Speaking of insurance, Ontario Nature has found us a new broker. Our coverage began the first of April with the general liability limit at $5 million.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE

Congratulations are in order to our Webmaster, Ron St. Louis, for all the work he did to create a new Website for the club. The new site, at ottawaduckclub.com went live at the beginning of January.

Ron’s idea was to make the site more user-friendly so that all members can contribute. If you want to post material to the site, first contact Ron to get the password. Then, if you want to add to the news section you can go to the "Write" tab.

If you want to edit pages or news entries you can either navigate the site and click the edit link at the bottom of the page or article (this only works if you’re logged in) or you can go to the "Manage" tab. Choose the article you  want to edit or choose the "pages" sub-tab to edit the pages. Most of it is pretty intuitive. If you run into any difficulties, feel free to contact ron{at}firstgatedreamer[dot]com.

And bear in mind that Ron, Bill and Churchy have the right to review material and edit it. They may also delete it if they feel it is inappropriate. If that happens, you will be contacted with an explanation and possibly given an opportunity to resubmit it. The idea is to make sure we don’t run afowl, sorry, afoul of the law or any of our benefactors.

MEMBERSHIP

Special thanks to all who made generous donations to the club in addition to their membership fees—Joe Bevk & Lori Taverner, Bill Bower, Pat Crook, Pat Davies, Barc Dowden, Richard & Nora Hamilton, David Martin, Dr. Ronald Tasker, and Ron Tomosk.

Sadly, we lost another long-time member when Réné Gachnang passed away peacefully on March 15. Réné was born in Aigle, Switzerland in January 1928 and came to Canada with his wife Esther in the early 1950s. Besides our club, Réné belonged to the Outaouais Wood Carvers and produced some wonderful carvings. The Duck Club treasures a beautiful sign he carved for us that is a key part of our exhibit. The club extends its sympathies to Esther and her family.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

At our AGM on March 18, the club decided it was time, after many years, to change—alright, to increase—membership fees and reduce the number of categories. Starting in 2009, there will only be two categories—individual membership will be $20 and family membership will cost $25. We won’t have the supporting membership category and we won’t be insisting on members doing some work.

GRANTS

There was a slight glitch in the processing of our refunds, but that has been straightened out and the money ($3,750) is now in our bank account. Thanks again to Scott Smithers and company at the Ministry of Natural Resources in Kemptville.

BLUEBIRD SOCIETY CONSERVATION AWARD

This may be the age of instant communications, as we keep hearing, but some news still takes its time to filter out. We first heard rumours last spring that the Duck Club had won an award from the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society, but it wasn’t until we received their fall newsletter that the news was confirmed. This is what they said:

An award is given out each year to an individual or group that has made an outstanding contribution to Eastern Bluebird conservation during the preceding year. The 2006 award was given to the Ottawa Duck Club of Kanata, Ontario. This club has been a long time member of the OEBS and has had a very successful bluebird trail in that area with Jim Sauer, Barc Dowden and Tony and Gretchen Denton doing most of the monitoring.

WINTER BOX CHECKS/SIGHTINGS

Well, the winter of 2007-08 is one we won’t forget any time soon, what with a serious run at the all-time snowfall record. Despite the best efforts of our military hosts to keep our road ploughed, most Sundays it was drifted over and we had to hike into the sheds on snowshoes or skis. And there was so much snow that for most of the winter it was too deep even for the snowmobiles. Those of us who invested in snowshoes got our money’s worth this winter.

On January 13, Tom Irwin reported seeing what he thought was a wolf at the sanctuary. Bill said there are both coyotes and wolves on and around the property. The DND guys have seen as many as four wolves this winter. They (the wolves) sometimes come across on the ice from the Quebec side. They might get a deer or two (older, weak or injured ones) and then return to Quebec before the ice goes.

January 13—We had a couple of interesting sightings on Sunday. The first was the wood duck box on Pond 1that had honey bees in it last spring. We had planned to take it down at that time, but decided to leave it because of the bees. Again, this year we were going to take it down but it still had a bee colony in it. There was lots of bee activity inside and around the entrance hole. We had been told that the bees can’t survive our long winters and so they die off. It appears this colony did survive last winter and are doing well again this year. It shows that our wood duck boxes serve the needs of many species of wildlife.

 

While checking duck boxes on Pond #6 along Riddell Road we found two that had been used by great crested flycatchers. Their nests are always interesting. One nest was unusually large and contained moss, lots of pine needles, deer hair, duck feathers, a couple of feathers from a wild turkey, and lots of snakeskins. The snakeskins are always important evidence of a great crested flycatcher nest but there were also some eggshells from the flycatcher mixed in with everything else.

