small insects and spiders.  The flowers that make up their natural diet contain 22-25% sugar content,
and the ideal feeder solution is 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water.  Avoid using water that contains high levels or iron, let tap water sit out
 for chlorine to dissipate, never use other sweeteners such as honey, and leave out the red food dye!  The liquid should be changed every
 other day in the summer, and a few times a week in the spring and fall, and make sure you clean your feeders well with hot soapy water. 

In addition to banding, researchers use non-toxic acrylic paint to identify birds.  Different stations use different colours so that you can tell
 with a quick glance where the bird was marked.  Through these efforts, the project has already shown that hummingbird ranges
 are far further north than previously thought, and more is being learned about their migration routes.  These tiny 3 gram birds will bulk up to
 8 grams before making a non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico!   

To help with the project, you can become a member, submit sightings of rare species, conduct counts at your feeders, become a bander,
or help with financial support.  There are currently over 800 volunteers involved in the project.
  To learn more visit http://www.ontariohummingbirds.ca/, or hummingbirds@bmts.com.

text by Sarah Hodgkiss

trip to scouts valley Feb 19, 2011

From l:   Patrick Reilly, Donald Macdonald, Leonore Wiancko, Alex Sinclair, Barb Ryckman
 

The Kennetts ( from Orillia Naturalists) usually attend, but will be in New Zealand at this time. If anyone is interested in going , the Agenda and previous discussions could be made available.

Wednesday  February 2/11

Greg Sadowski, Joan Rosebush , and Omer Mick  ( on his 84th birthday)

Our speaker, Mike Walters of the Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority, was unable to attend because of the treacherous driving, so we were fortunate to have
 Greg Sadowski step up when needed.

Sunday  January 23/11

SUNDAY'S SNOWSHOE HIKE WAS NOT MEANT TO BE. BUT IT DID HAPPEN IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING.
  THE WEATHER WAS SO COLD THAT RAY'S HEARING MICROPHONES FROZE AT TIMES;
BARB RYCKMAN TOOK SICK AND COULDN'T ATTEND;
 OTHERS HAD COMMITMENTS -NEVERTHELESS, A GROUP WENT.
 Ray's report:
We had a good time. Leanore led the way and excelled at leading, with Patrick in the middle and me in the rear
 listening with my Listening aids.
 Animal tracks of black Squirrel, field mice, coyotes and deer showed well.  One deer track ended underneath a bridge.
 It was a lovely day.

Photo by Ray Kif

Wednesday, January 5, 2011 7:30 p.m.   Guest speakers: John Warnica and Robert Mayes – long time residents of Simcoe County and long time birders.

Topic: Birds of Simcoe County and more.

Part of the audience who came to hear about the Birds of Simcoe County - Ray Kiff, Pat Angus, Leonore Wiancko - 
with the speakers  Bob Mayes and Dr. John Warnica

Bob Mayes not only knew the birds, could find the birds, could  compose
 beautiful photos, but could carry around this tremendous lens.
 

On a cold winter night, there were people gathered to enjoy the life and times of avid birders; and their insights and photos of the natural bird world around us.
 It was a refreshing change from dealing with the general 'news' of the day.
This was the first meeting of the Orillia Naturalists’ Club for the New Year, held at the Legion on Wednesday, January 5.
 The presenters were Bob Mayes, of Innisfil, and John Warnica of Barrie. Bob has been interested in photography for 40 years, interested in birds for 10 years,
 and interested in bird photography for 5 years. Dr. John Warnica has been an ophthalmologist in Barrie since 1968, has taken partial retirement in the last 5 years,
(but still works several times a year in Nunavut). Bird photography takes up a lot of the remainder of his time.
 These two men work together finding and photographing the birds, and present a very interesting show.
They went to Tiny Marsh, Carden Plains, Rondeau Park and Point Pelee, as well as their own backyard to find and show us beautiful images of our`` home`` birds.
We saw photos of the magnificent Trumpeter Swans, which have been reintroduced to our area by a programme at the Wye Marsh.
We learned that there have been almost no sightings around here of Pine Grosbeaks or White-winged Crossbills in the last 2 winters -presumably their cone crop has
been adequate in the north.
A great deal of effort has been expended on the Piping Plovers at Wasaga Beach, but very few chicks have survived.
 Why are the 2 woodpeckers called Hairy and Downy? There is a white streak of feathers down their backs.
On the Downy Woodpecker, this is soft, and on the Hairy Woodpecker these feathers are quite coarse, and so their names.
They showed photos of American Woodcocks, and told us that, since the British hunted these birds, a dog was bred to retrieve them.
We know that dog as a Cocker Spaniel.  Interestingly, woodcocks eat worms and they can be seen pounding the ground to stir up the worms.
A photo showed the bare unfeathered neck of a baby Robin – the blood vessels are on the surface and so very available to mosquitoes, which carry the West Nile virus.
 Most birds die rapidly with the West Nile virus, but robins can survive for several weeks, and so robins are one of the vectors for the transmission to man.
There was a photo of a Cape May Warbler, and we were told that it has a curled tubular tongue, which allows it to suck nectar when it travels to the tropics in the winter
 – the only warbler with this type of tongue. In Canada they, as well as the other warblers, are insectivores.
Bob and John travelled to Michigan to see the Kirtland’s Warbler.  The recovery programme for this warbler has increased the population from under 200 breeding pairs,
 so over 3000 now, and some are even breeding near Petawawa.
This is just a pot pourri of some of the interesting facts that accompanied their magnificent photos.

