SepWolfHowl

President’s Message
Welcome back and it was good to see so many friends at our Pot Luck Dinner the other night. The food was great (as usual) and it was good to catch up with so many whom I haven’t seen since our last meeting. I look forward to a new year with the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists and we have a lot of things planned. See you at our first meeting on September 11 at 7:00 p.m. Alan Wilson will be our speaker with his presentation on Monarch Butterflies. Alan is a retired Elliot Lake teacher and there isn’t anything about Monarch Butterflies that he doesn’t know.

Since our last meeting, we had a very successful garage sale, thank you to Queen Joan Humeniuk for all her work in assuring we had a good sale. Thank you to everyone who contributed items for sale, to those who helped set up and worked on the day of the sale, and to those who supported our sale with purchases. Thank you also to Grace Christian Centre for their hospitality and giving us space for our sale. We had a lot of good bargains and we sold almost everything with a $700 profit. The few items that were left over were donated to Grace Christian Centre. I’ve already started putting things aside for our next garage sale.

Your Calendar Committee has been hard at work and the calendar is now in the hands of the printers. Thank you to the Committee – Gerrit Hamer, Dan Humeniuk, Dave Young, Terry Carr, and especially to Claudette Ladaceur who has spent countless hours putting the calendar together through its many changes. Without Claudette the calendar would not have happened. Thank you also to everyone who entered their pictures for the calendar. There were so many excellent pictures to choose from, unfortunately there are only so many months in a calendar, and the Committee had to choose the best pictures that were appropriate to each month. Also, thank you to Debbie Berthelot for her support and to Rio Algom for assisting with the printing of the calendar.

Our Tuesday night walks are over for another year, thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy the Sanctuary. Our Saturday strolls continue all year long and we see something new every time. Thank you to those who have helped to keep the trails clear – it is a never ending process and the grass and plants grow faster then we can trim them. We are working with Rio Algom and the city to improve the boggy sections of the Red Trail and we will need to find matching grants to complete the work (if anyone would like to assist with obtaining these grants your help would be greatly appreciated). The improvements to the red trail will make the walking easier and safer as well as helping to protect this fragile ecosystem.

And remember, this is your club. We look forward to seeing you this year at our meetings and outings. And we welcome your help. If you have any ideas and would like to help, please don’t hesitate to give me, Gerard, a call.

We have had a lot of great outings since our last meeting. The bus tour of the former mines waste management areas was very informative and it was good to understand better how former mine sites are being returned to nature and our own Sherriff Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the best examples of this. Our trip to Chutes Provincial Park to see the trilliums was a great day and the trilliums were remarkable. Some of our members also enjoyed canoeing through the Mississagi River Delta. Thank you to everyone who makes all our outings possible.

One of our outings was to the Old Hydro Road in Sprague. Thank you to Marg Reckahn for the following account of the trip.

On May 23rd, twelve of us met at the Brunswick parking lot to travel down to the Old Hydro Road in Spragge. Naomi Maggs and myself shared the leadership for this outing. The day was sunny and warm. Once we had arrived there, we started our hike up the trail, viewing plants along the way.

The first thing we noted, was that many of the plants that are usually in full bloom at this time of year, were still in bud. After hiking up the first steep incline, we took a side tour to view the North Channel from the height of land. This is the only place that we see Early Saxiphrage as well. The Columbine was out in full bloom along the sunny Hydro line. Proceeding on the trail we spotted many of the Solomon’s Seal including True, False, and Rose Twisted Stalk. Polygola or Gay Wings favours the shady part of this trail.

Taking another short detour down to Lake Wabigoon, we spotted the Trailing Arbutus. This plant has small white flowers and a beautiful aroma. The wetland along the path yielded Sensitive Fern and Cattails. We once again detoured off the trail to eat our lunch on the rocks of Spraggue Creek and spotted a male mallard taking off from the Creek. After a leisurely lunch, we returned to the cars and headed for Elliot Lake.

Upcoming Outings
Please note: The Penokean Hills Field Naturalists Club, its officers or agents will not be held responsible for any accident or liability whatsoever incurred as a result of participation in any meeting, activity or field trip organized by them.
Come to outings dressed appropriately for the day (check the weather forecast). Trip leaders have the right to refuse people who are not properly equipped. Participants must make leaders aware of any serious medical condition that may arise during an outing. Bring water, a snack or lunch depending on duration of outing. Also your binos, camera, and field guides.
For general outing information, call Hans Kamps at 461-7737. For scheduled outing information, please call the leader of the outing. Sign up sheets will be available at the PHFN general meeting, and any member interested in participating in any activities should obtain more specific information by calling the trip leader(s).

