BLUE HERON WINTER 2025
The Winter 2025 issue of The Blue Heron can be reached by clicking on the following image.
MEMBERSHIPS NOW PAYABLE BY e-TRANSFER
You can now use e-transer to pay your Nature Barre Membership fee.
if you would like to become a member of Nature Barrie or to renew an existing membership, please complete the fillable pdf and return by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Membership dues can be paid:by e-transfer, details here. , OR
by mailing a cheque to Nature Barrie, P.O. Box 1084, Barrie ON L4M 5E1, OR
by paying cash or cheque at the next monthly meeting.
Upcoming Meetings Fall 2025/WINTER 2026
The following dates have been reserved for the Fall 2025/Winter2026 meetings
September Joint Meeting of area Nature Clubs. Date and location TBD
October 17
November 21
December 20 Barrie CBC and Potluck Dinner
January 16
February 20
March 20
April 17 AGM and Potluck Dinner
Northwest Barrie United Church, 464 Ferndale Drive North, Barrie and start at 7:30pm. Meetings are held in Westennial Hall at the back of the church. Park in the big lot off of Horsfield Drive
Remember to "LUG-A-MUG" for your beverages.
THE BUSINESS PORTION OF THE MEETINGS START AT 7:00 PM WITH THE SPEAKER TO FOLLOW. DOORS WILL BE OPEN AT 6:45 PM.
Upcoming Field Trips Spring 2025
THE LAST FLING FOR SPRING
EXPLORING THE GEORGE LANGMAN SANCTUARY
SATURDAY JUNE 14
Ontario's Third Breeding Bird Atlas
Calling all Simcoe County and area Birders!
Ontario’s third Breeding Bird Atlas is set to kick off in the spring of 2021, and we’re looking for birders to make this the most successful effort yet.
The atlas is a five year project intended to document the presence and distribution of all the birds that breed in the province, and to provide data on their relative abundance. Previous atlases were undertaken from 1981 to 85, and 2001 to 2005. Ontario is one of the first jurisdictions anywhere to begin its third atlas, providing valuable information on population and distribution trends over time.
Data is collected by citizen scientists (volunteers like you and me) in the field. The entire province is divided into 10km x 10km squares. The goal is to achieve a MINIMUM of 20 hours of birding effort in every square, recording the birds observed during the breeding season, and documenting evidence of breeding (nest-building, courtship display, feeding young, etc). In addition, volunteers are asked to complete 25 point counts where all the birds seen and heard at specified points in the square are recorded.
I’m the Regional Coordinator for the Simcoe County atlas region. To assure coverage, I am assigning a birder to each square in the region. This person will ensure that the minimum effort is met in that square. It doesn’t mean others can’t submit records for the square, and it doesn’t mean that the person assigned a square can’t do atlassing elsewhere. 20 hours spread over 5 years is not a huge effort. It could be completed with one visit every year, although the more time spent in the square the better. Personally I find it’s a great way to give you incentive to get out there, sharpen your birding skills, and discover lovely new birdy spots in your square.
Ideally I’d like the birders I recruit to “adopt” a square to be experienced. By that I mean be familiar with most of the birds likely to breed in the region, and be proficient with at least the more common bird songs likely to be encountered. If you are a more novice birder, or unsure of your skills, there will still be lots of opportunity to participate and to sharpen your skills.
More information including detailed protocols and data collection software is available at the atlas’ website at https://www.birdscanada.org/birdmon/onatlas/main.jsp
Most importantly, register at https://www.birdscanada.org/birdmon/onatlas/register.jsp
If you think this is for you, contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. If you have a square you would particularly like to adopt or a general region of interest let me know; I will try to accommodate. Remember though, if your favourite birding spot is in a square assigned to someone else, you are still more than welcome to provide data. This really is a fun project for those of you who, like me, love to get out in nature and have an interest in birds. Good birding! Ian Cook
Lyme Disease in Ontario
Brochure author John Scott and his wife Catherine (Kit), have been researching Lyme and ticks since 1990. For more information on Lyme Disease in Ontario, click this link.
Bird Friendly Barrie
A link to the City of Barrie's Bird Friendly City web site
Barrie was certified as a Bird Friendly City on June 16, 2022. A Bird Friendly City is a community where key threats to birds are effectively mitigated, nature is restored so native bird populations can thrive, residents are actively engaged in admiring and monitoring local bird populations, and organizations are creating events to protect birds..
