good viewing opportunities at Mary's Point and other sites along the Bay. Make sure you phone ahead for the tides and viewing points.

September 15: NHS Picnic at Jean and Wendell MacKay's home in Stanley Bridge. Refer to the article on page 9.

September 21 - 22: "The Edible Wild" will feature leisurely walks in the wooded Bonshaw Hills surrounding Strathgartney. This weekend nature workshop at the Strathgartney Inn is sponsored by the Island Nature Trust and it will feature Dr. Katherine Clough. It is mushroom season and the basics of identification and collection will be explained. Learn which species can be eaten and enjoyed. Contact the Island Nature Trust at 566-9150 or 892-7513 for details.

September 28 - 29: The "Saltmarshes and Shorelines" Nature Weekend at Strathgartney Inn will again feature Dr. Katherine Clough as the trip leader. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the fascinating plants and other interesting objects on Island beaches and salt marshes. Contact the Island Nature Trust for details.

October 2: The Natural History Society's fall meetings will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Farm Centre.

BIRD SIGHTINGS

Common Loon - 1 at O'Keefe's Lake, June (FRC)

Great Blue Heron - 1 fledgling in Glenfinnon ditch, July 18 (BB, JDM) Common Eider - 3O molting males at Savage Harbour, June 26 (JDM) Goshawk - nest found at Summerfield, June 11 (TL)

- nest found in Long River, July 16 (TL, JDM)

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 perched in hedgerow at Searletown, July 2 (BB) Bald Eagle - juvenile with yellow wing tag seen at Donagh, June 24 (DM)

- adult seen at Millvale, July 10 (T6, JDM)

- adult seen at North River, July 24 (BB, JDM)

Osprey - carrying nesting material at Toronto Road, July 20 (TB, JDM) Merlin - pair with nest in spruce tree at Seacow'Head, July 2 (JDM)

- Merlin being chased by Kingbird at Millvale, July 2 (TG, JDM) Kestrel - pair agitated at North Milton, July 20 (DS)

Ruffed Grouse - adult with 3 fledglings at Avondale, July 23 (JDM) Gray Partridge - pair at Beech Grove Forestry Office, June 22 (JDM)

- pair in potato field at St. Peters, July 1 (JDM)

- pair in roadside ditch on Locke Shore Road, Sherbrooke, July 8 (DG) willet - 4 pairs and 1 fledgling found in saltmarsh at Maximeville, July 2 (BB) Short-billed Dowitcher - 7 at Souris, July 1 (SM)

- 1 at Desable, July 14 (SB, JDM) Lesser Yellowlegs - 3 at Maximeville, July 5 (SM, 05, JDM)

- 15 at Desable, July 14 (SB) American Avocet - 1 at MacMillan's Point, Brackley Beach, July 12 (RC) Herring Gull - took a tern chick at the Hillsborough Bridge Pier, July 11, (SM) Bonaparte's Gull - 4 at North River Causeway, May 26 (DS) Caspian Tern - 1 at Savage Harbour, June 26 (JDM) Barred Owl — 1 responded to calls at Townshend Noodlot July 7, (DS) Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1 at Strathgartney, May 27 (SM) Common Flicker - l at Strathgartney, May 27 (SM) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1 at Strathgartney, May 27 (SM) Pileated Woodpecker - 1 at Iris, June 20 (DS) Ladder-backed Woodpecker - 1 nest reported to Rosemary Curley by Barry Martin Eastern Kingbird - 1 nest, chicks near fledging, Webster's Pond, July 14 (JDM) Least Flycatcher - 1 at Strathgartney, May 27 (SM)

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