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Mission Statement: The Penokean Hills Field Naturalists exists as an organization to educate and promote interest, knowledge, conservation and preservation of the natural history, habitat and environment of our region for its members and the community at large.
Volume 9, Issue 3, November, 2009
Penokean Hills Field Naturalists Inc.
P.O. Box 74, Elliot Lake, ON P5A 2J6
email: phfnweb@gmail.com
Phone: Gerard (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382 (705) 848-8382
Please join us at the Moose Family Centre for our meeting on November 10 at 7:00 p.m. Our speaker is Jim Trottier who is the District Biologist for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Blind River. Jim will speak on the Elk Project
President's Message
As I begin my 4th and final year as President of the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists, it is important, that in the coming months to pay tribute to some of our members who have helped me and made my work so gratifying.
This month I want to thank Dave Young for his friendship and dedication to the PHFN. Dave was a valued member of our Calendar Committee which was extremely successful. He is presently on our Standard Newspaper Committee where his contributions are many. He is responsible for the wonderful signage throughout Sherriff Creek that educates us and keeps us on the trails. He is also one of our leaders on our Saturday morning strolls at Sherriff Creek and he dazzles us with his knowledge of nature. He is one of the people who carries clippers to keep the trails open and clear of tree limbs and debris. Dave helps with the cleaning of the nest boxes and has agreed to store our winter bird feed and bird feeders when not in use. I have just scratched the surface of Dave’s contributions over the past years but you would have to be blind not to recognize how valuable Dave is to the PHFN and to our community. Thanks Dave for caring, and keep up the good work.
Welcome to our new member We welcome our new members Rowena Kirk, Claudette & Lawrence Labbee, Donald Stewart, and Ann Wardrope.
Christmas Dinner
Our December meeting will be our annual Christmas dinner at the Ren Centre. Special guests will be the Men of Song who will sing for us and Santa Claus may make a surprise visit as well. You can get your tickets at the November meeting or contact Heather Fulford. Tickets are $17.50 each.
Terry Carr Memorial Walk
Twelve people joined us on October 24 for the 1st Annual Terry Carr Memorial Walk. We walked along Terry’s trail on a “silver day” and remembered our friend Terry. This was the 1st of a yearly walk on the 3rd Saturday in October to honour Terry. Thanks to those who came.
PHFN Message Board
We hope our members will check out our Message Board on our website and add their interesting sightings and observations. Remember, from our website follow the Message Board link. When asked, put in our User Name – “PHFNUser” and the password “BirdErwin”. Please remember that there are no spaces and both the User Name and password are case sensitive. Also check the box “remember my password” and you won’t need to enter it each time you visit the Message Board.
Birding the North Shore Outing
We had a good North Shore Birding Outing, with a very good turnout. We visited many good spots along the North Shore from Blind River to beyond Massey and saw 34 species of birds including many sandhill cranes. Thank you to Erwin Meissner and Brenda Clark for helping us to spot and identify the many birds along the way. We also made our yearly stop at the Mennonites for some delicious fresh veggies.
Ontario Herpetofaunal Atlas
Following up on last month’s Wolf Howl regarding the Ontario Herpetofaunal Atlas to improve the knowledge of the distribution of Ontario’s reptiles and amphibians, Erwin Meissner has been in touch with Ontario Nature and the PHFN is working with Erwin on a joint workshop with the Massey Nature Club. John Urquhart or his colleague would lead a morning workshop, followed by lunch, and an outing where proper survey methods would be demonstrated to find and identify as many reptiles and amphibians as possible. You can also check out the Atlas at www.ontarionature.org/herpetofaunal_atlas.html
The Christmas Bird Count will be on Thursday, December 17. We hope everyone will participate as they are able. We need people to watch their feeders for the day, people to go outside and count, as well as leaders. Please sign up at the November meeting and we’ll keep you informed as we have more information.
Hummingbirds 2009 by Brenda Clark
Summary: We had 9 reporters who sent in emails, 5 of whom watched all summer. One never had any hummingbirds; another lost out when construction started up in the area, but the birds did eventually return; and one had to remove the feeder even during the day because a bear was drinking it at 2 in the afternoon, so had to rely on flowers after that.
