Blueberry Mountain

Press Release

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

September 1, 2010

Our Human Need for Wild Nature and Conserving its Incredible Diversity

by Cathy Keddy

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists public lecture series on natural history and biology is set to start again September 16th. There was record attendance at MVFN’s lecture series last year. Talks this year will once again be held at the Almonte United Church, and are open to the public as well as MVFN members. You do not need to be an expert to enjoy the presentations—just a curiosity or appreciation for wild nature. Cottagers, hunters, fishermen, canoeists, hikers, campers, artists and seasoned field naturalists alike are invited to explore what lives in Lanark County and how best to protect it for future generations. Refreshments are offered at each lecture.

The coming year marks the beginning of the United Nation’s ‘Decade of Biodiversity’, so the underlying theme of the series will be Biodiversity and Vital Connections for Fauna, Flora, and People. Lectures will include a wide range of topics from the psychological benefits of wild nature to the status of the wild turkey. We have species here that many people have never seen—such as red efts, whip-poor-wills, map turtles, lizards, and even egrets. Who knows what lurks in your favourite bit of local forest?

Our first lecture will be presented by Dr. Baylor Johnson, Professor of Philosophy and Director of outdoor studies at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Dr. Johnson has an interest in environmental philosophy and the causes and solutions to environmental problems and has written articles for journals such as Environmental Values and Rethinking Sustainability. The lecture will focus on how to amplify the benefits humans derive from time spent in wild lands, and ways to encourage everyone to similarly benefit. This is a very broad topic. Why do fall colours captivate us? Why do hunters take pleasure in the autumn deer and turkey hunts? Why do naturalists look forward to the autumn hawk migration? Why do artists so often find inspiration in our forests and lakes? Why did Jesus and the Buddha, among others, spend hours alone in the wilderness? What is clear is that while there are a great number of ways people appreciate nature, we all share a common interest in wild things and the need to experience a sense of wildness.

So enjoy an evening among friends, take in some spectacular photography, and prepare yourself for an autumn and winter of talks and field trips. Attend Dr. Johnson’s presentation “Our Human Need for Wild Nature and Conserving its Incredible Diversity” which kicks off MVFN’s new lecture series Thursday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m., at the Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. All are welcome ($5 fee for non-members). For further information please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089.

Photo 1: MVFN member Edwin Rohr atop Blueberry Mountain, one of Lanark County’s spectacular wild lands. The first lecture in the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ 2010-11 series will explore why we all share a common interest in wild things and a need to experience a sense of wildness. Photo courtesy Howard Robinson.

Sunday, August 22, 2010, – 9:30am launch

(A combination of #14 and #16 on the canoe brochure)

No Car Pooling required. Meet at Taylor Lake Boat launch at the north end of Concession 12, Lanark before 9:30am.

To get there from Almonte, take County road 16 (Wolf Grove Road) west 12 km to Lanark Conc. 12, and turn north (i.e. turn right) to the boat launch area. Lanark Conc. 12 is approximately 3 km from Union Hall.

Lunch will be at Howard and Mary’s place on Clayton Lake. Bring your bathing suits if you wish to swim. Everybody is invited back after the canoe trip for drinks and munchies.

Bring: lunch, binoculars, rain gear, bug juice, suntan lotion, bathing suits.

Please register beforehand by calling or emailing Howard & Mary Robinson, 613-256-0817 (hmrob@storm.ca) and provide your phone number.

Let us know if you have a canoe and need a partner or, if you wish to partner with someone who has a canoe.

In case of severe weather, this event will be cancelled. If in doubt, please call Howard or Mary before 8:30am.

Sunday, August 8th

MVFN member Pam Hickman will meet us and guide us through the islands around the eastern lake and into a channel. It is a beautiful lake with some wetlands and bays to explore. We will have a shore lunch on Pam’s waterfront lawn!  Launch will be at 10:30 am in the village of Sharbot Lake at the public park.

Car pooling: Meet at Union Hall at 9 am (for eastern Lanark paddlers) or at the parking lot of Glen Tay Public School at 9:30 am (for western Lanark paddlers).

Bring lunch, binoculars, rain gear, bug juice, suntan lotion, etc.

Please let Chris & Pat know if you are coming and also if you need a partner. We will do our best to match you up and get you out on the water!

For more information: Call Chris or Pat (co-trip organizers).  In case of foul weather, this trip will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Chris or Pat before 8:00 a.m. the day of the trip. 

Chris Hume (613)722-6832, ext. 238, email: chume@bsl.com. 

Pat Matheson (613)256- 2995, email: squirrels@superaje.com.

This website contains descriptions of a number of suggested canoe/kayak  journeys for seeing nature from the water’s edge. A link from the header at the top of the Canoe Journeys section takes you to a pdf which describes most but not all of the canoe journeys described on this website. Some are described in individual postings.  If you cannot find the route you are looking for, try doing a search under the lake or river you are interested in.

If you have any suggested changes regarding the journey descriptions found here please contact MVFN’s Outdoor Program Leader Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013 or e-mail bennett@magma.ca.

NOTE: Please respect private property owners when choosing launch, lunch and swimming locations.

The following account of a recent MVFN field trip was written by Cathy Keddy (MVFN Programme Chair) with photos by Cathy Keddy except as indicated. Read full story with 5 photos as pdf 

This was not just another bicycle rodeo, but a fantastic geological outing in Lanark County led by Dr. Allan Donaldson. The tour really began just downstream from the road bridge at Pakenham where we were carried back to Paleozoic times (about 500 million years ago), when the area was beneath a warm, shallow sea.

Cross-sections of sea lily stems, appearing as half-centimeter-diameter washers, were scattered across the exposed, flat riverside rock pavement. Among them were the fossil remains of long, straight, conical shells of nautiloid cephalopods (like squids with shells on their bodies)—orthocones. The one in this photo, however, was just a baby. Some grew to lengths of meters!  >>>>>>>>> Read full story as pdf with link above.

Geotour 2010

Sunday, July 25

Meet:  9:00 am in Pakenham in the park behind the school (Jesse St. to the stop sign & turn right to enter the park-no charge).

Bring:  lunch, binoculars, rain gear, bug juice, suntan lotion.

Please register beforehand with Olga:  613-622-0910 or  olgajanoska@sympatico.ca.

 Please let us know if you have a canoe & need a partner or if you wish to partner with someone who has a canoe.

 In case of severe weather this event will be cancelled. If in doubt call Olga.

Saturday, July 17, 2010 —— 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

 Accompany Dr. Allan Donaldson on a geoheritage tour of our region to learn about stratigraphy, fossils, and the Canadian Shield.

 Meet: at Metcalfe Park, in Almonte at 9:00 a.m. for outing introduction and to carpool. Metcalf Park is at the bottom of the lower falls on the Mississippi River near the new Hydro development site in Almonte,  From Hwy 29, turn toward Almonte at traffic lights (Almonte St.) and park is at the bottom of the hill on your left before you reach Mill St. in Almonte and before crossing over the first bridge.

 Tour itinerary:

1. Drive directly to one of the Cavanagh quarries – Stratigraphy and fossils

2. Parking area, east side of Pakenham Bridge – Fossils and stratigraphy

3. Lunch (at Pakenham or en route to next stop)

4. Smith’s Falls – Building stone and memorial cairn – recognition of rocks, primary and secondary structures, and evaluation of likely source

5. Civitan Court in front of Crystal Palace, Perth – Display of rocks from the Precambrian Shield (a potential geoheritage park, complementary to Metcalfe Geoheritage Park); nearby local building stone; possible visit to Matheson House Museum

6. Return to Metcalfe Geoheritage Park, Almonte, 4:30 p.m.

 Bring: lunch, boots with steel toes (or your most protective footwear if you don’t have such boots) and safety hat (if you have one) for the quarry, sun hat, sunscreen, hand lens, binoculars, camera, your natural history notebook, insect repellant, and lots to drink

For further information please contact Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089

Sunday, July 4

 Meet at 9 a.m. at the boat launch site in Appleton, on River Road just below the Appleton dam.

