Pickering Naturalists

In our meeting on June 4, Kevin will show us some of the wild and wonderful birds he saw in Australia, like this Pink Cockatoo!

Many of you love the spring chorus of frogs… the Spring Peepers, Green Frogs, Chorus Frogs and sometimes Bullfrogs, one of the wonderful signs of spring. But perhaps you have noted that the iconic Chorus Frog song is seldom heard any more around the GTA. And in fact their numbers have seriously decreased and they continue to disappear. Luckily there are conservationists working to help them. Our speaker this week is one of them, Cayla Darling, working for Blazing Star Environmental.

The Western Chorus Frog is a tiny frog species experiencing dramatic population declines across much of its range in Ontario.
The Western Chorus Frog Friendly program provides private landowners with the opportunity to learn how to steward, restore, and create habitat for this species on their properties. Learn about the biology of this frog, the threats they're facing, and how you can earn a WCF Friendly Designation for your property, workplace, or business.

Sharing this post from Steve Laforest:
Conservation friends,
I have recently received the very sad news that Rob Nisbet passed away on Feb. 19, at the age of 76.
Rob was one of the founders of Pickering Naturalists, and held many roles on the executive over the years. He also wrote a great many newsletter articles in our early years. Rob was actively involved in numerous major projects of the club, including banding of Northern Saw-whet Owls at Lynde Shores Conservation Area, Loonwatch, the Mid-winter Waterfowl Inventory, Pickering Naturalists Christmas Bird Count, among others.
A celebration of life, tentatively scheduled for March 21st, will be held in Cobourg. Additional details will be posted on Facebook in the coming days.
Please contact me if you have any anecdotes, clippings, or photos that you would like to share, and I will ensure that the family receives them.
Steve
Steve LaForest
Past President
Pickering Naturalists
[email protected]
This photo of Rob was taken by our friend Max Skwarna at the Pickering Naturalists 40th anniversary celebrations.

Jan took this excellent photo of a handsome visiting male Eastern Towhee last Monday. They are usually found in the southeastern U.S. this time of year!