- PGNC Next Executive Meeting, Wednesday February 21
- PGNC Memberships: New and Renewals
- Report: PGNC Swan & Eagle Count, Sunday January 21
- PGNC Annual General Meeting, Thursday March 21, Spruce City Wildlife Fish Hatchery
- Thursday February 22, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Zoom. Are we Prepared for the Zombie (Fungi) Apocalypse?
- Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWPC) Events
- About this newsletter
Club News and Events
PGNC Next Executive Meeting, Wednesday February 21
The next Executive meeting will be on Wednesday February 21. All members are welcome to attend. If you wish to attend, send an email to the Club at princegeorgenaturalistsclub@gmail.com to obtain meeting details.
PGNC Memberships: New and Renewals
Thank you to everyone who is joining the PGNC or renewing memberships for 2024. Your membership supports the Prince George Naturalists Club and BC Nature, our parent organization, in all their good work.
E-Transfer is available by sending to PrinceGeorgeNaturalistsClub@gmail.com and it goes directly into the Club’s bank account. No secret word is needed. Payments by cheque can be mailed to Prince George Naturalists Club, PO Box 1092, Prince George BC V2L 4V2.
Memberships run from January 1 to December 31. Cost is $25 per calendar year for individuals, $40 for a family, and $15 for students. Benefits of membership: Subscription to the online version of BC Nature magazine, liability insurance coverage for Club work parties and field trips, and access to popular events limited to Club members only. Add $5 if you wish to receive a printed version of the BC Nature magazine in the mail.
“To be a naturalist is to be joyful, inquisitive, and at home in the world. To be home is to treat every life form as a family member”: Marina Richie.
Report: PGNC Swan & Eagle Count – Sunday, January 21
The delay with the Swan Count paid off! On Sunday, January 21, six eager naturalists were able to enjoy the waterfowl with the milder -8 C weather and open roads. Much of the river was still frozen from the very cold temperatures the week before. This concentrates the swans.
A conservative count of 65 Trumpeter Swans were seen and heard along the Crooked River, north of Prince George. Cold springs keep much of the river open in the winter, even during -40 C temperatures. We haven’t had numbers like this since the late 1980’s.
Short snowshoe forays off the roads paid off with a mix of waterfowl. As well as swans we saw American Dipper, Common Goldeneye, Mallard, one Bufflehead, one Hooded Merganser, one adult Bald Eagle, two Belted Kingfishers, one Downy Woodpecker, and the ubiquitous Common Raven. Small birds were noticeably absent, with only a couple of Black-capped Chickadees calling.
It snowed up until the night before so not much for tracks, but a set of ermine tracks and a set of moose tracks provided excitement along one un-ploughed road.
Thank you to everyone who came out to make this a great day! Report by Sandra Kinsey. Photos by Angelina Joiner.
PGNC Annual General Meeting, Thursday March 21, Spruce City Wildlife Fish Hatchery
Save the date for the PGNC Annual General Meeting on Thursday March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Spruce City Wildlife Fish Hatchery. More details coming soon!
Other Events and News
Thursday February 22, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Zoom. Are we Prepared for the Zombie (Fungi) Apocalypse?
Zombie fungi are a group of ascomycetes, all formerly in the genus Cordyceps, that parasitize insects (and a few other organisms). The fungi often alter the behaviour of the insects, to the benefit of the fungi, essentially turning the insects into ‘zombies’ under the control of the fungi. Though zombie fungi are best known from tropical and subtropical ecosystems, there are a number of species known from BC, and from Clayoquot Sound. These zombi fungi are the basis of the popular video game, and subsequent television series, ‘The Last of Us’.
About our Speaker: Dr. Andy MacKinnon is a forest ecologist who lives in Metchosin BC. His fields of study include BC’s native plants, fungi and lichens. Andy is co-author of Mushrooms of British Columbia , and of six field guides to plants of western North America. He is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, and past President of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society. Andy is going on the 11th year of co-teaching RES’s “Mushrooms of the West Coast’ with the RES.This event is sponsored by the Raincoast Education Society. The Zoom link is here:
Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWPC)
The FWCP is running a series of information sessions in early 2024. Here are details about one in the Peace Region.
- Improving fish passage in our Peace Region, Friday, February 23, at 12 p.m. PST
For registration see this link: https://fwcp.ca/events/
About this Newsletter
The newsletter is sent from the PGNC mailing address: princegeorgenaturalistsclub@gmail.com. We welcome contributions from members and supporters about matters of interest to naturalists. Feel free to send stories and links to princegeorgenaturalistsclub@gmail.com.
Prince George Naturalists Club 