When we reach Almonte, we will stop at the Almonte beach where we can swim in the river. We will lock our canoes and go for lunch at a restaurant in Almonte. We will paddle back to Appleton. Each way takes about 2 hours.

Bring: lock, binoculars, rain gear, bug repellent, suntan lotion, hat, paddles, life jacket, bailing bucket and other safety equipment you may need.

Please register beforehand by contacting Suzanne Rebetez at 613- 253-2172 or suzreb@rogers.com.

Let us know if you have a canoe and need a partner or, if you wish to partner with someone who has a canoe.

In case of severe weather, this event will be cancelled.  If in doubt, please contact Suzanne.

This newly described route suggestion is not included in MVFN’s first edition Lanark County Canoe & Kayak Journeys

How to Get There: From Perth, take Hwy. 511 to County Rd. 16 north of Hopetown. Go west on # 16 through Lavant to County Rd. 509. Go north on #509 to village of Ompah. Just before the fire hall, turn south on South Bush Road to the boat launch on Crotch Lake.

The Launch Site: There are two sites, past the rapids.

The Paddle: Take your pick, according to winds. Many bays, also wetland creeks at end of bays. This is all Crown land. Many picnic sites.

Watch For: Many camping places available by permit. For camping information www.northfrontenacparklands.ca.

Seasonal Information: Good until freeze-up

A Field Day — Bugs at Big Creek!

Saturday, June 19, 2010 —— 10:00 a.m.

 Bring your lunch and accompany Dr. Henri Goulet, our insect expert of bioblitz fame, to discover the six-legged fauna of fields to forest at Big Creek, near Lanark.

 Will you discover the most intriguing insect?

 Location: Meet on Concession 6 Dalhousie Twp. just south of the intersection with County Rd. 8 — Joel Byrne will meet you there and guide you the rest of the way as a convoy

 Directions: take Wolf Grove Rd. (Hwy 16) to Hopetown; turn south (left) on Hwy 511; turn right on County Rd. 8, pass through the hamlet of Watsons Corners, turn left onto Concession 6, Dalhousie Twp. where you will meet Joel.

Bring: lunch, binoculars, camera, hand lens, insect net, insect repellent and your natural history notebook; water will be available on site.

More information: Contact Joel Byrne at 613-624-5404 for further information.

On the heels of a most successful international outing to Mexico in 2009 to visit the wintering quarters of the migrating monarch butterfly, and a very rewarding trip to Western and Central Cuba this year, MVFN announces another international outing for this coming winter.

Enjoy finding many exotic tropical birds including 21 species found only in Cuba plus many of our Canadian birds wintering over in this wonderful island nation. In Eastern Cuba, 22% of the island is protected environment, among the highest in the world. We will begin and end this tour in the city of Holguin and will include such exotic places as the Barocoa Rain Forest, the crisp mountain air of La Gran Piedra National Park, stay in an exclusive resort deep in the Sierra Maestra Mountains as well as spend time in resorts along the coastal waters of both the Atlantic and the Caribbean.

This is a two week trip during Feb. 2011, leaving Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 7 to Holguin City and returning Mon. Feb. 21, Holguin to Ottawa . The trip is designated moderate difficulty.

Designed by Quest Nature Tours exclusively for MVFN, our leader Don Shanahan, a retired Ontario high school science teacher and excellent birder well familiar with Cuba and Cuban birds, will take us into unspoiled (by tourists) regions in Eastern Cuba. Don will be assisted by an experienced English speaking Cuban naturalist who is with us for the entire trip. This is a great tour!  I know, for I have been to most of these places before, with Quest Nature Tours.

Details of the tour:

Cost: US$2795 per person (the tour is priced in US$ because the Convertible Peso in Cuba is equal to the US$)including all accommodations (double occupancy) (single accommodation pays a surcharge of US$395).

Gratuities for all services provided by Quest

Ground transportation in a new, air conditioned, Chinese bus

All meals as offered

Bottled water at meals plus in the bus

Airport transfers

Park entrance fees

Services of Quest leader Don Shanahan and Cuban bilingual guide

Airfare is separate and costs $850, including all taxes. We get our own tickets for a specially booked flight from Ottawa to Holguin and return. That way, we can use our travel points. (Sunwing Airlines is the only carrier at present flying directly to Holguin and back, but it only flies on Mondays)

Also not covered are:

any fuel surcharges

extra accommodations due to interruption of flight services

airport departure taxes/Cuban tourist visa card (we get these from the airline)

airport transfers if you don’t fly on the group flight

bar expenses and optional activities

items of a personal nature

Additional transportation due to any emergency situation (your insurance should cover that)

A deposit of $500 Cdn is required by Sept. 1, 2010, payable to MVFN, balance by Dec. 4 of this year (payable to Quest Nature Tours).

If you want to join us in another very successful (I’m sure) international outing, here’s what you have to do:

Send me an email indicating your interest and I will send you a full itinerary, an application form, waiver, plus other details. Return your forms to me and $500 deposit before Sept. 1 and you’re in!

Mail to MVFN Box 1617, Almonte K0A 1A0 or give them to me personally. Deposit cheques should be made to Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists.

This tour is limited to only 16 persons so I will take you in priority of receipt of application and deposit.

If it looks like we won’t have the full complement by mid August, I am going to open registration to Macnamara Field Naturalist Club and Rideau Valley Field Naturalists.

Any questions, please contact me, Cliff Bennett at 613-256-9399 or bennett@magma.ca

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Car Pooling: East Lanark: Union Hall for departure by 9:00 A.M. West Lanark: Hopetown General Store for departure 9:15 A.M.

Bring: lunch, binoculars, rain gear, bug juice, suntan lotion

Please register beforehand by calling or emailing. Cliff Bennett 613-256-5013 or  bennett@magma.ca.

Let us know if you have a canoe and need a partner or, you wish to partner with someone who has a canoe.

In case of severe weather, this event will be cancelled.  If in doubt, call Cliff.

Make Way for the Annual Turtle Parade!

*This article on turtle nesting season was prepared by Dr. Paul Keddy on behalf of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists. Dr. Keddy, is a local Lanark County resident, and scientist and author of many articles and books on wetlands and wildlife including Earth, Water, Fire: An Ecological Profile of Lanark County and can be reached at drpaulkeddy@gmail.com.

Turtle time is here again! In March we celebrated maple syrup season across Lanark County and through April and May we welcomed an early spring. But now that it is June, without much fanfare, we in Lanark County are being treated to the 200 million year old annual parade of turtles. Yes, June is here again and the nesting turtles are back! In fact this year they have been noticed on our roads for a few weeks now.

As I mentioned last year, most of the time turtles are rather secretive – hibernating much of the year on the bottom of lakes and ponds. Much of the rest of the year they swim around looking for dead things to eat and occasionally take a break to warm up in the sun stretched out on a log. Overall, turtles are harmless, and in fact do some good since they are efficient scavengers that clean up dead animals from our water supply. All of our turtles – even the large snapping turtle – are opportunist feeders. They eat whatever they can conveniently find, which is mainly insects and dead fish. Biologists have spent many years studying turtle diets –by counting the items in their stomachs – and have this well-documented. Even large snapping turtles, which get blamed for eating ducks or game fish, rarely have any of these items in their stomachs. They too eat carrion. Yes, snapping turtles will snap at you — when on land — particularly if you let your dog frighten them, or if you poke them with a stick. Many people would do the same.

