The next meeting of the PHFN will start at 7 pm on Tuesday, October 14, 2003, at the Bible Chapel, 283 Mississauga Ave. Visitors and guests are always welcome. This is our regular monthly meeting and all members are urged to attend. Please join us for coffee and chat downstairs after the meeting, and don’t forget to “Lug a mug”.

October 14, 2003  -  General Meeting
November 11, 2003  -  General Meeting
December 6, 2003  -  Christmas Pot Luck
January 13, 2004  -  General Meeting
February 10, 2004  -  General Meeting
March 9, 2004   -  General Meeting
April 13, 2004  -  General Meeting
May 11, 2004 Annual  -  General Meeting

There will be a newsletter issued just prior to the October meeting. Deadlines for articles for the January newsletter will be Saturday, December 20, 2003.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS are NOW in progress. Your Membership is valid from 01 September, 2003 to 31 August, 2004. It's one of the best values in town and worth every penny.

A warm welcome to a new and rewarding season with the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists! I am very happy to be your President for the 2003-2004 club year, and to be able to work with a dedicated and supportive Board of Directors who are committed to maintaining the excellence of our organization. Already we have a variety of outings

But - as we explained at our September General meeting - without members willing to take Executive positions on the Board, we face an uncertain future. When I was introduced to Sherriff Creek Sanctuary five years ago, I promised myself that if I moved to Elliot Lake, the Penokean Hills Field Naturalists would be the first group I would join. A year later I moved here and I did join. Today, I simply can't imagine no PHFN and no close connection with the Sanctuary.

In the Sanctuary, through PHFN activities, our members have identified animal tracks in the snow, monitored bluebird nesting boxes, stocked feeders for winter birds, hunted for mushrooms, learned the basics of orienteering, debated wildflower identification, watched monarch caterpillars feed on an increasing number of milkweed plants, cleared

trails, found snow fleas.....the list goes on. Our Saturday morning walkabouts there with Dave and or Terry to share their knowledge are a wonderful way of appreciating its richness and beauty through the changes of each season. These are walks, not hikes, with lots of opportunity to observe birds through binoculars (the club has some),

or to take photos. If you turn up at the Sanctuary parking lot at 10AM on any Saturday, you won't be sorry!

I know that we all derive so much pleasure from the birds, plants, animals, rocks and trees which surround us here. We are fortunate to have an organization like ours where we can focus on these interests and broaden our knowledge and understanding at the same time. Together, we can keep PHFN strong for many years.

This is the start of a new year for Penokean Hills and we welcome Elizabeth Matheson as our new President. Good Luck Elizabeth!!! This club will only exist with the input of ideas from the members and with the help of volunteers from the members for the various projects.

Also input from the members is vital for the existence of the newsletter. The newsletter can only be issued if there is sufficient number of articles and these articles can only come from the members at large. The September newsletter was not published as only one article was received. Hopefully this will not happen again.

The editor is not responsible for the content and validity of the articles and all quotes from other sources, etc. are the responsibility of the contributor to check for copyrights and written permission to use such quotes.

The Christmas Potluck will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2003 at the Bible Chapel. Lunch will begin at 12 noon. Come along and bring your favourite dish as well as your cutlery, mug and plate. This Potluck is held in place of our December meeting. Friends of Algoma East will be joining us again this year.

On May 21, we met at our usual place at Brunswick Walk with 10 people in attendance. We drove to the Old Hydro Road and Met Georgena at the parking lot. It was a beautiful day for a hike - neither too hot nor cold and no bugs around.

As we climbed the hill, the first plant identified was burdock. Later we saw fly honeysuckle and both false and true Solomon’s seal. Reaching the top of the hill, we took a slight detour up the hydro line for a look over the North Channel. The lovely red and yellow colours of the columbine stood out and we also discovered early saxiphragge growing in huge numbers. Once we reached the top of the cliff, we had a splendid view of the bay and out into the North Channel.

