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RHN News

Archive for the 'Events' Category

RHN Earth Hour gathering

Join the Richmond Hill Naturalists for Earth Hour, Saturday March 26, 2011 just before 8:30 pm
Celebrate with us by candlelight, flashlight, etc.

Watch as we see Richmond Hill and south of us turn off the lights.

Meet us at Yonge and Hopkin Streets
Just south of Major MacKenzie and the Main Library
Remember to turn off the lights before you leave home.

http://wwf.ca/earthhour/

RHN Meeting: Biologist John Pisapio on Biodiversity

Title: RHN Meeting: Biologist John Pisapio on Biodiversity
Location: Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall. 10066 Yonge St
Description: Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 7:30pm
General Meeting with speaker, John Pisapio, Management Biologist, Ministry of Natural Resources will speak on BioDiversity. The meeting will take place at the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall. 10066 Yonge St., North of Major Mackenzie Dr., West side. For info contact Marianne Yake at 905-883-3047.
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2011-02-17

Birding outings

Here is a list of upcoming outings run by the Toronto Ornithological Club (open to the public).

Sunday, January 23
Sunnyside/Humber Bay.
1:30 p.m. – sunset.
Leader: Bob Cumming. Meet at 1:30 pm in the Sunnyside parking lot at the foot of Windermere Avenue off Lakeshore West. Gull, waterfowl.

Sunday, January 30
Durham Region.
9:00 a.m. – early p.m.
Leader: Rayfield Pye. Meet at 9:00 am at the south-west corner of the Pickering GO Station (Bayly/Liverpool) to car pool if necessary. Waterfowl, gulls, possible winter finches, wintering sparrows and feeder birds.

Saturday, March 5
West Toronto Lakeshore to Burlington.
9:00 a.m. (all day).
Leader: Garth Riley. Meet at 9:00 am at the parking lot at Humber Bay East (south of Lakeshore Boulevard West at Park Lawn Rd) to car pool. Waterfowl, geese, swans.

Saturday, April 30
Leslie Street Spit.
8:00am–all day.
Leader: John Carley. Meet at 8:00 am at the foot of Leslie St at Unwin Avenue (south of Lakeshore Boulevard East). Early migrants, warblers, sparrows.

Sunday, May 1
Oshawa Second Marsh.
8:00 a.m. – early afternoon.
Leader: Tyler Hoar. Meet at 8:00 am at the parking lot at GM Headquarters in Oshawa. Exit from the 401 at the Harmony Rd. Exit (419) in Oshawa. Go south on Farewell St. to Colonel Sam Drive. Turn east onto Colonel Sam Drive and follow to the parking lot at the GM Headquarters. Park in the west parking lot close to the marsh. Little Gulls, shorebirds, warblers.

West Humber field trip: Niagara Gulls

Title: West Humber field trip: Niagara Gulls
Description: Join Join Kevin Shackleton for the West Humber Naturalist club’s annual excursion to the Niagara area. The Niagara River hosts a wide variety of gull species in winter while the surrounding area can be good for Carolinian songbirds, various waterfowl, and even some birds of prey. Pack a field guide, lunch, binos, and a scope if you have one. Be prepared for cold, damp weather and bring enough lunch to get you through the day; there is likely only one stop at Tim’s in the morning and then nothing until late afternoon.

To car pool, meet at Vellore Hall at 6:50 a.m. on Sunday, Nov 28th. Those who want to go directly to the Falls area should head for the parking lot at the greenhouse south of the falls for 8:30. Stops will include the area around the barge, the interior pond, and Chippewa for Carolinian species. After that, we can stop for coffee at Tim’s and work our way downstream to Niagara-on-the-Lake. If time allows, a visit to Van Wagner’s Beach on the way home is possible. Call Kevin at 905-853-6959 if you require further information prior to the trip.
Start Time: 6:50 a.m.
Date: 2010-11-28

Bird Group: Merlin and Peregrine Falcon

Title: Bird Group: Merlin and Peregrine Falcon
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2010-11-10

Ontario Nature Fall Regional Meeting

Title: Ontario Nature Fall Regional Meeting
Description: All club members are welcome to attend. Hosted by the Durham Region Field Naturalists. Location at
the Darlington OPG. Contact: Barbara MacKenzie-Wynia, Central and Northern Regional Coordinator, [email protected] or (705) 424-4399.
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2010-10-30

Where are the Red-headed Woodpeckers in southern Ontario and how can we help them?

“Red-headed Woodpeckers are oft identified by their striking coloring and pugnacious nature. As of late they are recognized for a more infamous reason, their inexplicable and sudden disappearance from the parks and woodlands of Ontario. Barbara Frei, a doctoral candidate from McGill University, will speak about her search for the disappearing Red-headed Woodpecker, factors that may be leading to their declines and the interesting lives of these beautiful birds. Whether you are a conservationist, a local landowner or just a bird lover (or all three!), this talk should amuse and educate you about a local wildlife gem.”

