Owen Sound Field Naturalists: AGM Highlights, Award Winners, Bruce Birding Club Updates & More
From nesting turtles at Wiarton to a rare Black Tern at Boat Lake, plus club awards and John Bittorf's retirement from Grey Sauble Conservation.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
The Owen Sound Field Naturalists (OSFN) held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 11, which included taking care of club business, and updating the Board of Directors — adding new ones, and thanking those who had completed their terms.
The 2026-2027 slate includes Co-Presidents Bella Waterton and Paul Scriver, who conducted the meeting, plus incoming Vice-President Jenna McGuire; Treasurer Warren Steckle; Secretary Jeannine Kralt; Young Naturalists Coordinator Amanda Eriksen; plus Directors-at-large Marsha Courtney, Diane Lawler, Sarah McComb-Turbitt, and Mike Goodwin.
Programming of monthly speakers and field trips will be handled by Lee McArthur and Amy Darrell.
Appreciation was expressed to Past President Brendan Mulroy, as well as outgoing directors Michael Rankin, Kathleen Pierce, and Lloyd Lewis.
The meeting also included award presentations:
1. Former President Kate McLaren presented the OSFN Community Conservation Award to Norah Toth in special recognition of her outstanding efforts, publishing the Hart’s Tongue Herald (club newsletter) and general communications, along with her involvement with Stewardship Grey Bruce, and the Huron Fringe Birding Festival.
2. The OSFN Honourary Life Membership Award went to David Morris, in recognition of his valuable contributions to the Publications Committee, as well as his many teaching moments during field trips and presentations to the club over the years.
I was always impressed with the way he educated himself on various topics, and then very effectively shared that knowledge with those in attendance, with his sense of humour always close to the surface too.
Unfortunately, David Morris was in failing health at the time of the AGM, so this award was given to him on June 10 by Barbara Palmer. Sadly, David Morris passed away on June 24. Our sincere condolences to David’s family and friends.
Following the AGM, guest speaker Research Scientist Todd Morris (no relation) conducted an excellent tutorial on freshwater mussels and techniques being used to help recover endangered or extirpated populations in Ontario.
Bruce Birding Club wraps its spring season on the peninsula
The Bruce Birding Club wrapped up its spring session on June 17 with a tour of favourite locations on the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula. Here are some highlights from Coordinator James Turland:
We enjoyed perfect weather for the BBC’s last hike of the season. We started our day with chimney swifts circling high overhead in Wiarton and ended with Black Terns at Boat Lake.
At the Wiarton Lagoons, we encountered an interesting sight: a large Snapping Turtle laying her eggs in a gravel mound at the municipal yard. Several Wilson’s Snipe winnowed overhead, and an Osprey was spotted carrying something in its talons. As it came closer, we could see it was carrying a stick, which it placed on a nest high above us on a cell tower.
At Wiarton Harbour, my favourite moment of the day occurred when a female Common Merganser allowed all of her young to ride on her back as she gently shepherded them away from our encroachment. Out on the bay, we also found a lone Common Loon among the many Double-crested Cormorants.
At Isaac Lake, turtle nesting season was clearly in full swing. Another remarkable sight was the abundance of Mourning Cloak caterpillars. Some participants were also rewarded with views of a Black-billed Cuckoo.
As we picnicked at Berford Lake Park, we were entertained by the sweet song of a Winter Wren. At Skye Lake, we heard Marsh Wrens calling, bringing our total to four wren species for the day. Typical of wrens, they were much easier to hear than to see.
At Boat Lake, the remaining participants were rewarded with views of a Species of Special Concern. Black Terns require large wetlands, build floating nests, and are highly sensitive to fluctuating water levels, boat wakes, and habitat loss.
Our personal final stop of the day produced another Bruce Peninsula specialty: Brewer’s Blackbird. North Diagonal Road remains the most reliable location to find them this year, and seeing this species provided a fitting conclusion to our last outing of the season.
Thank you to everyone who joined together throughout the season and helped create so many wonderful memories. Enjoy your summer, and we can look forward to our first hike of the fall season on Wednesday, September 4.
Summer’s arrival along the trails
I have certainly enjoyed the transition from spring to summer, especially many large yellow Tiger Swallowtail butterflies when they visited and blended into the very ‘yellow-looking’ linden trees in flower near us.
Random sightings of Cedar Waxwings have also been a bonus for me when out for a run or even a walk on nearby trails.
It has also been a treat to observe several patches of Wild Asparagus leafing out, plus the lovely blue Chicory flowers, and then discover the aromatic flowers of both the yellow and white varieties of Sweet Clover along a cycling route.
Bittorf retires from Grey Sauble Conservation after four decades
Congratulations to John Bittorf on his recent retirement from Grey Sauble Conservation, after four decades of attention to the local watershed. He graciously helped out with our Young Naturalist events and also with a benthic-themed field trip before that.
I am very glad I invited him to speak about water monitoring and forecasting to OSFN in April 2025, and his presentation is on our YouTube channel.
Nature-themed art around Owen Sound
To close, a reminder that there is plenty of wonderful nature-themed art to check out that is currently on display at the Owen Sound Artists’ Co-op, along with paintings by Marie Knapp at the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library, watercolours by Jane Burns at the Grey Gallery, and at the Ginger Press, a number of paintings by the celebrated wildlife artist Frank de Matteis.
Be sure to pay each of them a visit or two!
Thank you to sponsors of The Owen Sound Current Writers’ Fund, who make these community contributions possible. Contributions from the community do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
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