John and Bob travelled to the spring birding hotspot of Churchill, Manitoba together. Many beautiful bird photos were the result. John has travelled extensively in Canada
in the north and west, and Bob has visited Newfoundland and southern USA – always on the lookout for beautiful birds doing interesting things.

Thanks to Dr. John and Bob for a relaxing , informative and beautiful presentation.

To see more of his photos go to their websites:

Nevertheless, there are problems with these big long lenses, when the Gray Jays find them interesting.

111th Audubon Christmas Bird Count
Centered at Bass Lake,
 organized by
 the Orillia Naturalists' Club

Joan Rosebush photographed her group  in search of birds.

Wild Turkeys photographed by Craig Thomson

Pine Warbler coming to a feeder near Bass Lake,
 Photo by Shirley Donald

Barred Owl,
Photo by Craig Thomson

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Photo by Dave Hawke

Since 1981 members of the Orillia Naturalists’ Club have been documenting a sampling of birds, found in a circle, which centres on Bass Lake.
People are divided into teams, who scour their area for the day, then return to a potluck supper, followed by the “Tally”, (which we take very seriously).
While we prefer to find birds on the count day, we also include “ count week birds” which are those seen within 3 days before of after the big day.

People ask us if there are trends, which there are, although some years the data is skewed by difficult weather.

A Gray Jay (Whiskey Jack) was sighted near Victoria Point.  This bird occasionally comes down from its stronghold in Algonquin Park and further north.
 A Pine warbler had been coming regularly to a feeder near Bass Lake, although it has not been seen since Dec. 16^th .- it will have trouble surviving the winter.
 The 3rd new bird for our list was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The only other known winter record for this bird in Simcoe County was in Collingwood Dec 24, 1963.

The introduced species are doing well. There were 48 Trumpeter Swans seen at the narrows, and this year we tallied 380 Wild Turkeys.

59 species of birds were sighted this year – a respectable number given the lack of open water due to an early freeze up. 
 With open water, the Barrie bird counters  found well over 60 species.

Surprisingly , the Christmas Bird count  is one of our most popular activities—a tradition for many.

The Orillia Naturalists and Gorillas

The Orillia Naturalists Club and the Couchiching Conservancy have collected 85 old cell phones from high schools in
Orillia and people who dropped in to the Bird House on Mississaga St.

These phones are sent to the Toronto Zoo to help save gorillas in eastern Congo. The Zoo sends them to a Canadian
 mining company to refine out useable metals. Nothing goes to a landfill. Cell phones contain lead, mercury, cadmium
 and arsenic which are hazardous wastes. 17 metals are reclaimed in all- including gold, tin, copper and cobalt.
 1 ton of old cell phones will yield 230gm of gold – almost four times the amount from a ton of mining waste.

Cell phone manufacture requires “tantalum”, an ore mined in east Congo.
 This is prime lowland gorilla and elephant habitat.

The New York Times said “blood diamonds” have faded away but we may now be carrying “blood phones” (June 27, 2010).
Warlords finance their predations in part through the sale of mineral ore containing tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold.

Canadians replace cell phones every 2 years on average. Old phones in the waste stream can leak toxic metals into the water supply.
If incinerated, the toxic elements in the air return to earth in rain water. The Orillia dump has a toxic waste return area but has to
 pay to get these items transported for safe disposal. By sending old cell phones to the Toronto Zoo, we can save our
 city some costs and save a gorilla.

When you get that fancy new phone, dispose of the old one safely. Discontinue service and do a
hard reset to wipe off all data, pictures, etc.

You can still deposit that old phone at the Bird House Nature Company at 108 Mississaga St E.
 We will see it gets to the Toronto Zoo.

Thanks to Joan Rosebush for this information and for all the work she has put in to this project.
 

Outing to Langman Wildlife Sanctuary, November 6/10, led by Mary Mick
 

Group in the frost and the sunlight.
Mary has the halo.

Old man's beard/ Wild clematis/ Virgin's bower
- you choose the name.

Margo and Dianne looking for possible remains of a
pitcher plant -not found
 

Melted ice hanging on sporophytes of a moss
-Brotherella recurvans

Last year's outings were characterized by rain. We have had wonderful weather this year for our outings.
At this time of year many mornings have a lovely frosting of ice. We know we should get up and go out to enjoy the beauty, but don't. A Naturalists' Club outing gets us going, and we were richly rewarded.
The Langman Wildlife Sanctuary is spectacular for its mosses and liverworts, its trees, especially the old cedars, and its ambience.
Thanks Mary for trying to keep us together, a seemingly impossible task.

Photos by Ray Kiff and |Ellen Dennig

Club meeting November 3/10

Joan Rosebush talks to  Carolyn Brown and Kelsey Cronk prior to the presentation.
 

