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FIELD TRIPS – SPRING & SUMMER 2012

Val Walker, Field Trip Coordinator Please contact trip leaders before each outing

DATE LEADER MEET FIELD TRIP DESCRIPTION

May 4-7 Don & Vivian Hall Point Pelee Annual Point Pelee Birding & Campout – Group camping at the Point (705) 248-1834 National Park for members previously registered.

Sat Cynthia Suhay 7 am Birds: Early Spring Arrivals –– Rise with the sun for an early morning May 5 (705) 949-3642 Fort Creek bird walk around the Fort Creek Conservation Area trails just off Second Parking Lot Line. If birding is slow here, we may also head over to Wishart Park for a look around. Don’t forget your binoculars.

Sun Mark Crofts 10 am Robertson Cliffs Hike – Join the Voyageur Trail folks for a hike to May 6 (705) 254-2356 Good Life Robertson Cliffs through a recent forest fire burned area and early spring Parking Lot wild flowers. Bring a lunch, water and sturdy hiking boots. (off 2nd Line) Call Mark 254-2356 for details

Sat Dave Euler 7 am Early Morning Whitefish Walk – Join Dave for a morning of birding at May 12 (705) 248-1494 Parks the Sault Locks. May is prime time for migration and we should see as Parking Lot many as 50 species. Stick around for the “Swing into Spring” events beginning with swinging the Emergency Swing Dam into place at 11 am. There will a variety of fun activities, music and displays in the afternoon.

Sun Ev Simon 10 am Naomikong Birds & Botany - Join Ev for a stroll along the trail through May 13 (705) 949-8206 Michigan the Naomikong Swamp. We’ll look for skunk cabbage (Lysichiton Welcome americanus), early spring flowering plants and migrating birds. Bring your Centre wellingtons, it may be wet. And don’t forget your lunch.

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Sat Don & Vivian Hall 8:00 am Bar River Bikes & Birds – Cycling and birding are a perfect fit - cyclists May 19 (705) 248-1834 Wellington can cover ground quickly while clearly seeing and hearing their Square Mall surroundings. A leisurely 15 km of rural roads (mostly paved) through farmland and forest, including a stop at a marsh viewing platform, followed by a pot-luck lunch at Don and Vivian’s. Good chance of Bobolinks, Eastern Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Clay-colored Sparrows and Ospreys. Don’t forget your binoculars and a means of carrying them on your bike. Please call ahead.

Wed Val Walker 6:15 pm Celebrate 100 Whitefish Island Nature Walk – Come out for an evening May 23 (705) 253-7044 Parks Canada of bird watching along the trails and shoreline of the St. Mary’s River. Parking Lot We’ll swing by the court house to check for a chimney swift fly-by. This event is weather dependent. Please call ahead.

Pukaskwa National Park Campout on the Victoria Day Weekend (June 30-July 1) – To reserve a campsite, please call Ev Simon at least 2 weeks ahead (705) 949-8206

Sat Mark Crofts Call Mark for Trout Lake Paddle – Kayak or canoe this lake just north of Sault June 2 (705) 254-2356 meeting place & with the Saulteaux Voyageur Trail Club. This event will also serve as a time warm up to the war of 1812 re-enactment paddle to Fort St.Joe’s later in Ron Prickett the summer for those that are interested. Call Mark for the outing details. (705) 254-1533 Your boat must be equipped with the safety gear required by Coast Guard regulations. Bring a lunch and water.

Wed Tony Walker 6:00 pm Evening Bird Walk – Join Tony with your binoculars and / or scopes for June 6 (705) 759-6151 Loonie Park in an evening of birding at Echo Bay as well as at Pumpkin Point. This Echo Bay outing is weather dependent, so please call ahead.

Sat Dave Euler 10 am Gros Cap Hike - We haven’t been to Gros Cap in a long time, and it was June 9 (705) 248-1494 Market Mall the site of many field trips in the past. We will try to get permission to take a hike on this property. However, if we can’t get permission, we will hike along the Voyageur Trail off Marshall Drive. This is an interesting area as well, for both birds and plants and we will search for the plants and birds of spring. Bring lunch, dress for the weather, and be ready for a good time.

