Next MeetingThere will be no General Meeting in December, 2005 The next meeting will be held on January 10, 2005, at the Moose Family Restaurant on Oakland Blvd., at the usual time of 7:00 p.m., when Mr. Jim Johnston will present "A Sense of Place". Jim always has something interesting to say, and we can only speculate from the title exactly what his topic will be... perhaps a little mystery is a good thing! We are looking to fill positions on PHFN's Board of Directors and would welcome nominations. As you know, the Board meets every first Tuesday of the month, and our General Meetings are held on every second Tuesday. Please contact me "asap" if you are interested in standing, or if you would like to nominate someone.
I would personally like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the PHFN Board of Directors, to extend best wishes for the Christmas
season and good health and happiness to all in the new year. I would also like to thank our many volunteers who give
so much of their time and effort to make this a successful organization. Although often un-named they are appreciated.
Of Special Interest to PenokeansMarion Kennedy recommends another website to members, www.citycourt.com, for information on Elliot Lake.
Tenth Annual Christmas Bird CountTerry Carr, who is coordinating this event, has reported to the Audubon Society that the local count will be held on December 16, 2005. Terry is looking for more members to be feeder watchers (from inside) on that day. Anyone with bird feeders who has not participated in previous counts and would like to volunteer part of their day should contact Terry for instructions. Because of loss of habitat and use of toxic chemicals, some birds are at risk and this is an important activity for monitoring our winter feeder visitors. PHFN has participated for the last ten years in Audubon's "citizen science in action" bird species count. More than 45,000 volunteers contribute to the world's largest ornithology database and our data will be added to their Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Audubon can be reached through www.bsc-eoc.org/national/cbcmain.html
Scheduled Outings for 2005-2006Lloyd McCabe advises that plans are afoot for the following outings, and that trip leaders should be contacted for specific dates and particulars. There will be sign-up sheets available at the appropriate General Meetings. Should there be any changes necessary, they will be posted on the PHFN website.
December 16, 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
Report on Fossil Hunting in Southern AlbertaPresentation by Chuck Zeitsma November 8, 2005Well, where to start! To say that Chuck is enthusiastic about his "hobby" would be the understatement of the year. In a nutshell: Chuck took us from southern Alberta and the U.S. west in about an hour's whirlwind, through the two billion year old Precambrian period with his samples of stomatolites, to ammonites of the 65-70 million year old Upper Cretaceous era. The samples of fossils Chuck brought for inspection were beautiful and awesome - it is remarkable that so long ago creatures of land and sea were once thriving on this planet and that evidence of their existence can still be found tody. Jim Reckahn also brought some samples for "show and tell" of coral and crinoids found on Manitoulin Island from the Ordivician period (500 million years ago) and Devonian period (400 million years ago). There was more than one member at the meeting ready to grab hammer and chisel and head west... and anyone interested in learning, or re-learning, more and digging a little deeper (no pun intended) could obtain from the Elliot Lake Public Library "The Fossil Book" (560FEN), "Fossils for Amateurs" (562.075 MCF) or "The Fossil World" to name just three publications. Also of interest in the December issue of National Geographic is the article on sea monsters of the interior seaway that split the Americas until 75 million years ago. It is in the area of this old sea bed, now parts of Alberta and Montana, that Chuck finds his fossils. Chuck is turning some of his fossil material into spectacular costume jewellery, as evidenced by some samples he had on display. He says that, once he produces an adequate inventory, he plans to sell the pieces on the internet.