The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority presented information on the Lake Sturgeon Species at Risk project to the Orillia Naturalists' Club at its
November meeting at the Orillia Legion.

Fisheries biologist Carolyn Brown, and Kelsey Cronk, fisheries technician, described the project, which, with Federal and Provincial funding, looks at
 the habitat impacts, sturgeon spawning areas and potential restoration sites along the middle and lower Nottawasaga River. Lake sturgeon are considered
 to be a threatened species. They are called the “dinosaurs of the Great Lakes”, as they have been around for at least 2 million years. They can grow well
over 100 kilograms, and live for up to 150 years. The lake sturgeon is rare now, and are no longer fished for in Ontario.

Young lake sturgeon are spiny, so other fish do not eat them. Lake sturgeon eat food at the lower zone of the water, such as small fish (such as sticklebacks),
mollusks, crayfish, and algae and plants.
They usually do not breed until they are in their third decade, and the natural hatch rate of their eggs is less than 1%. The female adult lake sturgeon will
 breed only every 4 to 9 years. Hatchlings grow fast, and reach 15 to 20 cm. by the end of the first summer.

The collapse in the numbers of Lake Sturgeon in Ontario is mainly due to overfishing. They are no longer found in Lake Simcoe or Lake Couchiching.
 Lake sturgeon have been used for food, and fuel for burning, and isinglass is derived from lake sturgeon. Isinglass is used for the clarification of wine
 and beer.

Spawning habitat has been destroyed by dams, channelization of rivers, and pollution. Lake sturgeon breed in only five rivers entering Lake Huron,
 including the Nottawasaga River.

The interest of the Orillia Naturalists was reflected in the inquiries that followed the attention-grabbing presentation.

 as told by Walter Ewing

Outing to Torrance Barrens -  led by Ellen Dennig,   Saturday Oct16/1010

Saturday turned out to be one of those unbelievable Fall days – wall to wall sunshine and no bugs – well, we saw one!
 About 16 people turned out, all with different expectations, but with one goal. Some of us climbed, some crossed high
water on wiggley boards, some of us sat and pondered, some looked up and some looked down. Most painted turtles
were hiding, just blowing bubbles at the bottom of the pool. It wasn’t warm enough for the snakes today. Lots of birds
were around – fat Robins, Chickadees, Blue Jays hung out on the Pine Lake ridge. Warren spotted some nice mushrooms,
 and the water and bog plants were incredible. The cotton grass shone in the sun, Nancy told us moss stories and Margo
 found the ferns.

The Torrance Barrens Conservation Reserve is one of the most striking geological areas in Muskoka. The lunar
 landscape of the Barrens is characterized by low ridges of Precambrian bedrock, separated by wetlands and peat-filled hollows,
 scattered boulders and even a little soil. The prevalence of the bare bedrock is the direct result of wave-washing by the receding
 waters of the glacial lakes Algonquin and Nipissing. Many diverse vegetative species reside here. The Eastern Massassauga
 rattlesnake can on occasion be found here, as can Ontario’s only lizard, the Five Lined Skink. Our find of the trip, so aptly pointed
out by Margo, was the Three-toothed Cinquefoil – usually an Arctic species. We hope to check out the night sky next August.

Report and Photos by Ellen Dennig ( Thanks Ellen for being a good leader, and for pulling me up the cliff, successfully.)

looking at Three-toothed Cinqufoil

Margo with Marginal Shield Fern ( to right)

Cotton grass

White oak or Burr oak - a lot of discussion.
 Walter looked up Burr Oak, and reported:
The Burr Oak, Quercus Macrocarpa, is an oak in
the white oak section. Heavy nut crops are borne
only every few years. In this strategy, known as
 masting, the large seed crop every few years
 overwhelms the ability of seed predators to eat the acorns,
 thus insuring the survival of some seeds. The burr oak is
the only known food plant of Bucculatrix recognita caterpillar.
However, we might have skipped the discussion,
since they are all white oaks at Torrance Barrens- no Burr Oaks.

Members of the audience chat
with Ken after the meeting.

          Saturday September 18, 2010

The Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area is part of the Wye Valley and includes mixed forest and a wildlife education centre built
on old farmland. A small area of the property is still farmed for hay. Next to the national wildlife area,
there is an important wetland that is protected by the
 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as a Wildlife Management Area.

The Wye Marsh wetlands, which are about 1.5 by 4.5 kilometres, are mainly cattail marsh with small areas of fen.
In the centre, there is a large, open area called Mud Lake.

There is nothing so satisfying as prowling a marsh area with someone as enthusiastic and  knowledgeable in her field as Sara Street. 
The marsh at this time of year is so different from the green  Spring and early  summer one. The early flowers now have  produced
seeds and leaves in some cases have turned to brown. The large Ostrich ferns are actually very interesting and show their shape
  in a skeletal form. Seeds are now in abundance but some plants are now just beginning to bloom their very best.

The brown rock turned out to be a puff-ball (UPPER LEFT). The bright red berries and big green leaves were all that remained of Jack-in-the -pulpit.

