Monthly Archives: November 2014

The Owl’s Nest

By: Linda Thrower One very cold moonlit night in February many years ago my husband, a friend and I hauled a ladder down to a frozen pond to reach the duck box in the middle of it. An Eastern Screech Owl had been living in it for quite a few years. As do many homes, a box requires repairs every so often. The roof had a leak in the middle of it and water would drip on top of the owl's head as it was sunning itself in the early morning. My husband climbed the ladder while our friend held it in place on the ice. As I stood watch the owl came out of its box and flew around twice, then settled in a tree watching what was going on with its home. None of us were sure how…
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Long Point Butterfly Count

Report by: Adam Timpf This year's Long Point butterfly count was held on July 5th, 2014. We had an uptick in participation this year with 31 observers and had all parts of the circle well covered. Despite this, and nearly ideal weather conditions on the day, most groups commented on the lack of butterflies. With everyone's hard work we still managed to find 3731 individuals of 52 species. If it wasn't for the 2108 Edward's Hairstreaks, our individuals total would be far under the long term average of 2622 individuals. 52 species is slightly above the long term average of ~49. Notable sightings: 2108 Edward's Hairstreak. This will likely be a new North American high count surpassing the 1004 record set by our count last year. 71 Banded hairstreak. New count high. Previous high was 57 in 2006. 1 Meadow…
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Reptile Trivia

The largest (i.e. longest) snake found in Norfolk County (and Ontario) is the endangered and very rare Gray Ratsnake which can grow to a maximum length of 2.5 metres (8 feet). Also endangered, the Eastern Foxsnake can grow to 1.7 metres in length (over 5 1⁄2 feet). The smallest snake in Norfolk County (and Ontario) is the tiny Red-bellied Snake. This species reaches a maximum length of 40cm (16 inches). The more common DeKay’s Brownsnake can be slightly larger, with a maximum length of 50cm (20 inches). The non-venomous Eastern Foxsnake, Gray Ratsnake and Milksnake (special concern) will all vibrate their tails when threatened. These constrictors are excellent at rodent control. The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake is found in sandy parts of Norfolk County and, despite its theatrics, is also harmless to humans. When threatened, it may puff out and flatten…
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In Memoriam: Alex Landon & Barbara Browne

This summer the Norfolk Field Naturalists lost two of our Founding Members. Alex Landon The Landon family is a long-time supporter of the NFN. Monroe Landon, one of the founders, Alex & Doris, and son Zeb, have all served in volunteer capacities within our Club. We would like to convey our deepest condolences to the Landon family, and sincerely appreciate being named the charity for donations in honour of Alex’s life. The Norfolk Field Naturalists wish to recognize with gratitude all those who made donations in the memory of Alex Landon on behalf of this organization: Barbara Browne (Mrs. B. W. Anderson) Her long-time involvement with NFN includes the original designs for the Dogwood logo and the Lotus on the newsletter, an expression of her artistic talent and love of nature. We extend our deepest sympathy to the Browne family,…
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Conserving Endangered Reptiles

By: Inga Hinnerichsen / Gregor Beck January 25, 2014, brought blizzard conditions making road travel impossible or very hazardous at best. The Reptiles At Risk Advanced Workshop had to be postponed, although a handful of hardy souls had braved the conditions to attend this event. The rescheduled event was staged instead on August 6th at the Backus Conservation Education Centre, presented by Scales Nature Park in partnership with Long Point Basin Land Trust (LPBLT), Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) and Norfolk Field Naturalists (NFN). Roughly 50 reptile enthusiasts of all ages attended the event. The presenters from Scales Nature Park, Kelsey Crawford, Miranda Virtanen and Damien Millen gave an outline on all Ontario reptiles and their conservation status. At the end of the evening the participants had the rare opportunity to acquaint themselves hands-on with many live snakes and…
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