News & Informative updates about the MPFN, the Environment and Local Nature Stories

Important News!

Our Mission

To study and
appreciate nature.
To protect and preserve wildlife
and the environment.
To stimulate public interest in,
and promote protection
and preservation of nature.

Who we are

The Midland Penetanguishene Field Naturalists Club (MPFNC) is one of the oldest affiliates of the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. The objective of the Club is to promote public awareness of natural history, conservation and the environment. We feature lectures by expert naturalists on a range of fascinating topics at our monthly meetings. We also schedule  outings (field trips) and nature study.

We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month, 7:30 PM at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre No meeting in December, July or August.  Our June meeting is held at Tiny Marsh.

For a printable shedule of meetings & events click: MPFN 2019 2020 Season Brochure

The MPFNC is involved in many projects in the area including the Christmas Bird Count as well as environmental and wildlife surveys, the Tiny Marsh BioBlitz and the Sweet Water Harvest at the Wye Marsh. The club also supports the Owl Foundation at the Christmas Bird Count Potluck Wrap-up at the Wye Marsh. This year we raised $300 for the Owl Foundation of Vineland through our famous Mystery Gift Not-So-Silent Auction.

Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists

3 days ago

Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists
Our 2022/23 Season for the Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists is starting to come together. Here are some dates for upcoming events. More information will be sent out as each event comes along. Sat. Aug. 13, 2022 10 AM Club Outing: We'll meet at the North end of Ron Jones Rd., parking across the road from Whisky Ridge Farm 2455 Ron Jones Rd. just before the big downhill. We'll be exploring the southeastern edge of the Wye Marsh, aiming for a 2 hour walk on easy to moderate trails. As usual, please let us know whether you will attend by emailing mpfieldnaturalists@gmail.comSun. Aug. 14, 2022 2 PM MPFN Nature Book Club: The Bookies will be meeting in the beautiful backyard of Pat Taylor, 313 8th St. Midland, to discuss our current book, Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save The World by Tyson Yunkaporta and to set our reading agenda for the upcoming season. So many Nature Books out there that need readers! If you'd like to join this friendly, well-read group and would like more info, send an email to mpfieldnaturalists@gmail.com Thurs. Sept. 15, 2022 7:30 PM Wye Marsh: Finally! After 2 and a half years, our first in person meeting! And it will be a special one. We will be hosting the annual Joint Meeting of North Simcoe Nature Clubs. Representatives and members of Nature Barrie, Carden Field Naturalists, and the Orillia Naturalists Club will be joining us, giving us updates of what they've been up to and their plans for the future. Our featured guest speaker will be David Hawke, well known award winning local naturalist. He is preparing a new presentation - A Tale of Two Marshes: The Natural and Social Histories of Wye and Tiny Marsh. Sat. Sept. 17, 2022 10 AM Carden Community Centre in Dalrymple, Ontario Nature Huronia Regional Fall Meeting, hosted by the Carden Field Naturalists. We'll have a morning of meetings, socializing and information followed by an afternoon outing on the beautiful Prairie Smoke Alvar Trail. More information to follow. The Rest of Our Meetings for 2022/23We have decided this year to experiment with a hybrid season. In person meetings at the Wye Marsh in Fall and Spring, Zoom meetings in the winter months. All meetings start at 7:30 PM. Here's the schedule so far: Thurs. Oct. 20, 2022 7:30 PM Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre; Guest Speaker Jason George: "Intro To Wildlife Photography"Thurs. Nov. 17, 2022 7:30 PM Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre; Guest Speaker To Be AnnouncedSat. Dec. 17, 2022 Annual Audubon Christmas Bird CountThurs. Jan. 19, 2023 7:30 PM Zoom Presentation; Patrick Moldowan: "A Naturalist in Mauritius - A Research Travelogue"Thurs. Feb. 16, 2023 7:30 PM Zoom Presentation; Peter Burke: "If You Build It They Will Come - Habitat Restoration For Kirtland Warblers in Ontario" - A Nature Success Story!Thurs. Mar. 16, 2023 7:30 PM Zoom Presentation; Marilyn Simonds: "Woman Watching - Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay"; Award winning author Ms Simonds will present on her new acclaimed biography of the woman who has been called "Canada's Rachel Carson". "Lyrical, passionate and deeply researched." Margaret Atwood. Thurs. Apr. 20, 2023 7:30 PM Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre; Dale A. Leadbeater: "The Flora of Kawartha Lakes" - This expert botanist will tell us of the successfully completed 14 year project she spearheaded with the Kawartha Field Naturalists to compile an illustrated checklist of the flora of this incredibly diverse area. The project was the recipient of the 2014 Ontario Nature W.E.Saunders Natural History Award. Thurs. May 18, 2023 7:30 PM Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre; Andrew Reeves: Overrun - "Dispatches from the Asian Carp Crisis"; Mr. Reeves' 2019 book was longlisted for the RBC Charles Taylor Prize, Canada's highest award for non-fiction writing. Thurs. June 15, 2023 Location and Time To Be Announced; Annual General Meeting and Members' NightIt's Time To Get Back To Nature! ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists

