May 28 , Sunday 2017 – a birding hike on the Uhthoff Trail led by Arni Stinnissen 8 Members of the Orillia Naturalists’ Club were up bright and early on Sunday . We were able to navigate the heavy fog to arrive at the Uhthoff trail where it meets Foxmead Road. The birds were in…
Activities
Chimney Swift Night - Tuesday May 24, 2017 8:00 p.m.
We joined Leanore Wiancko and Kay Price to watch the chimney swifts. We met in the Orillia Public Library parking lot at 8 p.m. and watched the chimney at the Opera House. Last year we met on May 10th and saw no swifts, just the chimney. This year 45 swifts circled for some time before…
AGM - May 3, 2017 Potluck & Stories
The AGM was chaired by Denis Paccagnella, President , who thanked the executive and commented on the excellent activities and speakers we have enjoyed this year. Arni Stinnissen, Vice President gave a summary of the upcoming events. Nominations for the Executive- – the incumbents agreed to stand again this year, Heather Ewing agreed to take over membership…
Muriel's First Signs of Spring - April 20, 2017 - Rail trail north of Orillia
The 6 stalwarts – photo by Heather Ewing Well folks, these walks are called “ Signs of Spring”, and rain is definitely one of those signs. Mother Nature has been quite kind to us …….but sometimes we push the limits too far and get wet. That’s the reason good rain gear was invented. Along the…
Muriel's 3rd Spring Walk
Muriel’s First Signs of Spring – 3rd Evening Walk – April 18, 2017 As we arrived at the quarry a Turkey Vulture did some fancy maneuvering and nearly met us head-on. have his mind on something else, I hope. Probably a frustrated hunter, after a bad day. A quarry may not seem like an…
Muriels' Second Spring Walk
Muriel’s First Signs of Spring – 2nd Evening Walk- April 11, 2017 There is probably nothing that signals the true arrival of Spring more than the very loud chorus of Spring Peepers ( a very tiny tree frog with a very loud voice, and an X on its back).As we walked toward the ponds west…
Golden-winged Warblers by Emily Rondel
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 7:30 p.m. at the Orillia Museum of Art and History Topic: “A golden Opportunist?: the Golden-winged Warbler in Ontario” At the recent meeting of the Orillia Naturalist Club guest Emily Rondel, currently Toronto Project Coordinator of Bird Studies Canada, spoke to the members about her research into the life of the…
Signs of Spring - Muriels First Walk
We always need to go prepared for April weather. It rained off and on through the day but not much as we walked. The ice is still hugging the ponds and lakes and water birds wait in anticipation of more than streams to meet their swimming and feeding needs. A lovely Great Blue Heron posed…
Measuring ecological integrity in Bruce Peninsula National Park - March 22, 2017
We welcomed Tricia Stinnissen, who is a Resource Management Officer at Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park, as guest speaker at its March 22 meeting. (She is pictured above with her proud father.) Tricia grew up in Orillia and began working in the conservation field in 2009, where she got her…
FACEBOOK TRAINING SESSION
March 10/17: Arni Stinnissen led a Facebook training session at Grants Woods . Lots of questions and enthusiasm. Maybe no new converts, but even those that just looked on learned a lot. Thanks Arni. The meeting room at Grant’s Wood ( Couchiching Conservancy) worked well, with lots of electrical outlets.
Georgian Bay Islands National Park - March 5, 2017
Ethan Meleg presented a slide show featuring the Georgian Bay Islands National Park. Ethan is a photographer, naturalist, birdwatcher, and currently a Park Naturalist for that park. Ethan described the Georgian Bay Islands National Park as a 63 island archipelago totaling 13.5 square kilometers, making it the smallest of the National Parks in Canada. The…
Snowshoe Hike Alexander- Hope Smith Reserve - February 18, 2017
Barb Ryckman sent us this report – she is notorious for choosing bad weather for her trips. What a beautiful sunny day! 11 people met and made our way to the Couchiching Conservancey property, the Alexander Hope-Smith property, near Washago. Our 11 comprised members of the Orillia Naturalists and guests from the Ganaraska hiking club. Carol…