Friday, September 7 – Sandhill Crane Tour Leader: Hans Kamps 461-7737. Meet at Brunswick Walk parking lot at 8:00 a.m. to carpool to Massey where we will meet Erwin Meissner and continue on to area fields where the Sandhill Cranes congregate. We will also stop at a local Mennonite farm for fresh produce and complete the day at the Spanish Marina to see the water fowl. Duration: 6-7 hrs.

Wednesday, September 19 – Exploring Nature on Elliot Lake Shores (weather permitting) - Leader: Ray Cormier 848-7979. Meet at Westview Park at 1 p.m. Come and look at the beautiful things that nature has to offer along our shores. Duration 2 – 3 hours.

Wednesday, October 10 – Fall flowers, Plants, Seeds and Stems (Rain date: Thursday, October 18) - Leader: Marg Reckahn 461-3505. Meet at Brunswick Walk parking lot at 9:00 a.m. The outing will be in town at the old dump site. Duration: 3 hours.

Wednesday, October 17 - Geology Field Trip (Rain date: Wednesday, October 24) - Leader: Jim Reckahn 461-3505. Meet at Brunswick Walk parking lot at 10:00 a.m. Many sites will be visited around Elliot Lake. Duration: 3 hours.

Monday, October 29 – Fall Migrants around the North Shore – Leaders: Dave Young 848-9590 and Joan MacGillivray 848-8382. Meet at Brunswick Walk parking lot at 9:00 a.m. to carpool to the Spanish Marina, Bootlegger Bay, Lauzon Creek, Blind River Marina, and Mississagi Delta. Duration: 7 hours.

Field Guide Review: Reptiles and Amphibians of Canada: (Lone Pine Publishing, 2007), Authors: Fisher, Joynt and Brooks Price $18.75 Submitted by Terry Carr

Lone Pine Publishing has done it again! I would highly recommend this 2007 release in their Nature series entitled, Reptiles and Amphibians of Canada.

This beautifully illustrated book features 93 species of reptiles and amphibians found in Canada, including skinks, salamanders, horned lizards, pit vipers, boas, frogs, and a host of other fascinating creatures. A range map is included for each primary species.

Every nature lover should include this field guide in their backpack. This valuable guide can be used by all of us, veteran or amateur, to search out and identify this group of animals in the field.

In it you’ll find:

·        English and French common and Scientific Names
·        Habitat descriptions
·        Full colour illustrations with key identifiers
·        Photographs
·        Natural History and interesting facts
·        Info about activity patterns, reproduction and food
·        Range Maps
·        Similar species with differentiating characteristics
·        Best sites for viewing
·        Glossary
·        Checklist
·        Species at a Glance section at the beginning of the book

Suggestion: I have marked (with red sticky dots) all the species that are found in the Elliot Lake area to help me arrive quickly at identifying those found here. This book would also be most useful for identifying species when you are traveling in other parts of Ontario or Canada…..it has them all!!! Enjoy this group of often misunderstood animals through your knowledge and understanding gained from this excellent field guide.

SHERRIFF CREEK SANCTUARY SPEAKS...................
Great blue herons are frequently to be seen in the area of my cattail marsh. But so regal and beautiful are these birds that sighting one – or more! – always makes an outing special. And it was that way for those PHFN members doing their Tuesday evening walkabout on August 21. The GBH was thought to be a young bird, and, in fact, it is just about that time of the summer that young herons start fishing for themselves. It is hard to believe that soon it will be heading south for the winter.

September is a wonderful month in the Sanctuary. Even by late August, some leaves have begun to change colour, and this will continue as more and more maples stop making chlorophyll. The needles of larches are starting to turn yellow. Honey bees are visiting the last goldenrod flowers to make some of the richest honey of the season. Purple asters and Joe Pye-weed are in bloom. By the end of September, all those turtles who lined up on logs on sunny days so Penokeans could photograph them will have descended into the mud for their winter sleep.

For many, the sound of crickets is the first reminder that the season has turned, and that fall is approaching. Usually that is around mid-August. This year those busy male crickets, whose distinctive sound is made by rubbing their wings together to attract females, started up at the end of July. What does that mean? Right now, only they know. Come walk my trails. There are sights and sounds to delight and interest and intrigue everyone.