Retracing our steps to the main trail, we then proceeded along. Plants such as Polygala, bunchberry and violets were seen in abundance. As we came down to the lake, we were surprised to see a snake in the middle of the trail. Since the sun had not reached the area and it was still quite cool, this snake was not moving very fast and we were able to approach quite close and even got some pictures.

Once we were in the shade and there was water around, plants such a Canada Mayflower, clintonia and rose twisted stalk were in abundance. We heard a sandhill crane going overhead but could not see where it was. As we walked by the swamp, there were lots of sensitive ferns. Georgena kept looking for frogs but, unfortunately, they didn’t make an appearance.

We walked down to the Spragge Creek for lunch, basking in the sunshine. We notice Pipsissewa but had to look it up in the field guide to be sure. After lunch we proceeded up the creek further on a trapper’s trail that Georgena knew about. We came to a pond created by beaver dams and there we saw the sandhill crane that we had heard earlier. It was pretty far away and didn’t seem to be bothered by our presence. We observed it for quite a while and then headed back down the trail to the cars. On the way, we saw both old evening primrose stems and milkweed pods. Other birds seen along the way were hairy woodpecker, ravens, turkey vultures and we think a black-throated green warbler. Since we didn’t have any bird people on the hike we only guessed at the latter bird by checking in the bird book.

Arriving back at the cars, we said a grateful thank-you to Georgena for joining us on this trip with her knowledge of the area. We headed back to Elliot Lake about 2.30 P.M.

The Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis is truly a remarkable bird. The version found in this area, (there are six versions in North America) is the largest and is, in fact, the second largest bird on the North American sub-continent, only beaten in the size stakes by the Whooping Crane, Grus americana. It is a long-legged, long-necked gray bird with a long, dark, pointed bill and a bright red bald crown.

A group of enthusiasts from the PHFN went to pay a group of them a visit on the afternoon of Monday, 15^th September. The occasion was the annual gathering of the Crane clans in an area to the south of the town of Massey and we were not disappointed. The guys and girls turned out in their hundreds to swap yarns of the high jinks they’ve been up to during the previous summer. This would probably involve, to a great extent, a really cool trip to the arctic or just a relatively short sashay to northern Ontario. Of course there are always the lazy guys who think that the Elliot Lake area is just fine to while away the long, hot days and so they get no further north.

One thing they all have in common though is to pay heed to the shortening days approaching the fall and prepare to fly south with their new, light brown young additions along the ancient flyways to Florida, Mexico etc., pausing now and then to regenerate on time honoured staging grounds.

We in the PHFN are fortunate in that one of these resting places is near and easy to access. Sandhills just love to forage in stubble fields for left-behind seed and use their long bills to probe for the many insects skulking among the stalks - beetles, grasshoppers, earthworms etc. and there are many such fields in the area south of Highway 17 towards La Cloche Lake.

As we made our way to the area we stopped to spy on some American Kestrels observing us from hydro lines while, a little way off, about twenty TV’s (Turkey Vultures) were wheeling above some trees. And then we saw the Sandhills! Not too many at first - probably only a couple of hundred but looking more as they were mixed with hundreds of Canada Geese and gulls. After looking at these through binoculars for a while and marvelling at their graceful, ballerina-like dancing, Naomi noticed activity and heard unmistakable trilling calls on the far side of a tall corn field, so, after moving a little further along the road, we came across the mother-load as it were. Three or four hundred Sandhills were milling around in quite a small area and, at this point, we got out the club’s spotting ‘scope to get a little closer to the subjects.

Their most striking features are their bright red top-knots and fluffy tertial feathers which droop down over the tail. They have an upright stance and fly, unlike Herons, with a straight neck and extended legs. When they come in to make a landing, they push their legs forward, reminiscent of a parachutist. A group, all landing together, make a quite spectacular sight.

The wind got up and what had been a dull, grey sky suddenly lit up, with the evening sun bursting through a gap in the clouds, illuminating the gathered flock with an eerie light and seeming to signal that this was the end of an interesting outing.

