CONC June 2012 Newsletter - 1 The Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club Newsletter www.okanangannature.org June 2012 Tuesday, 12th June 2012 Join us for our Annual Pot Luck Picnic to be held at Bertram Regional Park Do come and enjoy a pot luck at this beautiful lakeshore park that is located the end of Lakeshore road (almost). Bring chairs plates cutlery and something to share. The Gazebo has been reserved. Peg and Bill Emigh invite you to walk the Boulder Trail. Meet at 1 pm in the Okanagan Mountain Park parking lot. BOCCE Tournament at 4 pm Bertram Park. Never played - this is your chance to learn. Please bring BOCCE balls if you have a set. There will be a short meeting about the Midsummer Madness Camp at Ashcroft at 4:30 pm. Note from the Editor There will be no newsletter in July and August. Deadline for the September newsletter will be 28th August. Our website is out-of-date because it is undergoing some changes. Hopefully the new website will be up and running shortly. The URL will not change, it will still be: www.okanagannatureorg. INDEX Club Information ................................................. May Meeting Minutes ........................................ Turtle Sightings ................................................... Birding Report ..................................................... The President's Report ....................................... Motion Regarding the Spending of Funds ........ Good News for birders and fish .......................... Whitebark Pine .................................................... Letter from Friends of the South Slopes ........... 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 8 Have a Great Summer See you at the next meeting, 11th September 2012 Check out: Wild at Heart - A Century of Conservation in the South Okanagan. Where: The Penticton Museum, 735 Main Street, Penticton, until 30 August 2012 Field Trip with Scott Alexander at the BC Nature AGM in Kelowna Smelling the Ponderosa vanilla Wolf Lichen If you take some interesting pictures from CONC outings this summer please let Bitten Tisdale know [email protected]
Transcript
CONC June 2012 Newsletter - 1
The Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club Newsletter
www.okanangannature.org June 2012
Tuesday, 12th June 2012
Join us for our Annual Pot Luck Picnic to be held at
Bertram Regional Park
Do come and enjoy a pot luck at this beautiful
lakeshore park that is located the end of Lakeshore
road (almost). Bring chairs plates cutlery and
something to share. The Gazebo has been reserved.
Peg and Bill Emigh invite you to walk the Boulder Trail.
Meet at 1 pm in the Okanagan Mountain Park parking
lot.
BOCCE Tournament at 4 pm Bertram Park. Never
played - this is your chance to learn. Please bring
BOCCE balls if you have a set.
There will be a short meeting about the Midsummer
Madness Camp at Ashcroft at 4:30 pm.
Note from the Editor
There will be no newsletter in July and August. Deadline for the September newsletter will be 28th August. Our website is out-of-date because it is undergoing some changes. Hopefully the new website will be up and running shortly. The URL will not change, it will still be: www.okanagannatureorg.
INDEX Club Information ................................................. May Meeting Minutes ........................................ Turtle Sightings ................................................... Birding Report ..................................................... The President's Report ....................................... Motion Regarding the Spending of Funds ........ Good News for birders and fish .......................... Whitebark Pine .................................................... Letter from Friends of the South Slopes ...........