The personal stories about each of the Trumpeter Swans were a real help to understand the behavior we see as we prowl.
 If one doesn't notice critters outside you will certainly see lots inside in the learning centre (EASTERN RAT SNAKE - LOWER LEFT).
 What a great place to spend a day...
or two ..or many days. Watch for the up coming programmes!

Thank you Sara. Wonderful  morning.

FRIDAY SEPT 8/10
About 15 members  of the club  ( hard to count, a lot of people there from 4 Huronia Clubs), enjoyed the joint meeting hosted by Carden Naturalists.
 Naturalists in this area a  very busy group of people, with lots of projects, according to the reports.
 Sheila Colla  gave an interesting presentation about Bumblebees, telling us how much more studies need to be done about them, and moreover,
 we learned that very few of us knew much about them.

Two of our members have bluebird trails. These are their reports:
2010 Orillia Naturalists’ Club Report of Eastern Bluebird (EABB) Nesting Box trail

From Ray Kiff  on the Rugby-Edgar Road in Simcoe County

            The season of monitoring starts in early March before arrival of the migrating birds. Each box is opened, cleaned and repaired where necessary.
Mice are evicted. Boxes torn from their posts by wind and blasting of heavy snow by snowploughs are replaced.
The last major snowfall was April 14^th and on April 22 there were two Eastern Bluebird (EABB) nests with 5 eggs each.
By April 26 when all of the boxes had been opened, there were two more EABB nests, 4 mouse nests, one Black-Capped Chickadee (BCCH), and one Tree Swallow (TRES) nest.
Then there was a drop in overnight temperatures to +1.4C degrees to -3C degrees from May 9-14^th which resulted in finding two boxes of five EABBS dead.
When the temp drops below 10C the newborns are faced with hypothermia as well as starvation as insects and grubs are harder to find.
            The good news is that the parents start anew and by June 14 we had 43 fledglings, the largest number of fledglings present at one time- 13 EABBs, 21 TRES, 9BCCH.
From then on activity started to taper off. The last two nests with young on Aug 1^st went on to fledge by Aug 22.
            An analysis of nesting box occupancy found- 12% of boxes-no nests; 42% of boxes-one nest; 30% of boxes-2 nests; 8% of boxes- 3nests; 2% of boxes-4 nests.
            Final Totals of Fledglings; 55 EABBs (22 Dead), 63 TRES (25Dead), 9BCCH (0 Dead), ! American Robin  (AMRO).

From Leonore Wianko
Bluebirds 18  house wrens 40  tree swallows 48  robins 6  and chickadees 6. I also had 4 chipmunk babies in one of the boxes that left.
 This has been the worst season for bluebirds and Ray feels I may need to move some boxes as the wrens are predating them.
There is plenty of evidence for that conclusion.
 

Saturday, June 12, 2010 ;      Field trip to Raven’s Lake;   Hosted by Dale Leadbeater,
 a wetland evaluator and botanist.

WARBLER WALK WITH RON REID   SATURDAY, MAY 22/10

We were led to the Fawcett Nature Reserve by Ron.

This gave us a mix of  swamp, Muskoka Rocks,
 sandy areas, and  mixed forests.  Although we have
visited the area under the hydro line in the spring, to
 see the skunk cabbage, we did not realize there were
 other sites, nearby, for the skunk cabbage. This can
be recognized at this time of year by large leaves
 that look somewhat like rhubarb.
The weather was pleasant, although it became hot near
 11 am. The bugs were- surprisingly - not a problem.

Ron's expertise, both as a leader and as a naturalist ( and birder)
 were very evident.
He has  another site ready for next year's warbler walk,

 

We saw, or heard, 40 species of birds, including 9 warblers.
 Because the leaves have matured so early this year, good views
 were hard to find. So  it is surprising that such good photos of the
2 Vireos were obtained.

Ron showed us this albino form of the Mocassin Flower
 ( Stemless Ladies Slipper)- Cypridium acaule,  The
 internet tells us that the albino form is rare in Muskoka ( but
 we are not told where else it is found).

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Eastern Kingbird

Photos by Donald Macdonald, Ray Kiff, and Nancy Ironside

Pot luck and AGM at Swanmore Hall, May 5/10

Choosing your food is a serious business

It is hard to smile with your mouth full.
 

photos by Ray Kiff

Watching the rain through the window at the lakeside setting, while we enjoyed the spring Pot Luck could not have been more pleasant.
The food seemed better than usual, but maybe I was able to enjoy the food better this year, since I didn't have to run the slide show ( Thanks Barb Ryckman.).
The slide presenters were: Donald Macdonald ( esp owls), Adam Thomson ( esp dragonflies ), Ray Kiff (  a tribute to Ron and Sharon  and the Hermitage),
 Ellen Dennig ( a trip on the Tiny Trail), and Sarah Street ( esp about Stink Pot Turtles).