Leader, Sabine Atteln, as usual had a very interesting and informative search for mushrooms. The outing was scheduled to take place on the Spine Beech Trail but due to construction we went to an area in Sheriff Creek Sanctuary.

This parasite attacks the fruit bodies of milk mushrooms. Diseased host mushrooms become brilliant orange or orange-red, are malformed, and the gills either do not develop or are reduced to low ridges. Widespread and common Lobster mushrooms are reported to be edible.

Fruit bodies are shelving, overlapping, thin, tough, 3 - 8 cm. long by up to 5 cm. wide, 1 - 3 mm. thick, velvety, narrow zonate, and variable in colour from tan to orange to red-brown to amber. Pores are white to yellowish and 3 - 5 mm. with shallow tubes. Widespread and very common. Turkey tails fruit on hardwood logs and stumps. Inedible.

Caps are 2 - 8 cm. across, conical to bell-shaped, metallic grey, smooth and silky fibrillose. Gills are free, crowded, white, becoming black and dissolving into a black fluid. Stalks are up to 15 cm. tall by 2 cm. wide, white and hollow. Ring appearance early. Spore print is black. Widespread and common. Tippler’s Bane fruits in grassy places, growing on buried wood. Edible but do not consume with alcohol.

Caps are 2 - 10 cm. across, dry, smooth, convex, becoming flat and depressed, with a wavy margin and yellow to orange-yellow. Gills are decurrent (extending downward), far apart, thick, blunt, forked, and yellow. Stalks are up to 6 cm. tall by 2 cm. wide, smooth and coloured as the cap or paler. Spore print is yellow. Wide spread and fairly common. Chanterelle fruits on the ground in woods. Highly prized edible!

Caps are 2 - 8 cm. across, convex to flat, slippery when wet, smooth to hairy near the margin, and yellowish-brown to cinnamon or red-brown. Flesh is white to yellowish, bruising greyish to brownish and with a peppery taste (Sabine knew it was safe to taste, she cut a piece and tasted it, very hot sensation in mouth). Tubes are reddish-brown. Pores are large and angular. Stalks are slender, up to 8 cm. tall by 8 mm. wide, coloured on the cap, striated and yellow at the base and inside. Spore print is cinnamon. Fruits under conifers trees.

Caps are 5 - 20 cm. across, convex, slippery when wet, smooth to velvety, and tan to smoky ore blackish-brown. Flesh is whitish, not staining. Tubes are white to greyish, staining darker. Pores are tiny and round. Stalks are up to 15 cm. tall by 2 cm. wide, white to grey or smoky, and with raised grey to grey-black dots. Spore print is brown to olisaceous-brown. Birch Bolete fruits on the ground, mostly under birch trees. Edible.

Information taken from Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, George Barron. Publishers: Lone Pine.

First, when you get to the patch, one looks about, deciding which is the best spot to begin. One bends over, testing and tasting the fruit, deciding if this area has the most abundant, fattest berries. You finally, after your back gets tired, go down on your knees. You continue in this position until your knees “cry” out, then you slowly lie down on your left side, stretch your legs out, prop your head on your left arm and pick with the right hand. Pretty soon you roll over unto your back and look up at the beautiful sky, breath deeply, then once again get to your feet and begin the whole series of postures over again for berry picking. Enjoyable exercise!

Years ago, when I was a student in Montreal, I worked at Chateau Lake Louise in the summers. This was a wonderful experience: a CPR pass from wherever you were hired, incredible terrain to hike and climb, lifelong friendships forged among other staff from across the country, and a view of Mt. Victoria and the glacier whenever I sat up in bed in the morning.