February 11, Ed, Austin Taverner, Joe Bevk and I headed down to the Inner Creek/South Arm area while Tony and Jim went to the feeders and filled them, including the suet feeders.

There was a lot of water on the ice under the snow and I got the ski-doo stuck at least three times. The water was up to the top of my boots and I got one foot wet. Ed and I finally gave up and snowshoed in taking the shavings, ladder, tools etc. Austin and Joe went along the east side and Ed and I took the west side of the creek.

The fun began when we went to leave. Austin had driven in to the end of the Kindack Pond—that was as far as he could get. The rest of us left our cars out on the road. By quitting time the wind had picked up and the road was filling in fast with blowing snow. Austin had to back all the way out with Joe, Ed and I going along the road in front (back) of him shovelling the snow drifts. Meanwhile, Tony got stuck along the Perimeter Road, which was also narrow and was filling in fast with blowing snow, when he and one of the larger military vehicles met. The military guys used a tow rope that Tony had and helped get him back on the road. All concerned got the heck out and headed home with more snow squalls on the horizon.

March 21—There were wild turkeys at the Innis Point feeder and at the Skeet Range (on their front porch). Not much bird activity at our feeder or at Innis Point. There was a flock of red-winged blackbirds at the Hilda Street feeder and we had a flock of 20 to 30 Canada geese in an open area down along the bay shoreline. We also saw an otter in the Kindack Pond and a dozen or so deer. We saw one live ruffed grouse and a second one that had just been killed by a red-tailed hawk. This grouse had been almost completely plucked and was ready for eating when the hawk took off. It no doubt returned as soon as we left.

March 28 —that was a pretty good day—the morning anyway. We put up box number 4 on pond 6 but with just enough support to hold it. That box will definitely have to be replaced next year. We added straw to the two remaining "mallard" cones we have. The one on the Don Gray pond needs some sort of cover for protection. This cone has been used by a mallard in the past. We also found a couple more dead deer which is not surprising.

In the kestrel box down by the bay we found some kind of a nest. The box was a mess with wet rotten leaves on the bottom (squirrel nest maybe). On top there was dry material including many bird feathers. There wasn’t any "cup". Not a kestrel or a grackle for sure. In amongst the feathers we found some egg shells which we could not identify. They are small but you can see the colour and pattern on them. Turned out it was another great crested flycatcher nest.

April 6—Shooting was going on all day at he range—with machine guns—it was a good place not to go. So we went to Watts Creek. The nesting box installation crew was out bright and early. We put up a new pipe for box W9, installed the new box and then added a new number to box W7. Everything went smoothly and no one got wet. It was a nice morning and we saw a couple of deer, geese, a great blue heron and the wild turkeys were everywhere you looked. Obviously the locals have been feeding them. 

April 11—a good time was had by all. That is if you can forget about the cold weather, driving rain, mud, etc. We accomplished quite a bit in the short time we were there. Even checked some of the duck boxes to expel the unwanted starling eggs. No duck eggs were found. Cleaned up some around the sheds and made our garbage heap even higher. We even had the propane heater going to keep everyone’s hands warm. (Churchy said it was never this cold during the winter).

On May 2 Austin had a very interesting experience. He was removing a mass of starling nest material from a duck box when he felt something soft and warm. On closer inspection it turned out to be a wood duck hen snuggled down under the starling nest, incubating her own eggs. A week later, she was still on her nest with no new starling activity in evidence. 

 
SANCTUARY ACCESS RULES

Usually we can count on having Bill or Austin out at the sanctuary to lead the way, but sometimes they can’t be there. On those days, here are some guidelines Bill sent for the other members who have keys to the sanctuary:

The rules to follow are pretty simple. Check with Range Control on the way in to make sure it’s all clear. If you would like to go to Innis Point, find out if there is anything going on in the Training Area first and sign out a key. You don’t want to be out on the Perimeter Road if there are exercises going on. When you leave, check in again at Range Control and return the key if you borrowed it. If you have a cell phone you can leave the number at Range Control so they can then get in touch with you if necessary. Every member with a cell phone should be on our list of cell phone holders. The Range Control number is also on that list. Check with Ben Mancini if you don’t have a list or want to be added. Take your ODC identification plaque with you to display in your vehicle (if you don’t have one speak to Ben). If the RED FLAG is flying on the butts DO NOT GO IN. Check again with Range Control. It may be that someone or some group checked out of the range but neglected to lower the flag. Range Control can take care of that and give you the all clear.