The following slate of officers and Directors was proposed and accepted:

April Evening Walk  # 4,  April 26,  2010, with Muriel

Sunny , clear ski,  cool wind  and dropping temperature.   I can't believe we
 have had four beautiful evenings for the  evening walks this year. This
 must be a record.
The marshy area between James St. and Woodland  has the constant
 calling and displaying of the Red-winged Black Birds and along the
 streams the  Kingfisher checking out the fish in the creek. Tiny fish
  were   jumping and as the sun caught the motion we saw all the
sparkles on the water. On the way back we noticed fish jumping
 over the rocks  where the water flowed through a culvert under
 the trail. (Too dark to identify )
We were treated to great beds of Trout Lily Blooms  and then Marsh Marigolds
 on every mound amidst the little ponds of water.
The Coltsfoot blooms are breathing their last   for this year,  one patch was
quite beautiful with  its pure white heads .
We saw one Muskrat , a few Mallard Ducks , and One Canada Goose nesting
 on the top of an old Beaver House . The Spring Peepers  and finally the
 American Toads were calling in the large wet area.
The pair of Osprey are back and nesting on Woodland Drive. All along the trail
 we heard Song Sparrows and  Mourning Doves .
 This is a good time of year to try to identify the spring plants
 as they begin to grow , before the flowers appear.What a wonderful outdoor
classroom we have. 
 Check out the Rock Elm. They seem to be dying along the trail.
I understand the Woodcock are nesting . Watch your feet.

Muriel and Wendy checking out the fish

Marsh marigolds struggling in the drying wetlands

SPRING WALK #3- April 19, 2010, with Muriel.

Past President, President, Vice President
 and Treasurer, deciding whether to pay for parking.

Omer Mick, sitting on a beautiful old knarled cedar.

Weather , sunny , cool and lovely.    We had a great turn out for a prowl through Bass Lake Provincial Park. 

SPRING  WALK   # 2-  April  12 , 2010, with Muriel.

Calm night -   6 degrees celcius and dropping- sunny until sunset and then cloudy. 

We walked from Wainman Line to Purbrook  Swamp area   on the Uhthoff  Trail.

The pond near the  beginning was  much quieter than it had been in the heat of the day.
However by dark the Chorus frogs and Spring Peepers were active again. Further  along
 we had a few reluctant snores from a Leopard Frog in the creek. 

 It was nice to hear the Eastern Meadow Lark  singing its delicate song and see its spring
 finery in the sunlight as it sat on a fence post. Mostly we heard the Robins, Red-winged
 Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, Canada Geese in flight. There was a definite call of a
 woodpecker but we couldn't decide which one. We could work on that. Maybe????

It was a lovely night for a walk .......but,  not a bzzt  from a Woodcock.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

The Orillia Naturalists’ mystery speaker this month was James Kamstra, who spoke on the topic of “How Insects Cope with Winter”.
 

James has a B.Sc. in Biology and Environmental Science from Trent University and a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University.
 He presently works full time as an ecologist / environmental consultant for the engineering firm, AECOM, based in Markham.
 He conducts biological inventories and environmental impact studies of development on flora and fauna. He also sits on the Committee
 on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario.

Insects like people have a variety of coping strategies. A few examples sited by James are:

The Monarch Butterfly MIGRATES long distances traveling all the way down to the mountains of Mexico. The Painted Lady
 Butterfly and some dragon flies also migrate.

Ants and June Beetles will BURROW deep into the ground to get below the frost line. Carpenter Ants and Wood Boring
 Beetles BORE into the core of wood.

Some insects like the praying mantis larvae spend the winter inside EGG CASES. The walls act as Styrofoam insulation.

Other insects such as the honey bee spend the winter in the hive HUDDLED together in a mass. They create their own
 microclimate in the hive by fluttering their wings. However, not all survive.

Many aquatic insects, the Dragon Fly nymph being an example, over winter UNDER THE WATER, sometimes being
active and other times burrowing into the mud.

The Golden Rod Gall Fly ensures that it arrives at the right time to deposit its egg directly into the stem of a growing
goldenrod. The plant reacts to the egg under the surface of its stem by growing around the egg and this GROWTH protects
 and feeds the larvae inside.

Then there are the hearty COLD TOLERANT Snow Fleas that you see on the snow banks. They are busy eating the
 bacteria in the snow.

With our early spring we may see insects earlier e.g. Black Flies, but they should be finished sooner. Fingers crossed.!

Perhaps you can identify with a species of insects or try a different coping strategy next year.

Those interested in delving deeper in to the insect world James Kamstra highly recommends Steve Marshall’s Insect
Diversity book.

                                          Prepared by: Sara Street and Ann Kennett

Spring is Singing----April 5, 2010
Muriel Sinclair's walk

Temperature: 12 degrees celsius, breezy and sunny.

The ice went out of both lakes Simcoe and Couchiching  on the week-end. Snow is gone

We checked out Mulley  Point Road to see how many Osprey had returned to the nests on the way to
 Bayshore Village;

Four pair at this time. Chorus Frogs were in full song  and lesser were the Spring Peepers and
 Wood frogs. The difference was mainly location. Some of the Peeper ponds are very loud.

At the end of Muley Point Road we were treated to some wonderful views of Green-winged Teal
 ( about 6 pair) , blue -winged Teal ,  and Mallard ducks, as well as 2 Common Snipe performing 
 and calling. The walk through McRae Provincial Park  gave us a whisper of Woodcock.( Maybe
 next week we'll find more)

The boardwalk was a little tippy as is usual in the spring. The spring flowers were beginning to
 peek through the old leaves. Our intrepid little group had a workout on the return trail along
the lake, crawling over and under and around trees and trying to avoid falling in the lake. 
 Well done! 

