SOCIETY’S ANNUAL REPORT - 1997:

In 1997, the Society's efforts were led by Ray Cooke (President), Mary Beth Harris (Vice-president), Jean Watts (Secretary), Jim Jenkins (Treasurer), Meike Keunecke (Program Director), David Cairns (Publicity Director), and Barbara Currie (Past—president). Dan McAskill continued as Newsletter Editor and coordinated the P.E.I. National Park and Hillsborough Christmas Bird Counts, the Bain Bird Count, and International Migratory Bird Count Day. Ruth Richman and Gary Schneider coordinated the Montague Christmas Bird Count. Maurice Roy again set up the Dalvay Interpretive Centre at the P.E.I. National Park for the potluck. Donald Wilkinson continued illustrating and writing the bird monograph column in the Island Naturalist while Linda and Allen Thomas and their family distributed the newsletter. The Environmental Education program of the Society was again quite active. Our monthly speakers program at the Farm Centre featured: a discussion of the Round Table on Resource Land Use at the annual meeting, Rosie MacFarlane (Impoundments, Both Sides of the Story), Wendell MacIntyre (Whither Goes P.E.I.), Gerald MacDougald (Bald Eagles on P.E.I. and the Adopt an Eagle Program)), Rosemary Curley (Protecting and Managing Natural Areas), Brian Craig (Backyard Bugs), John Macmillan (Thermal Effects of Impoundments on Salmonids), and Todd Dupuis (Let’s Respond to the Round Table on Resources". In addition to these efforts, the Society supported, reviewed, and provided comments of the draft Wildlife Act, responded to the Round Table on Resource Land Use, assisted with the Wildlife Habitat Stamp Project, and published four issues of the Island Naturalist. Jean Watts set up and staffed a booth at the P.E.I. Environmental Network’s Earthcare Fair and Ray Cooke attended and provided input into the Important Bird Areas workshop sponsored by the Canadian Nature Federation and CWS in Sackville.

Jacob Harding provided a talk and guided a walk on dragonflies of P.E.I. The Society utilized its slide education collection to provide a bird talk on wintering birds and bird feeding in O’Leary. Dan McAskill spoke on winter bird feeding at the Farm Centre on behalf of the Society and the Island Nature Trust. Success was achieved with presentations from previous years and comments provided on the collapse of the Great Cormorant numbers as the Cormorant season was closed down this year.

Members were encouraged to participate in the International Migratory Bird Day in May, the Butterfly Count Day in July, and the Canadian Nature Federation’s Ladybug surveys. Society members Linda Thomas, Roberta Palmer, and Dan McAskill and Island Nature Trust staff combined their efforts to host the second Autumn Birding Classic. The donors contributing to this project provided over $1,000 towards the acquisition of the Trout River Natural Area.

The Society, aided by members and friends, provided technical comments on the P.E.I. National Parks Ecosystem Plan and the addition of the Greenwich annex to the P.E.I. National Park. The Society’s efforts for the Piping Plover were led by Neil and Sally Bennett this year. Rosemary Curley and Ben Hoteling judged the exhibits at the U.P.E.I. Science Fair on behalf of the Society.

Society members were deeply saddened to learn of the sudden death

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