Willow Beach Field Naturalists News
Short-billed Dowitcher, Cobourg Harbour. Photo© Bruce Parker
Last Updated: May 17th 2012
WBFN Latest Updates!
Question Mark. Photo© Bruce Parker
New and Upcoming
¬ New WBFN General Meeting location. The September and October 2012,and the January and March 2013 WBFN general meetings will be held at Trinity College School Port Hope – Le Van Hall – enter the school from Rose Glenn Road.
Dates and times are as follows: Friday, September 28 – 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., Friday, October 26 – 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., Friday, January 25 – 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., March 22 – 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. – please note the date change due to Good Friday.
November 2012, February 2013 (the Annual General Meeting) and March the meeting will be held at the Cobourg Public Library. Friday, November 30th – 7:30 - 9:30 p.m..
Click here for a map and directions.
¬ May 2012 Issue of the Curlew is now posted on the Curlew Page. Those members who do not want to receive a paper copy of the Curlew please leave a message by going to the Contact Us Page or indicating it on the Membership Renewal Form.
¬ The Town of Cobourg had an open house for the Neighbourwoods Community Tree Inventory Program in March and had great turn-out and interest. The Town will be moving forward with the pilot project collecting tree inventory data in the heritage neighbourhood between University Avenue and King Street and College Street and D’Arcy Street. The next step will be Orientation & Training on Saturday, May 26, 2012 from 8:30 a.m.to approximately 3:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s Church (north entrance). The Town will be supplying everything needed for volunteers as well as lunch. Dress appropriately for weather as the last half of the day will be spent outside for practical field training. Data Collection Day will be held on Saturday, June 9, 2012 with a follow-up day of Saturday, June 23, 2012. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Rory Quigley at (905) 372-4555 or email trees@cobourg.ca.
¬ Friday, May 25, 2012, 7:00 p.m. – President’s Walk – Outing to Webbview Marsh north of Roseneath on Coyle Rd. This is a privately owned marsh. Dikes and impoundments have been created by Ducks Unlimited. Directions: Meet at car pool lot at Cty. Rd. 45 and Hwy. 401 at 6:15 p.m. or at the marsh at 7:00 p.m. Take Cty. Rd. 45 north, through Roseneath to Coyle Rd. Turn left (north) on Coyle Rd. The marsh is about 2 km. on the left. Park on the roadside.
¬ Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10, 2012 - Northumberland Summer Bird Count. For more information, contact Roger Frost at 905-885-9615 or ekrf@eagle.ca
¬ Sunday, June 10, 2012 - The Nature Conservancy is planning the dedication of the Hazel Bird Nature Reserve on Robson Rd. Events are planned throughout the day. For more information, contact Todd Farrell at Todd.Farrell@natureconservancy.ca
¬ Saturday, June 16, 2012, 1 p.m. – Butterfly outing to Burnley-Carmel Property on Pratt Road. Leader: Rayfield Pye Meet at Hwy. 45 and 401 car pool 12:15 p.m. or at Pratt Rd. at 1 p.m. Directions: Take Hwy. 45 north to Cty. Rd. 29. Turn east on Cty. Rd. 29, through the village of Burnley. Continue south on 29 to a stop sign, which is Pratt Road. There will be someone on the side of Pratt Rd. at the access gate.
¬ Check out the News and Events Page and the Outings Page for more details of the latest.
Indigo Bunting, Presqu'ile Provincial Park. Photo© Bruce Parker.
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John Geale's Willow Beach Notes
 If you are concerned about the way the Ontario government is treating endangered species, you may want to add your voice to the Ontario Nature “Nature Network” by sending Premier McGuinty your own version of the attached letter. Click here for a sample letter in PDF Format.
http://admin.resourcecenter.com/ECOM/campaigns/view.asp?project_id=44&Email_Id=214.
And if you are concerned about MNR and their failure to protect snapping turtles, a species officially listed as at risk, here is a link which you may want follow: http://www.ontarionature.org/act/action_alerts/alert_template.php?n_code=553
Click here to read the first attachment. Click here to read the second attachment. |
WBFN Announcements
Willow Beach Field Naturalists Scholarship Award 2012
Information and application forms for this year's WBFN Scholarship Award is now available by clicking on either of the following links below:
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March 2012 Outing - Durham Shore Waterfowl Outing.
Great Blue Heron, Second Marsh, March 31, 2012. Photo© Brian Cook.
On March 31, 2012 on a day which began cool and cloudy and ended up sunny, a small but intrepid group of Willow Beach naturalists birded the Durham shoreline and managed a total of 47 species including 15 species of duck.
...... Richard Pope
Double-crested Cormorant. Photo© Sherwood McLernon.
Ontario Nature's Youth Summit
A new crop of Nature Guardians at the 2011 Youth Summit Brendan Toews
If you are between 14 and 18 years of age and passionate about nature, you are invited to attend Ontario Nature's 2012 Youth Summit at Lake Couchiching near Orillia from Friday evening on September 28 to Sunday afternoon on September 30. You will learn more about the conservation of biodiversity and promoting environmental justice and action in your community.
The good news is that Willow Beach Field Naturalists will sponsor one local youth for the full fee of $300.00. Since interest in the Youth Summit has continued to grow over the years, Ontario Nature anticipates all spots will be filled (all 100 of them). Registration opens in late May. To ensure spots are saved for sponsored youth, the sooner ON knows you'd like to go, the better.
If you would like WBFN to sponsor you, contact Deborah Panko at 905-372-1974 or email bluebird@teksavvy.com.
