2019 Long Point Butterfly Count Results

2019 Long Point Butterfly Count Results
By Adam Timpf, NFN Member and Event Organizer (feature photo, above: Painted Lady, photo by Len Grincevicius) The 28th annual Long Point butterfly count took place this year on Saturday July 6th, 2019, with 36 observers in various groups surveying different areas in an attempt to identify and count each butterfly encountered. The forecast the night before was calling for a lot of rain, but I was hoping there would be breaks in the weather. My optimism was short lived when most of Saturday was dominated by rain. Some groups packed it in early, while others were able to fit in a few hours in the late afternoon. This was by far the wettest count in our 28-year history, and we could have cancelled the event all together. However, despite the fact most groups could only count for a couple hours,…
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Christmas Bird Count: Fisherville

Christmas Bird Count: Fisherville
Report by Linda Thrower, Compiler The Fisherville Christmas Bird Count was held on Friday December 28th, 2018. Thanks so much for all the effort that was put out that day to count birds. Fisherville CBC has seven new records. Unfortunately, these records are all for the lowest number since the count began—but that’s what the day held. The weather was not what might be expected for late December, but it was a nice day for a walk. The temperature was +11C with no snow and open water visibility of about 10 km. As the afternoon arrived, so did the clouds and light drizzle. The winds picked up to about 20 to 25 km/hour from the south. Even then the birds hid. Highlights: So first, a new high number record Sandhill Cranes. First time seen in Square 8 and in their largest…
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Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count Report

Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count Report
Report by Adam Timpf The 32nd Woodhouse Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place Sunday, December 16, 2018. The Woodhouse CBC is centred seven kilometers east of Simcoe, at the crossroads of Highway 3 and Cockshutt Road at Renton in Norfolk County and roughly covers from Port Dover to Waterford and just west of Simcoe to east of Jarvis. Weather: The weather this year was relatively warm, being on the plus side of 0. The lack of precipitation made for comfortable birding conditions, but the lack of snow cover made it tricky to find the birds since they were not concentrated. The wind was mostly calm or light from the northeast. Total Species: 82 with 1 additional Count Week species (average for the last 31 years = 80; average for the last 10 years = 86) Total Individuals: 16,635 (average for the last…
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Herbicide Treatment of Norfolk’s Phragmites: An Update

Herbicide Treatment of Norfolk’s Phragmites: An Update
A Report on a Public Information Session — August 20, 2018 Written by Inga Hinnerichsen What's been done: After three years of treating phragmites in Rondeau Provincial Park, Long Point Bay nearshore, Crown Marsh, Turkey Point Marsh plus adjacent areas, the results are very encouraging. Only small pockets of phragmites remain, as well as some re-growth where it was missed. Any areas treated will require "mop-up" work. Norfolk County is on board and is eradicating phragmites in the ditches along public roads. In a Simcoe Reformer article of July 28, 2018, Toby Barrett, MPP, indicated that “One only need stop at the Joe Csubak lookout on the Front Road in Norfolk to see the effectiveness of spraying. Where there used to be a sea of phragmites, there is now open water, native marsh vegetation and broad areas of the dead invasive.” Mr.…
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“Marvellous Milkweed” Seed Collection: Participant Report

“Marvellous Milkweed” Seed Collection: Participant Report
Article by Lisa Timpf, NFN Director. Photos by Laura Robson When I saw the notice about the "Marvelous Milkweed Seed Collection" event circulated to Norfolk Field Naturalist members, I was intrigued. Sponsored by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the event was scheduled for Friday, October 5th. The purpose was to collect milkweed seeds that would be used for meadow restoration in the Backus Block. It was pitched as a three-hour commitment, which didn't seem like a lot, so I thought I'd take the plunge. I had my first pleasant surprise of the day when I joined the circle of volunteers as the coordinators did their pre-event sign-in. Two of my former Simcoe Composite School classmates whom I hadn’t seen in forty years had also volunteered to help out that day, and it was great to see them. Right on time,…
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Long Point World Biosphere (LPWBR) Research and Conservation Conference