Except for a report of a possible sighting in early April before the snowstorms, the first bird reported being seen in Elliot Lake was May 5. The first hummingbird seen by the reporters in May ranged from the 5th to the 12th of May with the first male on the 5th and the first female on the 9th. Pendulum dancing was reported beginning on May 16 through to June 30.
Every year, for reasons unknown, the hummingbirds arrive, get established and then promptly disappear for most of us. I noticed this in Muskoka also, although it apparently does not happen in Pointe au Baril. They disappear anywhere from late May and seem to return and become active by mid July. This year, when they did return, there were mainly only individuals for quite a while.
The first juvenile was reported on August 2. The males (except for one hardy individual) left by August 18. The females and juveniles pulled out between September 16 and 18 with the latest migrant on September 24.
Thus, from 5 watchers we had a total of 8 males, 9 females, and 5 young for sure this year, for a total of 22 hummingbirds. This is down from last year’s 55, as seen by 7 regular observers.
Thank you again to all who helped.
The following are some interesting comments that were included with the statistics:
*dove off a robin from several yards away
*one was snatching tiny bugs out of the air
*2 males were very aggressive and I heard them actually contact each other
*recently when it was raining. A female sat on the line and had a jolly good bath.
*The young are constantly fighting in two's and today we watched two spiral straight up until they were well above the trees.
*One day they were chasing each other and one ran right into the chair, didn't hurt itself though, just continued chasing the other one.
Upcoming Outings: Please note: The Penokean Hills Field Naturalists Club, its officers or agents will not be held responsible for any accident or liability whatsoever incurred as a result of participation in any meeting, activity, or field trip organized by them. Come to outings dressed appropriately for the day (check the weather forecast). Trip leaders have the right to refuse people who are not properly equipped. Bring water, a snack, or lunch depending on duration of outing. Also bring your binoculars, camera, and field guides. For general outing information, call Terry VanHattem 848-0048. For scheduled outing information, please call the leader of the outing or check on the website for updates http://phfn.wetpaint.com Sign up sheets will be available at the PHFN general meeting.
Monday, November 2 - Plants going to Seed for Winter – Meet at Brunswick Walk at 10:00 a.m. (Rain date: November 4) Leader: Brenda Clark
Wednesday, December 2 - Moonlight Ramble (1½ hours plus) 7:30 p.m. at Sherriff Creek Leader: Ian Clark
Thursday, December 17 - Christmas Bird Count - watchers to watch their bird feeders and count the birds; people to count outside on several routes. Lunch together at a local restaurant.
As I begin my 4th and final year as President of the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists, it is important, that in the coming months to pay tribute to some of our members who have helped me and made my work so gratifying.
This month I want to thank Dave Young for his friendship and dedication to the PHFN. Dave was a valued member of our Calendar Committee which was extremely successful. He is presently on our Standard Newspaper Committee where his contributions are many. He is responsible for the wonderful signage throughout Sherriff Creek that educates us and keeps us on the trails. He is also one of our leaders on our Saturday morning strolls at Sherriff Creek and he dazzles us with his knowledge of nature. He is one of the people who carries clippers to keep the trails open and clear of tree limbs and debris. Dave helps with the cleaning of the nest boxes and has agreed to store our winter bird feed and bird feeders when not in use. I have just scratched the surface of Dave’s contributions over the past years but you would have to be blind not to recognize how valuable Dave is to the PHFN and to our community. Thanks Dave for caring, and keep up the good work.
Welcome to our new member We welcome our new members Rowena Kirk, Claudette & Lawrence Labbee, Donald Stewart, and Ann Wardrope.
Christmas Dinner
Our December meeting will be our annual Christmas dinner at the Ren Centre. Special guests will be the Men of Song who will sing for us and Santa Claus may make a surprise visit as well. You can get your tickets at the November meeting or contact Heather Fulford. Tickets are $17.50 each.
Terry Carr Memorial Walk
Twelve people joined us on October 24 for the 1st Annual Terry Carr Memorial Walk. We walked along Terry’s trail on a “silver day” and remembered our friend Terry. This was the 1st of a yearly walk on the 3rd Saturday in October to honour Terry. Thanks to those who came.