For more information about the week-end, keep reading or google Ontario Nature Youth Summit 2011. This year the accommodations at YMCA Geneva Park (RR 6, 6604 Rama Road, Orillia, ON L3V 6H6 or call 1-866-895-9622) will be two youth to a room, with an attached 3-piece bathroom. It is a beautiful property and you can see photos here: http://www.ymcaofsimcoemuskoka.ca/hosting-a-conference/photo-gallery/
ON offers a free charter bus from a central location in Toronto to the venue on Friday afternoon, returning on Sunday afternoon. Participants are free to sign up for the bus, but are otherwise responsible for their own transportation to/from the event. Participants at the Summit will have an opportunity to learn more about the Youth Council (35 students who help to determine the Summit theme, venue, workshops, speakers and who are invited to attend the Summit with additional leadership roles) and how they can get involved in the Youth Council for the 2012-2013 school year.
The full fee to attend is $300.00 but in order to make it accessible, Ontario Nature is offering a $140 subsidized registration fee for those who are unable to secure sponsorship. Willow Beach Field Naturalists are keen to sponsor a local youth but if we (and Ontario Nature) are unable to find a local candidate, WBFN will donate $100 to the Youth Summit in general as a way of encouraging young people to lead future conservation efforts and steward the natural species and spaces they love.
For more information click here.
Local Birds
Swainson's Thrush. Photo© Trish Whitney.
Rare Spring Visitor in Prince Edward County
An rare visitor from the south was discovered near Demorestville in Prince Edward County on April 14 2012. A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, normally found in Texas and nearby states but a known wanderer to other states and provinces in North America, put on a spectacular display for several days.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Prince Edward County doing what he does best. Photo© Bruce Parker
There have been at least two sightings of this bird in Northumberland County in past years with one sighting near Wesleyville on August 6th 2004.
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher hunted for insects from various perches in a pasture. Photo© Bruce Parker
According to Jean Iron the Ontario Bird Records Committee has 58 confirmed records in Ontario to 2010.
Photo© Bruce Parker
FYI: Interesting new study on Chimney Swifts out of Queens University
Chimney Swift. Photo© David Okines.
Hi All
The work of the Kingston Field Naturalists, my lab at Queen’s and several other collaborators with Chimney Swift guano, is about to be published online on the website of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society- Biology: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/ The paper is called “Historical pesticide applications coincided with an altered diet of aerially-foraging insectivorous chimney swifts”
There has been much media interest. On the CBC’s The National with Peter Mansbridge, the story will be covered. You should be able to watch online at : http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/
Also later you can visit the PEARL website and read about the paper and project. The password protection is coming off soon: http://post.queensu.ca/~pearl/swiftdiet/swiftdiet.html
Thanks to everyone that helped.
Chris Grooms
Research Technician
Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL)
Queen's University, 4305 Biosciences Complex, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
Other links:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Researchers+mine+chimney+environmental+data/6474705/story.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/04/17/tech-sci-bird-poo-tower-research.html?cmp=rss
http://www.canada.com/Researchers+mine+chimney+environmental+data/6474705/story.html
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/clues-to-species-decline-buried.htm
Chimney Swift tail feathers showing tipped bristles that facilitate roosting inside a chimney. Photo© David Okines.
WBFN 2012 Membership Renewal Form
The 2012 Willow Beach Field Naturalist Form can be downloaded by clicking on the following link:
Willow Beach Membership Form 2012
American Woodcock, March Cobourg. Photo© Ken Strauss
February Annual General Meeting
The Willlow Beach Field Naturalists Annual General Meeting was held on Friday February 24th at the Cobourg Library. Details of the business portion of the meeting can be found by clicking on the link below.
| Willow Beach Field Naturalists 2012 Annual General Meeting Minutes. |
Refreshments and conversation were enjoyed prior to the meeting. Photo© Bruce Parker.
This meeting was the last for outgoing President Louise Schmidt. Louise was thanked for all of her efforts over the past two years by various members of the club.
Incoming First Vice President Petra Hartwig and President Tim Tottenham thanked Louise for her term in office on behalf of the WBFN membership. Photo© Bruce Parker.
WBFN member Alison Elliott organized this year's very successful fundraising event for WBFN Education programs, a silent auction of items and services donated by WBFN members and the community. The silent auction raised over $1100 this year.
WBFN members carefully looked over the silent auction items before placing their bids. Photo© Bruce Parker.
The meeting concluded with a presentation by WBFN member John Geale who gave a very interesting talk on his family's trip to the Galapagos Islands in 2006. John also showed some rather amusing photos and videos of a recent trip to Antarctica.
John showed many pictures of the wonderful and unique inhabitants of the Galápagos Islands including the Swallow-tailed Gull who comes to the islands to breed. Photo© John Geale.
ONTARIO NATURE- "Advocates for Nature"
ONTARIO NATURE's website has a number of important links to get you involved in protecting our natural world:
• Read about the latest Action Alert issue. Click here for more information.
Wind Turbines and Ostrander Point, Prince Edward County
To watch the CBC report on the issue
Click Here
For further information about the proposal Click Here
Birds of Northumberland County Revision
WBFN member CliveGoodwin has announced that The Birds of Northumberland County website has now been wholly revised, with the addition of species' accounts and many illustrations, plus listings of County vascular plants, butterflies and dragonflies. Leads are given to all the charts, tables, and other information in the present guide, which have also been completely revised and updated.
Yellow-throated Vireos © Allyson Parker
The address is: http://www.wings4d.com/BNC/Welcome.html
The main text is in the form as a large pdf file, which some persons can have trouble downloading. Be sure to follow the downloading instructions given on the 'Welcome' page.
For Older News... Click Here