Every part of the world has its own set of turtles. If you were lost, and someone gave you a list of local turtles, you could pin down almost exactly where you were. North America has just over 50 species in all. Some places, like the west coast, are impoverished, having just one species. Other places, like Louisiana, are blessed with more than 30 species. Lanark County has exactly five. In approximate order of size, beginning with the smallest, they are musk turtle (or stinkpot), painted turtle, map turtle, Blanding’s turtle and snapping turtle. All but the painted turtle are now considered species at risk. Two, the musk turtle and the Blanding’s turtle, are officially considered threatened species. The decline has two main causes, (1) death on roads and (2) destruction of wild places.

Nesting time is a dangerous time

For nearly 50 weeks of the year turtles are rather quiet, inoffensive neighbours, who pretty much keep to themselves. In this way, they might set a good example for human neighbors… but finally, after 50 weeks of peace, all hell breaks loose in June! All the females of reproductive age climb out of the water and begin the laborious task of hiking around to find a nesting site. It is probably terrifying for them to leave the familiar water and venture onto land, but the nesting urge is too strong to resist. Once they find just the right location, they dig a hole, bury their eggs, and leave. That is the end of motherly care. The eggs are heated by the summer sun, and then, in September, baby turtles about the size of a half-walnut dig their way up to the surface and somehow find their way back to water.

This means that without fail, usually near the middle of each June (and even earlier this year), we are treated to a parade of female turtles, wandering around our roads and properties, trying to nest. They have been doing this for about 200 million years, more or less. Turtles existed before the dinosaurs, and they even survived whatever it was that eliminated the dinosaurs. Despite their long history, turtles just have not had time to learn to adapt to two new things: cars and roads. That tiny brain has no idea that a road means danger. And so, increasingly, we are losing our turtles as the reproductive females (and often the eggs they contain) are killed on highways.

Biologists sometimes analyze the “reproductive value” of certain individuals in a population, i.e. how important they are to their species survival. New baby turtles have low reproductive value because only a few ever survive –skunks, raccoons, crows, fish and even bullfrogs eat them. This high mortality rate for babies is natural for turtles. However the reproductive value of the adult female turtle is extremely high. Once she has made it to 20 years old she has the capacity to make up for the high mortality rate of the babies by laying from 10 to 30 eggs every year for decades. The turtles being killed on our roads are usually the adult females — with the highest reproductive value. When a female is killed – it means the loss of hundreds of offspring she might have produced over future summers. These loses cannot be replaced. As a result, turtles that were present in my childhood, like musk turtles and Blanding’s turtles, are now uncommon. Not only do turtles just cross roads, they are actually attracted to roads. The warm sand and gravel along the road side makes a perfect nest site. So turtles will come long distances to climb onto the shoulder and lay their eggs. If drivers are careless, the highway becomes a ribbon of death.

So what can we do?

1. The first is to accept and even appreciate this annual event. We might even build an annual tourist event around the nesting weeks. We could put up some highway crossing signs at critical locations, or better still, plan ahead and build small underpasses when roads are being reconstructed. And, of course, we have to protect critical nesting areas from subdivisions. More urgently there is the immediate issue of death on the roads.

2. Drive carefully. Turtles are slow-movers, so as I mentioned last year, it really does take a complete idiot to hit one with a car.

- Don’t tailgate (which your driver training instructor no doubt told you anyway), as you may run over a turtle that the car in front of you just missed.

-Help them out. Stop, and carry the turtle the rest of the way across the road – in the direction she was headed, of course. Some will not appreciate your help, and may without warning try to scratch or bite, so keep a pair of gardening gloves handy and perhaps a shovel to help lift. A big snapping turtle is heavy, so I would recommend extreme care – probably best to simply act like a shepherd.

- Alert other drivers where possible. You could stop your car and let other people know that a turtle is crossing the road. Although this is not a good idea in traffic going 100 kilometers per hour, it would be feasible on many side roads.

-Let them nest in peace. If a nesting female arrives in your yard, keep the pets away, and let the children watch quietly from a respectful distance more than ten feet away. Think about the respect we give to pregnant women, and give the pregnant turtle the same courtesy. If she does nest, you can put a piece of chicken wire over the nest. Do not use mosquito netting as the holes are too small and could trap the baby turtles. Then, wait. Given the right amount of sun and rain, baby turtles should emerge in September.

One of the joys of living here is the annual spectacle of the June turtles. If you still think you must drive so fast that you ignore the crossing turtles, may I respectfully suggest you consider moving to downtown Phoenix or Las Vegas or Toronto, or one of our other larger urban centers, where you won’t have to be inconvenienced by other living creatures. Learning to share the landscape with wild animals is part of what it means to live here. We might start with courtesy to turtles, and then extend it to frogs, birds, butterflies, bears and all the other animals that lived here long before our ancestors decided to settle in North America.

Not everyone can personally save a blue whale, or a black rhinoceros, but everyone can drive responsibly, and, like a good boy scout, help the occasional turtle across the road. In 2009 many turtles were saved according to the Toronto Zoo turtle tally. To find out more about Ontario’s turtles and the 5 in Lanark County, visit a local bookshop or consult the Toronto zoo’s adopt- a- pond website www.torontozoo.com/adoptapond/turtles.asp or, if you would like to have an urgent turtle question answered you can e-mail the Toronto Zoo at aap@torontozoo.ca.

Also of interest is Aleta Karstad’s painting a day blog  including one painting done on MVFN’s first ever bioblitz at the Bell Property in September, 2009 – at www.karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/2009/09/vernal-pool-resting.html#links    This painting of ferns in a vernal pool, done during the bioblitz, was apparently part of a pilot project to get ready for her ‘painting a day’ project which is ongoing (since March 2010) to help fund the ’30 Years Later Expedition’ for the International Year of Biodiversity.

Aleta Karstads work provides spectacular examples of documenting with words and illustrations in ’nature notebooks’ what we see in nature.

MVFN 2010 Spring/Summer/Fall Outdoor Programme

Saturday, May 29 – Annual Spring Nature Walk

Saturday, June 19 – A Field Day-Bugs at Big Creek

Saturday, July 17 -Geology-Lanark County Rocks!

*August 14 or 15 (tba) – CANCELLED

Sep 25 (rain date Sep 26)  – Annual Autumn Field Trip

and the canoe/kayak outings . . .

June 12 or 13 (tba) – Canoe outing-Mississippi River from Dalhousie Lake Downriver 

Sunday, July 4 – Canoe the Mississippi -Appleton to Almonte

Sunday, July 25 – Canoe the Mississippi-Pakenham/ Blakeney

Sunday, August 8 – Canoe Sharbot Lake

Sunday, August 22 – Canoe Clayton/Taylor Lakes

Sept 10-13 – 3rd Annual MVFN Canoe Camp- Algonquin Park

Sunday, October 3 – Fall Colours Canoe trip

Further details for all events will be sent via our members e-mail network and will be posted at www.mvfn.ca closer to the events; or contact Programme Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or keddy01@gmail.com.

Saturday, May 29, 2010 —— 10:00 a.m.

Explore nature on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s newest preserve— in Wolf Grove near Union Hall

Did you miss our winter walk in the Webber Woods in Wolf Grove? Did you enjoy the winter walk and want to witness this wonderful wild woodland wrapped in its spring wardrobe? Join this walk guided by Martha Webber, botanist, naturalist, teacher, and long-time property steward. Only Martha knows the natural secrets of this spectacular property.

Enjoy lunch on the shore of Bowley Lake.