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Sat Carl Linhart 9:00 am Drummond Island &Spring Plants Foray – Take the ferry (approx. June 16 (906) 635-9891 Michigan $12/car and driver and $2/passenger) to this unique and diverse island to Welcome search for interesting alvar plants of the Maxton Plains, including Prairie Ev Simon Centre smoke (Erythrocoma triflora) which should be in bloom. Meta has (705) 949-8206 graciously offered her cabin for gathering and we’ll stop there at lunch time. On our return to the Sault, we check along mainland forested trails and exposed shorelines in the Albany Creek, De Tour area to look for other early spring risers. This will be a long day. Drummond Island is about 2 hours (145 km) south of the Soo. Bring a lunch and fly dope. . Sat Ila Aho 9 am North Channel Paddle- Put in at Desbarats and paddle in and around June 23 (705) 949-1097 Wellington the islands in the channel near the St. Joe’s Island Bridge. We’ll be Square Mall circumnavigating Campement d”Ours Island. Your boat must be equipped with the safety gear required by Coast Guard regulations. Bring a lunch and water.

Sun Ev Simon 10 am Spring Botanizing – Join Ev & Carl for a fern foray to look for many June 24 (705) 949-8206 Michigan different species including the Braun's Holly Fern (Polystichum braunii) an Welcome uncommon fern. We’ll search as well for orchid species and the Carl Linhart Centre threatened Lakeside daisy (Hymenoxys herbacea) in the Brevort Lake (906) 635-9891 area. Bring a lunch. Brevort Lake is approx. 1 hour south of SSM.

Fri Ev Simon Leaving 10 am Pukaskwa National Park (Hattie Cove) Victoria Day Campout- Spend June 30 (705) 949-8206 Friday for the 3 days at this unparalleled wilderness park on , 400 to July 2 park kilometers north of the Sault, near Marathon Ontario. This is a special place of exceptional beauty with more than 1850 square kilometers of boreal forest and rugged Lake Superior shoreline. We will be on the hunt for the Franklin’s orchid (Cypripedium passerinum) and other notable plants. Canoes/kayaks are welcome. You must be self- contained for this venture. Call Ev to reserve a campsite in June, for more details and carpooling options. For entrance and camping fees at Hattie Cove see http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/pukaskwa/visit/tarifs_fees_e.asp?park=25

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Sat Tony Walker 10 am- 2pm Hub Trail Challenge - The Challenge is make your way down to the July 1 (705) 759-6151 Bondar Pavilion on the Hub Trail, rather than by road. Walk, cycle, wheelchair, whatever works for you! En route don’t miss the Sault Donna Naturalists’ natural learning activities in the Fort Creek Conservation Ryckman-Rooney Area. Pick up a card at either end of the Fort Creek trail, answer (705) 945-9821 questions as you go, and earn a chance to win a prize. Draw to be held later in the afternoon at the Bondar Pavilion.

Sat Dave Euler 10 am St Joe’s Orchid Odyssey - The Queen’s Slippers should be blooming July 7 (705) 248-1494 Wellington about the first week in July and it is time to visit them again. We will drive Square Mall to the Naturalist’s property on St. Joe’s Island and return to the place where we found the Showy Orchids (Cypripedium reginae) last year. In add-on, we will traipse further into the swamp and investigate some other places where these beautiful plants may grow. Along the way we will look for other orchids, like Yellow Lady slippers, (Cypripedium calceolus), Dragon’s Mouth Orchid (Arethusa bulbosa) and any other plants of interest. The ground will be wet and there will be a few flies. Bring lunch and a friend, and we will have a lunch fire.

Wed Val Walker 6:15 pm Celebrate 100 Hiawatha Nature Walk - Come out for a leisurely stroll July 11 (705) 253-7044 Zellers Plaza around the Kinsman Park / Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area trails North just north of town. We’ll look for summer wild flowers and birds.

Sat Bob Currell 10 am Algoma Highlands Hike - Hike through the rugged Algoma highlands July 14 (705) 942-2235 Zellers Plaza from Haviland to Harmony Bay. This 8 to 10 km. trek (1st half up, 2nd half North down) will follow the Voyageur trail along old logging roads and cross country ski trails through mostly hardwood forests. We’ll pass hidden highland Tier and Sam lakes on our ascent and glimpse Batchewana Bay on Lake Superior as we descend to the Harmony Beach Hotel at the end of the journey. Bring a lunch & water.

