Meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the last Monday of September and November of the coming year in the Senior Centre, lower level Selkirk College, Trail. Please use south door, parking right outside. Meetings in January, March and May are to be held in Trail. The venue will be listed here when it is formalized. Potluck in October is in the Robson Hall, 6:00 pm. Annual Dinner will be in Castlegar in February. The April, 2003 AGM and potluck will be at a Castlegarl venue at 6:00 pm. June is the annual picnic. Venues vary. No meetings July, August, or December. Read your newsletter and attend the meetings! We have the presentation and refreshments before a short meeting. Bring your own cup, and coins for donations to the coffee fund

WEST KOOTENAY NATURALISTS' ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

2002 – 2003

Elected
PRESIDENT	Ed Beynon	365-7324
VICE-PRESIDENT	Joan Snyder	226-0012
SECRETARY	Yvonne Merlo	364-1596
TREASURER	Sharon Lelliott	365-1161 lelliott@telus.net

Check out our new Club website! www.columbiariver.ca/wkna

Please! Do Not Disturb!

The Great Blue Heron is a threatened, or blue-listed, species in BC because it is particularly sensitive to human activities. Heron nesting season has started at Waldie Island at Castlegar. Heron attempted to nest there two years ago. Five nests were built, eggs were laid and young started to hatch. People landed on the island in a red canoe and disturbed them. All the nests were abandoned. Heron are very sensitive to disturbance. Please stay away from the island and keep all dogs away from the island.

A recent report commissioned by BC Hydro regarding heron wintering at Waldie Island notes that dogs and people walking on the beach disturb the birds even when the heron are just fishing or resting.

Dogs have also been seen swimming out to Waldie Island and the gravel island upstream of Waldie Island. This causes even more disturbance. Please stay on the trails developed by Friends of Parks and Trails, and please keep all pets on the trails with you. Let's give the herons a chance.

A management plan which requires that pets be controlled will soon be implemented for the Waldie Island area.
Ed Beynon

Welcome to New Members!

Arnold By, of Trail Ronald & Janet Cameron, of Trail
Linda Griffin & Donald McDonald, of Rossland, rejoining after a year's sabbatical
Sara Judith, of Nelson Jane Nicholson, of Trail
Alan Suttie & Betty Fisher, of Fruitvale, who have already volunteered to lead a hike
AND - won the Membership Draw! They received a monogrammed copper thermos!

MOONLIGHT HIKES IN JEOPARDY OF CANCELLATION

Due to diminished response to the Moonlight Hikes, the Program Committee lately decided to insert only one per program. Actually, this ends up being only about two per year, owing to extended daylight hours in summer. Certainly, the odd one is cancelled because of clouds or inclement weather. (It is naturally very difficult to predict the weather six to eight months in advance!) The latest one on the schedule, March 17, however, turned out to be a perfect, clear, warm evening, but no one responded! This is most disconcerting, so due to lack of interest, these events will be suspended indefinitely. The exception is the Moonlight Ski/Snowshoe in February, which is always well attended. If someone is interested in an impromptu get-together when gazing longingly skyward on such a night, in the future contact your rep. There just may be like-minded members yearning to join you on a tranquil trek.

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TRIP REPORTS

Only four Nats turned out for the ski to Moose Cabin. The Moose parking lot was not open, so we skied on the trails at Mud Lake. The snow was perfect and the weather pleasant. Hazel was unable to lead the hike as planned, as she was basking in the Mexican sun!
SW Webster

For our ski trek up Michener Creek, we were met with an absolute blue sky, having risen, to our vociferous delight, above the cloud mass. What was most striking for me on this one of the Michener trips, which are always engrossing, was the astonishing refinement of shadow and light over the landscape. As well, the upper layer of snow on each side of the trail was composed of oversized snow crystals, standing oblique and discrete, their snowflake pattern, remarkably, quite visible. (A few of us skied down hills of this snow on the way out; plowing through thick beds of delicately rattling jewels). Before we who chose to go the distance reached Porky Pine Cabin, our path abruptly ended. So we struggled, still in skis, up through the forest. We greeted the cabin with a quick journal jotting, then headed back downhill to lunch al fresco, famished for sunshine at least as much as for victuals. Tracks of squirrel, rabbit, and a lynx-like felid, as well as the beading trim of the mouse were identified. We saw and/or heard two kinds of chickadees, the nuthatch, and the Golden-Crowned kinglet.
Pamella

