Dr. Rick Cawthorne provided an illustrated lecture on the parasites of wild 
     
     animals in March; Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust was the featured speaker on "Stranding 
     
     of Deep Sea Species on Island Beaches" in April; John DeGrace explained the 
     
     geology of P.E.I. and its fossils in October; Dr. David Cairns spoke on the 
     
     challenges of "How To Count Fish" on November; and Lupins were the topic of Dr. . 
     
     Katherine Clough's December presentation. 
     
    

    
     This was also a very sotive field trip year with Dan McAskill leading a 
     
     field trip to Victoria Park, Rosemary Curley leading a canoe trip on Johnson's 
     
     River marsh on July llth, and Barb Currie leading a field trip to the The 
     
     Atlantic Waterfowl Celebration at Sackville, N. B. on August 7th. Seven 
     
     Society members went on a trip to Grand Manan, N.B. from August 28th to 30th, 
     
     and Roberta Palmer organized the Society barbeque pot-luck picnic at the P.E.I. 
     
     National Park's Brackley Shelter on September 13th. Society members also 
     
     hosted and participated in two Audubon—Leica Christmas Bird Counts and 
     
     pot-lucks, the Montague Christmas Bird Count, a western bird excursion, an Owl 
     
     Prowl, and a big bird day. 
     
    
   
   
    
     PARTRIDGES IN A PEAR TREE by Evelyn Meader 
     
    
   
   
    
     I am writing this on a sunny day after the generous snow dump of December 
     
     4th to 6th, 1992. A gentle autumn with plenty of exposed seeds has meant few 
     
     birds visiting the feeder. All has changed this week—end with many hungry 
     
     customers patronizing our avian cafeteria. 
     
    

    
     Best of all, our roaming partridges 
     
     have returned to scratch industriously 
     
     under the feeders, to hunker down behind 
     
     the drifts or to race with outstretched 
     
     necks in single file across the blanketed 
     
     lawn toward the safety of the bordering 
     
     bushes. I 
     
    

    
     Months ago, in late spring, a lone 
     
     limping partridge regularly paid a call to 
     
     our pear tree where he peeked for spilled 
     
     seeds. We sympathized with this 
     
     physically—challenged bird who didn't seem 
     
     able to scratch and was always all alone. 
     
     One day when the grass was cut short I 
     
     could see why he limped. One foot was 
     
     completely missing. ' 
     
    

    
     We named him Cassidy. As summer flourished, Casss arrived with a pal 
     
     then, a week later, two pals. They were nervous about approaching the house 
     
     but Cass's nonchalant neighbourly feeding lured them in and they all enjoyed 
     
     the seeds spilled from above. 
     
    

    
     Cass's opportunistic friends continued to visit even after they had, sad 
     
     to say, dumped him. Sometimes, rarely, he hobbled in alone again. By late 
     
     summer we had no partridge patrons at all. 
     
    

    
     Fall brought a family with six skittish, tumbling juveniles and two 
     
     watchful parents. They stayed close to the border where they could melt into 
     
     the cover in a wink. We observed with eagle eyes but Uncle Cass did not come 
     
     back. ' 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     One evening as Rick drove down the lane, what looked like a shapeless 
     
     lump of sacking in the headlights, broke into frightened, scattered, individual 
     
     partridges. Mid-lane is not a safe nap spot, guys and gals. We recommend that 
     
     you bed down under the pear tree. . 
     
     With todays appearance of the flightys-in-the-night, we are glad the 
     
     birds reunited and have a warm covey for wintry snoozes. we are glad for the 
     
    
   
   
    
     _ lo -