Andy will share his story of the Rouge valley through photography.

Now in its 12th year, Mill Pond Splash is organized jointly by the Don Watershed Regeneration Council, Toronto and Region Conservation, the Town of Richmond Hill and the Richmond Hill Naturalists.

It’s a fun, active family festival featuring displays, presentations, native wildlife shows, nature walks and children’s activities dealing with all aspects of conservation and our natural environment.

* Learn about the environmental pressures on urban streams and rivers
* Find out how to get involved in local environmental stewardship projects
* Meet some native mammals, reptiles and birds of prey from southern Ontario
* Find out what fish live in the Mill Pond
* Take a look at the park through a naturalist’s eyes
* Plant some trees to help in park conservation
* Get up-to-date on recycling and energy conservation initiatives
* Find out about garden plants that can save you time, effort and water
* View an exhibition of local landscape art
* Build a bird box
* Take part in a nature scavenger hunt
* Try your luck on a rubber duck race

After all this, you can browse the organic food market and listen to live music by local performers.

When:

Sunday June 6, 2010, 12:00 – 4:30 pm
Where:

Mill Pond Park, Richmond Hill

Parking is available opposite York Central Hospital on Trench Street.

For more information, please contact Jinho Lee
at 416-661-6600 ext. 5280, jlee@trca.on.ca

Join us to celebrate the history and discoveries of
the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill.
Sunday, May 30th, 2010
2 – 4 pm
16th Avenue Public School
400 – 16th Avenue, Richmond Hill
(between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue)

Come celebrate the history, listen to the present, and focus
on the future of Canada’s largest telescope and most famous Observatory.
Official ceremony, refreshments, solar telescope viewing

Earth Hour in Richmond Hill

Saturday March 27^th from 8pm onwards

Turn out your lights and come join us for

Astronomy Night – Navigating the Night Sky

You will find us located on the hill just outside the Richmond Hill Central Library – North side of Hopkins, West of Yonge, South of Major Mackenzie Drive.

Spread the word: please download and forward our 2010 Earth Hour Flyer

Join us on Thursday March  18th at 7:30 pm for speaker John Urquhart of Ontario Nature. He began his love of the environment like many young boys: mucking around in wetlands and streams looking for “creepy crawly” reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. John will share with us the work being done across Ontario to gather data on Amphibians, Snakes and Turtles. Researchers, citizen scientists and local naturalists organizations can help with the Ontario Herpetofaunal Atlas Program.

He will help us identify species that we can find locally, endangered species and how to report any finding of frogs, salamanders, turtles and snakes as we travel around Ontario this year.

Frogs, Turtles & Snakes Flyer

Location: Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall,
10066 Yonge St., Richmond Hill
(west side, just north of Major Mackenzie Dr.)

Free admission & parking, all are welcome, donations accepted, and refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Marianne Yake, 905-883-3047 or president@rhnaturalists.ca.

The Richmond Hill Naturalists cordially invite you to join us with our special Guest Speaker and Nature Story Teller, Allan Foster on Thursday, February 18, 2010 @ 7:30 p.m.

Everyone is invited to join the Richmond Hill Naturalists for an evening of great nature tales by renowned story teller Allan Foster.  Allan was a frequent guest on CBC’s Fresh Air program and has appeared many times on Roger’s Daytime.  A long-time manager of the Kortright Centre, Allan recently retired to travel and make time to write a book of the nature stories that he’s been telling for years!  Please visit this web site to preview the book.

Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church,
Wallace Hall, 10066 Yonge St., Richmond Hill
(west side, just north of Major Mackenzie Dr.)

The public is cordially invited to this event which is sponsored by the Richmond Hill Naturalists.

Free admission, all are welcome, donations accepted, parking is free and refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact Marianne Yake, 905-883-3047 or president@rhnaturalists.ca.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

Why Count Birds?

Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to document the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.

Your counts can help us answer many questions:

• How will this winter’s snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations?

• Where are winter finches and other “irruptive” species that appear in large numbers during some years but not others?

• How will the timing of birds’ migrations compare with past years?

• How are bird diseases, such as West Nile virus, affecting birds in different regions?

• What kinds of differences in bird diversity are apparent in cities versus suburban, rural, and natural areas?

• Are any birds undergoing worrisome declines that point to the need for conservation attention?

We need your help. Make sure the birds from your community are well represented in the count. It doesn’t matter whether you report the 5 species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day’s outing to a wildlife refuge.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day. You can also submit more than one checklist per day if you count in other locations on that day.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time.

3. When you’re finished, enter your results at . http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

You’ll see a button marked “Enter Your Checklists!” at the top of the page on the website home page beginning on the first day of the count. It will remain active until the deadline for data submission on March 1st

Several dozen RH Naturalists and friends fanned out across the Richmond Hill Circle on Saturday, December 19, to particiapte in the 110th Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  Fifty bird species — 5704 individuals — were obsverved and tallied over the course of the day.  The count details are shown in the table below.  The results include some good and relatively rare (for Richmond Hill) birds, including Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Barred Owl, Northern Shoveler and Green-wing Teal.  A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet was also found, the first in 15 years.  The final results will be submitted to Bird Studies Canada, which works with the Audubon Society in the US and elsewhere to analyze the data.

Several additional species including Fox sparrow and a hybird mallard/black duck will be included as part of Count Week, a period that spans 3 days before and 3 days after the official Count Day.  Watch this space and the January 2010 RHN Bulletin for detailed results and photographs.

