September 2019 – August 2020
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Birding outing to Alderville Black Oak Savanna. Leader: Roger Frost.
We will be looking for fall migrant warblers, thrushes and sparrows. Prairie grasses will be at maximum height at this time of year. This will be a half day outing. Dress for the weather and bring water and snacks. Meet at Hwy. 45 and 401 car pool lot at 8 a.m. or at the Savanna Nature Centre at 8:30 a.m.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Birding outing to the Lakeshore east of Cobourg. Leaders: Richard Pope & Margaret Bain.
We will search for loons, grebes, waterfowl, raptors and gulls. Meet at Cobourg Harbour at the foot of Hibernia St. at 8 a.m. Dress for the weather. This outing may extend a bit into the afternoon, so bring lunch.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Birding outing to the Northumberland Forest. Leader: Roger Frost.
We will search for late fall migrants and perhaps winter finches. Meet at Hwy. 45 and 401 car pool lot at 8 a.m. or at Beagle Club Road parking area at 8:30 a.m. This will be a half day outing. Dress for the weather. Bring water and snacks.
November 30 – Peter’s Woods closing
Port Hope-Cobourg Christmas Bird Count – December 14, 2019
Rice Lake Plains Christmas Bird Count – January 1, 2020
Sunday, January 19, 2020
(this outing was cancelled due to weather and road conditions)
Birding outing to Amherst Island. Leader: Katsu Sakuma.
Search the island for owls, hawks, waterfowl and other winter birds. Meet at Cty. Rd. 45 and 401 car pool lot at 7:45 a.m. or at Amherst Island ferry dock in Millhaven to catch the 9:30 a.m. ferry. We will have to leave Cty. Rd. 45 at 7:45a.m. sharp in order to catch the ferry. Fare is $9.00 per car, so car pooling is encouraged. Bring lunch/snacks, water, binoculars and spotting scopes. Dress warmly. This is an all day outing.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Birding outing to Port Hope lakeshore. Leader: Roger Frost.
Meet at 8 a.m. at parking lot at west end of A.K. Sculthorpe Marsh, Lake Street, Port Hope. We will search the Port Hope waterfront and Lakeshore Rd. west of Port Hope for overwintering species. This will be a half day outing. Directions: From Peter Street, turn south at Hope St.S. Pass the railroad crossing, there is sharp left turn, which is Lake St. Follow Lake St. until another sharp left. The parking is on your right.
COVID-19 pandemic affected the balance of the 2019-2020 outing season. No further regular outings were held. Bird counts continued with participants following public health guidelines.
September 2018 – August 2019
Saturday, September 22, 2018, 11:00 a.m.
Guided tour of Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. Leader: Tim Tottenham.
Meet
at car pool lot at Hwy. 401 and Cty. Rd. 28 in Port Hope at 9:45 a.m.
The OTCC is located at 1434 Chemong Rd. in the northwest section of
Peterborough.
Sunday, October 14, 2018, 9:00 a.m.
A Fall Colours Walk at the Ballyduff Trails and Fleetwood Creek Natural Area. Leader: Don McLeod.
This
will be a joint outing between WBFN and Peterborough Field Naturalists
(PFN). We will be looking for birds plus wildlife tracks and sign. Fall
colours will be a treat and the trails are beautiful. The Ballyduff
Trails are on private property owned by Ralph McKim and Jean Garsonnin.
They have generously offered their trails to the public through an
agreement with the Kawartha Land Trust: https://kawarthalandtrust.org/?post_type=property&p=103. The nearby Fleetwood Creek Natural Area is managed by Kawartha Conservation.
Meet
at the public parking lot on Phillips Rd, Port Hope at 8:00 a.m. From
the parking lot, it is about a 45 minute drive to the outing location.
We plan to meet the PFN folks around 9 a.m. at the Ballyduff Trails
location: https://goo.gl/maps/7cmhgeMD6Ty
Optional
items to bring include a packed lunch, binoculars and camera. If room
permits, picnic blankets or lawn chairs would be helpful. Weather
cooperating, we will have a picnic lunch after the walk. Accessibility:
Moderate. There is some uphill walking.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Clive Goodwin Memorial Bird Outing. Leader: Roger Frost.
We
will look for migrant raptors and water birds in Cobourg Harbour and
east of Cobourg where Clive often birded. Meet at Cobourg Harbour at 8
a.m. (Please note that this is the first day of Standard Time.) Dress
for the weather, bring water and lunch. Outing should end in the early
afternoon.
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Bird Feeder Tour. Leader: Elizabeth Kellogg.
Meet
at car pool lot at Cty. Rd. 45 and Hwy. 401 at 8:30 a.m. We will visit
several of our members’ feeders. This could be quite an exciting tour if
the winter finches settle in for the season. This will be a morning
outing, ending with soup at the home of Tom and Jennie Jackman.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Birding outing to Amherst Island. Leader: Katsu Sakuma.