NEWSLETTER: Editor: Teresa Smith 250-860-9133 [email protected]. Mailing: Norma Coburn 763-4499 Email: Peg Emigh 250- 861-3694, [email protected]. Deadline date for submissions is the fourth Tuesday of each month. Drop off at Second Tyme Around (front desk), corner of Spall and Springfield or email Teresa Smith. Mailing address is, 292 Rio Drive South, Kelowna, B.C . V1V 2B1 WEB: www.okanagannature.org. Webmaster: Teresa M. Smith [email protected] MEMBERSHIP: Rita Frake 250-860-4320 [email protected] Badges: Bill and Peg Emigh 250-861-3694, [email protected]. ANNUAL DUES: single $30, family $42, students $14, includes Newsletter (except January, July & August). Membership form and waiver form can be found on CONC website www.okanagannature.org. Send your name, address, telephone number, email address, waiver form and dues to: CONC Membership, Box 21128, Orchard Park P.O., Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 9N8. Honorary Life Members: Brenda Thomson (2005), Harry Almond (2005), and Muriel Westwood (2010). REGULAR ACITIVITIES All activities are seasonal. If in doubt, check with the contact person. Or phone any of the executive. MONTHLY MEETINGS: Held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, September to June at 7 p.m. in the Evangel Church, 3261 Gordon Drive, Kelowna. Visitors are welcome. Hosts: Bev Thomas 250-762-7610, Liz Daley 250-764-2310. Librarian: Ixara Neilson Programme Coordinator: Les Gyug 250-769-5907 [email protected] BIRDING: Howard Braun 250-768-4339 & Gwynneth Wilson 250-762-6876. Thursday birding trips meet 8 am (Apr-Sep) or 9 am (Oct-Mar) at St. Charles Garnier Church, 3645 Benvoulin Rd. BOTANY: Peter Green 250-765-1737. Friday Botany trips: Meet 9:15 am (departure 9:30 am) at the Apple Bowl* HIKES. (Bring a lunch). For general information call Rick Gee 250-763-0124. All Hikers meet at the Apple Bowl* - Wednesday 9 am Hikes: Meet at 8:45 am at the Apple Bowl.* Contact Sherrell Davidson 250-491-8146 - Wednesday 9:30 am Ramblers: Contact Shirley Fitzpatrick 250-860-1576 or Jeanette Dunagan 250-762-2399 - Weekend Hikes: Saturdays and Sunday. Meet at the Apple Bowl* Times as per schedule. Contact: Rick Gee 250-763-0124 *1555 Burtch Road, the Apple Bowl parking lot, corner of Burtch and Bernard.
OTHER COMMITTEES and KEY CLUB REPRESENTATIVES Conservation Committee Ecological Reserves BC Nature (F.B.C.N.) Library Mildred Wardlaw Nature Trails Young Naturalists’ Club of Kelowna (YNC) Publicity
Don Guild Don Guild Don Guild Ixara Neilson Don Wilson 250-763-8036 and Fiona Flook 250-860-9751 and Bitten Tisdale
250-768-3334 250-768-3334 250-768-3334 Rick Gee 250-763-0124 Pat Westheuser 250-769-6605 250-763-4473
Please bring your own coffee mugs to the meetings.
CONC MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES FOR MAY 8TH, 2012 EVANGEL CHURCH, 3261 GORDON DR.
President, Fiona Flook called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Members and visitors were kindly welcomed. Sightings: Doreen spotted a pair of Harlequin ducks at Bear Creek. Pam saw two Blue-winged Teals on Munson Road; and about ten of them today. A Purple Finch was seen at Duck Lake. Cec Dillabough was happy to see a California Big Horned sheep at Skaha Bluffs. Two Great Horned Owl pairs (each with three chicks) in nests about a mile apart seen at Two Eagles Golf Course. Minutes: Fiona moved to adopt the minutes of the March 13
th
meeting, which was seconded by Joan Madison; motion was passed. Treasurer's Report: Perry reported that all finances are stable and consistent with the last report; with the addition of FBCN registration cheques, approximately $21,500. Old Business:
FBCN AGM: Rita Frake reported a total of 166 registrants; 138 for full events and 156 for the banquet. CONC members are invited to attend any or all of the presentations if there is space available. There are forty seats available for the banquet for those interested. An award will be given to Michelle Hamilton, a great and influential local teacher; the traditional bowl will be given to her as a surprise during the banquet. Pat and Fiona will be bringing a plaque to the school tomorrow for her to hang in her office; two banquet tickets will be given to her at that time as well. Birding checklists have been purchased using the RDCO’s donation money; their logo has been placed on the checklists.
Jasper Camp: George Scotter was reminding all registrants that cancellation at this point will be their responsibility. The cheques were cashed at 8:30am and for those concerned the receipt will be left with Fiona for anyone needing verification. A total of 24 registrants. A friend of George’s volunteered to lead a birding outing on the Friday as long as the sign-up was large enough; two registrants were interested.
Ashcroft Camp (June 22nd
25th
): A reminder that tenting as well as motel rooms should get reserved soon. There will be a potluck dinner on the Friday (22
nd); the shelter has been rented. Peg reported a
special tour will be set up at the Highland Valley Copper Mine if a large group registers. A sign-up sheet will be passed out tonight.
