NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND P.O. BOX 2346, CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. CIA 8C1

MEETINGS are held of the first Tuesday of the month (except July, August, and September) at 7:30 pm. at the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown. Members and non-members are welcome. Please bring your coffee cup so that we will contribute as little as possible to the waste stream.

Membership is open to anyone interested in the natural history of Prince Edward Island. Membership is available at any meeting or by contacting the Acting Treasurer at PO. Box 2346, Charlottetown C1A 8C1 (phone 569—435 1). Annual membership is $16 and renewals are due in January. Membership expiry dates are shown in the top right hand corner of the mailing label.

The Society is directed by a volunteer Executive elected from its members.

2005 Executive: President ........................... ..Dwaine Oakley, Crossroads 569-1815 oakleym@eastlink.com Vice-President .... ..Dan Kennedy, Vernon River 651-2926 dankennedy@islandtelecom.com Past President .................................. ..David Seeler, West Royalty 566-4505 seeler@upei.ca Secretary ............................................. ..Fiep deBie, Stratford 569-1413 dfiep@hotmail.com Treasurer ............................................. ..Vacant Director - Program ............................... ..Bonnie McOrmond 566-5648 Director - Publicity ................................................ ..Sharon Clark 626-3566 sclark@upei.ca

NEWSLETTERS are normally published quarterly on recycled paper. Articles, notes, reports, drawings, bird sightings, plant records, etc. are welcomed from members and non-members. If you have seen anything unusual,

please share it with us. It is important to have your observations recorded so that others may learn from them. All contributions should be sent to:

Dan McAskill, Newsletter Editor, NHSPEI Charlottetown RR # 5, Donagh, P.E.I. ClA 7J8 E-mail: nhspei@isn.net

The next deadline for articles, sightings, or other newsletter information is Mar. 31, 2005

Illustrations/Pictures: The Society extends a special thanks to the Connie Pound Gaudet and the late Hal Hinds, for their illustrations in this issue.

The Natural History Society gratefully acknowledges support from the Department of Education and Human Resources which enables distribution of newsletters to schools and libraries desiring it. The Natural History Society is an affiliate of the Nature Canada and has representation on the board of the Island Nature Trust. The Society is a registered, non—profit organization (Part 2, Companies Act). Tax receipts are issued for donations to the Society and these funds are used to further the work of the Society.

Reprinting: Editors of other newsletters and teachers wishing to copy classroom materials are welcome to reprint articles from the Island Naturalist (except when copyrighted). Due acknowledgment must be provided to the Island Naturalist, the author and illustrator. Web page: The Society’s web page is located at www.isn.net/~nhspei

Cover Illustration: Evening Grosbeak populations have declined dramatically in recent years even at the best feeders. Their

populations are thought to be strongly linked to spruce budworm outbreaks and, based on current knowledge, it is anticipated that their populations will again increase once budworm populations increase.