Nature Club News for July 2024

by John Dickson

Nature Column for July 2024

The Owen Sound Field Naturalists (OSFN) held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the evening of June 13, comfortably inside at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre, while on the outside, very high winds and driving rain arrived in the area, as could be seen through the windows of the Bay Room. Along with the usual business of the club, was the presentation of three club awards. Past President Pam Kinchen presented OSFN’s Community Conservation Award to Judy Duncan, in recognition of: Judy’s long time work on behalf of the club, including as a board member; of her support in the community for the Huron Fringe Birding Festival, the Bruce Birding Club, the Breeding Bird Atlas, as well as many area Christmas Bird Counts; in addition Judy has  done a Shrike Survey for Wildlife Preservation Canada since 2011, and since 1998 she has raised money through pledges for the Great Canadian Birdathon which then shares some of the funds raised, to a group designated by Judy – OSFN. Congratulations!

OSFN President Brendan Mulroy and John Dickson then presented OSFN’s Honourary Life Membership Award to Fred Jazvac: In recognition of his dedication, valued leadership and teamwork with the Owen Sound Field Naturalists, including 14 years of guiding and teaching with ‘Birding Around the Bay’, plus Indoor Presentations and a six-year term on the OSFN Board of Directors, including two years as President; He was the Coordinator of the Bruce Birding Club until 2023, bringing together the birding community for bi-weekly outings and weekend trips; Many years of volunteering with area Christmas Bird Counts;  Since 2002 he has been a committee member and subsequently a leader with the Huron Fringe Birding Festival! Congratulations!

Finally, President Mulroy presented an Honourary Life Membership Award to OSFN’s Brian Robin, in recognition of his volunteering, along with his skills and knowledge, whether guiding and teaching Young Naturalists, assisting with Butterfly and Moth workshops; offering superb presentations himself, both for OSFN, and for such other events as Beach Talks, and the Grey Bruce Woodlot Conference; looking after the OSFN’s website, including an extensive recent update;  facilitating the presentations by guest speakers, and operating the zoom sharing; Coordinating for many years, OSFN’s Members’ Night,  with multiple presenters and topics to match. Congratulations!

The evening then proceeded with Three Waters, featuring Scott and Acadia Parent, and their 480km paddling expedition in 2019, from Drummond Island, Michigan, to Penetanguishene, Ontario. In addition to retracing the 1828 migration route of their ancestors almost two hundred years ago, they also honoured that legacy by collecting water samples at various depths for microplastics research, and by gathering any trash they found along the way, trying to leave it cleaner than they found it. The film also depicted scenery and wildlife along the way, and was complemented by Scott’s and Acadia’s original musical compositions and performances. To learn more about and how to support their foundation, dedicated to caring for the remote islands of Lake Huron and helping wildlife who reside in those areas which are impacted by plastic pollution, please visit   https://3waters.ca/

MacGregor Point Provincial Park, with Park Naturalist Layna Lubimiv,  hosted its annual North American Butterfly Association (NABA) Butterfly Count event on Saturday July 13, from 9am to 3:30pm, “I am so grateful for everyone who signed up and everyone who attended the butterfly count this year. We had the help of over 30 staff and volunteers, which included returning and many new participants as well, who helped to survey inside the Park boundaries for butterflies! We were gifted a beautiful sunny day (as opposed to 2023’s rainy day) that truly made a difference on our overall count.  Keep Flying, Butterflies!”  In total the count produced 2170 butterflies and 55 total species of butterflies! With seven teams of spotters, the top half-dozen butterflies observed were – Clouded Sulphur  664, Cabbage White 459, Northern Crescent  183, Orange Sulphur  95, Red Admiral 72, Least Skipper also 72. 

Alan Macnaughton then hosted a Moth Night at MacG Park, on July 16, with close to 25 people attending. People enjoyed the display of moths that Alan brought with him and the moth turnout in the Park was quite diverse. Here is a comprehensive report in    Alan’s words –

“July is the month of peak diversity of moths. I recorded 164 species in the Park in June but 280species in July. I observed 3 species of moths in my July visit that are particularly notable because of their rarity worldwide. Listing the rarest first, they are: Clouded Veneer (Prionapteryx nebulifera, a member of the Crambidae family), Dune Oncocnemis, (Sympistis riparia, a member of the Noctuidae family), and Greater Idia (Idia majoralis, a member of the Erebidae family). They are also uncommon to rare for the province as a whole. All 3 species have a wingspan of perhaps an inch or an inch and a half, so they are not small, inconspicuous moths. None of these species are in iNaturalist’s computer vision, so this ID will not be suggested for observations.” 

And just a heads up to let you know that OSFN and  Alan Macnaughton will be staging a Moth Night in early September at GSCA. To learn more please visit www.osfn.ca

Owen Sound Young Naturalists Club report:
The June meeting was held at Hibou Conservation area and our hike leader was Robert Knapp. Bob was a wealth of knowledge. We learned how the park was created from naturalists buying up the land and
saw the remnants of the old cottages that once stood on the beach. We looked for fossils, crayfish, mussels, noticed blooming beach flowers and skipped stones by the water. Next, we walked the boardwalk noticing the diversity of plants, how the water level of the lake shaped the land and of course noticed birds and frogs. We did not see a turtle, but we looked hard! There were 6 kids out for our final hike of the season. Thanks to Marsha we celebrated a great year with some treats. 

Submitted by Amanda Eriksen

To learn more about the Owen Sound Field Naturalists and their indoor and outdoor programming, membership and donation options, please  visit  www.osfn.ca

Following that June windstorm I happened to notice two birds’ nests on the ground, beside a pine tree and a spruce tree. One appeared to be a Robin’s nest, quite heavy and strong, and the other was likely from a Chipping Sparrow, with an interior softness enhanced by strands of human hair. This past month much of the wildflower colours have been the white tones provided by the Queen Anne’s Lace, decorating so many fields and roadsides. However, I have also started to  notice the  beautiful yellow Goldenrod flowers that are now appearing here and there.  There are also many bird families to be seen, including clusters of Eastern Kingbirds and family groupings of Swallows perched on utility wires overhead.

To close, Nature quotes from Douglas Botting’s comprehensive biography, entitled Gerald Durrell. Many years ago I read two or three   of Gerald Durrell’s books, but this biography provides a very satisfying outline of Durrell the man and of his amazing activities, and accomplishments. Of the time when Durrell was a lad, during warm summer nights, while living with his family on the island of Corfu, he wrote

“Never had we seen so many fireflies congregated in one spot…Glittering streams of them flew out over the bay, swirling over the water, and then, right on cue, the porpoises appeared, swimming in line into the bay, rocking rhythmically through the water, their backs as if painted with phosphorous… With the fireflies above and the illuminated porpoises below it was a fantastic sight… and when they leapt high in the air the drops of emerald glowing water flicked from them, and you could not tell if it was phosphorescence or fireflies you were looking at.”