BC Nature Camp in Lillooet (October 1st
– 6th
): Pat and Fiona will be cooking this year. CONC members encouraged to attend.
FBCN Fall Meeting, “Nature by the Salish Sea” (Sept. 27
th – 30
th): All information has been published
in the BC Nature magazine.
Clean Sweep Event (Sunday, April 29th
): Took place at Michael Brook Marsh; with an approximate twenty CONC & YNC members and their families helping out. Next YNC outing will be at Lost Lake, and an overnight camp in Fintry sometime in June.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: Membership: Three new members were welcomed to CONC, including a past member. Birding: Lesley Robertson is selling “The Okanagan Valley Birding Trail” books tonight for anyone interested. Les Gyug gave information about the Okanagan Mountain Critter Count which will be held on May 26
th and 27
th.
Meeting at the Apple Bowl parking lot at 7:30am on both days; Saturday’s trip on the Wild Horse Canyon Trail and on Sunday to Turtle Lakes. Ask Les for more information. Don Wilson spoke about the Baillie Bird-A-Thon and that they have now taken a more “green” initiative and will be conducting the counts as non-motorized as possible. All of the money raised goes to Bird Studies Canada. The count will start at 5:00am and the walk will be similar to the Christmas count, but only doing about half of the route. Gwyneth Wilson will be handing out pledge sheets tonight. Don thanked Gwyneth Wilson, Elkie Fischer, Pam Lang, and Judy Latta, the “Wilson’s Warblers”, for all of their hard work and dedication. 93 species were counted last year. Botany: Peter Green announced the next botany outing, meeting and leaving the Apple Bowl parking lot at 9:30am. Conservation: Don Guild brought attention to the Ministry of Environment’s to make new parks in the near future. He has more information for anyone interested. He also invited and encouraged everyone to attend a public meeting regarding the removal of land from Okanagan Indian Band Chiefs at Robert Lake and some ponds at Hull Road. The meeting will be on Monday at 10:00 am; please ask Don for more information. The city has announced a Knox Mountain Management Plan; they plan on starting at the top, working down. CONC has been asked to help conduct a baseline study. With the idea of having five permanent birding sites, birders to spend ten minutes at each site, and to record the birdsongs. It would also involve a botany survey, as well as documenting percentages of native and non-native plants. Judy Latta was asked to be involved. Hiking: Sherrell Davidson led a hike to Mount Boucherie and 16 went in and only 15 came out! Her next hike destination will be Pincushion Mountain. Shirley Fitzpatrick and the Wednesday Ramblers will be
CONC June 2012 Newsletter - 4
going to the Glen Valley Canyon area, leaving at 9:30am. Rick Gee reported a schedule change: May 19
th hike
destination switched with the June 3rd
hike (Wrinkly Face Cliffs) as they may still be snow in the area. Don Guild mentioned three hikes in Gellatly Bay on Sunday the 27
th.
New Business:
A Butterfly presentation by Denis St. John, with the Garden Club. Presentation at 7:30pm, $2.00 for visitors.
A request for turtle sightings, any information is useful! A study on turtles in the area is being conducted and our help would be appreciated. The contact information will be published in the next newsletter.
Teresa reported that the website is being updated and should be working soon
Jorma Jrrykanen has a large amount of beautiful photos that can be viewed online at jorma-jrrykanen.livejournal.com.
Fiona motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Don Wilson at 7:39pm. Program: The meeting followed with a presentation by Ornithologist Rob Butler, “A Life among Birds”; which was so enjoyable and interesting for everyone. The next meeting will be on June 12
th and will be a potluck
picnic, Bertram Regional Park, 5:30pm.
Turtle Sightings
Orville Dyer with the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (former MOE) in Penticton is interested in turtle sightings.
