(This message has been approved by the coordinator) Hi All;
This message is to let you know about hikes and events at Rondeau during late April and the month of May - particularly our guided bird hikes, and an evening social with guest speaker Ethan Meleg. First off, we are fortunate to have Alan Wormington as our expert birder at Rondeau this spring. Alan will be leading two hikes per day - every morning at 7:30 and either an afternoon or evening hike each day. One afternoon hike per week will be at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoon and evening hikes will primarily be along Marsh Trail. These hikes will be FREE, with funding from the Trillium Foundation through the Ridgetown-Rondeau Festival of Flight. Hikes will begin on weekends in mid April, and go through the majority of May. Participant numbers will be limited with pre-registration at the Visitor Centre. For more details on dates and times, check the Friends of Rondeau website at: http://www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca/festival_of_flight.htm Throughout May we will be having a number birding events. The most significant of these will be an evening social, reception and dinner on Saturday May 10 with special guest speaker Ethan Meleg and his "Confessions of a Crazed Bird Photographer". The evening will include a reception, gourmet dinner, Ethan's talk, silent auctions and bucket raffles (and more). For a complete summary of the event, see the Friends website at: http://www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca/evening_in_the_park.htm We are also putting out the challenge to all birders to join us for the First Annual Rondeau Big Day Birding Competition. The competition will be held from noon May 9 to noon May 10, with the winning person/team (1 or 2 per team) being awarded the Rondeau Cup at the Saturday night reception and social. The winner(s) will receive a framed Rondeau print to take home, and their name will be added to the cup which will remain on display at the Visitor Centre. For more details and rules check here: http://www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca/the_rondeau_cup.htm We will be having lots of other activities and events during May including a special slide presentation by bird photographers Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume on May 11, and a program on bird song entitled "Why Bids Sing" by nature recorder John Neville on May 15. Check the friends site for full program details for May: http://www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca/festival_of_flight.htm Hope to see you at Rondeau in May! Sandy ______________________________________________________________________________ Jon (Sandy) Dobbyn and Myrna Dobbyn P.O. Box 1393 Blenheim, ON CANADA N0P 1A0 519-676-0184 (Home) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (email) ______________________________________________________________________________ Sandy and Myrna Dobbyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
