Category: Activities

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 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…

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…

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…

On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, an eight member work party from the Orillia Naturalists’ Club met David Hawke at the Lakeshore Road entrance to the Carthew Bay Nature Reserve to establish a trail through the property. Present were Arni and Dianne Stinnissen, Muriel and Alec Sinclair, Omer and Mary E Mick, Bill Sherwood and Heather Ewing.…

The group gathers at the north end of Cambrian Rd. What was forecast weather-wise to be a dismal day for the Orillia Field Naturalists’ outing to the Agnew Property turned into a most perfect fall day for a field trip. One can only ask, “Was Ron Reid, our leader, responsible for this?” Ron led our…

Victoria Bridge Leader and trip reporter Sue Deadman 24 people woke up to sunny skies, packed their lunch, camera and binoculars and met behind Zehrs at 9:30 a.m. making it the largest turnout for an ONC outing in years. We drove through Washago to Cooper’s Falls and then followed Black River Rd. to our first…

Luxury Viewing A plethora of Plovers What does the future hold for  these balls of feathers? Probable female: They share nesting duties Probable male: About 10:30, when we were leaving, the sun was hot and this bird was panting with her mouth open, and hovering over the nest, shading it, and allowing air to circulate.…

Eagerly starting out The weather forecast was bad – rain, wind, etc. but 10 people turned out for the Fern walk anyway. We met at the 4th Line parking lot. After looking at 2 fern guides – Ferns of Northeastern North America (Peterson Series 2nd Edition) and Ferns of Grey and Bruce, and also some…

Arni Stinnissen led a walk looking for spring migrants near Matchedash Bay on the Cowan Trail. 16 members of the club had a very enjoyable hike with terrific weather and an early start at Cowan Trail. It seems as though the delayed spring also affected our numbers as well with only 27 species seen and…