Monthly Public Meetings of the Hamilton Naturalists' Club

The Hamilton Naturalist's Club meets monthly, September through May, usually on the second Monday of each month. Meetings are held at 7:30 PM, at the Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Rd West, Burlington. (See note about free parking). Come early for social and refeshments.

Monthly Meetings 2007 - 2008
Date	Topic	Speaker
September 10	"Recycling Owls"	Kay McKeever The Owl Foundation
Join Kay McKeever of the Owl foundation as she tells us about her experience ‘recycling’ owls. For over four decades Kay and her colleagues have helped damaged owls return to the wild in one way or another. Kay is a pioneer in the rehabilitation of injured birds and innovative in her use of unreleasable wild birds as breeding stock to replace themselves in the natural world.
October 08	Annual General Meeting and presentation of the Volunteer of the Year Awards plus a brief presentation "Return of the Giants"
The Canadian Chestnut Council (CCC) is currently spreading the word about the history and current status of the American chestnut in Canada. Pleased join Kelly Schafer, CCC Outreach Coordinator CCC Director Douglas McKeen, as they introduce us to the history, biology, and blight affecting this species. They will bring us up to date and tell us how we can participate in the ambitious recovery strategies underway to restore these giants to their former glory in our landscape.Presentation Overview (pdf) In preparation for the AGM, the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended April 30, 2007, are available online.
November 19	"Peregrine Falcons in Ontario - A Success Story"	Brian Ratcliff
Brian Ratcliff is a Thunder Bay based wildlife biologist whose has conducted research on threatened and endangered species. He has studied Burrowing Owls, Baird's Sparrows, American White Pelican, and Bald Eagles in Manitoba, and also built the Manitoba Wildlife Rehabilitation Organization facility at Glenlea, Manitoba. Currently his work has been on natural history inventories within the Boreal Forest, the proposed National Marine Conservation Area on Lake Superior, and environmental assessments with respect to proposed wind and water power generation. After graduating from the University of Guelph, Brian worked in the Niagara area for Kay and Larry McKeever at the Owl Foundation from 1978-1991. He is a past President of the Peninsula Field Naturalists, and a past Director of the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch. Brian also works for Quest Nature Tours and has led ecoturs to Churchilll, Newfoundland, Cuba, the Canadian Arctic, and Antarctica. Brian has worked on peregrine falcons in Ontario since 1981, initially conducting cliff monitoring in Algonquin Park, and then assisting with urban releases in Toronto, and St. Catharines. Since 1996, he has been the coordinator of Project Peregrine for the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists. Project Peregrine has been monitoring peregrine territories within the Lake Superior Basin, and banding chicks at cliff nesting sites. Brian was hired by the Province of Ontario to coordinate the 2000 and the 2005 Ontario Peregrine Falcon Surveys. Peregrine Falcons in Ontario - A success story. The decline of the peregrine falcon in North America is a tragic story, but due to the efforts of thousands of people this tragedy has turned into one of the most remarkable success stories. Brian Ratcliff will talk about the history of peregrine falcons in Ontario, and the efforts over the past thirty years to re-establish this magnificent bird to the Ontario landscape.