Long Point World Biosphere (LPWBR) Research and Conservation Conference
A report on the 6th Annual Long Point World Biosphere (LPWBR) Research and Conservation Conference, held Friday, November 9, 2018 By Cindy Presant, NFN Director This was my first time attending the Long Point World Biosphere Conference, which was held in Simcoe. There were 85 people registered—the largest number yet according to Administrative Coordinator Sandy Jukes. Registrants included three Norfolk County Councillors, and Norfolk’s new Mayor-Elect, Kristal Chopp. After a traditional Metis Elder welcome from Leon and Margaret Fleury, Long Point World Biosphere Reserve Foundation (LPWBRF) President Rick Levick opened the conference and talked about its beginnings. He said that while working on LPWBRF projects on Phragmites control and Eco-passages, they kept meeting scientists and thesis students doing research within the Biosphere. The conference was designed to bring all of these people together, to share their collective research and insights.…
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Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Participant Report

Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Participant Report
By Inga Hinnerichsen Photos by Len Grincevicius The Long Point Butterfly Count is organized by our official “Butterfly Counter” Adam Timpf and is supported by the Norfolk Field Naturalists. It is an all-day event and involves identifying and counting local butterflies. This count is part of a North America wide survey providing valuable information of the butterfly populations and the well-being of the environment in general. Members of our team were Dr. Richard Tanner, Mats van Kleef, Anita and Dick (visiting from Calgary—my old stomping grounds!) and myself. Saturday, July 7, was ideal for the count—sunny, not too hot with only a gentle breeze. Our area consisted of Backus Woods and nearby fields. We began our count at a restored field near East 1/4 Line Road. This is excellent butterfly habitat with many flowering plants at their finest, including Brown-eyed…
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Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Organizer’s Report

Long Point Butterfly Count 2018: Organizer’s Report
By Adam Timpf, NFN Member and Count Coordinator All photos by Len Grincevicius This year the Long Point butterfly count fell on Saturday July 7th, the latest date that the first Saturday in July could possibly fall on. Thirty-five observers were divided into different groups, each group covering a different territory and recording all the butterflies they could find throughout the day. Many thanks go to Peter and Mary for hosting the wrap-up and serving food and drink to the hungry butterfly counters at the end of a long day. Right after I had emailed out the count results to participants, yet another species was identified from photos uploaded to iNaturalist by one of the counters. Thus, a single Gray Comma bumps up our species total to 54, two shy of our all-time high, and well above our 27-year average…
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Great Canadian Birdathon 2018: Mike McMillan’s Report

Great Canadian Birdathon 2018: Mike McMillan’s Report
Story by Mike McMillan, photos by George Pond At 5:10 a.m. I arrived at George Pond's to join George, Peggy McArthur, Allan McEwan and Shelia Smith for our eventful day. During a quick stop at a grassy area on Luscombe Drive across from Turkstra Lumber we heard the buzzing-insect-like sound of a Grasshopper Sparrow and the musical sound of a Song Sparrow. As we continued on our way to Bird Studies Canada to meet with Betty Chanyi, Diane Salter and Anne Wynia we stopped on Charlotteville Road 5 near Young's Creek where a pair of Mallards flew over head and a singing Swamp Sparrow made its presence known. Further on, after crossing the Turkey Point Road, about 100 yards ahead of us a coyote trotted nonchalantly across the road. After travelling south and crossing Highway 24 we turned west onto…
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Great Canadian Birdathon 2018

Great Canadian Birdathon 2018
By George Pond All Photos by the Author Well, another Great Canadian Birdathon is over. As usual, it was another fun, but tiring time. As a group we identified 132 species of birds and ate a cooler filled with chicken and other wraps, courtesy of the Blue Elephant in Simcoe. For over a quarter of a century I have been doing the Birdathon with Bruce and Ann Falls from Toronto and Steve Wilcox from Port Rowan. This year Bruce and Ann had decided that it was time to retire and Steve was busy with his daughter’s wedding. Fortunately, Ricky Dunn and her son Jeremy Hussel, who had joined us a few years ago were keen to go, and I was able to recruit my friend Rick Dowson from Simcoe to join us. We were delighted when the “birding bug” caught…
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