PHFN Message Board
We hope our members will check out our Message Board on our website and add their interesting sightings and observations. Remember, from our website follow the Message Board link. When asked, put in our User Name – “PHFNUser” and the password “BirdErwin”. Please remember that there are no spaces and both the User Name and password are case sensitive. Also check the box “remember my password” and you won’t need to enter it each time you visit the Message Board.
Birding the North Shore Outing
We had a good North Shore Birding Outing, with a very good turnout. We visited many good spots along the North Shore from Blind River to beyond Massey and saw 34 species of birds including many sandhill cranes. Thank you to Erwin Meissner and Brenda Clark for helping us to spot and identify the many birds along the way. We also made our yearly stop at the Mennonites for some delicious fresh veggies.
Ontario Herpetofaunal Atlas
Following up on last month’s Wolf Howl regarding the Ontario Herpetofaunal Atlas to improve the knowledge of the distribution of Ontario’s reptiles and amphibians, Erwin Meissner has been in touch with Ontario Nature and the PHFN is working with Erwin on a joint workshop with the Massey Nature Club. John Urquhart or his colleague would lead a morning workshop, followed by lunch, and an outing where proper survey methods would be demonstrated to find and identify as many reptiles and amphibians as possible. You can also check out the Atlas at www.ontarionature.org/herpetofaunal_atlas.html
The Christmas Bird Count will be on Thursday, December 17. We hope everyone will participate as they are able. We need people to watch their feeders for the day, people to go outside and count, as well as leaders. Please sign up at the November meeting and we’ll keep you informed as we have more information.
Hummingbirds 2009 by Brenda Clark
Summary: We had 9 reporters who sent in emails, 5 of whom watched all summer. One never had any hummingbirds; another lost out when construction started up in the area, but the birds did eventually return; and one had to remove the feeder even during the day because a bear was drinking it at 2 in the afternoon, so had to rely on flowers after that.
Except for a report of a possible sighting in early April before the snowstorms, the first bird reported being seen in Elliot Lake was May 5. The first hummingbird seen by the reporters in May ranged from the 5th to the 12th of May with the first male on the 5th and the first female on the 9th. Pendulum dancing was reported beginning on May 16 through to June 30.
Every year, for reasons unknown, the hummingbirds arrive, get established and then promptly disappear for most of us. I noticed this in Muskoka also, although it apparently does not happen in Pointe au Baril. They disappear anywhere from late May and seem to return and become active by mid July. This year, when they did return, there were mainly only individuals for quite a while.
The first juvenile was reported on August 2. The males (except for one hardy individual) left by August 18. The females and juveniles pulled out between September 16 and 18 with the latest migrant on September 24.
Thus, from 5 watchers we had a total of 8 males, 9 females, and 5 young for sure this year, for a total of 22 hummingbirds. This is down from last year’s 55, as seen by 7 regular observers.
Thank you again to all who helped.
The following are some interesting comments that were included with the statistics:
*dove off a robin from several yards away
*one was snatching tiny bugs out of the air
*2 males were very aggressive and I heard them actually contact each other
*recently when it was raining. A female sat on the line and had a jolly good bath.
*The young are constantly fighting in two's and today we watched two spiral straight up until they were well above the trees.
*One day they were chasing each other and one ran right into the chair, didn't hurt itself though, just continued chasing the other one.
Upcoming Outings: Please note: The Penokean Hills Field Naturalists Club, its officers or agents will not be held responsible for any accident or liability whatsoever incurred as a result of participation in any meeting, activity, or field trip organized by them. Come to outings dressed appropriately for the day (check the weather forecast). Trip leaders have the right to refuse people who are not properly equipped. Bring water, a snack, or lunch depending on duration of outing. Also bring your binoculars, camera, and field guides. For general outing information, call Terry VanHattem 848-0048. For scheduled outing information, please call the leader of the outing or check on the website for updates http://phfn.wetpaint.com Sign up sheets will be available at the PHFN general meeting.
Monday, November 2 - Plants going to Seed for Winter – Meet at Brunswick Walk at 10:00 a.m. (Rain date: November 4) Leader: Brenda Clark
Wednesday, December 2 - Moonlight Ramble (1½ hours plus) 7:30 p.m. at Sherriff Creek Leader: Ian Clark
Thursday, December 17 - Christmas Bird Count - watchers to watch their bird feeders and count the birds; people to count outside on several routes. Lunch together at a local restaurant.