December 10	"Millions of Monarchs Tour to Mexico"	Adrienne Brewster Curator, Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory, Cambridge ON
Adrienne Brewster is the Curator at Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory located in Cambridge, Ontario. Adrienne is immersed daily in the world of butterflies. In addition to her continuing research projects, curating exhibits, and public outreach programs, Adrienne has a keen interest in Monarch conservation and heads up the annual tagging program held at Wings of Paradise to help track the migration of Monarch butterflies and leads an 8 day tour into the Monarch overwintering Sanctuaries in Mexico each spring. Adrienne enjoys traveling and is a seasoned "bug-watcher" with expeditions into the wilds of Ecuador, Brazil, Belize, Costa Rica and Mexico. Adrienne's most recent exhibit, currently displayed at Wings of Paradise is titled 'Moths Magnified' and showcases larger than life photographs of colourful Ontario moths. The goal of exhibit is to dispel the myth that all moths are brown and boring with the hope of generating a greater appreciation for the beauty of our moths and the important role they play in nature's web of life. Adrienne holds both her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Entomology, obtained from the University of Guelph. The focus of her Master's thesis involved mark-recapture studies to determine the longevity of tropical butterflies and she also investigated inducing reproductive diapause in butterflies through hormone control. Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory is located in Cambridge Ontario and houses 2000-3000 tropical free-flying butterflies at any given time. Our butterflies are native to Costa Rica and the Philippines and we exhibit over 40 different species including the Blue Morpho, the Owl Butterfly and the Atlas moth. During the first half of the presentation you will be introduced to the flora and fauna of the Conservatory including not only the butterflies, but also plants, birds, and other animals. The second portion of the presentation will introduce you to the world of the Monarch butterfly. Every fall, the Monarch butterfly begins a long distance migration to Mexico where it overwinters in massive clusters containing millions of Monarchs. Through this presentation you will learn why and how the Monarch migrates to Mexico. In March, Adrienne Brewster will lead a tour into the overwintering sanctuaries of the Monarch butterfly located in Mexico and photos of the tour from last year will be shared. Those interested in joining the tour in March 2008 can learn more at www.wingsofparadise.com.
January 07	"The Adventures of Making a Field Guide"	Fiona A. Reid Tour Guide, Author and Illustrator of the Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America
Fiona A. Reid spent many years capturing small mammals and drawing them from life for her new book: A Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America. An accomplished writer and artist, she has written and/or illustrated numerous guides, including A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico, The Golden Guide to Bats of the World, Bats of Papua New Guinea, and Mammals of the Neotropics (volumes 1-3). Fiona is a Departmental Associate in Mammalogy at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at the Royal Ontario Museum. She has led nature tours for the past two decades, showing ecotourists the mammals and other wildlife of diverse lands from Indonesia to Alaska and Venezuela. She lives on the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario with her husband and two children. Nature into Art: the making of a field guide.In this talk Fiona explains how and why she traveled all around the USA and Canada catching, studying, and painting live mammals to create the plates in her new book: A Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America. The talk provides some natural history information on a variety of North American mammals, as well as entertaining stories of trapping adventures from Arizona to BC. It is illustrated primarily with Fiona's artwork and field studies.
February 11	"Your Garden Matters: Understanding the role of planted occurrences of native plants in conserving Carolinian floral diversity"	David Morris, PhD Candidate Deptartment of Geography, University of Waterloo
Planted Cucumber Tree David Morris is a PhD candidate biogeographer at the University of Waterloo. His academic interest is in the conservation of floral diversity in settled landscapes, particularly the Carolinian zone. His passion, however, is for Carolinian trees, which he grows on his property near Jerseyville and his farm along the Grand River near Brantford. He is involved with several conservation organizations, including currently serving as a member of the Carolinian Woodland Recovery Team and a director of Tallgrass Ontario. Despite their rather modest, almost quaint connotations, gardens can play a critical role in the conservation of species in settled landscape like those of the Carolinian zone. Many studies have shown that backyard gardens are essential for the effective movement of wildlife through urban and suburban areas. They can also provide habitat for many animal species, including birds, at least some of the time. Too often, though, the role of the plantings within gardens in the conservation of native plant species is overlooked. For example, the intensive management that is typical of gardens can also allow the continued persistence of genetic lines from populations that are either threatened or have already disappeared. Through pollen and seed dispersal, garden occurrences of native plants are able to interact with surrounding remnant populations. Garden Green Dragon As long as garden plants are not created by diminishing natural populations, garden plantings of native plants can play a an important part in maintaining the viability of existing populations of the plants. Understanding the Role of Planted Occurrences of Native Plants in Conserving Carolinian Floral Diversity. The societal benefits of native plantings are, perhaps, almost as important to the conservation of Carolinian species as their ecological benefits. They create a living memory of the biological diversity that is part of our natural heritage. This can be important for encouraging popular support for the conservation of remaining fragments of natural cover. Unfortunately, the nature and extent of the planted populations of Carolinian plants is poorly understood. For example, it is important to understand the diversity within the planted population to ensure that the variety within the natural populations is represented. Exploring the nature of these planted occurrences of native Carolinian species is part of my on-going research.
