THANKS, WINNIE!

With the completion of the July-August issue of the Natural History Society newsletter, Winnifred Cairns has resigned as newsletter editor. Members of the Society have benefitted from Winnie's time and efforts for five years as she served the editor's position and all will agree she has done an excellent job! Winnie has been a. driving force within the group and her good iudgement and clear-sightedness on environmental issues have earned her well-deserved respect.

l take this opportunity on behalf of the Society to congratulate Winnie on her recent marriage and to wish her and Dave the very best of luck in Ontario. And, of course. our most sincere thanks for your profound in- fluence on the NHS over the years. We will miss you very much.

Geoff Hogan, President

NEW LOOK, NEW NAMES

Well, here’s our first effort. Hopefully this will reach readers in time to remind everyone ' that the first fall meeting is on October 2 at 8:00 p.m. in the Provincial Health Building in Charlot- tetown.

The newsletter's new look will give those of us with children an opportunity to involve them in some aspect of the Natural History Society and help them learn about various species. The cover illustration will change each issue and will be suitable for colouring.

The article on mushrooms in this issue is the first in a series by Katherine Clough, and ex-NHS member from Charlottetown now living in

Sillery, Quebec. We hope that some of the _

speakers for the monthly meeting will be able to give us a sampling of what their talk will be about (to whet our appetites for more). Book reviews of old favourites and new publications are also in the works.

A special thank you goes out to Winnifred Cairns for making the transition easy by taking the time to meet with us and offer information on possible stories and contacts. We are looking forward to having lots of fun doing the newslet- ter and hope that you, the reader, will get as much enjoyment out of it.

Jane Symmes. Gary Schneider and Geoff Hogan

AMERICAN KESTREI. (Sparrow Hawk)

9 to 12 inches - a swall0w-like falcon about the size of a joy. Rufous back and tail. Males have blue-gray wings. Both sexes have 'mustoched’ black and white face pattern. Hovers on rapidly beating wings. Seen in open country, farmland, wood edges, dead trees and wires.

in summer and early autumn, it feeds almost ex- clusively on grasshoppers, Crickets, caterpillars and dragonflies. in colder seasons it must rely on mice and smaller birds for food.

For more information, see your field guide or favourite bird book.