Huntsville Nature Club

10/15/2026

Just in time for Hallowe'en...

Welcome "bat" to Muskoka Conservancy's webinars! Ready to spread your wings and learn all about Ontario's bats this Halloween season? Join us for...

SPOOKTACULAR BATS: A Webinar from Muskoka Conservancy
Thurs., Oct. 29, 2026, 10 am - 11 am

We will go over the basics, bust some common myths, and learn about each of Muskoka’s bat species, as well as some of the threats they are facing!

Presented by Muskoka Conservancy Conservation Manager Amanda Porter. It's going to be spooktacular!

Sign up today! https://tr.ee/fwA0xa

10/10/2026

Monarch butterflies continue to clip right along on their epic journey to their southern wintering area in Mexico!

🦋 They’re on the move!

Monarchs tagged on Manitoulin Island in late August and Prince Edward County in mid-September have already made it to the southern United States.

These incredible travellers have been covering an average of 62 kilometres per day, with some flying as far as 126km in a single day. Talk about a long-distance journey!

We're learning more about that journey thanks to a collaborative tagging effort that brings together the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Environment and Climate Change, the Norris lab at the University of Guelph, and partners stretching from New Brunswick to Alberta.

Together, we’re tracking these remarkable butterflies to better understand the flyways they choose on their incredible journey south to Mexico. Every tag tells a story, and every Monarch helps us piece together the bigger picture.

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🦋 Ils sont en route!

Des monarques marqués sur l’île Manitoulin à la fin d’août et dans le comté de Prince Edward à la mi-septembre sont déjà arrivés dans le sud des États-Unis.

Ces incroyables voyageurs parcourent en moyenne 62 km par jour, certains ayant même franchi jusqu’à 126 km en une seule journée. Voilà ce qu’on appelle « faire un bon bout » !

Nous en apprenons davantage sur cette migration grâce à un effort collaboratif de marquage qui réunit la Fédération canadienne de la faune, Environnement et Changement climatique, le laboratoire Norris de University of Guelph ainsi que des partenaires du Nouveau-Brunswick jusqu’à l’Alberta.

Ensemble, nous suivons ces remarquables papillons afin de mieux comprendre les voies migratoires qu’ils empruntent lors de leur incroyable voyage vers le Mexique. Chaque balise raconte une histoire, et chaque monarque nous aide à peindre une partie du portrait global.

10/07/2026

🍁You've no doubt been enjoying the wonderful autumn leaf colours in the last few weeks. But did you know there are male and female maple trees, and that this typically determines the colour of their leaves?! Check out this video to find out more🍁

10/04/2026

This looks like it will be an amazing event to attend!

We are SO excited to welcome world renowned artist Jackie Morris to Cedar Canoe Books! 🦉✨

Join us in Bracebridge for a very special evening with the acclaimed watercolour artist and co-creator of The Book of Birds.

Jackie’s breathtaking wildlife illustrations have captured the beauty and magic of the natural world across countless beloved books, and we can’t wait to spend an evening talking art, birds, books, and creativity with her.

📍 Cedar Canoe Books - Bracebridge
📅 October 27th
⏰ 7 PM
🎟️ $10

Mark your calendars, Muskoka - this is going to be a special one. 🪶

Tickets: https://www.cedarcanoebooks.com/products/an-evening-with-jackie-morris?_pos=2&_sid=bb5ad1d92&_ss=r

10/01/2026

Fun contest!😁

09/30/2026

The hall was abuzz with the chatting of members catching up after the summer as we gathered for our first meeting of the 2026/2027 season. We had fantastic attendance with much anticipation of our speaker, Viive Tamm, who spoke on Canada Geese flying with ultralight aircraft to teach them a migration route and how this was instrumental in helping endangered Whooping Cranes through the Operation Migration organization. It was a heart-warming talk about people following their passion and making a difference in saving a species.

During our Nature Observations portion of the meeting, member Shirley Everett described her surprise in finding a few garter snakes under the tarp of her compost pile, one of them with very blue eyes! And her findings that this happens when snakes moult and are blind through this period. See Shirley's attached video for a view of this condition.

And Carol and Tim Speck described their day accompanying bird banders in May to colour band migrating Broad-winged Hawks through The Broad-winged Hawk Project in collaboration with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Attached is a photo that Carol took of one of the banded hawks. The progress of the banded birds can be followed on the Project's page!

We also heard from Rick Stronks about a Bald Eagle not being able to fly because it had overeaten, and learned from President Richard Heron's weather report that projections are calling for a winter that will be about 2 degrees warmer than usual, with a winter that will likely be more rainy than snowy. Not an encouraging forecast for winter lovers.

Oh, the fascinating things we hear and learn about at our meetings!

09/26/2026

An incredible journey!

The monarchs of summer lived a few weeks each — born, bred, gone, a new one every generation. The one flying now is different. It won't breed this fall. It will fly.

This is the super generation. It will live for months instead of weeks, ride the wind south, and reach a small cluster of fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico it has never seen — the same forests its great-great-grandparents left in spring.

How it finds them isn't fully understood. It carries the map in its body.

🌿 What helps it leave strong
Leave the last flowers standing — asters, goldenrod, anything still blooming is a fuel stop. One late nectar meal can be the difference on a journey this long.

Four short-lived generations to come north. One remarkable generation to get all the way home.