This was during the days when the hotel was closed for the winters. We went up in May to open it, and left in September when it was battened down for the season. At that altitude, there was still a lot of snow when we arrived; in fact one year it snowed daily for weeks, and there were a lot of bears, many with cubs. We were aware, when out hiking, that it wasn’t wise to come between a mother and her cubs. I recall one person, in attempting to avoid exactly that, jumping off the trail into deeper snow and sliding downhill on his behind with the mother bear sliding down on hers right after him. The rest of the time we became quite casual about the bears in our midst.

Bears were a constant feature at the garbage bins behind the staff residences. They would raise the wooden lids and settle down quite happily to the day’s offerings. Our main route to work was on a path right next to this bear cafeteria, and we thought absolutely nothing of passing right by them.

One afternoon I rushed out of the residence on my way to work and, because I was on the verge of being late, I was walking so quickly that my raincoat billowed out behind me, belt and all. As I went by the bear of the day, it paused in its eating and grabbed my belt in its mouth. Immediately I stopped and began considering my options. The first was to simply walk right out of the raincoat but that seemed too drastic. The next was to wonder if I could very quietly detach the belt from the coat without annoying the bear. That didn’t seem too promising either. At that point my boss, the maitre’d, in his black tie and tails, an extremely emotional Polish man who daily became apoplectic or tearful at the less serious Canadian students he had to supervise - the very person I was trying to get to work ahead of - came out of the residence next door. Quickly sizing up the situation, he picked up some stones and began throwing them at the bear. One landed beside the bear and on turning to see what had made the noise, it dropped the belt. I was on my way again!

That evening at work, my boss told all who would listen about how he saved my life. Because of his volatile nature, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that throwing stones was possibly the worst thing he could have done to ensure my safety. He was hero, my raincoat still had its belt, and if I was late for work, it wasn’t mentioned.

Here, plucked from the Internet, are just some of the collective nouns for a few of the animals we know in our area:

Some of these are descriptive, i.e. A paddling of Ducks; a parliament of Owls but it’s difficult to imagine how others came by their names - a sleuth of Bears; a rout of Wolves for instance.

The name for a group of Beavers (a Colony) seems very tame and, judging from the rearrangement that has happened on the Yellow Trail in SCWS, they really need a more descriptive one. Can anyone suggest a more prosaic collective noun for the little rodents?

WHO SAW IT	WHAT IT WAS	WHERE WAS IT
Scott Helman	2 sand hill cranes 2 sandhill cranes 2 sandhill cranes 1 female deer 6 ruffed grouse	farmer's field West of Bell's Falls Hwy 554 Hwy 129, 20 km N Thessalon Hwy 108, S of Depot Lake Quirke Lake, left of boat launch
Joyce MacKenzie	4 peregrine falcons	Horne Lake
Naomi Maggs	Philadelphia oriole pileated woodpecker	her backyard her house
Sabine Attelin	Cedar waxwings	in Elliot Lake
Dan Humeniuk	Bear nearly ran into car	Hwy 108,near Inn on the Lake
Jim Johnston	Bears 2 yearling cubs pileated woodpeckers 2 juvenile pileated woodpeckers, eating berries - usually eat insects	Esten North boat launch River Rd, nest in telephone pole,been there all summer Boom Camp
Kathleen Holden	great blue heron	Sheriff's Creek
Lisa Echle	chestnut warbler	her house
Jocelyne Breive	Skunk 2 pileated woodpeckers Pair of golden crowned sparrows	crossing Hwy 108, first she has seen in 7 years Campground on Panel Mine Rd Her backyard
Nicole Walvaert	Young fox - skinny, unsteady Bear seen by her husband	Spine Road Spine Road
Ingrid Farquhar	big owl	Sherrif's Creek
Linda Davis	Flying squirrel	In her bedroom
Sandra Murray	Bear in dumpster Bittern with frog in mouth	Washington Crescent Sherrif's Creek
Joan Humeniuk	Big bear	Her backyard
Sheila Stiven	Bears all summer Raccoons eating her tomatoes	Her backyard
Heather Fulford	Saw somebody feeding fox	Panel Mine Road

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