Seven members snowshoed the south side of Nancy Greene Lake, from the cabin to just past the junction of the Nordic Club's Winterberry Trail. It had been recce'd a couple of days earlier, so the first kilometre was very well packed. Otherwise, the route supported us on crisp snow with a good base. The Kiwanis Club had done a wonderful job of clearing last summer, removing deadfall and other hindrances on the complete trail around the lake, and it was a very pleasant walk. Returning across the lake makes for a nice loop hike, and the two inches of new snow there kept us from walking on an uncomfortable crust. The sky changed from cloudy to variable, and on cue became sunny and bright as we arrived on the lake. There was no wind with which to contend, and we could hear the twittering of a few hardy winter birds. The fire had been lit by the first to arrive, and the parking lot was exceptionally well-cleaned. The cabin was likewise, thanks to the efforts of the two who had hauled in firewood and sealed broken windows. Lunch was consumed amid easy companionship beside the glowing stove.
Margo Saunders

Five Nats exchanged skis/snowshoes for hiking boots to explore a stretch of the Columbia River near Birchbank. Ed thoughtfully brought along his telescope, so we had excellent sightings of mallard, golden eye and merganser ducks, along with a juvenile great blue heron. Dashing over the rocks was a frantic deer mouse, and busily punching holes in an old tree stump was a pileated woodpecker.
Pat Thomson

Nine WK Nats gathered to snowshoe to the Plewman Ridge Cabin. Beth Truant was our impromptu hostess. The route had not been used for some time, so we alternated breaking trail. It took some time to dig our way into the cabin. A good fire made for a cozy lunch stop. The cabin has been a favourite destination for several years. We missed Harvey Pitman's presence this time.
Webb Webster

Ten WK Nats enjoyed walking and birding around the Waldie Island trails. Many ducks were observed, although numbers and species are down, as some wintering birds have left and summer birds have not yet arrived. Highlights were a beaver close to shore, whacking the water with its tail, a kingfisher and a Townsend's Solitaire. A case of binocular envy was noted. This area is a great place for a walk anytime.
Dawn & Ed Beynon

Eight Nats took part in the outing on Shields Creek Road. There were three skiers to "break trail" for the five snowshoers. Snow conditions were perfect and the weather was good, although overcast. It was a good outing, enjoyed by all the participants.
Webb Webster

Six Nats hiked the Yellow Pine Trail at Syringa Creek Provincial Park. It is our first official hike of the season. The day was overcast, but we did not get rained on! It was nice that several members from Trail were able to join us.
SW Webster

Allan Suttie and Betty Fisher led twelve Nats from Fruitvale along the railway roadbed, in an area that is alive with birds, eg: Lincoln's sparrow, Great Blue Heron, red-winged blackbird, hawk, mallard, chickadee, Downy woodpecker, killdeer, belted kingfisher. Also seen were chipmunks and beaver. We should enlist this couple's help to explore this area every year. It was a most enjoyable trip, despite the hail/snow!
Pat Thomson

With gray skies and the promise of rain, half a dozen Nats walked the Beaver Creek Park trails. The birds did not disappoint us; 19 species were counted. Along the way we met Vince Loyola with his "Young Nats" group. It is so nice to see young faces involved. After a lunch break, we drove to Gwen's Pond in the industrial area. The water was there, but industry was using the pond for filling. No water birds were there, but about 30 Canada Geese were in the adjoining meadow. Tha's when we saw two deer grazing in the field. A pleasant excursion for us all, and it didn't rain!
Dorothy Beetstra

The six Nats who went birding along Arrow Lake northwest of Syringa had an exciting start to their day. We had just parked our vehicles and were preparing to hike when a canyon wren called from the rocks below Broadwater Road. We found a pair of them busy collecting material for nest building. They were so close to us that we could easily see them without aid of binoculars. As we hiked along, we also saw white throated swifts, ruby and golden crownd kinglets, towhees, siskins, red crossbills, killdeer, flickers, Townsend warblers, robins, chickadees, geese, rough winged and violet green swallows, common mergansers, horned and rednecked grebes, white crowned sparrow, common loon, buffleheads, and an osprey. We hiked into Tulip Creek Falls and heard a winter wren singing above the roaring of the cascading creek. A sight of picture-taking interest was a herd of 14 bighorn sheep resting close by on the hillside. The many white saskatoon blossoms and yellow Oregon grapes really added to the beauty of the area.
Hazel Kirkwood