 When we reached the beach area we were treated to a starry night with a great sighting
 of Venus and Mercury in the western sky. This week and next are good times to see
 Mercury. I think most people would have liked a little longer to star gaze ....but it was
 time to head home. Then there was a big old Porcupine settling down in the branches
of a tree. I'll bet he has never seen so many camera flashes.( Most of us forgot our
 flashlights....including the leader) Shame!!! 

Our list for the evening------
Chorus Frogs,   Spring Peepers, Wood frogs,
Common Snipe,  American Woodcock
Osprey,
Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Mallards,
 Red-winged Blackbirds, Crows, Robins, Blue Jay, Mourning Doves,
Coltsfoot in bloom, Trout Lily, Virginia Waterleaf, Leeks sprouting
Porcupine.

 Report by Muriel S , Osprey photo by Ray Kiff

Stewart Nutt speaks to us on March 3/10 about Piping Plovers

 

Stewart Nutt, the coordinator of the Piping Plover protection team at Sauble Beach, spoke to the Orillia Naturalists’ Club
 on Wednesday March 3^rd, at Swanmore Hall. He had wonderful slides, including a short video of the Piping Plover chick’s
 antics. The bird is only half the size of a killdeer, but in the same family.

There are 3 populations of Piping Plovers, one in the east coast, one in the west, and a small population around the Great Lakes.
 All are considered endangered.  They were common birds years ago. Because they nest  on a sandy beach, their habitat has
 been destroyed by beach users – for example there might be 60,000 people come to Sauble Beach on a weekend.

 

The Great Lakes population has been monitored and protected in Michigan, but no nests had been found in Ontario for 35 years.

 

Three years ago several nests were found on Sauble Beach and Oliphant on Lake Huron, and one nest at Wasaga Beach
 on Georgian Bay.( The Wasaga Beach bird was found and identified by a 13 year old boy, walking with his mother. )
 Suddenly the bird watching and local communities were responsible for caring for their beach habitat, protecting
 the nests from human interference, from dogs and from natural predators. 

 

There has been tremendous support. One hundred and thirty one  “Guardians” (volunteers) monitor the sites near
 Sauble Beach, in four-hour shifts, from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 pm daily, from the birds’ arrival in mid April, until they
 leave in August. As well there have been support from local police, from Conservation Officers, from nearby
 cottagers and visitors and campers. Eagle Optics from Guelph donated two spotting scopes and binocular
s to the project. Because of this intense monitoring many new behaviour patterns have been seen and recorded
 (some of which were very funny, as told by Stew).

 

We all await the fourth season. (Some of our club members have volunteered to monitor at Wasaga Beach in the past.)

 

 

Saturday Feb 20,2010, Mary Mick
 led our group on a hike to the Hope-Smith property : 250+ acres donated to the \Couchiching Conservancy.
 The weather was spring like. The trails ( with bridges!) were well packed , so snow shoes were not necessary.
 Identifying trees without leaves and early budding shrubs was challenging, but we enjoyed the challenge.
Is this a butternut tree?
 

Photos by Louise Jackson

February3, 2010 Mark Bisset: The Couchiching Conservancy  and the next five years.

     When Ron Reid and Janet Grand moved to Orillia (Washago) we, as naturalists did not realize how lucky we were.  Ron Reid went on to start the Couchiching Conservancy, one of the first and most successful of Land Trusts in Ontario.  10 years later, when he announced his retirement, most of us were devastated, and afraid he could not be replaced. His replacement, Mark Bisset  (former editor of the Packet and Times) spoke to the Orillia Naturalists’ Club, on February 3^rd, about his vision for the next 5 years.  Changes are difficult but Mark has his own style and strengths. We were reassured that the Couchiching Conservancy, to which so many of us have given time and money, will continue as a success. The Conservancy has a reputation for getting things done and for being innovative – Mark’s goals too.

The Conservancy protects land in the Couchiching watershed area and a major part of the protection has occurred on the Carden plain. For example, there are 350 head of cattle on the Cameron and Windmill Ranches, and this is considered vital to maintain the habitat for the Loggerhead Shrike and the rare alvar plants.  26 thousand feet of fencing are already in place, at these ranches, and 12 thousand more feet are expected. They have built water troughs for the cattle –one pump run by a traditional windmill, and one is solar powered .The problems of cattle ranching are unusual problems for the director of a Nature Trust. In the next 2 years the Conservancy hopes to expand into Ramara Township. In October 2010 a 300-acre property in the ANSI ( area of natural and scientific interest) north of Alvar Road will be acquired. The goal is 20 thousand acres by 2013.

Volunteering is an important part of the management of these properties –clean up crews at Elliot Woods, efforts to deal with invasive species such as garlic mustard and dog strangling vine, are all part of the Conservancy` mandate. Recently a Conservation Easement has been put in place at Mark William’s property on the Oro Moraine. The ATV trails and ruts in the large property in northern Severn Township are an ongoing and so far unsolved problem.