If you are out and about near wetlands on a warm day, please keep an eye out, and send him:
1. Your name and contact info, and date of survey. 2. Number of turtles (including zero) 3. Type of turtle (Painted/Slider), if you can
Red-slider Turtle
4. Location (UTM/map/google earth pin): names of local ponds don’t work If you are lucky enough to live near or visit a pond where you see turtles regularly, perhaps send him some key information like approximate date you started noticing turtles this year, and maximum number seen (on which day). Here's a link to some information about Western Painted Turtles (http://www.bcreptiles.ca/turtles/westernpaint.htm) - the population in the Okanagan (part of the Intermountain -Rocky Mountain population) is provincially blue-listed & federally listed as Special Concern. Info about the introduced Red-eared Slider:http://www.bcreptiles.ca/turtles/redearslider.htm - the red "ear" patch just behind the eye is the best way to distinguish the Slider from the Painted Turtle. And yes, the Internet says May 23 is apparently World Turtle Day! http://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/international/world-holiday.php
Birding Report by Margaret Bryan
pril 19 I was happy to see both Ospreys sitting on the Benvoulin Road platform as I drove to the
parking lot. We headed to the Westbank Yacht Club. To see Common Mergansers, Wood Duck, Bufflehead and a Pied Billed Grebe. Yellow-headed Blackbirds were sighted at Golde’s Pond. At Bear Creek we sighted a young Bald Eagle. A murder of American Crows were mobbing a Common Raven. We had a walk at Lake Okanagan Resort where we saw a Red-naped Sapsucker, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Brewers Blackbirds. Overhead we had an adult Bald eagle, Turkey Vulture and Osprey. We also saw seven Mule Deer. On the road home we saw California Bighorn Sheep.
Even though we had almost a month's worth of rain in one day a few hardy birders headed out on April 25. We checked the mouth of Mission Creek from Bluebird Road and saw a Spotted Sandpiper, Northern Pintails and Northern Shovelers. Nothing was to be seen at Maude Roxbie so we retreated to a long coffee break before checking Robert Lake. We saw a Dunlin in full breeding plumage-a real treat in this area. Several Male Yellow-headed Blackbirds were near the parking area. American Avocets and Least Sandpipers were on the mudflats. Overhead Violet-green and Rough-wing swallows were swooping and diving.
On May 3 the weather was still overcast and a bit cool but we still had 14 birders show up. First we took as short walk at the Harvard Road entrance to Bellevue-Myra Park. Large numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers were around as well as a number of loud, active Northern Flickers. A Spotted Towhee posed on a bare branch for all to see and a Townsends Solitaire was on the forest edge. A stop at the top of Harvard Road added Vesper Sparrows and Chipping
Sparrows to the list. We traveled on to Balldock road where we saw Brown-headed Cowbirds and a Red-naped Sapsucker. We stopped at Michaelbrook Ranch Golf Course where we
watched Cinnamon Teal on the pond as we drank our coffee. After coffee we walked nearby to look at Brewer's Blackbirds, White Crowned Sparrows and more of the migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers. We drove down to the ponds near the Capital News Center and were treated to an American Kestrel, a
Bald Eagle, A Sharp Shinned Hawk, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and a Ring-necked Pheasant. Black and White Diving Ducks. In our area we have three species of small black and white diving ducks. They are the Common Goldeneye, the Barrow’s Goldeneye and the Bufflehead. All are cavity nesters that will also accept nest boxes. They are closely enough related that hybrid Barrow’s and Common Goldeneye are reported as are hybrids of Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. They feed on small aquatic invertebrates. The largest species of this group at 18.5 inches is the Common Goldeneye. The male has a mostly white back with a black tail. The head is black with a round cheek patch and a tall peaked crown. The female is mostly grey with a chestnut head. Her bill is mostly black with a yellow tip. The Barrow’s Goldeneye is slightly smaller at 18 inches in length. The male has less white on the body with black extending about half way down from the back. This black area is decorated with white spots that are sometimes described as portholes. His head is flat on top and the cheek patch is crescent shaped. The female is mostly gray with a dark chestnut head. Her bill is mostly yellow. The Bufflehead at a length of 13.5 inches is our smallest duck. The male is largely white with a black back. His large head is black with a large white marking on the conspicuous crown. He has a short gray bill. The female is a dark gray-brown with a distinctive oval white cheek patch.