Barbara is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Natural Resource Science at McGill University. Her co-supervisors are Dr. Jim Fyles a forest ecosystem ecologist and professor at McGill University and Dr. Joe Nocera, a species-at-risk research scientist for the MNR and adjunct professor at Trent University. Barbara has extensive field experiences working with birds in several different habitats including species-specific surveys, nest searching and monitoring. She is also a licensed bird-bander since 2006 and has handled and banded >5000 birds of >80 species. Her M.Sc. thesis work focused on Bobolinks and their conservation and management in human modified landscapes. She has also created and given several talks on varying ecology and conservation topics and was a guest on CBC radio on grassland bird conservation in farmlands. She was involved in the inception of the McGill Bird Observatory, the only student created and run bird observatory in North America and served as bander-in-charge since 2006 and as the station coordinator from 2006-2010. She also currently sits on the board of Bird Protection Quebec.

Title: Joint meeting with West Humber Naturalists
Location: Vellore Community Centre
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2010-11-25

Halloween Hike at Lake St. George: Sunday Oct. 24 @ 2:30 pm

Title: Halloween Hike at Lake St. George: Sunday Oct. 24 @ 2:30 pm
Location: Lake St. George
Description: Join the Richmond Hill Naturalists and Oak Ridges Friends of the Environment for a family Hallowe’en hike. This is our annual visit to this historic site, now a TRCA Field Centre not normally open to the public. In the spirit of the season, costumes appropriate to hiking in the outdoors are encouraged and treats will be on hand. The hike will go for an hour and a half or so and the terrain is not too challenging and there will be a scavenger hunt for the youngsters to keep them entertained. The Field Centre is located on the north side of Bethesda just east of Bayview. For more information, contact Jim &/or Sharon Bradley 905-773-7415, [email protected]]

Start Time: 14:30

Date: 2010-10-24

The Appalachians and their Margins: Oct 21, 2010 @ 7:30pm

Please join us for Peter Money’s talk on The Appalachians and their Margins. Peter Money, a Toronto Field Naturalist, retired geologist and expert photographer will share with us some of the Appalachians mountain region, accessible within a few hours drive from Richmond Hill. This ancient system extends from coastal Newfoundland to the northern reach of Florida. Fossils with the oldest known multicellular life are found there. This area has an impressive array of living fauna from puffins and moose to salamanders, pelicans and armadillos and many flowering plants.

When: October 21, 2010 at 7:30pm

Where: Wallace Hall, Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, 10066 Yonge St. (west side, first block north of Major Mackenzie Drive)

For further information on Richmond Hill Naturalists, contact Marianne Yake, 905-883-3047, or visit the web site http://www.RHNaturalists.ca. Public are welcome. Admission free. Donations accepted.

Fall Harvest Festival: Oct 16 @ 10am

Join Evergreen and the Town of Richmond Hill for this annual local food festival!

Celebrate fall with a feast of fresh, local food, garden activities and community music making. Connect with other gardeners to share tips and tricks, and celebrate the fall harvest. Everyone is welcome! Be sure to bring your own dishes, cutlery, a picnic blanket or lawn chairs and a musical instrument if you can.



When: Saturday Oct 16, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm,

Where: Phyllis Rawlinson Park

Phyllis Rawlinson Park is located on Leslie Street, just north of 19th Avenue. Please head over to the community garden located close to the main park entrance. Click here to view the meeting location. To sign up or for more information, please contact Mildred Ho, Stewardship Co-ordinator, [email protected] or 416-596-1495, x303. Arrive in style! Please consider walking, cycling, taking public transit or carpooling with friends to the event.

RHN Annual Corn Roast: Sept 11, 2010

Join us Saturday for the RHN Annual Corn Roast this Saturday September 11, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Again this year, we are honoured to host this event at Russell Tilt’s home located at:

25 Bridgeford Street South
(West of Yonge Street and South off Centre Street)
Richmond Hill

Baked goods would be appreciated.

The corn roast cost is $5.00 per person. Children under 12 free.

RHN annual membership renewal time. (Reminder $30 single, $35 family)

Please remember to bring a chair, plate, mug, cutlery…and a smile! We look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions please call Marianne at (905) 883-3047

Andy McKinnon: Rouge Park Talk

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

Andy McKinnon is a naturalist and wildlife photographer. He has been fascinated by all kinds of living things since he was a child growing up beside the Don Valley in Toronto. A naturalist for over 30 years, his interest in photography is much more recent.
While most of the kids in his neighbourhood were out playing street hockey, he was exploring the valley and learning about its wild inhabitants. He has an excellent eye for detail and has learned to identify literally thousands of different plants, insects, birds, mammals, and other creatures. He has an interest in different habitats, from wetlands to meadows to forests.
Through spending so much time outdoors observing, most recently in the Rouge Park area of Toronto, he has made unique discoveries. He photographed the most northern occurrence of a map turtle in the Rouge River system, as verified by Bob Johnson of the Toronto Zoo. He also has the first known photographic documentation of Boreal Owls in Rouge Park, and continues to find and identify various species that were previously unknown in the Park.
Please join us to hear more on September 16th at 7:30 p.m. Wallace Hall, RH Presbyterian Church