At present they have 9234 acres protected, which includes 33 properties owned by the Couchiching Conservancy, including 7 conservation easements, and 11 properties managed in partnership with Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ontario Parks, and Ontario Heritage Trusts.

            Mark is good at forming partnerships with other groups such as the Community Foundation Stewardship Endowment; he hopes to take a leadership role in managing the Copeland Forest; he hopes to develop a Nature for Kids group in partnership with the schools and the CBC (especially involving the teens who need 40 hours of volunteer work). His goal is to stimulate public interest and engagement in conservation. We think he will do a good job.

Saturday, January16/10 we went snowshoeing at Ellen Dennig's  near the Vasey Road
 

We hiked through their beautiful forest, with many varieties of trees,
some old and some young. We saw many animal tracks and found a
 fox's hole, and a deer bed .

We then enjoyed our lunch in the welcoming home of Ellen and Kenlis.
Their picture window overlooks the Sturgeon River Valley.

January 6/10 - monthly meeting with David J. Hawke: "Spring Things"
 

Popular local naturalist, Dave is shown here, at the first meeting of the ONC for 2010,  flanked by his mother and father
 -Gwen and John Hawke, and his father-in-law Matthew Valk
 

In January it seems our thoughts gently turn to thoughts of spring.  The daylight hours begin to grow longer and somehow the world seems
 just a little brighter.  Even though we generally think signs of spring happen as the snow begins to retreat, the reality is, as David Hawke
 explained through a series of pictures, the signs are already upon us in January.  The great horned owls are mating.  We expect to see little
owlets by March.  In early February the tiny horned larks will be seen on the gravel shoulders of the local roads.  The chipmunk may pop
 out from time to time on a warm sunny day to check things out and go back for yet another nap.  Phenology!  That’s a big word that means
 when one event changes, it affects many others.  We see it all the time with biological phenomenon and climatic conditions.  If you are interested
 in why “spring” arrives on the calendar when it does, try checking your Greek mythology, particularly Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter.

  It was a relaxing, and beautiful presentation, and made us sorry that there are still a couple more months to go until we can enjoy spring. In the mean time,
 the next meeting will feature Mark Bisset's vision for the next 5 years for the |Couchiching Conservancy.
 

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT    DECEMBER 19, 2009
 

Team 1 looking out over Lake Simcoe - Photo by Walt Ewing
 

On a beautiful sunny Saturday, (December 19,) the Orillia Naturalists’ Club members and friends were out doing the annual Xmas Bird count. Forty-four people in all escaped the Xmas turmoil to enjoy nature and to see what birds we could find. The circle that we sampled is 25 kilometres in diameter, centered in Bass Lake. Forty-nine species were recorded. As well as the 9 groups in cars, there were several feeder watchers, who called in their bird counts, and these records enhanced our observations. We enjoyed the help of the Yukoners, who pitched in and enjoyed the fun.

There were few surprises, but it seems that all is well. The total species count and the total numbers were similar to other years. This year there were very few winter finches – only 1 pine siskin and 7 Purple finches (which were seen the day prior to the count), no Redpolls, no Crossbills, no Evening Grosbeaks.  There were 8 species where only 1 bird was observed.

There are 2 feeders with Red-bellied Woodpeckers, for a local 25-year high of 3 birds. 3 Red-necked Grebes were a highlight for the open water, and the dump produced 2 Iceland Gulls, and 13 Glaucous Gulls – white gulls that come south in small numbers, in the winter. 44 Trumpeter Swans at the narrows indicate the success of the Wye Marsh introduction programme.  House sparrows appear to be on a decline and only 12 were observed (all downtown in Orillia). In 1987, 472 were seen.

We finished the day with a potluck and species tally at Swanmore Hall.

SPECIES LIST FOR 2009-12-21 

RED-NECKED GREBE 3
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT 3
TRUMPETER SWAN 46
CANADA GOOSE 31
AMERICAN BLACK DUCK 31
MALLARD 274
GREATER SCAUP1
BUFFLEHEAD 19
COMMON GOLDENEYE 269
COMMON MERGANSER 22
DUCK SP. 36
BALD EAGLE1
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK 1
COOPER'S 1
NORTHERN GOSHAWK 4
RED-TAILED HAWK 10
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 1
RUFFED GROUSE 2
WILD TURKEY 450
RING-BILLED GULL 29
HERRING GULL 1523
ICELAND GULL 2
GLAUCOUS GULL 13
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL 37
GULL SP 48
ROCK PIGEON 311
MOURNING DOVE 247
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 3
DOWNY WOODPECKER 32
HAIRY WOODPECKER 26
PILEATED WOODPECKER 3
NORTHERN SHRIKE 2
BLUE JAY 239
AMERICAN CROW 147
COMMON RAVEN 15BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE 825
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH 16
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 52
BROWN CREEPER 2
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 2
EUROPEAN STARLING 931
BOHEMIAN WAXWING COUNT W 62
NORTHERN CARDINAL 21
AMERICAN TREE SPARROW 50
DARK-EYED JUNCO 43
SNOW BUNTING 30
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 1
COMMON GRACKLE 1
PURPLE FINCH COUNT WEEK 7
HOUSE FINCH 34
PINE SISKIN 1
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH 339
HOUSE SPARROW 12

2 past presidents ( Joan Rosebush and Gord Michener) with Dave Ireland

 After the meeting, many people discussed the topics presented .

