Fourteen Vermilion Forks Field Naturalist club members and guests gathered at Wolfe Lake on Saturday, April 19 for a few fine hours of exercise and camaraderie. Two of our group kayaked along the water, searching for and finding a host of birds, while the rest of us, four of whom had cycled in from Princeton (and cycled home again), took two hours to walk around the lake. Led by Tip Anderson, we followed trails, did a little bush-whacking, and found a beaver dam, intriguing fungi formations on a fallen tree, as well as a beaver-chewed fir tree. Among the birds observed were a pair of loons, a kingfisher, cinnamon teals, buffleheads, a Barrow’s golden eye, white-crowned sparrows, Canada geese, a ruffed grouse and a pileated woodpecker. Once we’d circled the lake we congregated around a fire pit, where a picnic table and chairs are conveniently located, cooked our lunches and enjoyed a few tall tales told by our host. The sun even shone brilliantly for a time, allowing us to do a little basking before we all headed for home, invigorated by the fresh air and amity.
Joan Kelly will lead us on an easy, two-hour birding expedition along the KVR trail at Separation Lakes on Saturday, May 3, so bring binoculars, camera, food and water. Confirm with Joan at 295-7743 and we’ll meet at Billy’s at 9 am.
Biologist Jess Hobden will be our guest speaker, with a topic of “terrestrial and aquatic invasive species,” at next month’s meeting on Tuesday, May 13th at Riverside Centre, 7 pm. Meetings and field trips are open to the public, so please join us for an enlightening and enjoyable time!