Location: Meet at the end of Ramsay Concession 4B which extends south off Wolf Grove Rd., about 3km east of Union Hall (the hall is at the intersection of Wolf Gove Rd. and Tatlock Rd.); Ramsay Con. 4B is only about 100m long

Parking: Park along Ramsay Con. 4B

Bring: lunch, binoculars, camera, and your natural history notebook.

More information: Contact Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or keddy01@gmail.com  (call before 9 a.m. if uncertain event will take place due to weather).

 Do you remember MAD Cap Horse?

by Steve Miller with photos by Cathy Keddy

Winter Walk 2010 photo Cathy Keddy

On Sunday, February 7, 2010 an enthusiastic group of hikers gathered at the end of Ramsay Concession 4B, about 3 km east of Union Hall for the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ (MVFN) winter walk on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Webber Property in Wolf Grove. We were immediately greeted by a small flock of chickadees hoping for hand-held peanuts. Guides for this adventure were Ali Giroux of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), and Tineke Kuiper and Joel Byrne of MVFN . . . to read the entire story by Steve Miller (with photos by Cathy Keddy) as pdf please click on  MVFN Winter Walk 2010

 If you missed this winter walk in Wolf Grove, join us May 29 for our Annual Spring Walk to be held on the Webber Property. See what the Webber property has hidden beneath its spring blanket!

Adirondack Park Comes to Lanark County!

by Cathy Keddy

Where is North America’s nearest and largest protected landscape? Perhaps the Everglades, or maybe Yellowstone National Park? No, not even close. They are much too small and distant. In fact, North America’s largest protected landscape is only a few hours drive from Lanark County. Not Algonquin Park, although at roughly 3 times the size of Lanark County it is indeed large and significant. However, it isn’t nearly as big as the Adirondacks, in the opposite direction, and just south across the St. Lawrence River in northern New York.

Double the size of Algonquin, the Adirondacks are easily eight times the size of all of Lanark County. Very big and near—just over the horizon, a vast reservoir of plants and animals already adapted to our northern climate. In fact, the Adirondacks are so close that many birds could spend the night in the Adirondack forests, and drop in the next day to visit us. The wood thrushes, rose- breasted grosbeaks and yellow-rumped warblers are already making their way north to Lanark County, and may right now be planning their last night of rest in the Adirondacks before dropping in to breed in our forests. Some may also carry seeds from their last meal to deposit here. It is entirely possible, therefore, that the Adirondacks and Lanark County are biologically linked. Did the beech trees of Lanark County spread slowly north after the ice age, or did they simply drop out of the sky as seeds in the crops of passenger pigeons? Yes, there are old records of passenger pigeons nesting south of Carleton Place, and beech seeds were one of their favoured foods. Of course, hunters exterminated passenger pigeons, so they are no longer carrying tree seeds north. But other birds may be taking up some of the slack.

A truly remarkable aspect of the Adirondacks is its similarities to Lanark County, and Algonquin Park. It is a large dome of hard rock, mostly gneiss and granite, of the same age and chemical composition as the rocks that underlie much of our county. Consequently, it is the headwaters for rivers. The forests have northern tree species like white pine, red oak, sugar maple, and hemlock. (Indeed, if you were dropped by helicopter on the shore of a small lake, you might not know whether you were in Algonquin, the Adirondacks, or northern Lanark County.) Even the bird calls and frog calls would be the same.

Early in its history, the Adirondacks experienced the same impacts as Lanark County. The area was logged and mined. Wildlife was trapped for felt hats, forests were harvested for potash bound for Europe and charcoal was exported for iron ore. Hemlock trees were stripped for tanning leather. By the mid 1800s, the wild landscape was beginning to show the negative impacts of human exploitation. Then, remarkably, in 1892, in what was then a cutting-edge environmental decision, the state of New York decreed that the forests of the Adirondacks would remain “forever wild.” Although much of the landscape had already been altered, the remainder, perhaps some 200,000 acres, remained intact, leaving one of the largest stands of old growth forest in eastern North America. So, if you want to see what Lanark County looked like in the really old days, drive south into New York State. Saranac Lake is accessible by highway, but some of the hills around it have never been cut. In contrast Algonquin was so heavily logged that old growth is rare.

Of course, not everyone has the time to drive to the Adirondacks, so the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists have gone one better. They are bringing the Adirondacks to Lanark County with Dr. Jerry Jenkins, a well known biologist who has spent 40 years exploring the park. Jenkins, Forest Issues Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society, will speak at MVFN’s Spring Gathering 2010 being held May 20 in Carleton Place. Enjoy a banquet dinner beginning at 6 pm, and following the banquet, let Dr. Jenkins be your guide to the delights of the Adirondacks and their lessons for the future of Lanark County.

Spring Gathering 2010 will take place Thursday, May 20 at the Carleton Place Curling Club, 102 Patterson Crescent. Tickets ($20), which include a reception and banquet, are available by contacting Brenda Boyd (613-256-2706) in Almonte. Tickets must be purchased in advance by Friday May 14. They can also be purchased at Read’s Book Shop in Carleton Place or the Nature Lover’s Bookshop in Lanark. Or send a cheque to MVFN, Box 1617, Almonte, ON K0A 1A0 (must be received by Friday May 14), and your tickets can be picked up at the event.

See the early birds get their worms

6:00 A.M. until 8:00 A.M.

Wed. April 28

Carleton Place River Trail, Meet at Carleton Place Arena Parking lot 6:00 A.M.

 Wed. May 5

Gemmill Park, Almonte, Meet in Parking lot at Almonte Community Centre 6:00 A.M.

 No need to register; just show up. Come rain or shine.

Questions contact Cliff Bennett 613-256-5013

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

April 9, 2010

By Cathy Keddy

Good News—Bringing Species Back From the Brink

As the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) Big Picture Conservation lecture series continues, the focus will be on some environmental good news—species once considered at risk and how they can be brought back from the brink. For this lecture MVFN is pleased to welcome Paula Norlock, Lanark County native and Species at Risk Biologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources’ Kemptville office.

We realize the best approach for species at risk is preventing species from falling into this category in the first place, through being good land stewards and caring about the natural world around us. However, species may become at risk due to a variety of underlying causes and combinations of factors such as peculiarities of their biology and habitat requirements, disease, habitat loss, pollution, land cover change, competition or hybridization with alien species, as well as our lack of awareness. Population trends for species at risk are often indicators of the condition of other species and reveal the health of our ecosystems as Bill Crins explained to MVFN in his February lecture “A Stitch in Time: Monitoring Indicator Species to Diagnose Ecosystem Vitality.”

But what can we do if we miss the prevention boat? We can take action to recover these species at risk— to arrest or reverse their decline by removing or reducing the underlying threats and thus improving the likelihood that they will persist in the wild.

The good news is that currently, about 80 recovery teams are reviewing biology, habitat requirements and threats to livelihood in an effort to improve the status of endangered and threatened species in the province. Recovery strategies have now been prepared for protection and restoration of the populations of 13 species including mammals (American Badger), birds (Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl), fish (Redside Dace), turtles (Wood Turtle), salamanders (Jefferson Salamander) and plants (Deerberry, Eastern Flowering Dogwood, Eastern Prairie Fringed-orchid, Engelmann’s Quillwort, Few-flowered Club-rush, Ogden’s Pondweed, Spotted Wintergreen). The good news continues. Some species such as the Red-shouldered Hawk and Southern Flying squirrel, formerly considered at risk, now seem to have more secure populations.

Ms. Norlock will lead us through the fortunes, misfortunes and prospects of a selection of species at risk. Arrive ready to learn about achievements and plans to recover more species from Paula’s presentation “Bringing Species Back from the Brink—Some Good News!”, and leave inspired. Attend this upcoming MVFN lecture Thursday April 15, at 7:30 p.m., Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. All are welcome; $5 charge for non members. For further details, please contact Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089, or visit www.mvfn.ca.

