Saturday September 12th was our annual fall bird count, and the weather co-operated with the counters to enjoy the day! We have had some tough rainy days this fall, but Saturday worked out well. We patiently wait for the numbers from John but in the meantime, we can always speculate based on our sectors. I had the great honour of working with a new volunteer who was very sharp on her birds and especially spotting and counting them! My area in the NW sector is largely water based so we get a lot of ducks, and I find this time of year challenging as sometimes everything seems to look like female mallards – not so this year! Fiona was spot on pointing out unique features that I seemed to have missed! She also was looking in different places that I also seemed to have glossed over. Thank you, Fiona! This is why it’s nice to refresh your viewpoints with new volunteers, so nothing is missed, and the birds get counted!
Also, I have to say the annual Fall Pizza Evening at Joe Stookey’s was another big success. Joe is a great host and chef, keeping us well fed and entertained on a beautiful fall evening. The weather looked challenging early in the day, but it cleared up nicely. The evening’s conversation seemed to really have people concerned about where the birds have gone. We were treated to a Pileated Woodpecker visiting the trees nearby, but Marten noted the magpie numbers are very low. He also noted that while we see warblers still, they are not in the big numbers that were present just a few years ago! Many thanks to Joe and Gayle for hosting us; we sure appreciated the evening!
Speaking of volunteers and members, exciting news – we have reached a very special benchmark of receiving our 500th membership! Bravo! That means a lot – congrats to all those who make the SNS work and provide the services that local people are looking for, whether it be field trips or presentations or doing advocacy work; it’s what people are looking for! Most interestingly, we had a member renew and sign up as a volunteer for conservation and advocacy – right on! It helps so much when we are looking for support; we have a good starting point. So, if you are thinking of helping out – don’t be shy, send me a note and we will get you plugged in!
I have to say a special thank you to Mercy and Rylan who are working on social media, they are doing a great job of advertising in a very creative manner on Facebook. If you haven’t checked us out on Facebook, be sure to click like on our page and follow us! Also of special interest, you may want to check out Ebird trip reports which include our more recent outings. You can see the list of species, where the trip went and some photos! Here is the report from the summer shorebird outing with Kerry Hjertaas: https://ebird.org/tripreport/552836 - very interesting indeed!
You may be seeing a new look on our website as well, as Trent upgrades the site to make it more current. Trent is always looking for feedback on what works for people and what they are looking for – any thoughts be sure to reach out to Trent!
Recently, as president, I received an email from Susan Robertson of Broderick letting us know that the community of Broderick is considering building a viewing pier and trails on their reservoir and would we help as interested birders – I replied sure! Always happy to lend a hand getting more birding hot spots nearby and with a committed community!
We will be having a very interesting evening with two very important conservation partners, Meewasin and NCC. It’s been a while since they have been at one of our meetings - a lot has happened and even more could be happening! With renewed leadership at both organizations, I’m sure Renny’s and Andrea’s comments will be insightful and timely. We continue our partnership with NCC and of course we are very interested in what’s happening with the National Urban Park and the newly announced Northeast trail development and the Maple Grove plans. I hope to see you all out on Oct 15th!
As I look forward to the month ahead, I see Big Bird Day and in the Southern Hemisphere, World Migratory Bird Day is coming up on Saturday October 10th. This is great reason to get out and explore our region for birds that are on their way south or check in on those who might be staying longer with us. Conservation and counting those birds are always a great reason to get out and look around!
David