We ask members to advise Bill and Austin who was out and (briefly) what was accomplished. This is especially important if you are checking the wood duck boxes. We need to know which boxes were checked, what was observed (number of duck eggs of each species, hen on nest, chicks in box, predation, etc.) and what action was taken (starlings’ eggs removed, shavings added, box repaired, etc.) You have all seen our annual reports so you know the info we would like to have. Pass on your notes to Austin. Most of you have been through the exercise already—there are three groupings of boxes to make the checks easier to do. (We check a total of 61 boxes and try to do so every week.) As far as the other work is concerned we don’t need much detail. This information just helps complete our reporting forms that go to MNR in relation to our grants. It also helps Austin keep his TO-DO list up-to-date. Finally, if you’re the last member out there, don’t forget to put up the chain gate along our road when you leave.

If you have any questions check with Bill. It’s becoming more important to try to have more members willing and able to go out on a day other than just the Friday. There is plenty to do for sure, but this certainly doesn’t mean you can’t also take a walk around, do some bird watching, photography, or other nature-related activities.

If there are no red flags or bullets flying, the only other thing to watch out for is poison ivy. As Bill can attest, the sanctuary has a healthy crop of it growing in several places, including a patch near the sheds. Remember the old rhyme, “leaves of three, let them be.” 

According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, poison-ivy is a woody perennial that may grow as dwarf, shrubby plants only a few centimetres high and carpeting the ground, as upright plants 60-90 cm (2-3 ft) high, or the vine-like form may twine around trees, shrubs and posts, and reach a considerable distance above the ground. These vines often develop root-like structures which act as attachments, but apparently do not damage the living plants to which they cling.

 

Poison ivy contains a chemical, urushiol, that can cause a red, itchy rash and even blisters in the skin of persons sensitive to it. Urushiol is present in all parts of the plant, but particularly in the sap. People vary in their sensitivity to urushiol. Some have no problem with it and others experience severe allergic reactions. This can also vary over the life of a person. You might be unaffected as a child and become sensitized with repeated exposures. So even if you are not allergic now, it is a good idea to learn how to recognize poison ivy in case your body changes with age.

The skin irritation caused by poison ivy is Rhus Dermatitis. It usually starts as itching and small blisters within a few hours after exposure. Depending on how strong the exposure was and/or how sensitive the person is, that may be all there is to it. However, it may develop into an inflamed, swollen rash with open, weeping, sores that persists for up to two weeks. Severe cases may require a visit to the doctor. Urushiol is absorbed into the skin within three minutes of exposure. If it is washed off quickly with dishwashing soap and water, the consequences will be less, but you are seldom close to a washroom when you get exposed, so learning to recognize and avoid it is the best strategy. An important fact to remember is that the urushiol can travel on your clothes or the fur of your pets, so remember to wash them too if you suspect they were in contact with poison ivy. 

CHURCHY’S COLUMN

If you haven’t made it out to the sanctuary recently, you’ve been missing a lot of activity. The Canada geese have been nesting for weeks and their goslings have now shown up. Same story for great blue herons, wood ducks, hooded mergansers and tree swallows. A single purple martin was seen checking out accommodations a few weeks ago, but he doesn’t seem to have been able to convince his flock to follow, though another was there in mid June. Other interesting sightings are common terns, green-backed herons, bitterns and common moorhens.

In the last issue we had a report from Austin on our hatch results for 2007. What we neglected to mention is that those results only covered the boxes we check in the summer. The final results for 2007 show that the wood duck hatch was very similar to 2006, while the hooded merganser hatch more than doubled. Overall the percentage of eggs hatched in 2007 was good. 

I’m hoping members can become more active about posting news on the ODC homepage. Perhaps this page can be used to recap recent outings and show off our lists of accomplishments? It could be especially interesting to highlight wildlife sightings and encounters. For photos, the Flickr photo Gallery is still up and running but members can post their images from around the sanctuary just as easily right here now with this new system.

Cheers
r.

It took a while to figure out how this system works but things seem to be getting clearer now and I’m able to get some real progress.

Stay Tuned….More to come.
r.

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Membership renewals

Last call for membership renewals. We’ve had a pretty good response so far - almost 40 - but the more the merrier. There are still many of you who haven’t renewed. If there’s no renewal form with this newsletter, you’re in the clear. If there is one, please fill it out, write that cheque and re-up to stay on our mailing list for future newsletters. In fact, why not come to the annual meeting on March 22 to rejoin and get reacquainted with other members. Your club needs you. It needs your money too.

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Membership renewals

Well, another year is almost over. Time to look ahead to 2007.
Time to make resolutions. Time to resolve to renew your membership in the Ottawa Duck Club.

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Another year is drawing to a close - the Ottawa Duck Club’s 40^th - and soon it will be time to renew your membership in the club. Next month we will be sending renewal forms and return address labels. Please watch for them and make a point of renewing promptly. Don’t forget, you will receive a tax receipt from the club for your membership fees and any donations you make.

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