The Richmond Hill Naturalists were just one group among thousands participating in the Christmas Bird Count throughout the western hemisphere. The count began in 1900 as an alternative to the then-traditional practice of the Christmas Side Hunt, in which sportsmen and women signed on to teams which then went out and vied to see which team could kill the most birds and other animals in the allotted time. An officer of the fledgling Audubon Society, ornithologist Frank Chapman started the new and less lethal tradition of the Bird Census. 27 birdwatchers in 25 cities (including Toronto) participated in that first count; last year more than 50,000 counters in 19 countries from Antarctica to Alaska took part.

The RHN has been participating in the Audubon CBC for most of the club’s 53-year history.

In keeping with club tradition, CBC participants met for a hot chili dinner, a glass of wine or two and some scrumptious deserts at the end of our count day.  This year’s dinner was graciously hosted by Joe and Berthe Agg — thank you for welcoming such a large group of tired and hungry birders into your beautiful home.  The chili was delicious and the evening was delightful.

The RHN would also like to thank Wild Birds Unlimited for their ongoing support of this event.

With the 110th Annual Christmas Bird Count taking place this year on December 19, the Richmond Hill Naturalists are looking for people with bird feeders to open up their back yards for the Bird Counters. Bird Counters would visit volunteering households ONCE between 8am and 4:30pm on December 19. They will check the yard to count all the birds and bird species that may be seen there for just a few minutes – maybe longer if your yard is particularly exciting at that particular moment! You may also choose to count the birds and bird species in your yard yourself on December 19th and report your results.

The Richmond Hill Naturalists are just one group among thousands participating in the Christmas Bird Count throughout the western hemisphere. The count began in 1900 as an alternative to the then-traditional practice of the Christmas Side Hunt, in which sportsmen and women signed on to teams which then went out and vied to see which team could kill the most birds and other animals in the allotted time. An officer of the fledgling Audubon Society, ornithologist Frank Chapman started the new and less lethal tradition of the Bird Census. 27 birdwatchers in 25 cities (including Toronto) participated in that first count; last year more than 50,000 counters in 19 countries from Antarctica to Alaska took part.

In Richmond Hill, each year groups of birdwatchers of all levels of expertise disperse to their assigned sections; each group taking note of every bird and every species that they see in their area. The groups meet at the end of the day for the annual Chili Dinner, where their findings are totalled up. The club’s results in turn are submitted to Bird Studies Canada, which works with the Audubon Society in the US and elsewhere to analyze the data. If you wish to be a counter or to volunteer your back yard please leave a message with Gene Denzel at 905-889-7888 or email lezned@yorku.ca

Richmond Hill Christmas Bird Count Map Circle

Please feel free to download and distribute the RHN Christmas Bird Count Poster.

(Red-headed Woodpecker photo by Gene Denzel)

Boreal forests store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem on earth – twice as much per area as tropical forests. Past estimates of this carbon greatly underestimated the amount, depth, and longevity of this carbon. As the most intact remaining forest on earth, the boreal forest also has exceptionally high potential to accommodate plants and animals forced to shift due to climate change.

Canada hosts most of North America’s Boreal Forest. Canada’s vast Boreal Forest stores an estimated 208 billion tons of carbon (71 billion tons in forests⁴ and 137 billion tons in peatlands⁵)—the equivalent of 26 years worth of global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.

This BorealBirds.org report questions whether international negotiations on carbon and forest protection have adequately considered boreal forests in light of the scientific findings outlining their significance.  For more information, please visit BorealBirds.org

From the Richmond Hill Liberal:

With the 110th annual Christmas Bird Count taking place this year on Dec. 19, the Richmond Hill Naturalists are looking for people with bird feeders to open up their back yards for the Bird Counters. Bird Counters will visit volunteering households, only once, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

They will check the yard to count all the birds and bird species that may be seen there for just a few minutes – maybe longer if your yard is full with birds at that particular moment. You may also choose to count the birds and bird species in your yard yourself on December 19 and report your results. [Full Story]

Please feel free to download and distribute the RHN Christmas Bird Count Poster.

The Town of Richmond Hill has postponed a December 1st public meeting to discuss draft planning options and conservation management principles for the DDO lands until January, 2010. A statement sent out by Donna L. McLarty, Town Clerk reads:

In order to provide residents additional time to review the draft options and provide feedback to staff, the concepts will be released on the Town’s web site on Friday December 4th.  Hard copy printouts will also be available from Access Richmond Hill (ground floor 225 East Beaver Creek Road).  Written or e-mailed comments on the concepts may be provided to Town staff up to and including December 20th (e-mail your comments to jleung@richmondhill.ca).

Based on input received, the concepts will be refined and presented to a Committee of the Whole meeting early in the new year (more details to follow).  Residents will have an opportunity at this meeting to offer their comments directly to Committee members.

Many RHN members have participated in the Town’s planning process as it relates to the Dunlap lands. All members of the public are encouraged to take the time to comment on the draft options that are to be released on December 4th.  For more information, please see the Town of Richmond Hill’s DDO information.

In other DDO news, on November 23rd, Richmond Hill Town Council voted to “pursue fines and penalties to the fullest extent possible in response to Metrus’ actions during its archaeological assessment of the observatory’s southwest field”.   Mayor David Barrow told a packed council chamber the town is preparing legal documents for a January 15th, 2010 court date and that a fine against the developer would be decided in court.  Some controversy remains over the actual number of trees that were illegally removed, since Town bylaw officers have not yet been able to access the site to untangle and measure a large pile of cut trees. For more details, please see the Richmond Hill Liberal.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48-Q-mqjANU[/video]

Trees being removed on the Dunlap property.