The 2002 Annual General Meeting minutes are printed herewith for the upcoming AGM in April.
| LAMBTON WILDLIFE INC. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING APRIL 20, 2002 Venue: Mandaumin United Church at 4:00 p.m. Present: Chairman - Don Smith, Treasurer, Joe Haselmayer, Gord Catterson, Diane Haselmayer, Floyd Elliot, Joan Biggs, Thelma Shaw, Joe Connop, Chris Holding, Gerry Clements, Modris Zandbergs, Ross McMillan, Dorothy Edwards, Alf Rider, George Sunaitis, John Teasell, Dorothy Tiedje, John Tiedje, Ann Smith, Barb Connop, Boyd Snider, Lucy Snider, Neil Biggs, Larry Western, Janet Chalmers, Dorothy Plumley, Pat Catterson, Henry Tiedje, Lois Bremner, Judie Scott, Mary Warkentin. Recording Secretary: Gerry Lloyd resigned in late 2001. It was moved by Don Smith & 2nded by Joe Haselmayer that Rec. Sec. elect, Judie Scott, be appointed to act as secretary for this meeting. Carried. Minutes: It was moved by Joe Haselmayer and 2nded by Dorothy Edwards that the minutes of the April 21, 2001 Annual General Meeting, be accepted as printed in the March 2002 Earthways. Carried. (see Appendix A). Business Arising: Gord Catterson felt that the above minutes did not reflect accurately the continuing involvement by LWI in the management of the Howard Watson Nature Trail. This role has changed little. Bluewater Trails now manages the centre of the trail. LWI holds liability insurance. The City of Sarnia clears a 10 foot path. Treasurer's Report: It was moved by Joe Haselmayer & 2nded by Alf Rider that the Financial Statement for April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002 be accepted as printed. Carried. (see Appendix B). Auditor's Report: It was moved by Don Smith & 2nded by Alf Rider that the firm, BDO Dunwoody, be appointed to audit all LWI accounts at a cost of $2800.00 per year for 3 years to be paid by Carolinian Canada. Carried. President's Report: Don Smith expressed sincere thanks to all who served LWI in any capacity as well as to those who came forward to fill vacancies on the 2002 Board. He emphasized the importance of personal invitations to prospective members, especially young people. Successfully completed and on going projects were mentioned. Don would like to see the establishment of a permanent Outdoor Education Centre. He extended best wishes to the incoming executive. Other Business: The membership renewal system was discussed. There are approx. 225 members now. The Land Acquisition Fund was explained. At present the money will go to acquiring the Maylard property adjacent to the Port Franks Forested Dunes to establish a green corridor necessary for the reintroduction of the Karner Blue butterfly. Elizabeth Tenhoeve explained the talent draw. Adjournment: 5:15 p.m. LWI DINNER MEETING APRIL20, 2002 Welcome: by Chairman, Don Smith Announcements: 10 minute break: Awards: New President: Diane Haselmayer took over the program and thanked Don Smith who had served as president for 2 years. She expressed hope for the future of LWI and its projects and a promise to work hard for the purchase of the Maylard property in Port Franks. Prizes and Raffle: Conducted with enthusiasm by Elizabeth Tenhoeve. The "bucket" draw generated approximately $570.00. Guest speaker: Tom Chatterton was introduced by Gord Catterson and later thanked by Joe Connop. He sketched his recent trip to Australia and illustrated it with excellent slides. |
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The indoor meeting on February 24th featured Tom Bolohan, one of the founders of the Hawk Cliff Foundation. Tom lives in London and presented some excellent slides of polar bears at Churchill, the annual hawk (and other) migration at Vera Cruz (and environs) in Mexico as well as some interesting information on our own hawk migration here in Ontario. His first pictures were of an expedition that he went on during the first week of November in 1990. When he left London he was in shirt sleeves, arrived in Winnipeg to temperatures of -10 and encountered -25 at Churchill where the bears had gathered awaiting the freeze up of Hudson's Bay. He showed a couple of shots of the polar bear jail in Churchill where some 80 bears were awaiting release. These are so called nuisance bears who have to be locked up to keep them away from the town dump site. The group traveled in large wheeled tundra buggies to their camp site some distance to the east at Cape Churchill. The large wheels are necessary to reduce impact on the fragile landscape and they try to keep to the same track each time for the same reason. They bring along sleeping quarters and a dining room and kitchen. The bears are forced to abandon the bay when the ice melts in August and have to wait until mid to late November for it to reform. During this time they get little to eat and lose considerable weight, up to 20% of their body mass. One bear was 290 kg. and dropped to 220 kg. by November. Tom had many great photographs of the bears sleeping, wrestling and just generally hanging out. He said that they had tranquilized one bear for record purposes