March 10	"Water Quality and Source Water Protection"	Dr. Bahar SM, P. Eng Conservation Halton
Bahar SM, P.Eng., PhD, received a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 1986. His academic background also includes a Master of Engineering on Hydraulic & River Engineering and a Doctor of Engineering on Hydraulic Engineering from Hiroshima University, Japan. Bahar has worked for the last 16 years in the Semi- Government Office (Water Development Board, under the Ministry of Water Resources, Bangladesh), Post Doctoral Research, consulting and construction industry. He has experience with hydrologic data analysis, hydrologic and water quality modeling, hydraulic design, and the preparation of feasibility reports for flood control, drainage and irrigation projects including coastal and river hydro- dynamic and sediment transport modeling. Surface water quality is analyzed for the Hamilton watershed, which includes Spencer Creek and Cootes Paradise Basin, Red Hill Creek, Stoney Creek Watercourse and Stoney Creek watersheds. Provincial and federal water quality objectives and guidelines are typically used to evaluate whether stream water quality meets certain targets. The Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network (PWQMN) data has been analyzed to acquire details of the water quality's existing conditions and long-term trends. This analysis includes major water quality parameters, such as nutrients, major ions/anions, metals, routine chemistry, bacteria and temperature, to characterize the water quality in the watershed. In addition to the PWQMN data, the Halton-Hamilton Source Protection Region has also collected water quality samples at 36 field stations in the Halton and Hamilton watersheds to analyze major water quality parameters this past summer. At each of the water quality sampling stations, during the sampling event, discharge and water quality field parameters were also collected. These field parameters were collected with an YSI QS600 Sonde at the same location as the water quality samples, following the PWQMN sampling protocol. Discharge was collected using the 6/10 method and following the TRCA Baseflow Measurement Protocol. The PWQMN active/inactive station data analyses indicate that the Hamilton Harbour watershed has elevated nutrient, metal and bacteria concentrations. Nitrite concentrations were high, exceeding the CEQG in the Spencer Creek, Red Hill Creek and Grindstone watersheds. Throughout the Hamilton Harbour watershed, total phosphorous concentrations have exceeded the provincial objectives. The cumulative phosphorous loading from each of the major watersheds is a concern. Trend analysis shows that nitrate concentrations are increasing and elevated levels of this parameter are a concern in the major watersheds. Most of the metals analyzed have elevated concentrations and often exceeded the MOE objectives. These metals were copper, lead, zinc, iron and aluminium.
April 07	Presentation by the author of "Silence of the Songbirds"	Bridget J. M. Stutchbury Department of Biology, York University
Bridget Stutchbury is a professor of biology at York University in Toronto where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology. Ovenbird She is author of Silence of the Songbirds which was a finalist for the 2007 Governor General's Award in non-fiction. Her research focuses on the behaviour, ecology and conservation of songbirds. Migratory songbirds: canaries in the mine? Since the 1980s, Bridget Stutchbury has studied migratory songbirds like the Hooded Warbler, Purple Martin, Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush. In her presentation, she follows songbirds to their wintering grounds in Latin America and back to their breeding grounds in North America to understand what challenges they face along the way. Stutchbury explains why so many species of our beloved songbirds are threatened by habitat loss and pesticides. She also teaches us how we can make the world safer for songbirds.
May 12	"Natural Treasures of Carolinian Canada"	Lorraine Johnson Author
Lorraine Johnson writes books about gardening with native plants, including 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants, and The New Ontario Naturalized Garden. She is the editor of the recent collection of essays, The Natural Treasures of Carolinian Canada. Lorraine Johnson's illustrated presentation, The Natural Treasures of Carolinian Canada, will explore the unique flora and fauna of the Carolinian region of southwestern Ontario. She will also focus on how gardeners can incorporate many interesting and beautiful Carolinian plants in home landscapes.

Parking at RBG

The automated parking machines have been removed from the RBG headquarters parking lot and parking is now free in this lot all year.