Results of the 2024 Long Point Butterfly Count

Results of the 2024 Long Point Butterfly Count
Photo: Monarch butterfly. Photo by Ginette Pieper. Article by Adam Timpf, NFN Member and Butterfly Count Organizer Saturday July 6th, the date of the 2024 Long Point Butterfly Count, was a beautiful day to be out. In total, 32 people spread amongst 12 parties scoured the countryside for winged jewels, logging about 65.5 party hours and 70.5 party kms. Most groups commented on the lack of butterflies, but remarkably the Long Point count still turned up an excellent 57 species which is above the 10-year average of 54, and just two below the all-time high of 59. As for individual butterflies, our total of 2153 is an increase from last year's dismal 1764, but below the all-time and 10-year averages of 2607 and 2572. Of course, these numbers aren't corrected for the number of participants, amount of effort, and weather…
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Book Review: Bicycling with Butterflies, by Sara Dykman

Reviewed by NFN member Stephanie Sinden Science, nature, and adventure come together in this riveting account of a solo bike trip along the migratory path of the monarch butterfly. Sara Dykman made history as the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies during their renowned annual migration, a journey spanning three countries and over 10,000 miles. From March to December 2017, biologist Sara followed the monarchs from their overwintering grounds in central Mexico to Canada and back. Her adventure combined elements of a travelogue, a cycling expedition, and a focus on conservation. Ron and I visited the El Rosario Reserve in the Mexican mountains in our RV. It’s not an easy place to reach, but it’s magical! Cycling 10,201 miles solo on a basic bike with a $10-a-day budget is a significant achievement. Will Norfolk County be part of her route?…
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George Pond’s Birdathon Report for 2024

George Pond’s Birdathon Report for 2024
(photo, above: Chipping Sparrow. Photo taken by NFN member George Pond) By NFN Member George Pond May 21 turned out to be a beautiful, but very hot day, a wonderful day to be in the “Great-out-of-doors.” I met my son David and daughter-in-law Heather at their rural home, south of Simcoe at 6 a.m. We ticked off the Great Horned Owl fledglings that had been begging for food throughout the night and headed for the St. Williams forest. It was already quite hot but there was enough song to keep us interested and we had soon ticked off Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded, Mourning, Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged, Pine, Ovenbird and Magnolia warblers. Red-eyed Vireos were common as were Eastern Towhees, Song and Chipping sparrows, Indigo Buntings and House Wrens. A Red-breasted Nuthatch was the only one of…
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Great Canadian Birdathon 2024: Mike McMillan’s Report

Great Canadian Birdathon 2024: Mike McMillan’s Report
(Photo, above: Northern Flicker. Photo by member Jeff Hiebert) I had planned to do the birdathon with Barry Jones on either May 13 or May 14. However, the weather was unsuitable those two days. Since Barry was not available on the 15th and 16th I decided to split the 24 hours over those two days. So that I had company and a spotter each day two friends, Jo-Anne Barber and Krystyna Tanner, graciously agreed to accompany me, each for part of a day. On the 15th Jo-Anne and I intended to start at the Townsend sewage lagoons, but we were unable to get into them. At 1:15 p.m. we began the birdathon at a small stream down the road from the lagoons. Here we heard a Common Yellowthroat and perched on a fence was a Savannah Sparrow. We drove to…
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A Green Heron Stalks the Shallows

A Green Heron Stalks the Shallows
Article by Jeff Hiebert, NFN Member Over the past few years, I have come to appreciate how beautiful and wonderful birds are. Along with that appreciation has been the realization that there are diverse birds within a short walk or drive of my home. I have encountered new species of birds almost every time I go out to my new favourite birding destination: Long Point. Globally renowned for being a biodiversity hotspot, and a corridor for migrating birds crossing the Great Lakes, Long Point is full of a variety of freshwater habitats and a corresponding diversity of bird species. My most recent exciting encounter was with a species I had never before seen up close. Before this past year “Heron” meant the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), the only species of heron I saw regularly, certainly the most conspicuous heron…
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Christmas Bird Count – Fisherville, 2023