Search
the island for owls, hawks, waterfowl and other winter birds. Meet at
Cty. Rd. 45 and 401 car pool lot at 7:45 a.m. or at Amherst Island ferry
dock in Millhaven to catch the 9:30 a.m. ferry. We will have to leave
Cty. Rd. 45 at 7:45 a.m. sharp in order to catch the ferry. Fare is
$9.00 per car, so car pooling is encouraged. Bring lunch/snacks, water,
binoculars and spotting scopes. Dress warmly. This is an all day outing.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Local Waterfowl Outing. Leader: Roger Frost.
Meet
at Cobourg Harbour at 8:30 a.m. We will likely search the Rice Lake
Shore and Garden Hill Conservation Area for migrant ducks, geese and
swans. This will be a half day outing.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Outing to Nature Conservancy of Canada Brighton Wetland Property. Leader: Amanda Tracey, Coordinator, Conservation Biology, Central Ontario-East, Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Come
for a tour of this new NCC property. Amanda advised that rubber boots
would probably be necessary. Meet at 8 a.m. at the car pool lot at Hwy.
45 and 401 or at the Gosport boat launch at 9 a.m. Gosport boat launch
is at the east end of Price St.E. in Gosport (south of Brighton). This
will be a half day outing.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Nature walk at Laurie Lawson Outdoor Education Centre. Leader: Mark Rupke.
Meet
at 1 p.m. at the Laurie Lawson Outdoor Environment Centre, 8000
Telephone Road, Cobourg. Come and explore this Northumberland Land Trust
property. This will be a half day outing. Members from the Peterborough
Field Naturalists have also been invited to attend.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Botany outing to Peter’s Woods. Leaders: Eleanor Sartisohn and Paulette Hebert.
Meet at Peter’s Woods at 1 p.m.
The walk will focus on some of the spring ephemerals like
Jack-in-the-pulpit, Canada mayflower and marsh marigolds as well as
early summer bloomers like may apples, Canada anemones, and avens. We
will provide hints for identifying flowers while enjoying the splendor
of the old growth forest.
Directions: From Cobourg, take Cty. Rd. 45
north to County Rd. 22 (Centreton Rd.). Turn east on 22 to Centreton.
Turn north at Centreton on McDonald Rd. Take McDonald Rd. north to
Peter’s Woods. McDonald Rd. has a couple of curves. The entrance is on
the east side and the sign is most visible approaching from the south.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Birding and butterflying outing to Sheffield Conservation Area and Napanee Plain. Leaders: Rob Lonsberry and Roger Frost.
Sheffield
Conservation Area has typical Canadian shield habitats. We will look
for Prairie Warblers and other species associated with rock barrens. It
will be a strenuous walk. This will be an all day outing. We will
explore the Napanee Plain in the afternoon to look for Loggerhead
Shrikes and other grassland birds. Bring lunch, water and insect
repellent. Meet at County Rd. 45 and 401 car pool lot at 7 a.m. or at
8:45 at Sheffield CA.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
President’s Walk at Hazel Bird Nature Reserve. Leader: Val Deziel
The
Nature Reserve was named after Hazel Bird (1920-2009) a well-known
local naturalist and the recipient of many awards for her work in
Northumberland County. The property was one of Hazel Bird’s favoured
locations for her well-known bluebird trail. Hazel used to take WBFN for
a walk here every June to see Eastern Bluebirds. There are three nest
boxes on the property that, last year, had Bluebirds using them. Aside
from trail work, Nature Conservancy Canada has several restoration
projects in progress. The walk will be led by Val Deziel, Restoration
Technician for the Rice Lake Plains area of the Nature Conservancy of
Canada. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Cty. Rd. 45/Hwy. 401 commuter parking
lot for carpooling. Or meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Hazel Bird Nature
Reserve: 4639 Robson Road, Baltimore. This is the entrance to the
property, which starts at the farm gate and sign. Follow the lane to the
field centre.
June 8 and 9, 2019
Northumberland Summer Bird Count. Contact Roger Frost at ekrf@eagle.ca or 905-885-9615.
Sunday, June 23
Port Hope Urban Tree Tour. Leader: Gina Brouwer.
The tree tour will meet on Town Hall back lawn on Sunday, June 23rd
at 1:30 pm. It will be an approximately 2 hour walking tour in
partnership with the Tree Advisory Committee’s Trees of Distinction
Program.
Sunday, June 30
Butterfly Outing to Sandy Lake Road. Leader: Rod Lee.
Sandy
Lake Road has perhaps the highest diversity of butterflies species in
Ontario. At this date, we should be at the peak of butterfly activity.
Meet at the Cty. Rd. 45 and 401 car pool lot at 7:30 a.m. or at the Tim
Horton’s on Hwy. 7 in Havelock at 9 a.m.
Sunday, August 18
Bird Outing to Candlewick Woods. Leader: Roger Frost.
Directions:
From Port Hope, take Lakeshore Rd. west of town to Dickinson Rd. Meet
at 8:00 a.m. at the red barn on the south side at this intersection.
This will be a half day outing. Edit
