Professor Jeremy McNeil speaking at Sept 14 meeting
The Monarch has Landed
Following the flight of the Monarch
Are they there yet?
Every September as autumn sets in and the long days of summer fade to memory, a great mystery is set in motion that begins right here along Lake Erie and ends in a central Mexican forest.
The Monarch migration is one of the most fascinating and least understood animal migrations. Unique among insects, the butterfly will travel as many as 3,000 kilometers from Canada and across the continental United States to reach their winter home in Mexico.
The butterfly, here in Canada, that begins the migration has never before made the trip. More intriguing, the butterflies return to the same forests, and even the same trees, from which the journey north began as many as four generations earlier. How the monarch navigates to a precise location unknown to it, is a mystery science would like to unravel.
One scientist working on the case is Dr. Jeremy McNeil at UWO in London.
A distinguished scholar and scientist, he has “recently become involved in a study on the monarch butterfly, addressing the question ‘how do they know when to stop on the southward fall migration to Mexico?’”.
Dr. McNeil, the Helen Battle Professor in the Department of Biology, is one of Canada’s leading insect experts, and he will be in Port Burwell on September 14th to discuss the monarch butterfly and the wonderful mysteries that surround this most recognizable of insects. He will be at the Port Burwell Public School, at 7:30 p.m., for a free talk, open to the public, at the invitation of the Otter Valley Naturalists Club.
The Otter Valley Naturalists promote awareness and education of our natural habitat with a focus on the Otter Valley and the north shore of Lake Erie. They conduct regular walks, host speaking engagements, and participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count. They are members of The Federation of Ontario Naturalists and they meet on the second Monday of each month at the Port Burwell Public School.
Future Dates and Other Info
Here are a few key points from the recent exec meeting held on July 16th:
- We will have to pay base fees (~$25) for each school usage in the fall.
- 2009 Meeting Dates will be: Sept 14, Oct 13 (tues), Nov 9, Dec 14 (discuss CBC approach), CBC on Dec 20 (our Dec 12th outing will be a trial CBC run).
- Speakers will be arranged for about each second meeting date.
- 2010 Meeting dates will be: Jan 12, Feb 9, Mar 9, Apr 13, May 11, June 8 (AGM).
- Limit raffle items on meeting nights to a max of 5 items. Remind members to think ahead for raffle items. On speaker nights consider a 50/50 draw to save time.
- Membership fees will be due in September; for members after Jan 1 the fee will be prorated.
- Ron will host a Moth Night at Monarch Landing in August – notify members of date/time (David Bedell contact).
- Monarch butterfly tagging at Ron’s on Sept 9, 12, 16 and 20 between 11:30 and 14:00 o’clock.
- Butterfly ID date to be set.
- Fall Outings will be late August Fall Migrant Watch; September 19 Hawk Watch (hopefully at Frans’s; October Fall colours Walk.
Long-distance travellers: migratory birds defy the odds – Tillsonburg News – Ontario, CA
On a balmy Sunday afternoon in early April, an adult male purple martin returned from its Latin American wintering grounds to the martin house we installed two years ago. Even though our Long Point area home on the Lake Erie shore is part of Ontario’s “South Coast” and is relatively mild for Canada, this date is particularly early for the return of these handsome insect eaters.
After a few quick circles overhead, the purposeful martin made a beeline for the 16-hole martin house. Based on its behaviour, we’re certain it is from one of the half dozen pairs of martins, which nested here last year. It may even be one of the initial pair that nested in 2007. Within hours, a second advance guard arrived – a sub-adult male likely hatched at the site last summer.
via Long-distance travellers: migratory birds defy the odds – Tillsonburg News – Ontario, CA.
Sheep getting smaller in Scotland due to climate change, study says – Los Angeles Times
Along with polar icecaps and sandy beaches, sheep on a remote Scottish island are gradually shrinking as a result of global warming, according to a study published today in the journal Science. The finding offers unusual proof that large animals are already evolving to adapt to changes wrought by climate change, experts said.
via Sheep getting smaller in Scotland due to climate change, study says – Los Angeles Times.
London Free Press – Local News- A river ran through it
Waterfowl may have less water than when the dam is operating, but that doesn’t matter as long as there’s some water in the river, she says.
The lower, free-flowing river “is probably helping the diving ducks, because they can see the fish in the water,” Quinlan says.
The Trumpet of the Swan | Orion Magazine
As I closed the book, it seemed I had been chasing those swans all my life, though I’d long ago forgotten what I was pursuing. When I became an adult, I’d moved to Montana as soon as possible. I wrote natural history for a living. I had an abiding faith that quiet and observant was the way to be. But I’d never caught a glimpse of the actual birds. I wanted to go back, to retrace White’s steps through the Red Rock Lakes. Not at all a birder in a field-guide, life-list kind of way, I would borrow a spotting scope, ignore unscripted mice, and see the real swans this time.
BSC Holds Ontario-Wide Chimney Swift “Blitz”
BSC Holds Ontario-Wide Chimney Swift “Blitz”
18 June 2009 – Each evening as dusk approaches, you may notice small birds chirping overhead, circling tall chimneys. If these birds are cigar-shaped, with relatively long pointed wings and a quick, jerky flight – and if they dive at (and then into) a chimney around sunset – you likely have Chimney Swifts in your neighborhood.
BSC is inviting Ontario residents to help look for Chimney Swifts next weekend, as part of a province-wide “blitz.” Volunteers in communities throughout Ontario will spend an evening watching a local chimney or similar manmade structure for signs of swifts. The goals are to increase our knowledge of Chimney Swift activity, and to raise awareness of the plight of the Chimney Swift, a federally Threatened species whose population has declined in Canada by 96% over the last 40 years.
You can help researchers investigate Ontario’s Chimney Swift population, and identify important Chimney Swift habitats, by choosing a single night between June 26-28, and watching a chimney that may have swifts .
Start your monitoring period 20 minutes before sunset, and continue until you see the last bird entering the chimney. Email your findings, including the location of your chimney, and the total number of birds you saw entering it (even if this number is zero) to wheeler@birdscanada.org
Observatory – Filming the Flight of a Winged Maple Seed – NYTimes.com
An acorn may not fall far from the tree, it’s true, but the same can’t be said for a maple seed, with its distinctive wing shape. As it falls, the heavier nut end of the wing causes it to whirl in the air, slowing its descent and allowing the wind to carry the seed, sometimes as far as a mile or more.
via Observatory – Filming the Flight of a Winged Maple Seed – NYTimes.com.
How a hummingbird in love can move faster than a fighter jet – Science, News – The Independent
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Actually it’s a bird that flies faster than a plane, relatively at least.
The dramatic courtship dive of a small hummingbird has been found to be the quickest aerial manoeuvre in the natural world for an animal compared to its size. It even outpaces the movements of a jet fighter and the Space Shuttle on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
via How a hummingbird in love can move faster than a fighter jet – Science, News – The Independent.
