On the evening of Thursday, Jan. 19, the Buffalo Lake Nature Club (BLN) held it’s annual general meeting. This club has been in operation since 1973 and was formerly titled Buffalo Lake Naturalists. Members from Stettler and the surrounding area attend monthly meetings in the winter, conduct wildlife surveys year-round and participate in nature walks in the warmer months. Guests speaker topics range from bird feeding and animal tracking to bats and bounties. The club has been newly assigned as caretaker of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area encompassing Erksine and Ewing Lakes, and Shuckburgh Slough, which are internationally recognized as vital migration stopovers for a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds.
At the AGM, the 2016 executive remained on for 2017 as follows: President Chris Pfeifle, Vice-president Bob Schreiber, Secretary Marie Payne, and Treasurer Chris Verhoeven. Dr. Charley Bird and Mark Higgins are Directors at Large, while Claudia Lipski will continue in her role as the Buffalo Lake Nature Representative to Nature Alberta. Claudia reported on Nature Alberta (NA) happenings such as the Hypothermic Half Fundraiser taking place in February and the availability of the Nature Alberta Magazine in electronic form to members with the purchase of a NA Extended Membership. Various committee positions were filled and prior to refreshments being offered, nature sightings were reported. Of note: apparent decrease in feeder birds, Eurasian Collared-dove numbers seem to be down, Snowy Owls are present. A highlight of the evening was having Lily, aged five years, present her oratory on facts she had learned about bears and woodpeckers. Dr. Charley Bird gave a tribute to former member Les Knapp, who passed away earlier this month.
The Buffalo Lake Nature Club will meet on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in the lower hall of St. George’s Anglican Church, 4817-51 Ave., Stettler. The topic will be “Animal Track Pattern and Sign Identification.” Everyone is welcome. Information is available at buffalolakenature.com or by phoning Chris at 403-740-3636.