MVFN Bluebird House Building Blitz

 Looking for volunteers to help assemble Bluebird houses in the morning or afternoon. 

 Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010

Place: # 2470 Ramsay Concession 8, Almonte, K0A 1A0

Same location as the Rebound Reuse-It Centre & Branje Metal Works (i.e. just in from the intersection of Ramsay Concession 8 & the Clayton Rd).

 We are looking for 6 volunteers for a morning shift 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon. Bring a lunch, light refreshments will also be available.

Looking for 6 volunteers for an afternoon shift 12:30 noon to 3:30 pm.

Light refreshments will also be available in the afternoon

 All MVFN members and friends welcome. Regardless of their wood working skill set –a task will be found to match their particular talents. Please bring a cordless drill if you have one.

The objective will be to assemble 170 Bluebird houses. The birdhouses will used in MVFN habitat creation projects and also available for sale at $15.00 each.

We will be working predominantly indoors. Therefore, weather shouldn’t be a factor.

Please Register in advance and come out and “provide a helping hand to nature” in this year’s MVFN’s habitat creation Birdhouse Building Blitz.  To register as a volunteer, or to place an order for bluebird houses, contact Mike McPhail at 613 256-7211 or email mcphaill@hotmail.com.

Carleton Place Environmental Advisory Committee Environmental Fair

The Carleton Place Environmental Advisory Committee (CPEAC) is planning its Earth Week Enviro Fair to be held on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Both vendor and visitor feedback from last year was so positive that they have decided to go ahead with plans for a bigger and better fair this year!

The main event will still be held in the upstairs hall at the Carleton Place arena. They are planning to expand into the parking lot with tents for larger vendors and demonstrations.

Full details will be posted when they become available.

MVFN’s new e-bulletin, The Hummingbird, which is sent to all MVFN members may also be found online in the Newsletters section.

The Whip-poor-will newsletter will also continue to be published in the same location.

Check back each month for new postings.

- brought to you by MVFN’s Environmental Issues committee-

During World War II, gasoline was rationed. Those who drove, used up their gas ration coupons and had no more gas for that time period. Pretend that gasoline is rationed now!

Who? All MVFN members and family and friends who drive vehicles.

What? A pilot project and challenge to test a simple method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2, a greenhouse gas) we put into the air by driving our vehicles.

When? Get ready now, but the challenge runs for the 26 week period: June 1st to Nov. 30th.

Where? Everywhere you drive.

Why? On average, every adult is responsible for contributing about 20 tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere each year. ·Burning fossil fuels is a significant source of our CO2input. ·Burning a litre of gas adds about 2.2 kg of CO2 to our air.

How? Follow the directions below.

How to participate:

1. Choose a typical ten-week period. Calculate the number of litres of gas you use for those ten weeks; e.g. use credit card receipts. Divide the total by 10 to calculate your average use/week.

2. Set yourself a goal to reduce the average number of litres used per week; e.g. 10% or 30%.

3. Make a ration book and record your weekly consumption. Trick: Put the same number of litres in your vehicle each Saturday and try to make that last a whole week.

4. Register your goal with the MVFN Challenge Registrar, Cliff Bennett (contact information below).

Cliff will keep track of the challenge goals and announce the challenge results in early December.

An Example – Cliff Bennett’s personal goal:

Cliff found he was using 30+ litres per week during his ten-week assessment period. He will challenge himself to reduce fuel consumption for his Ford Focus from 30 litres per week to 20 litres per week during the challenge period. That will reduce his CO2 input by 572 kg (260 l X 2.2). If ten MVFN members meet this challenge, the reduction would equal 5,720 kg and, if 100 did it, that would equal 57,200 kg.

Ways to reduce your gasoline consumption:

Drive less. Walk or cycle. Car pool. Keep your vehicle well tuned. Go easy on acceleration.

Buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. Don’t idle. Combine several errands into one trip.

For more information, contact Cliff Bennett, 613-256-5013 or Bennett@magma.ca.

Join the challenge, help alleviate climate change, reduce our drain on fossil fuels and save money on gas!

Wildlife Preservation Canada is seeking volunteer surveyors for our Grassland Bird Survey (GBS) beginning in the spring of 2010 and hope we can count on your participation! This project is being run as a joint effort between Wildlife Preservation Canada, Bird Studies Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service. The main goal of the project is to locate Loggerhead Shrike and incidentally, a suite of grassland bird species in Ontario mainly on habitat that has been previously identified through associated recovery activities. The information gathered will provide a greater understanding of bird species composition and linkages in Ontario’s remaining short-grasslands.

 The GBS will focus on grassland habitats in the key breeding areas of the Loggerhead Shrike which includes the Carden, Napanee and Smiths Falls limestone plains, the area around Pembroke/Renfrew, Grey and Bruce Counties in the Bruce Peninsula and on Manitoulin Island. Depending upon interest and skill level, participants can choose to complete a survey of ALL grassland bird species or a SUBSET of species that are of special interest to the project and readily identifiable. Surveyors will conduct 15 minute roadside surveys along assigned ‘sites’ from which high quality short-grassland habitat is visible. A survey kit containing detailed survey methodology, data forms and survey maps will be provided to all participants and can be delivered via post or email.

If you are interested in participating in this project and would like more information, please contact the GBS coordinator at Wildlife Preservation Canada by phone at 519-836-9314 or 1-800-956-6608 (toll free) or through email at gbs@wildlifepreservation.ca. We ask that you confirm your participation prior to March 19, 2010. Thank you in advance for your support!

Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly spotted March 2nd in Almonte

Spring seems to have arrived early this year. My wife, Lucy, a kindergarten teacher at Naismith Memorial Public School, in Almonte, was surprised to see a Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly flying around her car in the school parking lot on Tuesday afternoon, March 2nd. It was a bright sunny day and the temperature was up above freezing.

Tortiseshells, as well as Morning Cloak butterflies, overwinter as adults in protected places and will take flight on sunny, warmer days in early spring.

The earliest Lucy and I have ever seen a Tortoiseshell was on April 6, 2008, on the Brule Lake Road, north of the village of Plevna. We were surprised to see 9 of them that day soaking up the sun on the sand covered road. They flew up as we approached, so we stopped and pulled over for a closer look. Moving slowly, we were able to get quite close to observe them.

The Tortoiseshell Lucy saw last Tuesday flew right around her car, across the school parking lot, then disappeared over the big snow banks.

-Neil

sent by Neil Carleton, P.O. Box 1644, Almonte, Ontario, K0A 1A0

Join us in viewing the annual huge duck migration staging area at Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Brighton, on Lake Ontario. Tens of thousands of ducks of over twenty species, gather in the park bay prior to taking off north to their breeding grounds.

 Sunday, March 14, 2010

(NOTE NEW DATE: This event was originally scheduled for March 28 but the ice in the bay is melting sooner than expected. As the ice goes, so go the ducks)

 Car Pooling: East Lanark: Meet at Union Hall, corner of County Roads 16 and 9 for departure by 7:30 A.M. West Lanark: Meet at Balderson Cheese Outlet, Balderson, for departure for 8:00 A.M.

Bring: lunch, binoculars, spotting scopes if available. Dress warmly for lake winds are cool.

Wear:  good walking shoes for we will walk at least one trail.

 This event is go, rain or shine, sleet, hail or snow (unless we have a sudden great blizzard).

 Please pre-register with Cliff Bennett  at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca.