The Presidents' Report by Fiona Flook
he BC Nature Conference and AGM is history and was successful thanks to the great efforts from
volunteers, presenters, wonderful food from the college and good weather. The final finances numbers are not available but there will be a profit, to be shared equally with BC Nature, of around ten thousand dollars. The profit came partly because the college kindly waved any fees for the venue except for catering and janitorial services. Your board has decided to donate part of our profit to the Okanagan College Foundation: $1000 for a bursary.
The rest of the profits will be banked and perhaps it is the time to start planning for a meaningful way to use some our accumulated money. The club is a registered society and as thus should be involved in some projects in keeping with our mandate. Rick’s motion has been approved by the board and it is
presented elsewhere in this newsletter—please give it thought over the summer and your ideas will be discussed at a meeting in the fall.
The board is involved with other projects. From the beginning we were involved with the Knox Mountain Management Plan, in fact were named stakeholders. The formulated plan was accepted by council. CONC has agreed to be involved with a baseline survey of birds and plants. This survey is to be repeated at intervals to monitor the health of the park and the various rehabilitation efforts.
Also artists have been invited to be involved with the Knox Mountain Stakeholders. Nancy Holmes and Denise Kenney, professors at UBCO, have selected artists to work with the internationally renowned eco-art curator Beth Carruthers for a four-day workshop.
T
Spotted Towhee
Dunlin in breeding plumage
CONC June 2012 Newsletter - 6
We will talk with the artists before the workshop and on the last day we are invited to see what they propose. Beth Carruthers will give a free public talk at the Kelowna Art Gallery on Thursday June 7 at 7pm.
Members will be attending a meeting arranged by the Regional District to discuss the future of Parks and Open Spaces. The district is developing a “discussion
Paper” for helping update the Regional Growth Strategy.
The last get together of our year is our annual picnic at Bertram Park on Tuesday, 12th June at 5:30 pm. Hope to see you then and wishing you an interesting summer with lots of good sightings
Motion Regarding the Spending of Funds.
Whereas the Club constitution states the purposes of the society shall be:
To encourage an interest in all branches of Natural History and to promote the enjoyment of Nature by lectures, discussions and suitable field trips. To stimulate interest in conservation of natural resources. To work for the protection of endangered species and ecosystems. To promote access to and maintenance of natural areas in the vicinity of Kelowna. To undertake and carry out projects in keeping with these purposes of the society.
The activities of the Central Okanagan Naturalists' Club shall be carried on without purpose or gain for its members, and any profits or accretions to the society shall be used in promoting its purposes. This clause is unalterable. Whereas the club has an accumulated surplus which is not being used, Be it resolved that the executive requests club members to identify projects or purposes which fulfil the purposes of the club and/or promote the purposes of the club, projects or purposes which could be funded from the accumulated surplus. Members should convey their ideas to directors before September 1. Normally ideas regarding birding would go to Jorma Jyrrkanen, botany to Peter Green, hiking to Rick Gee or Sherrell Davidson, publicity to Bitten Tisdale, and programs to Les gyug. Other ideas (e.g. library purchases, Young Naturalists) should go to Fiona Flook. Good News for birders.
A team of researchers led by computer scientist Serge Belongie at the University of California, San Diego, has good news for birders: they have developed an iPad app that will identify most North American birds, with a little help from a human user. The app is essentially an interactive field guide, where computer vision algorithms analyze the picture the user submitted, ask questions and call up pages with pictures and information about a bird species that is a likely match. The researchers’ ultimate goal is to fill a gap in the world of online search. Text-driven search, such as Google and Wikipedia, has been wildly successful. But identifying images has so far proven much more difficult. Read the whole story at: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressreleases/computer_scientists_develop_an_interactive_field_guide_app_for_birders/
Good News for Fish
According to the Spring 2012 University of California, Berkeley alumni magazine, California, tuna and marlin populations are surging along Africa's eastern seaboard. While Somali pirates rain terror in this area, capturing trade ships and holding crews hostage for ransom, underwater all is well. The rogue seamen have scared away commercial fishing trawlers as well as tankers dumping toxic waste, both of which formerly devastated the coastal fisheries. The results are so profound that the pirates are now claiming that they are an ad hoc coast guard for Somalia's offshore resources.