and that the group was allowed to touch it. He was amazed at how warm the bear felt, even though it was 25 below. (As an aside I once read that polar bears only really get comfortable at about -40.) One very sad picture showed an obviously sickly cub being protected by its mother. Tom said they were told it was unlikely to survive. However the rest of his slides showed the bears engaged in a number of quite humourous antics and poses. The bears were obviously quite curious about these strange looking contraptions and would come right up to the buggies to peer in. As an aside Tom mentioned that there was very little other wildlife, it being limited to the occasional Arctic fox and a few birds such as Ptarmigan, Rough-legged Hawks and Snowy Owls. Next Tom moved on to Mexico where in the first week of October, 1997 he traveled to Vera Cruz to observe one of the greatest hawk migrations in the world. |
It has been estimated that somewhere between 3 and 4.5 million raptors migrate through the area each year on their way to wintering grounds in Central and South America. Due to the topography of this area with mountains to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east the birds are funneled down a quite narrow corridor allowing an unparalleled opportunity for viewing. The migration is not confined to raptors but include other birds such as Wood Storks, White Pelicans, Anhinga, Ibis and Doves. He mentioned that the previous week some 900,000 Broad-winged Hawks had gone through and each year are seen some half million Swainson's Hawks and 200,000 Mississippi Kites.
Tom also showed pictures of many local birds which were observed, some of them quite rare. Amongst these were the Boat-billed Night Heron, White Hawk (a target bird he particularly wanted to see), and a Black-collared Hawk, one of the rarest birds in Mexico. Other birds shown included Black-crowned Night Heron, Hook-billed Kite, Crested Cara Cara, Zone-tailed Hawk, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Snail Kite, Black Vulture, Roadside Hawk, Laughing Falcon (so called because its call sounds like a laugh), Laughing Gull, Magnificent Frigate Bird, Cattle Egret which rides on animal backs and eats insects on the animal (the South African Ox Pecker does the same thing), Aplamodo Falcon, and Great Kiskadee. Finally Tom commented on the Hawk Cliff migration patterns. He stressed that the location of the migration depends very much on the prevailing winds. If it is from the south-west it tends to push the birds further north and west toward the river south of Sarnia while north-west winds favour Hawk Cliff. For example in 1990 with south-west winds Detroit had 600,000 birds, mainly Broad-wings while Hawk Cliff had 10,000. As the birds use thermals (columns of rising warm air) and prevailing winds to assist them, wind direction is critical to where they will be observed. As thanks to Tom for coming on relatively short notice LWI agreed to use his speaking fee to sponsor a page in a new field guide being published in support of the Hawk Cliff Foundation. It will be 40 pages and feature 28 plates of different birds. Tom showed a copy of them and they are quite beautiful. LWI is sponsoring the Turkey Vulture. (Yes, the Kestrel was taken.) For more information on HawkCliff visit their web site at: |
Gord Catterson
For the Birds - Rehabilitation Services
Hello Everyone! Soon another breeding season will be upon us. May 5 has been the arrival date of the babies the past two years. It was a busy season with 236 birds crossing over our doorstep. A couple of interesting species I worked with, chimney swifts and barn swallows, taught me quite a bit. These birds are quite different in every way compared to the others. Being insectivores, they require a special, varied diet. Their aerial maneuvering, acrobats, and fast turns can make you dizzy. After several laps around the house and yard, the swallows I cared for eventually hovered and took food straight from the tweezers in mid-air. A first for me as well as them! Before breeding season arrives, clean out birdhouses, repair holes in garages, etc. and cover chimneys with caps you can purchase at most hardware stores. The chimney caps will not only prevent birds from nesting, but will also stop them from ending up in your fireplace or duct work during the winter. If you notice a nest being built where it isn't wanted such as an eavestrough, dryer or stove vent, discourage them by taking the material down immediately. During the breeding season as well as all year round, keep bird feeders and baths clean. Never add bleach to bath water, no matter how small an amount. Cleaning with anti-bacterial dish soap and rinsing well afterwards works great and isn't harmful to the birds or the environment. For The Birds is a registered charitable organization which issues tax receipts for $10 or more. Donations are definetely needed to continue this year. Although raffle tickets will be sold in the near future, this will not be enough to sustain us. We and our feathered friends thank you! Joan Biggs |