MARK YOUR CALENDARS! March Break Camp: March 11-15 No school and nothing to do? Then why not get out of the house and over to the Sanctuary for a week of fun themed days: What a Hoot Bird Day, Amazing Catapults Day, Discovery Day and so much more! Designed for children in grades 1-5, registration is available now during regular office hours or on our special registration day Feb 27th from 3:00- 7:00pm. Only $25/day. WOW - what a deal! Honkin’ National Wildlife Week: April 7-14 What a great week we have in store for you, to celebrate our Good News favourite person, Jack Miner! National Wildlife Week was established in 1947 to honour and recognize Uncle Jack’s contributions to conservation. Some of the highlights of the week include the Wild Goose Run/Walk in Kennedy Woods on April 7, followed by a traditional pancake breakfast with REAL WINTER 2019 Jack Miner syrup, tapped from our own trees. On April 10, it’s Jack’s birthday: stop in for cupcakes and a special VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 1 announcement about the Drive Thru Art Gallery. New this year is Jack’s Stories - you are invited to hear the best stories about wildlife and Jack Miner held in the historic house on April 12th from 7:00-10:00pm. There will be live music, refreshments and lively story-telling with a chance to win prizes! Call or e-mail us to reserve a spot as a storyteller.

National Wildlife Week will feature children’s crafts, nature walks, and museum tours for the whole family. We are in need of volunteers for this event, so if you would like to help

us make this year another success, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. Details on all the activities planned for this year will be coming soon to our website.

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• Banding & sightings • Community Events • Welcome Xander! • A visit from CBC • Welcome Leslie! • Volunteer with us

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Banding & Bird CBC Radio Sightings broadcasts live from Many species spotted at the Sanctuary the Sanctuary Banding this past fall was a success with the banding of A main stop on the broadcaster’s Essex many Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, a Green Winged Teal County Tour Duck, Black Ducks, and Bibbed Mallards. There have The Jack Miner Sanctuary hosted CBC been many Snow Geese and Photo: Mary Baruth Ross’s Geese spotted this fall Radio’s Windsor out on our fields migrating south for the winter. One Morning on Friday of the Sanctuary’s most enthusiastic bird watchers and September 28th for a photographers is our new co-op student Xander special live broadcast.

Campbell, who has shared many wonderful Photo: Leslie Pinto photographs with us. He has spotted and CBC had been doing a photographed turtles, butterflies, an American Coot, special broadcast and Snow Geese on the property. series from various community hubs to get a new perspective on news that affects those in the Windsor- A Brant was spotted at the Sanctuary by Leamington Essex Region. The broadcast included interviews with bird watcher Rick Mayos, and a photograph was sent Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos, Director Mary Baruth, to staff by Pat Schiller. Brants breed in the Arctic and other community members. Mary discussed why tundra and are usually the Jack Miner Sanctuary continues to be such a Photo credit: Pat Schiller seen migrating further special place east in Ontario. in for both wildlife and It was an exciting the sighting for many local community. bird watchers. Host Tony Doucette This winter there have shared some Photo: Pat Schiller also been sightings of a personal Sandhill Crane, Greater White Fronted Geese, memories of Northern Pintails, and Ross Geese. bringing his Sandhill Cranes usually migrate to the Southern United family to the States and Northern Mexico for the winter. Sanctuary. Throughout Greater White Fronted Geese are rarely seen in the the Mayor Santos and Tony Doucette Essex County region and are usually found in the mid- broadcast the lower parts of the USA. sound of ducks, geese, peacocks, and turkeys also made their voices known!

