summer in conjunction with the Island Nature Trust and the P.E.I. Shell Fish 
     
     Society. The members agreed and the cleanup has been scheduled to take place 
     
     during Environment Week, June 4th to 11th. The objective will be to remove 
     
     plastics, glass, and other garbage from our beaches. This effort will not only 
     
     tidy up the beach, it will help to save wildlife from becoming trapped in 
     
     materials such as plastic rings. 
     
    

    
     The success of this project depends entirely on the numbers of people who 
     
     help out and the c00rdination of the pickup effort. If you are interested in 
     
     participating, please call Barbara Currie at 894-9297, Diane Griffin at 
     
     892-7513, or Bill Warren (P.E.I. Shellfish Society) at 887-3474. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF CANADIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS 
     
    
   
   
    
     If the answer to this question is no, then ask yourself - where else can I 
     
     get information on what is happening in amateur and professional ornithology 
     
     across Canada? Where else can I read interesting articles on early Canadian 
     
     ornithologists and naturalists? Who received the latest Speirs and Taverner 
     
     awards? 
     
    

    
     There is no other place to find the answers to these questions than in 
     
     Picoides, the bulletin of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists. The bulletin 
     
     15 published twice a year. Regular ($10) and Sustaining ($25) memberships can 
     
     be obtained thrOugh: 
     
    
   
   
    
     Philip H.R. Stepney 
     
     Membership Secretary 
     
     Provincial Museum of Alberta 
     
     12825-102 Avenue 
     
    

    
     Edmonton, Alberta 
     
    

    
     T5N 0M6 
     
    
   
   
    
     Society of 
     
     Canadian Otnlthologlsta 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     NATURALISTS IN ACTION I by Dan McAskill 
     
    
   
   
    
     When the word "Winnie" is heard at the Natural History Society's meetings 
     
     it is normally heard in conjunction with the Piping Plover. The name of course 
     
     refers to Winifred Cairns Wake, a former editor of the Society‘s newsletter and 
     
     one of the key individuals whose hard work brought the plight of the Piping 
     
     Plover to the attention of naturalists across North America. 
     
    

    
     Winnie's long association with this species began during her Master of 
     
     Science thesis work at Dalhousie University in 1975. Under the tutelage of Dr. 
     
     Ian McLaren (another extraordinary Maritime birder) Winnie studied the 
     
     population of Piping Plovers at Cadden Beach or St. Catherines River, now the 
     
     Kejimkujik National Park Adjunct. During this work, Winnie wrote to people from 
     
     the east coast through to Ontario attempting to determine how the species was 
     
     doing as it had been listed in the "American Birds Blue List". Rather than 
     
     ceasing work with the species on the conclusion of her thesis in 1977, Winnie 
     
     undertook a survey of the Piping Plover in conjunction with Dr. McLaren. She 
     
     walked many miles of beaches in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and the 
     
     Magdalen Islands during the nesting and rearing seasons of 1977, 1978, and 
     
     1979. Winnie and Ian completed their work in 1980 and published the article 
     
     “Status of the Piping Plover on the East Coast of North America" in American 
     
     Birds. 
     
    

    
     This achievement only served to mark another step in the effort to 
     
     conserve the species. In 1978, Winnie approached the P.E.I. Fish and Wildlife 
     
     Division for support for the surveys and received a $500 contract to write the 
     
    
   
   
    
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