Nature Club News for March 2025

by John Dickson

The Owen Sound Field Naturalists club (OSFN) has invited John Bittorf of Grey Sauble Conservation (GSCA) to give the April 10th presentation about their flood forecasting, weather monitoring and water quality monitoring too – some of which are unique in Ontario.As the Water Resources Coordinator and Flood Duty Officer Bittorf is best suited to provide an insight to the programmes, procedures  and responsibilities the GSCA deals with in the Grey-Sauble Watershed. 

John Bittorf, with roots here in Owen Sound, has worked at Grey Sauble Conservation since graduating from U of Guelph. His work experience has included fish and wildlife habitat projects, tree planting and forest management, water quality improvement grant programs,  groundwater monitoring and surface water quality monitoring including benthic sampling and taxonomy to lowest practical level (self taught), as well as flood forecasting/warning.

I am especially looking forward to this presentation, given the rather uneven weather and April showers we have had recently. Set for 7pm Thursday April 10, at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre, everyone is welcome, with admission by donation for non OSFN members.  We hope to see you there. The presentation will also be offered on Zoom, for which you can register here – 

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mZRrSxXaTx-fW67hC9wlgw#/registration

 The doors will be open by 6:30pm allowing time to peruse the OSFN merchandise, and purchase tickets ($10. each) for the Celebrate Earth Day Keynote Speaker event featuring Dr. Anne Bell, former director of Conservationand Education at Ontario Nature for 17 years. Entitled Rapture and Resistance – the Heart of Nature Advocacy, and sponsored by Caframo, this event will take place at the Harmony Centre at 2pm Sunday April 27.  Tickets are also available at several outlets in the area – The Library in Owen Sound, the Owen Sound Farmers’ Market from Sheila Gunby’s Paper Cut Designs, at the Ginger Press and from Suntrail Source for Adventure in Hepworth.  For more information and online  ticket and merchandise purchases, please visit 

**To purchase tickets online** to be held for you at the door, please visit https://owensoundfieldnaturalists.ca/shop/

Other features of the OSFN meetings include ‘Sightings’ – a chance to share and learn about local nature observations of particular interest.Speaking of interesting Nature activities, as the ice storm was approaching and it had become dark, 8:30 to 9:30pm,  I could hear loud ‘screaming’ vocalizations of many gulls flying through our neighbourhood on three occasions that evening. I soon learned from at least two others within a 10km radius, that they had noticed that unusual phenomenon that same evening too – both downtown and closer to Inglis Falls. I often hear Killdeer calling in the dark, and have come to consider that to be normal, but with the gulls, it was a first for me. 

Congratulations to our friends at Saugeen Nature (aka Saugeen Field Naturalists) celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, at the Elmwood Community Hall on Monday April 28, with a celebratory dinner, followed by their Annual General Meeting, Award presentation and their speaker 

Environmental Scientist and Beekeeper Janine McGowan featuring many Bees of the World, plus Bee biodiversity in Canada and Honey Bees in particular. For more details please visit saugeenfieldnaturalists.com

On a sadder note I learned  this week that Dennis Lewington had passed away on March 29, at the age of 90. I last saw Dennis one morning in May of 2024, when I was assisting Brendan Mulroy, accompanied by Nancy White and Dennis, in a transition to assuming the care of the Lewingtons’ many Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes near Wiarton. In recognition of their tremendous contribution to the recovery of the Eastern Bluebird population in addition to their generous donation of a very special property, to be known as Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve, Dennis and Gwen Lewington were the recipients of OSFN’s 2013 Community Conservation Award.    It was so satisfying to see this important project in good hands for the foreseeable future. Close friend and an OSFN presenter, Bruce Mackenzie wrote:  ‘

As much as this news may have been expected, it is the end of a wonderful chapter for the lives of Dennis and Gwen.

They will not be forgotten easily as the Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve and their love of birding will be with us for a long time.’

 Peter Middleton shared this tribute: ‘With Dennis’ death, we have lost a gentle man who loved the planet and strove to preserve its beauty. Rarely without his soulmate Gwen, he left a legacy of commitment, accomplishment, and the celebration of nature. Hundreds of Bluebirds took wing  because of Dennis and Gwen’s efforts. Future generations will be able to experience the beauty and stillness of nature in the Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve, the gift he and Gwen bequeathed to Ontario Nature.He will be missed’

Owen Sound Young Naturalists had a sweet deal for their March event, meeting at Bob and Mary Beth Gray’s maple syrup farm and learning from Bob Gray all about how he makes maple syrup. ‘We checked out the maple trees, the tap lines and got to taste both the maple sap and some syrup! Kemble was hit with an ice storm and the trees were covered in ice. There were many branches down and power was out. This meant that there was no sap boiling when we were there, and this let us get a good look at the boiler. We couldn’t walk too far into the forest as the trees were still ice covered. Bob was able to talk about forest health and how to identify a sugar maple in the winter. There were 8 youngsters that braved the icy rain. Our next meeting will be April 27th with Jeannine Kralt at Fossil Glen Nature Preserve and will be an introduction to her Sydenham Bruce Trail youth hikes.’ Submitted by Amanda Eriksen, Young Naturalists Coordinator.

April 22  is officially Earth Day, and there are many special events being held throughout the area, with a comprehensive listing to be found at https://www.thesustainabilityproject.ca/events  Included is an invitation to the Bruce Peninsula Bird Observatory Annual General Meeting to be held on Zoom.

All are welcome. A zoom meeting to be held on: Saturday, April 26 from 10 until noon, with guest speaker Jeanine Kralt

To get the Zoom link please email..bethannecurrie@sympatico.ca

In particular, there are Earth Day Grey Bruce events “building green communities” with an Earth Day Festival from 11am to 3:30pm on Saturday, April 26, 2025, all along 1st Ave W between 8th and 9th Streets. At Tobermory on Friday, May 2nd at 7:00pm at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre.

 Known for his captivating wildlife photography, Waterton will share Bear Encounters, a stunning visual narrative based on his experiences photographing polar bears in the Arctic, as well as black bears on the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula. This is an event not to be missed for anyone fascinated by wildlife and the art of photography and it is free to attend, though donations are warmly encouraged to support future Sources of Knowledge programming.

On Thursday May 8, at 7pm the Earth Film Festival, an important fundraiser for the Grey Sauble Conservation Foundation, will feature the award winning  Movie All Too Clear and much more. For more details about tickets, ($30.each) please visit  the Roxy box office 

On Saturday May 10, Willy Waterton will also be the featured presenter of the Island View Drive and Area Ratepayers Association  50th year speaker series at the Kemble-Sarawak United Church, with Black and White Bear Encounters. Admission free or by donation.

To close, a Nature quote by Andrew Armitage from his Sugaring Off in March from ‘The Way They Lived in the Lovely Townships of Grey and Bruce’ series of talks read over CFOS radio by Kris Morris  ‘The Maple, a symbol of a nation. What more practical symbol could we have? This wonderful tree provided shade in the summer, firewood of long burning quality for the winter, gorgeous colour in the fall and sugar and syrup in the spring.’