By Cathy Keddy

MVFN’s Program Chair writes about a recent Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ birding adventure— ‘Winter Owls and Rough-legged Hawks’—on Amherst Island.  Photos mentioned in the story can be seen in this pdf version of  A Hoot of an Adventure with photos by Cathy Keddy and Steve Miller.

On February 20, 2010, a hardy group of seven naturalists, led by Cliff Bennett, boarded the Frontenac II for her 10:30 am shuttle to Amherst Island, a 70 km2, 16.5 km long island in Lake Ontario just west of Kingston. 

The thin, open channel marking the ferry’s track was all that broke the smooth white surface from shore to shore. Eight-inch thick ice chunks bobbed in our path, crashing into the hull like thunder and rebounding like billiard balls. We disembarked and began driving along the north shore road, soon spotting our first Rough-legged Hawk—way off in a field, accompanied by a crow. Awaiting us at the island’s east end was our first owl. This Snowy Owl was nestled in a field and it took some care to distinguish its face amidst the pale, withered grass shoots. This cheered the crowd on and our adventure continued.

Soon after we rounded the tip of the island, we came upon a raft of over a thousand ducks flowing past in a smooth, sinuous motion about 75 m off shore. Watching it for some time, we noticed birds in particular segments of this plume would dip their heads to feed. Five species of ducks were thoroughly integrated in this activity: Redhead Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, and Ring-necked Duck. Here the water was relatively calm and the low waves parted smoothly around a large erratic poised on the brink of the shoreline limestone ledge. The scale in the photo indicates this bolder, carried here by glacial action, is more than 4’ 10” high. Traveling farther along this shore, we added Common Goldeneye and Long-tailed Ducks (Oldsquaw) to our list.

Having seen hardly anyone on our travels, we were surprise to come upon tremendous activity at the next juncture—vehicles filled with birders poured onto the road in front of us. “Owl Woods,” Cliff calmly informed us. We too turned onto the narrow, muddy track bordered by fields and bumped along until we came to a sign identifying the Owl Woods Nature Reserve and providing owl-watching conduct guidelines. “Woods?” Well, they weren’t our Lanark County kind of woods—these trees seemed rather short and sparse. Taking a closer look, we knew they were certainly not Lanark County woods— Shagbark Hickory, Bitternut Hickory, Red Cedar and Ironwood. After following the birders’ beaten path for several tens of meters, someone returning from the woods was kind enough to ask if we would like to be shown where the owls were. Soon we came upon two sleeping owls. Both were perched about 4 m off the ground in cedar trees, nestled right against the trunk. Within a few meters of one another we laid eyes on a Northern Saw-whet Owl (at just over 15 cm, our smallest owl) and a Boreal Owl. Search for them in the photos. Due to time constraints, we did not walk to the far end of the woods to see the Barred Owl reported. We were familiar with them from our own neighbourhood. Perhaps next year we will be lucky enough to see Long-eared and Short-eared owls too.

Returning to the main road from Owl Woods, we glanced briefly across a bay on the south side of the island looking for two species of swans. An island resident had informed us on the inbound ferry ride that they were there the day before. We missed them, but we spotted a pair of Red-tailed Hawks already apparently checking out a nest for this spring.

All in all, we counted 30 bird species on our adventure. This includes three species of owls, four Rough-legged Hawks, three Red-tailed Hawks, a Kestrel, eight species of ducks, two gulls, and Canada Geese.

Hooting and Hawking—plan to join the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists in 2011!

Guest speaker Dave Walker, Executive Director of the Canadian Land Trust Alliance will present Land Trusts: A National Dream with Local Heroes. 2-4 pm, St. Andrews United Church, Clarence St., Lanark Village. For further information, visit www.mmltc.ca  or call 613- 278-2939.

 Register your family or volunteer to help Martha for this ‘Families in Nature’ program at Carp Ridge Learning Centre: Chickadees calling “spring’s here” regardless of how cold and stormy it is. Listen to the sound of fluids moving up inside a tree, watch for herons returning. Beaver break the ice to come out from their lodges and in search of food. Look under leaf cover for green shoots and invertebrates in various stage of development.

For further information visit www.dandelionjam.com or contact MVFN member Martha Webber at 613-839-5217 or marthagw@gmail.com.

A public meeting of the Town of Mississippi Mills in conjunction with MVFN to discuss designation of an unopened road allowance on Ramsay 3B between Wolf Grove and Clayton Rd. as a nature trail.

7 pm at Mississippi Mills Council Chambers, Municipal Offices, 3131 Old Perth Road. For further information please contact Calvin Murphy, Town of Mississippi Mills at 613-256-1077 ext. 24 or MVFN’s Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013.

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

by Pauline Donaldson

A stitch in time: Monitoring indicator species, such as the Whip-poor-will, to diagnose ecosystem vitality

With spring just around the corner, I wonder how many of us will be startled again by the sudden haunting cry of the Whip-poor-will on a warm evening. As the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) Big Picture Conservation lecture series continues, the focus will be on indicator species—birds including the Whip-poor-will, and other diverse species—whose health is a touchstone for the health of entire communities of living things. For this lecture MVFN is pleased to welcome back Dr. William Crins, Senior Conservation Ecologist with the Parks & Protected Areas Policy Branch at OMNR, Peterborough. In 2006 Crins made a tremendous impression on MVFN members who continue to be inspired by his closing slide listing the “7 Things We Can Do” (for the natural world).

Bill Crins has devoted his career to the study of living things, specializing in the evolution and ecology of important grasses and sedges. In the early 70’s Dr. Crins worked as interpretive naturalist at Algonquin Park and later conducted biological inventories and assessments to develop the park’s Nature Reserve Zone system. As Senior Conservation Ecologist, he now applies his knowledge of conservation and biodiversity to projects such as Ontario’s Ecological Land Classification system, the development of old growth forest policy, and the inventory of Ontario’s habitat resources including Species at Risk habitat mapping guidelines.

What can we learn about entire ecosystems just by looking at select individual species? Interestingly, the answer is quite a lot, but the reasons are as complex as the physiology and lifecycles of the species themselves. For example, species such as frogs might be considered ‘indicator’ species because they are particularly sensitive to the quality of the water they are in, absorbing oxygen and pollutants through their skin. So monitoring their health provides us with an indication of the health of the entire aquatic ecosystem and this allows us to identify and solve problems before they become more serious. Also, certain ‘keystone’ species may be useful as indicator species because they play a pivotal role in the functioning of entire ecosystems—their absence would have major impacts on a broad range of species. The beaver is an example of a keystone species as is sugar maple. Species with special habitat requirements may also be good indicators of an ecosystem’s condition. Birds are particularly noted as indicators of overall environmental health. Aerial insect foragers, such as the Whip-poor-will, are in serious trouble in some areas.

Dr. Crins will explore what determines ecosystem vitality and how indicator species are used. Ideally a suite of indicator species would include species from different organism groups and could be used to measure vitality at different scales such as a woodlot, Algonquin Park, the Algonquin to Adirondack corridor, or even the entire deciduous forest region of North America. Examples of potentially good indicator species (e.g. Whip-poor-will, Lake Sturgeon) or guilds of species (e.g. pollinators) for eastern Ontario, i.e. that are easy to survey, are not too common or too rare, and which have particular life history features, will be presented.

To learn more about indicator species, what they reveal about the health of our ecosystems, and what we can do, attend MVFN’s March lecture. Dr. Crins’ presentation, “A Stitch in Time: Monitoring Indicator Species to Diagnose Ecosystem Vitality” will take place Thursday March 18, at 7:30 p.m., Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. For further details, please contact Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089, or visit www.mvfn.ca.

Press Release

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

February 25, 2010

The results are in, large or small we listed them all!