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stories, and hands-on learning. The program is free for Community Events all children age 2-6 years and took place in the Clubhouse on Wednesday mornings at 10:00am. Fall

programs included: changing seasons, Sanctuary Family Day (Canada) and President’s Day (USA) was a animals, and participants were even given the great opportunity to discover winter life at the opportunity to meet a snake! The Eco Club will Sanctuary. Jeremy Hatt from the Essex Field resume May 8, 2019. Naturalists took visitors on a walk through Kennedy

Woods and onto Now a Christmas tradition, Jack’s Country Christmas some of the new was the perfect way to end 2018. What more could trails established you ask for? Santa, check! Hot apple cider, check! Live over the past few Christmas music, years. Visitors fed the check! Great items birds, warmed at the Toonie Sale, themselves by the check! And on top of fire in the historic all this, Jack Miner’s house and explored house decked out for the grounds. We the Christmas Photo: Jonathan Pinto even had a free yoga season. Children class! busily made wooden

ornaments and Photo: Leslie Pinto The 49th Annual pinecones for the Migration Festival birds, and local author Jane Buttery for story time! was a wonderful community celebration of Jack A special thank you to all of our volunteers Miner’s who make all our events possible! contributions, with

the opening ceremonies held at the historic house. Welcome Leslie! The house and Our new Education museum had many and Public Programs visitors over the weekend with Coordinator historical tours, an In September, Leslie Pinto Photo: Leslie Pinto AM 800 booth, and a accepted the position of birds of prey display by Kingsport Environmental. The Education and Public public was given a glimpse of the many birds that call Programs Coordinator at the Jack Miner the Sanctuary. Born and Sanctuary home. raised in Aurora, Ont., Jack Miner’s Eco Leslie was a summer Club was student at the Sanctuary Photo: Mary Baruth introduced this while completing the past Fall and Masters of Arts program in included Photo: Leslie Pinto History at the University of Windsor. Her graduate children’s crafts, Honkin’ Good News Volume 8 | Issue 1 | Winter 2019 Page 4 research utilized the Jack Miner archives to study Jack will be given an orientation, job description, training Miner’s role in the early conservation movement in about the Sanctuary and museum. A recent police North America. With her passion for the environment, check is required; we provide letters to help facilitate wildlife and formal training as a teacher, Leslie is a the process for volunteers. For more information please contact us at 519 733-4034 or email us at perfect addition to the Jack Miner team. [email protected]. We need you!

You can reach Leslie directly at [email protected]. Welcome Xander! Coming Soon New viewing platform In 2018, the Foundation Our co-op student from Kingsville District High received a number of donations, including a large School bequest and a grant to build a viewing platform From the time he was 12, Xander Campbell was very overlooking the South pond. The platform will feature keen to work at the interpretive panels about the wildlife found in the Sanctuary. This past woods and the waterfowl and songbirds that inhabit summer, he achieved his the Sanctuary property. The panels will also tell the dream, as a summer story of Jack Miner and the Sanctuary. Ground student through the breaking for the project will take place in the spring, Canada Summer Jobs with the dedication taking place during the 50th Program. A student at anniversary of Migration Festival, the 3rd weekend in Kingsville District High School, he approached his October. teacher and the Sanctuary about doing his Grade 11 New strategic plan Hard to believe but we are now co-operative education Photo: Leslie Pinto into the development of the second strategic plan for program at the Sanctuary the Sanctuary. Over the past seven years there has and of course, we could not refuse! During his time been a lot of work done at the Sanctuary, and we are here he will be helping to design environmental looking forward to the next five! education programs, such as a new owl program and developing educational resources for visitors. Contact us

Volunteer with us! JackMinerMigratoryBirdSanctuary

Many opportunities available JM_Sanctuary Do you love meeting new people? How about history? Do you have a passion for nature and conservation? Do you have time to lend a hand at the Sanctuary? We jackminersanctuary1865 have a host of volunteer opportunities from docent and tour guide positions, decorating for events and parades to caring for the birds, landscaping, and [email protected] construction. There are endless opportunities at the

Jack Miner Sanctuary! Give a little, give a lot – your (519) 733-4034 time is precious to us and if you’re looking for a place 360 Road 3 W, Kingsville ON N9Y 2E5 CANADA where you can make a mark, this is it. All volunteers