Sun Mark Crofts Call for details Paddle to Fort St. Joe, War of 1812 – Call Mark Crofts regarding July (705) 254-2356 opportunities to paddle in a Voyageur Canoe (or in your own boat) from 15- 17 Sault Ste. Marie to Fort St. Joe as part of the opening ceremonies celebrating the War of 1812.

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Wed Val Walker 6:15 pm Fort Creek Hub Trail - Come out for an evening of nature watching along July 18 (705) 253-7044 Fort Creek the Hub Trail through the Fort Creek Conservation Area. Parking Lot

Sun Dave Euler 10 am Plants on the Hub Trail- On this Outing we will start the process of July 22 (705) 248-1494 Bottom of building a plant list on the Hub Trail. Making this list will take several Finn Hill outings, and this is the first of several outings to build a plant list. Once we have a list, we can use it for events during the 100 anniversary celebration, or at other public events that we might want to sponsor.

We'll meet at the base of Finn Hill, (corner of McNabb and Black Road) at 10:00 AM and park in the parking lot there. We will inventory as many plants as we can as we walk up the hill, and begin to build the list.

This will be a slow walk on a hard surface. Dress for the weather; bring lunch and your favourite plant book and a camera. After we finish about 3:00 pm, we will stop in at Val Walker's house for ice tea! Sat Val Walker 10 am St. Marys River Himalayan Balsam Paddle - Join Thaddeus, a graduate July 28 (705) 253-7044 Bellevue Park student at the University of Guelph undertaking his research through a collaboration with a faculty member at Algoma U. Thaddeus has a side Park in the project (in addition to his thesis) where he is documenting Himalayan parking lot along balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) an invasive plant along the banks of the the river, south St. Marys River. http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=232 of the pavilion & We will be visiting patches of the plant by watercraft. Depending on greenhouse participation, we may spot vehicles for a one-way 5 km paddle down the river. The other option is a 6 km return trip. Trip duration will be 3-5 hours. Your boat must be equipped with the safety gear required by Coast Guard regulations. Pack a lunch, water sunscreen and sun hat.

Sat Carrie Ginou 10 am Algoma Highlands Hike - Join Carrie for a hike at the beautiful Algoma Aug 4 (705) 942-0715 Zellers Plaza Highlands Conservancy property in . Bring water and a North lunch. The length and challenge of the hike will depend on the weather and the participants. Call Carrie for more information.

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Sat Greg Zimmerman 9:00 am Drummond Island Canoe / Kayak – Greg will lead a paddle on Aug 11 (906) 635-2470 Michigan Potagannising River wetland complex at the north end of the Island. In Welcome addition to the interesting scenery along the way, Greg will discuss the Centre biocontrol measures for the invasive plant, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).

Sat Jeanne Mannesto 10 am Monocle Lake Hike – Enjoy the sultry days of summer with a hike Aug 18 (906) 632-4285 Michigan around Monocle Lake, Michigan. The 6 km hike is moderate in difficulty Welcome and includes some uphill climbing. Monocle Lake is about 30 km west of Centre Sault, Michigan. Meet at the Michigan Welcome Center to car pool. Bring a lunch & water.

Sat Val Walker 10 am Cycle the Hub Trail – Peddle the whole length (25 km) of the Hub Trail Aug 25 (705) 253-7044 Bottom of starting at the base of Finn Hill. We’ll stop along the way for a lunch Finn Hill break. Bring a lunch & water.

Sat Val Walker 10 am Gordon Lake Area Cycle – Bring your lunch & water and we’ll cycle a Sept 1 (705) 253-7044 Wellington circle route east of the Sault. Easy pace on mostly paved roads. Bike Square Mall helmet is mandatory. About 25-30 km total distance. Call for more details.

Sat Don & Vivian Hall 10:00 am Echo River Bike Hike – Leisurely cycling down the Echo River Valley, Sept 8 (705) 248-1834 Wellington about 8 or 10 km to a picnic lunch near the town of Echo Bay. Optional Square Mall cycling after lunch, perhaps another 15 km. Rural roads (mostly paved) through farmland and forest. Please call ahead.

NOTE: If carpooling, please assist the driver with gas costs