The Bell Bushlot Bioblitz 2009 Report with complete species lists and photographs as pdf

There was intrigue during the February lecture of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) which began with a contest to correctly identify the total number of species found on their first ever 24-h bioblitz carried out in a special local woodland. As Tineke Kuiper progressed through her presentation, A September to Remember: Bioblitz Secrets of the Bell Woodland Preserve, the audience listened attentively as the tally kept rising with additions from each group of species. Where would it stop? Just how many species had been found?

As Dr. Kuiper, ‘tally master extraordinaire’ for the Bioblitz and former MVFN board member explained, a bioblitz is a 24-h survey of the biodiversity of a property. It is part challenge, part social gathering and most importantly, an educational citizen science event. MVFN’s bioblitz started at 3 pm Saturday, Sept 19 and ended at 3 pm Sunday, Sept 20, 2009 at the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Bell Woodland Preserve near Clayton. The property is deciduous forest on Canadian Shield dominated by Sugar Maple forest, with small areas of mixed hardwoods. While the stream crossing the north end of the property was flowing during the bioblitz, wetlands through which the property drains to the east had no standing water. The weather both days was sunny and cool.

100 participants took part in over 20 one-hour expert-led guided walks. During these walks, experienced and novice naturalists poured over the 95 acre property looking and listening for every living thing. On each walk a photographer was present to record the finds. Experts also searched on their own adding to the species seen. Once sightings were verified, sometimes after further examination, they were added to the tally board and bioblitz database. The final species tally and complete species list have just been published in a report posted on MVFN’s website. As Tineke illustrated in her virtual tour, you don’t need to go any farther than your own forested backyard in Lanark County to see spectacular natural beauty and diversity: the vivid greens of the snakeskin liverwort, the impressively large larvae of the imperial moth, incredible floral diversity, wild and wonderful fungi such as the chocolate tube slime and artists’ conk, the elusive but seemingly numerous red eft, and large mammals ever-present but seldom seen face-on.

As Dr. Kuiper guided us through what the experts uncovered during the bioblitz, the species count on the ‘bioblitzometer’ continued to rise. Among the 30 birds, an early one recorded was the barred owl hooting in answer to Joel Byrne during his ‘Calling Creatures of the Night’ guided walk on Saturday night. Then the next day as walks led by Jeff Mills, Mike Runtz and Cliff Bennett began, the first bird to be seen was the hairy woodpecker, spotted by young bioblitz-naturalist Gillian Larkin. The bird population was much reduced except for a few stragglers which had yet to migrate. Some species such as the owls, woodpeckers, chickadees, blue jays, ravens and crows would remain during the winter, and it was too early for the winter finches to move in. Surprises for the fall were the scarlet tanager, three warbler species, vireos and flycatchers.

The greatest number of species tallied for a single group was 261 for vascular plants (bringing the blitzometer to 291), but this represented just a fraction of the year-round floral biodiversity. Fall species such as asters, goldenrods, daisies, and ferns were well-represented, while spring ephemerals (e.g. trout lily, dutchman’s breeches, spring beauty) which flower before the trees leaf out and shade them, were not seen. Eight of the species observed are considered rare in Lanark County.

Although fungi were very limited due to the bioblitz being held at the end of a warm dry period, there was no shortage. Where but in the fungal kingdom could you find such interesting names as dead man’s fingers, brick tops, witch’s hat, or chicken of the woods? The 58 fantastic fungi included basidomycetes, ascomycetes, a slime mold, and some fungi imperfecti.

Then there were the 50 marvelous mosses and 16 lovely liverworts which overall were indicative of a woodland in good ecological condition. Along with the fungi the count now soared to 415!

Insects were most abundant in the more open areas with asters and goldenrods. 63 species from 8 orders including beetles, bugs, grasshoppers & crickets, dragonflies & damselflies, butterflies & moths, scorpionflies, flies and bees were found. Due to the cold weather moth traps were not set up at night, so any moths recorded were from larval observations. With considerable adeptness, Chris Schmidt shook saplings and caught the ‘rain’ of Lepidopteran larvae (caterpillars) in a large four-cornered umbrella net for later identification.

Seventeen species of invertebrates without 6 legs, (i.e. excluding insects), were found including 4 millipedes, a clam, 4 snails, 2 slugs, an earthworm, a sowbug, 3 spiders and a mite.

Nine amphibian species were seen or heard including the blue-spotted salamander, northern two-lined salamander, red-spotted newt, American toad, gray treefrog, spring peeper, green frog, northern leopard frog and wood frog. Due to the lack of much permanent water, conditions were not suited to turtles and none was found. The two reptiles found were both snakes—a gorgeous smooth greensnake and an eastern gartersnake.

The mammals enumerated were seen, heard or identified by tracks and/or droppings. Combined with the insects, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, the addition of 19 mammals brought the bioblitzometer to 525. One of the first mammals recorded was a coyote which called back in answer to the howls from participants on the Saturday night walk. To inventory small mammals such as mice, voles and shrews, two lines of live traps, bait and track tunnels (containing tracking paper smeared with black stove polish and oil to ‘capture’ foot prints) were set up the day before the bioblitz. The number of footprints showed that small mammals were present at a relatively high density.

Interestingly, despite the majority of the area being upland Sugar Maple forest, one fish species was found in the stream on the property—the Bluntnose Minnow.

At this point the tally reached 526—the total number of all species seen in the 24-hr period and it was time to identify the contest winner. Howard Robinson, who guessed 518 (just 8 species short) was closest to this number and won a copy of Earth, Water, Fire: An ecological profile of Lanark County by Paul Keddy.

The bioblitz was an ambitious undertaking and Tineke Kuiper thanked all those involved for their enthusiasm as well as the experts for their vital role in the event. To view a copy of the entire bioblitz report prepared by MVFN, listing all species identified and filled with gorgeous photographs, please visit MVFN’s website at www.mvfn.ca.

A Field Trip to Amherst Island

Sat. Feb. 20

Leaving:  Almonte, 8:00 A.M. Returning, 4:00 P.M.

Car Pooling: Almonte PetroCan , 8: A.M. Carleton Place Tim Hortons (on highway) 8:15 A.M.

Amherst Island Ferry for 9:30 sailing. Cost: $8.00 per vehicle for ferry crossing

Bring: lunch, binoculars. Wear: winter boots Dress warmly for off-lake winds.

Please register with Cliff beforehand.

In case of poor weather, this event will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Cliff before 7:30 A.M. For more information, contact Cliff at 613-256-5013 or Bennett@magma.ca.

Press Release

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

February 3, 2010

Field Naturalists deliver ‘water smarts’ to Grade 8’s through drinking water source protection education

by Pauline Donaldson

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) are pleased to sponsor an environmental education program for Grade 8 students in 7 local schools in the Mississippi Watershed this year. Engaging Grade 8’s in Source Protection Planning was launched with the financial support of an Ontario Ministry of Environment Drinking Water Stewardship Program grant received last May. The objective is to provide experiential curriculum-linked learning of basic environmental stewardship concepts related to drinking water source protection (both ground and surface water sources) under Ontario‘s Clean Water Act.

Last June, MVFN hired Nature Works Learning of Mississippi Mills, to conduct the program. The fall sessions were held from September to December 2009 at R. Tait McKenzie Public and Holy Name of Mary Catholic School in Mississippi Mills, Caldwell Public and Notre Dame Catholic School in Carleton Place, Huntley Centennial Public School in Carp, and Maple Grove Public and Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School in Lanark Highlands. With the bulk of the in-class programs completed, schools should now be busy implementing the action plans which they developed following the student-conducted ‘ecoreviews’. In all, over 185 students have been engaged in some very interesting exercises bringing to life how water cycles in the environment, where and how drinking water comes to them, and what affects the quality and quantity of their drinking water.

