Mid-July is quickly barrelling down upon us and things are a jumpin’ here at the Visitor Centre. From stormy shipwrecks to staff in ghillie suits our programs are taking off.

The first shipwreck walk of the summer was a bit hit with over 40 people joining us for our evening stroll on the shores of a deceptively calm Lake Erie. The highlights were definitely the mad search for washed up rum bottles and the gruesome tale of The Morningstar where 33 lives were lost. From the deadly waters of Lake Erie we moved to how to survive the deadly game of predators in the wild. Kids where challenged to use their best spotting and hiding skills as Scott skulked around them in a fool proof ghillie or camouflage suit. Needless to say, the young spotters were more than a match for sneaky Scott.

On a similar note of avoiding being eaten, we have stumbled upon a wonderful new tool to help in the fight against mosquitoes! Early this spring, during our Wings of Spring festival, we were introduced to an all natural brand of new bug repellent. It’s called ‘Bugs Away Repellent’ and it’s made by a local company called Faerhaven Soaps. I’m always a little sceptical about new bug repellents, but being excited about a natural alternative I decided to give it a go. If nothing else, the pleasant non-chemical smell would be worth it, but to my delight it really works well. So well that we decided to get some for all of our staff here at the Visitor Centre and sell it in our Friends of Rondeau Bookstore. So if you are wondering what the new perfume that everyone at the Visitor Centre is wearing, now you know.

If you ever walk along the beach at Rondeau you have definitely heard our most common shorebird. The Killdeer is well known for its habit of saying its own name along with a regular ‘deeah, deeah, deeah,’ call. June and July are a great time of year to see one of their most amazing displays. It’s called the broken wing display. During this display the male or female will tilt to one side, droop a wing and fan out their tail. The whole purpose of this display is to say “Hey look at me! I’m easy to catch and eat! Come chase me!” The Killdeer are attempting to lure a predator away from their nest and nestlings to keep them protected.

Even if you see them doing the display, good luck trying to find thenest. The speckled eggs and young nestlings are so well camouflaged that you could walk within inches of the nest and never know it was there. A week ago, one of the wardens found a nest and gave me directions to go and see it. Even with very precise directions it took me quite a bit of time to locate nest. The nest is just a shallow scrape on the ground with barely any lining at all. The eggs are very pointed at

one end. This way if something nudges them by accident the eggs will roll in a circle, instead of rolling away from the protection of the nest. Right now, most of the eggs have hatched and there are lots of young Killdeer just starting to roam the beaches. If you keep your eyes peeled, you just might be lucky enough to spot one of the well camouflaged young.

Searchingly Yours,

Kip