Category: Hike

  About 20 people arrived at the Hermitage, in Oro-Medonte for a winter outing. Some came early and left early, some came early and left late. Groups and couples skied, snowshoed or walked the trails, sometimes only part of the trail, sometimes all of the trail, and some did the trail twice. Some just sat…

It was a beautiful fall day when 6 of us walked about 4 km around a small loop in the Copeland Forest management area. This 4400 acre area is managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forest and is a multi-use forest. We saw bike riders, horse riders, mushroom hunters and dog walkers. We…

Never trust the weather. With predictions of rain, thunder and lightning only a small enthusiastic group showed up. However, with a 7 am start, we were able to get 3 hours of great birding. Even before leaving the Cowan parking area, Ian Cook, our expert birder and leader, spotted a Golden-winged warbler high in a…

Muriel reports: We’ve watched the ice on the lakes getting blacker each day. Tonight I expect the ice will be on the move because of the wind and rain. Shorts weather turned to winter clothes over night. This is April after all. The rain stopped as we headed out. The lovely pond near the Narrows…

Muriel Reports: The walk turned into a car cruise under the Osprey nests and beside the flooded fields. The Ospreys have arrived and taken over nearly all the nests from Last year. If not on a nest we could find them sitting nearby keeping watch.( or perhaps giving us a photo Opp.) The lakes and…

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF SPRING It was a joyous evening for 12 members of ONC as we walked along Woodland Drive. Led by Denis, Carolyn and Heather (3 people were needed to take over for Muriel!!), we first went to see the wildlife at the bridges and then along the rail trail. It was exciting…

The fog lifted and the winds were calm allowing 11 enthusiastic birders to spot 35 species at the Clearview Eco Park and the Minesing wetlands area. Included in this list were… sandhill cranes (hundreds) tundra swans great blue heron wood ducks american wigeons mallards northern shovellers northern pintails green-winged teal redheads ring-necked duck lesser scaup…

A cold but lovely evening took us along the historical Ben’s Ditch , north of James St.. The marsh to the east was echoing the songs of Red-wing Blackbirds , Starlings and Grackles. The area was much cleaner than it had been before some eager folk spent many hours cleaning out the debris that had…

The snowshoe adventure at East Coulson Swamp was well attended by members of the Orillia Naturalists’ Club. The morning weather was perfect for our hike. The group seemed to be happy to be outside enjoying nature’s bounty once again.  Denis and Carolyn Paccagnella and Heather Ewing were responsible for the group. We first went to…

Twenty-three Orilla Naturalists Club members and friends joined together on Saturday, October 13th at the Adams Nature Reserve on Cooper’s Falls Road near Washago to explore the property. Heather and Alec Adams offered two guided hikes – one fast-paced and one slower-paced. This 100+ acre property was purchased by the couple in 1973 and visited…

  Seven members of the Orillia Naturalists’ joined Geoff Carpenter on June 9th as we visited the Nonquon lagoons in Port Perry. These lagoons are no longer used for sewage, but are kept as a bird sanctuary. All of us had obtained their mandatory access permits before we headed out on our adventure. Geoff Carpenter…