3 days ago

Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists
A couple of signs that summer is moving along: Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea, in flower and Meadowhawks in flight. Cherry-faced Meadowhawk, Sympetrum internum, in the photo. Both taken Aug. 4, 2022 in Waubaushene, Ontario, Canada. INDIAN SUMMERJohn DonlanYear follows year, meadowhawk dragonfliesdry new wings, black-veined, wrinkled windows.What we think we know is the same strait-jacket,what we lack the same lack,all the time in the world.Leaves turn to brilliant going-awaypresents: envious, you'd love to learnfestive, spectacular good-byesto the visible remembered world,more than resigned, considerately cheeringthe living with incandescent mementomori, mimicking exemplaryloving humans, as well as other creaturesoblivious of you as cloud formations:fast, strong fliers, fall's lastbutterflies: Mourning Cloak, Question Mark.Pearly EverlastingAnaphalis margaritacea L.by Jane Tims~Pearly Everlastingsign of summer’s passingyet – immortellepicked by the roadby the armloadhung from rafterschildren’s laughterruns beneath~downy leaf, woolly stemwhite diademperfectly matched flowersthatched in golddry and old~Linnaeus namedfor Marguaritememory sweetpaper petals keeppale perfumesummer gracein a winter room ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists

1 week ago

Midland-Penetanguishene Field Naturalists
We observed the beginning and end of the food chain described by poet John Engels in his poem "Damselfly, Trout, Heron". I'm not sure if there were any trout in the shallow wetland we visited but there may be some in the Sturgeon River nearby. Two Juvenile Great Blue Herons in their nest, Violet Dancer, Argia fumipennis ssp. violacea, Waubaushene Ontario Canada, July 31, 2022Damselfly, Trout, HeronBY JOHN ENGELSThe damselfly folds its wingsover its body when at rest. Captured,it should not be killedin cyanide, but allowed to dieslowly: then the colors,especially the reds and blues,will last. In the handit crushes easily into a rosyslime. Its powers of flightare weak. The troutfeeds on the living damselfly.The trout leaps up from the water,and if there is sun you seethe briefest shiver of gold,and then the river again. When the trout diesit turns its white bellyto the mirror of the sky.The heron fishes for the troutin the gravelly shallows on the farside of the stream. The heronis the exact blue of the shadowsthe sun makes of trees on water.When you hold the heron most clearlyin your eye, you are least certainit is there. When the blue heron dies,it lies beyond reachon the far side of the river. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Box 393, Midland ON L4R 4L1

Follow Us
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/midlandpenetanguishenefieldnaturalists/

E-mail: info@mpfn.xyz

mpfn.xyz