Christmas Bird Count – Fisherville, 2023
Report by the Haldimand Bird Observatory Photo, above: Sandhill Cranes – Photo by Member, Jeff Hiebert December 28th, 2023 was a warm, foggy, wet, and dreary Christmas Bird Count day but that didn’t stop our 22 participants from spotting a wide assortment of species. The lack of snow and cold meant low counts of Snow Buntings (3) and the complete absence of Horned Larks and Snowy Owls, but good conditions for a few surprises instead. An American Goshawk in zone 6 was the first to be counted since 2013 and is one of only 10 individuals across all counts (occurring in 8 other years since 1989).  A Little Gull spotted mixed in with Bonaparte’s Gulls in zone 5 had not been counted since 2007 and is one of only 5 individuals across all counts too (detected in 3 other years…
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37th Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count Results

37th Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count Results
(Image above: Trumpeter Swans – Photo by Member, Jan Grincevicius) Report by Adam Timpf The Woodhouse CBC is centred 7 km east of Simcoe, at the crossroads of Highway 3 and Cockshutt Road at Renton, and roughly covers from Port Dover to Waterford and just west of Simcoe to east of Jarvis. These are the results of the 37th Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count held on Sunday December 17th, 2023. Thirty-three field birders covered the count area plus five feeder watchers. Conditions were wet with rain and drizzle throughout the day, temperatures around 6-7 degrees Celsius, moderate south winds (16-21 km/h), zero snow on the ground, and plenty of open water as nothing was frozen. The mild temperatures leading up to the count contributed to us setting new count highs for 4 species of waterfowl, while the rainy conditions meant low…
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Species in Focus: Salamanders

Species in Focus: Salamanders
Note: Salamanders should never be handled with bare hands as skin oils and even soap residues will damage them. The three salamanders covered in this article have an aquatic stage in their development and are considered mole salamanders as opposed to woodland or Plethodontid which breath through their skin. Yellow Spotted Salamander Yellow-spotted salamanders are our largest species of salamander. They are readily recognizable by their black colour and pattern of bright yellow or orange spots. They reach a length of 20 cm (8 in.). The head, body and tail are dark grey to blue-black. Their belly and sides are lighter blue-grey. Along the back, tail, sides, head, and legs are two uneven rows of up to 54 bright yellow spots. These salamanders range over much of North America. Deciduous and mixed forests are the preferred habitat, especially those located…
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35th Christmas Bird Count, Woodhouse

35th Christmas Bird Count, Woodhouse
Report by Adam Timpf These are the results of the 35th Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count (CBC) held on Sunday December 19th, 2021. The Woodhouse CBC is centred 7 km east of Simcoe, at the crossroads of Highway 3 and Cockshutt Road at Renton, and roughly covers from Port Dover to Waterford and just west of Simcoe to east of Jarvis. Conditions were pretty much ideal with temps just below freezing, little to no wind, clear skies, and a light dusting of snow on the ground. 31 field birders covered the count area split between 17 groups, plus 5 feeder watchers. While I initially reported we tallied 94 species, and then 95, I can confirm we tallied 94 species on the day which ties last year's count as the 3rd highest species total ever, and the highest since the record of…
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2020 Christmas Bird Count – Fisherville

2020 Christmas Bird Count – Fisherville
(Feature photo, above: Tundra Swans, photo by Diane Salter) Report by Linda Thrower, Compiler As a compiler I was lucky enough to have a Christmas Bird Count this year. A lot of people had to do double duty and cover more than one square to say this count was covered. So, with a lot of co-operation from the birders and the weather the Fisherville CBC was held on December 28th, 2020. It had snowed for Christmas which a lot of parents and Santa were glad to see. The luck continued with enough warmer temperatures and rain to take away all of that snow by the 28th. But luck can only go so far and once again the winds picked up just enough to send all of the smaller species of birds and even some of the larger ones into hiding.…
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