Dave Ireland, Curator of Conservation Programs at the Toronto Zoo, provided a fascinating look behind the scenes
 for the Orillia Naturalists’ Club on November 4th.

His knowledge of reptiles and amphibians helped to create wetland habitats at the zoo. Frog habits were studied with
 tiny implanted transponders. Red-eyed tree frogs from Costa Rica lay eggs on trees over water. Not even a tornado
shakes them loose. But when a snake approaches, the eggs drop into the water to escape!

Endangered lion-tailed macaque monkeys from India like warm climate. Winter heating is a problem. But the zoo is using
geo-thermal heat by drilling 250 feet underground and pumping up heat to melt the snow and allow the monkeys to frolic
 outdoors at a comfortable 13C.

Green roofs substantially reduce heating and air conditioning costs. When it is 28C outside, the temperature on a green
 roof is 27C. The temperature on a regular roof is 56C! The Toronto Zoo plans to be carbon neutral by 2020 and the green roofs help.

The Toronto Zoo is also involved in road ecology, helping to plan for road systems preserving   pathways
 for wildlife as much as possible.

100 million cell phones are discarded in North America each year. Another project of the Toronto Zoo is the Eco-Cell project.
 Cell phone manufacture requires a metallic ore called “Coltan” mined in eastern areas of the Congo – prime gorilla and
elephant habitat. Eco-Cell is a cell phone recycling and fundraising organization that works with 160 US and Canadian
 zoos and NGO’s. 100% of all cell phones is diverted from landfills. The City of Orillia waste recycling department is pleased
 with any diversion from the local site. The Orillia Naturalists’ Club will have boxes for drop-off of old phones at The Bird House
 Nature Company, Lakehead University, the Couchiching Conservancy and Wye Marsh. The phones will go to the Green Team
 at the Toronto Zoo to raise funds for gorilla conservation. For more information see www.torontozoo.ca/conservation .

Queen Elizabeth 2 Park - Victoria Bridge trip with Donald Macdonald and Kristen Field          October 25/09
 

Large white pine , partially encircled by Gord Michener

Ragged Rapids, a major portage for the canoeists on the Black River

The group, learning about the new QE2 Park

We walked in the floating bog, with the Tamaracks and  cotton grass

Buttonbush

Nut of Beaked Hazel

Victoria Bridge
 

A cranberry, surrounded by Sphagnum, in the bog

photos by Ray Kiff, Donald Macdonald and Margo Holt
 

Hardy Lake trip with Ellen Dennig        October 17/09
 

Ellen finally got a beautiful day for her hike to Hardy Lake, and it is a beautiful area. When we arrived there were no cars in the parking lot, so we had the trail
to ourselves.  When we left in the afternoon there were 17 cars -others had realized what a beautiful day it was for a walk. We passed ponds with ducks; the
 Lake had 2 fishing loons. We walked on the shield rocks, and passed large erratics.  The Rock tripe ( a lichen of the Genus Umbilicaria) was spectacular.
 Some tried to identify plants in seed, others just enjoyed the huge Hemlock forests.       Thanks Ellen.

Photos by Walter Ewing and Ellen Dennig
 

COLONIAL BIRD EXPERT SPEAKS TO NATURALISTS       October 7/09
 

Chip Weseloh speaking to Murray Stephens after
 the meeting, at Swanmore Hall, our new meeting site.

Immature Double-crested Cormorant at the Narrows.
 ( Photo by Donald Macdonald)

Janet Grand and Brennan Ackert discuss the
 report with Chip

JOINT MEETING IN BARRIE SEPT /09

Ray Kiff (Orillia Naturalists' Club),  Neil Gray (Carden Field Naturalists), Phyllis Tremblay (Brereton Field Naturalists), Sid Hadlington (Midland Field Naturalists)

The Orillia Naturalists’ Club joined naturalists from Carden and Midland in Barrie for a joint meeting of all clubs. It was a chance to renew friendships
 and learn of outings and projects planned by the four groups.

Alex Mills (who has a PhD in Ornithology from U of T) captured our interest with theories and studies relating to the decline of some birds in
Ontario and eastern Canada. The birds of interest are aerial insectivores – birds that eat flying insects. Included this group are swallows,
purple martins, whip-poor-wills and chimney swifts.

The fall in populations started in mid 1980s. Greatest declines are seen in Ontario and in birds that migrate to more southerly regions.

             The problems facing birds include:    

·         habitat destruction (but these birds have several types of habitat)

·         alien invasives (but there do not seem to be any)

·         overexploitation (some are killed chemically in South America to protect crops)

·         migration mortality

·         unknown environmental disruption

Environment changes could include climate change. Maybe the insects hatch at the wrong time to feed nestlings. Acid rain can change
the insect population. Acid rain has more effect in northern areas due to the geology. Calcium washes out of the rock and “aquatic
 osteoporosis” happens. Creatures with shells decrease in numbers. Then there is less food and calcium that birds need to lay healthy eggs.

The theories are several and are being studied extensively.