Upcoming Meetings Fall 2024
The next scheduled meeting with be the joint area nature clubs' meeting in September. Watch our web site and Facebook pages for details as the date approches.
Upcoming Field Trips Sping 2024
Wednesday 22 May 2024, 08:00am
Explore the trails and farmland around Little lake for the influx of migrant birds just peaking at this time of year.
Easy walking, water and bug spray.
Depart LLPL 8.00a.m.
Contact Robin Craig
National Chimney Swift Population Roost Monitoring Blitz 2024
May 18, May 22, May 26, May 30 & June 3
During spring and fall migration, Chimney Swifts congregate at communal roosts at dusk and can often be seen entering roost chimneys in large groups shortly after sunset. Join the SwiftWatch Team & help count Chimney Swifts entering Barrie’s 5 roost chimneys. Like many aerial insectivores Chimney Swifts have seriously declined in Canada, and our club has undertaken a monitoring role in town.
Blue Heron Winter 2024
The lastest issue of the Blue Heron is here. . Click on the picture below to download it.
Ontario's Third Breeding Bird Atlas
Calling all Simcoe County and area Birders!
Ontario’s third Breeding Bird Atlas is set to kick off in the spring of 2021, and we’re looking for birders to make this the most successful effort yet.
The atlas is a five year project intended to document the presence and distribution of all the birds that breed in the province, and to provide data on their relative abundance. Previous atlases were undertaken from 1981 to 85, and 2001 to 2005. Ontario is one of the first jurisdictions anywhere to begin its third atlas, providing valuable information on population and distribution trends over time.
Data is collected by citizen scientists (volunteers like you and me) in the field. The entire province is divided into 10km x 10km squares. The goal is to achieve a MINIMUM of 20 hours of birding effort in every square, recording the birds observed during the breeding season, and documenting evidence of breeding (nest-building, courtship display, feeding young, etc). In addition, volunteers are asked to complete 25 point counts where all the birds seen and heard at specified points in the square are recorded.
I’m the Regional Coordinator for the Simcoe County atlas region. To assure coverage, I am assigning a birder to each square in the region. This person will ensure that the minimum effort is met in that square. It doesn’t mean others can’t submit records for the square, and it doesn’t mean that the person assigned a square can’t do atlassing elsewhere. 20 hours spread over 5 years is not a huge effort. It could be completed with one visit every year, although the more time spent in the square the better. Personally I find it’s a great way to give you incentive to get out there, sharpen your birding skills, and discover lovely new birdy spots in your square.
Ideally I’d like the birders I recruit to “adopt” a square to be experienced. By that I mean be familiar with most of the birds likely to breed in the region, and be proficient with at least the more common bird songs likely to be encountered. If you are a more novice birder, or unsure of your skills, there will still be lots of opportunity to participate and to sharpen your skills.
More information including detailed protocols and data collection software is available at the atlas’ website at https://www.birdscanada.org/birdmon/onatlas/main.jsp
Most importantly, register at https://www.birdscanada.org/birdmon/onatlas/register.jsp
If you think this is for you, contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. If you have a square you would particularly like to adopt or a general region of interest let me know; I will try to accommodate. Remember though, if your favourite birding spot is in a square assigned to someone else, you are still more than welcome to provide data. This really is a fun project for those of you who, like me, love to get out in nature and have an interest in birds. Good birding! Ian Cook
Lyme Disease in Ontario
Brochure author John Scott and his wife Catherine (Kit), have been researching Lyme and ticks since 1990. For more information on Lyme Disease in Ontario, click this link.
Bird Friendly Barrie
A link to the City of Barrie's Bird Friendly City web site
Barrie was certified as a Bird Friendly City on June 16, 2022. A Bird Friendly City is a community where key threats to birds are effectively mitigated, nature is restored so native bird populations can thrive, residents are actively engaged in admiring and monitoring local bird populations, and organizations are creating events to protect birds..