Bald Eagle by Mary Collins Thanks to everyone who took part in the Christmas Bird Count this year!We had nine teams, 53 participants plus many feeders reports. All together, teams counted 8,721 birds and 56 species.In the past five years, here are the count numbers:2019: 3999, 54 species2018: 5250, 58 species2017: 5116, 57 species2016: 7460,…
Activities
THE DECEMBER NATURE BOOK OF THE MONTH IS THE NEW WILD BY FRED PEARCE
THE NEW WILD; WHY INVASIVE SPECIES WILL BE NATURE’S SALVATION.Nancy Ironside’s take:Ecologists are divided into 2 groups- those who fight the Invasives with all the time and money available, and those who accept the inevitable and think nature and mankind will cope. The second group consider the fight hopeless (Sisyphean), and I belong to the…
November Nature Books of the Month gives a selection of Children's Books -good for Xmas gifts
Kyra Howes, a mother of 3 and known to many of us as a former Couchiching Conservancy employee, now with the Nottawasaga Conservation Authority seemed like a great person to choose books that we might want to give to our young friends as Xmas presents. She has made great choices, as you can see.For the…
OCTOBER NATURE BOOK OF THE MONTH IS HOW TO CATCH A MOLE BY MARC HAMER
“I am a gardener. I have been catching moles in gardens and farms for years, and I have decided that I am not going to do it any more. Molecatching is a traditional skill that has given me a good life, but I am old now and tired of hunting, trapping and killing and it…
September Nature Book of the month is Backwoods of Canada by Catharine Parr Trail
BACKWOODS OF CANADA – by Catharine Parr Traill.(A book review) Dear Aunt Catharine, I read with delight your letters home describing your first two-and-a-half years in “the bush” of Upper Canada. I found the account of the trip in 1832, including your bout of cholera at Montreal, and especially the painful “road” trip to your…
Bluebird Box Update
Leanore Wianko provided an update on the 29 Bluebird boxes that she maintains and monitors along the 12th Concession in Oro Medonte and Bass Lake Sideroad. Number of Fledglings this year: 41 Eastern Bluebirds 12 American Robins 18 Tree Swallows 26 Wrens Leanore noted challenging conditions in the later part of the year, with deep…
August Nature Book of the Month is Thoreau's Walden
Nancy Ironside chose Thoreau’s Walden.Henry Davis Thoreau’s Walden is an American Classic, usually part of a college English course – revered but unread. At this time during the pandemic, many of us rely on nature to help us cope. I thought we could relate to Thoreau’s writings when he withdrew from the world. For this…
July Nature Book of the Month - Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn
This book is chosen by Mark Bisset, executive director of the Couchiching ConservancyIn Never Home Alone, author Rob Dunn takes you on a domestic adventure that is as diverse in its ideas as the subject he tackles.The sub-heading of the book is a tidy summary of the trip inside your home: “From microbes to millipedes,…
JUNE NATURE BOOK OF THE MONTH-INHERITORS OF THE EARTH by CHRIS THOMAS
This book is chosen by Mary Mick, Life member of ONC.When you think of The Anthropocene, do you focus on all the damage human beings have wrought on the natural world…pollution, climate change, deforestation and, of course, extinction (sometimes referred to as The Sixth Extinction)? Then, you will find Inheritors of the Earth, “provocative” and…
MAY BOOK OF THE MONTH- A DANCE OF CRANES BY STEVE BURROWS
This book was chosen by Marilyn Clark, our Vice President A DANCE OF CRANES: A Birder Murder Mystery By Steve Burrows . This sixth book (published in 2019) in the Birder Murder Mystery series was intriguing from the start. It is set on two continents and there are two intertwined storylines. One features some…
APRIL NATURE BOOK OF THE MONTH - The soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
Heather Ewing, The membership Chair of ONC presented this book: Have you ever wondered if you were smarter than an octopus? Or, have you wondered how these animals interact with their environment, make decisions, solve puzzles, or just live their lives?Sy Montgomery spent time learning about these mysterious creatures by going behind the scenes of…
QUIZ NIGHT MARCH 4, 2020
On March 4 at the Orillia Museum of Art and History, the Orillia Naturalists’ had its second annual Quiz night – again a fun time, lots of laughs and we learned a few things.There were 28 people, divided randomly into 7 teams, (as well as the three organizers).Sue Deadman, Denis Paccagnella and Nancy Ironside organized…