Marlin
CONC June 2012 Newsletter - 7
Whitebark Pine Adrian Leslie is concerned about an endangered pine tree that grows in high elevation
forests and at the treeline in the mountains of BC and Alberta. Whitebark pine occupy an important position in sub-alpine ecosystems, helping to stabilize slopes and temper the snow melt, as well as providing food and shelter for many species of wildlife. If this tree were to disappear altogether, the landscape in which it is normally found would be radically altered. In The Nature Conservancy of Canada's property Darkwoods in the Selkirk Mountains, whitebark pine has been found along ridges and the steep, upper slopes of several mountain tops, making them a challenging study subject to work with. Adrian spent the summer and fall of 2011 establishing a research study on Darkwoods that he hopes will help efforts to restore whitebark pine throughout the region.
Whitebark Pine is a pioneer species in high elevation forests, often growing in locations too harsh for other tree species to survive. Whitebark pine is a relative of the tree species that produces pine nuts, and produces similarly sized seeds that are very nutritious and are highly sought after by wildlife including bears, squirrels and birds.
While Adrian was working for Parks Canada, it quickly became apparent that most of these trees were dying due to white pine blister rust, a non-native fungus that infects and kills whitebark pine trees. The results of his study was used to support the listing of whitebark pine as endangered by COSEWIC (The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) as "a high risk of extirpation in Canada." Last year (2011) Adrian began a pilot study to see if restoration techniques he had learnt could be effective, and to begin locating healthy parent trees that seeds could be collected from. He said "This year I hope to expand the efforts and locate more trees, collect more cones and begin restoring whitebark pine on a larger scale."
Adrian explains how he conducts his research: I start by locating healthy whitebark pine trees that are producing cones that I can collect for restoration purposes. In order to collect viable seeds, I place cages over the cones early in the summer to protect them from harvest by wildlife (birds and squirrels). In the fall I return to collect the cones when the seeds are mature. I then set up trials to see if planting the seeds directly in the ground at restoration sites is a viable option (as compared to growing them in a greenhouse, then planting them at the restoration site).
In 2011, I located 40 healthy trees, and collected approximately 40,000 seeds. A subset of these seeds was sent to a greenhouse for testing to see if they are resistant to white pine blister rust, and then for replanting in a few years. Other seeds were planted directly in the ground on Darkwoods, and these seeds will be monitored for several years to see what their germination and survival rate is.
There are four main threats to whitebark pine: (1)The most important one is a fungus that was introduced to North America early in the last century called White Pine Blister Rust, which infects and kills otherwise healthy trees. In many places, it has already infected and killed more than 70 percent of the trees. There appears to be a very low level of natural resistance to White Pine Blister Rust, and the focus of restoration efforts, including this one, is to locate the remaining healthy trees and determine if their offspring is genetically resistant to the blister rust.
(2) The other main threat is mountain pine beetle, which attacks healthy trees just as it attacks and kills lodgepole pine. While mountain pine beetle is native to North America, and pine beetle attacks have occurred historically in whitebark pine, the infestations appear to be more common, widespread and severe recently due to warmer winters which allow pine beetles to survive in higher elevation areas where they would have been killed in the past.
1. (3) Climate change is another threat not only due to increased mountain pine beetle infestations, but also due to a warming climate that allows other tree species to
Adrian Leslie (Photo by NCC)
The seeds of the whitebark pine are an important food source for birds, bears and
other wildlife (Photo by Don Pigott)
Whitebark pine trees have needles in bunches of five (Photo by Richard Sniezko)
survive and compete with whitebark pine. So the net effect is that the suitable habitat for whitebark pine is increasing in elevation, and with increased elevation, there is decreased available land. They will eventually be pushed off the top of the mountains in some locations. (4) The final threat is fire suppression because at lower elevations, whitebark pine requires open ground to successfully germinate and survive, so with decreased fires at high elevations, there is decreased opportunities for regeneration. This is a condensed version of an article Reprinted with permission from the Nature Conservancy of Canada. www.natureconservancy.ca. To read the full article go to the Nature Conservatory website: http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/british-columbia/stories/pining-for-whitebark.html