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Report on North Shore Late Migrantsby Terry CarrNovember 15 was a day of "good weather for ducks", which was the purpose of the outing. We travelled to Serpent River where we saw common mergansers. At the Spanish Marina, where we spent about an hour, overlooking the marshlands we noted ravens, a mature bald eagle, hooded mergansers, four tundra swans, black ducks, and goldeneyes. At Bootlegger Bay, off Hwy 538, we noted buffleheads and common mergansers. At the mouth of Lauzon Creek we watched spawning Coho salmon, and identified black ducks, mallards, buffleheads, common mergansers and common goldeneyes. At the Blind River Marina we saw buffleheads and greater scaup ducks. On Boom Camp Road there is a new interpretive shelter where we saw snow buntings and hooded mergansers. Back at Lauzon Lake we made a short side trip to the fish sanctuary behind the restaurant (now closed) on Hwy. 17 where we saw more live salmon in the shallow water. A more detailed report is posted on the Messages page of the PHFN website.
REMINDEREvery Saturday at 10:00 a.m. one or more of PHFN's knowledgeable volunteers leads a walk-about at Sherriff's Creek Sanctuary yes, even at this time of year! All are welcome, and hopefully now that most gardens have been put to rest for the season, more Elliot Lakers will take advantage of the opportunity to walk "in nature's footsteps".
Report on Members' Christmas Lunch December 3, 2005By all accounts, the 44 members who attended at Truffles for this special occasion had a great time. It's unfortunate that some members could not attend, but maybe next year... It was a sunny, crisp day, with excellent driving conditions, and members from Spanish, Blind River, and Algoma Mills attended. Hobart, the crow who held everyone's coat for ransom, collected $53.46 for birdseed, and he thanks especially whoever left the $5.00 bill. Santa paid an unexpected but welcome visit, and everyone received a candy cane. Marretta Warianko won $43.00 in the fifty-fifty draw. Judging by the noise level alone, everyone enjoyed the socializing and had a good laugh. Incidentally, PHFN " spared no expense" and went all-out on gifts (there must have been a small fortune spent at the local Dollar Store!)
Sherriff Creek Sanctuary SpeaksI'm sure that you're aware that PHFN members have begun their winter bird feeding program. This generates much interesting activity for those who like to come and watch. On their Saturday morning walkabouts, Penokeans take great pleasure in proceeding from the parking lot, skirting the marsh, traversing the two bridges and stopping in the shelter of feeding station Alpha. On one such December "Saturday saunter", in a different year, the group at Alpha was surprised and delighted by an ermine who popped up from some large rocks. This was the short-tailed weasel, Mustela erminea, chocolate brown with yellowish-white undersides in summer, but then in full winter regalia. In response to the diminishing sunlight as winter approaches, the brown fur on the weasel's back changes to a beautiful white, making it white from head to foot except for the very tip of its black tail. At one time, ermine fur was essential for trimming the robes of royalty, and was also used for aboriginal headdress. Ermine like to live in tree roots and rock crevices like the one at Alpha, and I provide the perfect habitat for an animal which prefers streams, marshes, mixed woodlands or open areas next to shrubs and woodlands. The menu I provide for this fierce and aggressive carnivore is varied; voles, mice, chipmunks and young hares making up the largest part of its diet. Using great speed, the ermine wraps its body around its prey and sinks its teeth into the base of the victim's skull. Though small (5-9 inches long), the long slim body of the ermine means it has a large surface area to keep warm in winter. And its heart beats at 360-390 times a minute! Although it often hunts under snow, it is a good runner on snow, and makes leaps of as much as 22 inches. It is also a good swimmer and tree climber. To meet its huge energy and heat production demands, the ermine needs a good feed daily. If there are leftovers, these are cached for a day with slimmer pickings. Ermine give birth in April. There are 5 to 8 in a litter, and female newborns usually mate before summer's end. You would think I'd be overrun! But the truth is that females usually live for only two breeding seasons, and males not even that long. Among their known predators are goshawks, great horned owls, snowy owls, red fox, coyote, marten and fisher. But ermines themselves are important predators of small mammals within their ecosystems, and are thus an important link in the food chain. Chances are that the curious ermine who popped up in various places around his/her rock is no longer alive. Nevertheless, I'm sure some descendants still live within my Sanctuary boundaries. When you walk my trails in winter, you never know what kind of interesting and unexpected encounters you'll have.
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