An introductory presentation on the Clean Water Act included a video about the water cycle. Earth’s fresh water supply, vital to humans and all life, circulates as precipitation (rain and snow) which is then taken up by plants, enters surface water bodies (lakes, rivers etc.), seeps through the ground ‘recharging’ underground water reserves (aquifers), and then ‘cycles’ back to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration.

Following the introduction, students began a hands-on hydrogeology exercise in which they created their own groundwater models, complete with ‘wells’ in large clear plastic containers (Photo 1 a, b). They followed what happened in their ‘wells’, for example, when they pumped water out (with a syringe), when it ‘rained’ (simulating recharging of groundwater aquifers), or when they introduced a ‘contaminant.’ After watching the changes in their models, students were able to make deductions about the effects of precipitation, contaminants, and water table level on the quantity and quality of water in real-life underground aquifers such as those supplying fresh drinking water to municipal and private wells for most of Mississippi Mills, Carp, and Lanark. Discussion emphasized groundwater as an important resource and the key role of land-use planning in preventing contaminants from entering groundwater sources of drinking water, particularly on land near municipal wells (well head protection areas).

To understand surface water quality issues, such as for water in the Mississippi or Tay rivers (which provide drinking water for the towns of Carleton Place and Perth), students measured turbidity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen in several water samples. They discussed the meaning of the results and asked the following: Is this water good for drinking? Is this water good fish habitat? Why? They discussed what might affect these and other water quality parameters. Examples included runoff from river banks and the influx of dirty discharged stormwater. They talked about how threats to water quality at drinking water intake areas might be reduced, for example through proper stormwater management and maintaining wetland buffers.

In a third hands-on lesson, students considered the universal right of all humans to fresh drinking water and the concept of global limits to this supply. In groups they chose a virtual meal and calculated its ‘virtual water’ content. The virtual water content is the sum total of all the water used to produce the food. Using a scale of one large paper water droplet per 100 litres of water, students illustrated to fellow students, the ‘water footprint’ of the meal they chose (Photo 2). When thinking about water quantity, students looked at ways to conserve water in the school and at home and considered who the main users of local water reserves are; they include some industrial water takers, municipal and private wells.

In addition to these fun activities in the classroom, the students were also given the opportunity to visit water and waste water treatment facilities in their own or adjacent communities. On these field trips they saw and heard first hand from municipal operators and employees from the Ontario Clean Water Agency about how these facilities worked. In the Mississippi Mills area the field trip included a tour of waste water treatment facilities at the Almonte sewage lagoons (Photo 3 a, b). Students also toured the operating system for the two wells near the Almonte water tower, which are part of the drinking water source for the Mississippi Mills urban area. This included an explanation of the water distribution system and the role of the water tower. Students were also toured around side roads by bus, to get a sense of how long it takes for water contaminants to seep underground and reach the wells and to understand the vulnerability of well-head protection areas to contamination. Carleton Place students toured the water treatment facility for surface water drawn from the Mississippi River as well as the waste water treatment facility in their town. Lanark students whose homes are largely served by private wells and septic, toured water and waste water treatment facilities at nearby Perth where surface water sourced from the Tay River is treated and treated waste water is returned to the river.

Finally, a project which was inspiring for many students was the opportunity to investigate and improve practices in their own schools with respect to water use and water protection. During drinking water source protection ecoreveiws, teams of students toured classrooms, hallways and bathrooms. They interviewed other classes, as well as school staff knowledgeable about facilities maintenance and storage practices, including school custodians and principals (Photo 4 a, b, c). Are students encouraged to use water wisely? Is water being wasted due to high flow rates in sinks, leaking taps and toilets, or from taps being left on? Are water-saving devices such as aerators, low flow toilets, and toilet dams being used? Are rain barrels used on the property outdoors for watering gardens? Do the school grounds allow adequate groundwater recharge? Are hazardous products such as salt, fuel, and paint stored properly, or are items such as batteries and electronics disposed of in a manner which will not prove a threat to drinking water sources, now or in the future? The students rated their school’s level of implementation and, based on the results, they worked together to develop a specialized action plan for their own school. These are being implemented this winter.

In April, Nature Works Learning will be returning to the classrooms to do follow-up ecoreviews to see what improvements to source water protection have been made in the schools. Students should also hear how the water quality of the water samples they obtained for two local rivers, the Mississippi and the Clyde, compare to worldwide results registered through the ‘World Water Monitoring Day’ program.

To date, MVFN’s Engaging Grade 8’s in Source Protection Planning has progressed well and by all accounts has been a great success. As a conclusion to the program, it is anticipated that some students will make a submission to the Mississippi Rideau Source Protection Committee later this spring. For further information about this program please contact MVFN’s Board member and Environmental Education Chair Brenda Boyd at 613-256-2706 or bjboyd@sympatico.ca.

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

February 4, 2010

by Cathy Keddy

A September to Remember: Bioblitz Secrets of the Bell Woodland Preserve

Do you like magical mosses, lovely liverworts, vascular plant variety, phenomenal fungi, intriguing insects, amazing amphibians, writhing reptiles, fabulous fish, big birds, or marvelous mammals?

During the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ (MVFN) 24-hour Bioblitz of the Bell Woodland Preserve near Clayton this fall, the 100 participants and 23 experts looked for them all, counting the organisms whether large or small. Not only was the biodiversity of the area enumerated, but the site was ideal for investigating our more than a billion-year-old foundation. Lanark County rocks! If you missed this September spectacular, here is your opportunity to participate—and from the comfort of a warm chair at MVFN’s February lecture!

The fungi found on the Bioblitz were fantastic! What other group of organisms could include novelties such as dead man’s fingers, chocolate tube slime, eyelash cup, bear’s head tooth and chicken of the woods… follow the trail of our mushroom experts for more of these delights. The turkey tail—bird or bracket? Detective Jim and the bot fly. A minnow in the woods? Henri’s wriggling raccoons. Voices of the evening with Joel. Giant caterpillars and moths befitting a king. Martha and the children. A liverwort in snake-skin with nodding ladies’ tresses? So many stories to delight! All will be illustrated by the images captured by the professional photographers who recorded this magnificent event.

Before the lecture begins, put in your guess for the total number of species recorded during MVFN’s Bioblitz 2009 and you could win a copy of Earth, Water, Fire: An Ecological Profile of Lanark County. Listen as the species tally climbs from the results of every guided walk to see how close your guess might be to the final number!

Follow the experts’ trails to uncover what they discovered on this 95-acre wooded preserve. Join MVFN’s Tineke Kuiper as your intrepid guide and interpreter as she leads you through her presentation “A September to Remember: Secrets of the Bell Woodland Preserve,” Thursday February 18, at 7:30p.m., Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. For further details, please contact Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089, or visit www.mvfn.ca.

MVFN Winter Outing 2010

Explore nature on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s newest preserve—in Wolf Grove near Union Hall

Sunday, February 7, 2010 —— 10:30 a.m.

 Sharpen your winter twig identification skills—did you know that the first secret to sorting them out is the phrase “MAD Cap Horse”? Remember this and join us in Wolf Grove to explore the land, get to know some common trees by twig, and have lunch on the shore of Bowley Lake.

Location: Meet at the end of Ramsay Concession 4B which extends south off Wolf Grove Rd., about 3km east of Union Hall (the hall is at the intersection of Wolf Gove Rd. and Tatlock Rd.); Ramsay Con. 4B is only about 100m long

Parking: Park either along Ramsay Con. 4B or along the road that extends north on the opposite side of Wolf Grove Rd.

Equipment: Snowshoes are recommended as the snow will be deep in the woods. If you don’t have them, you can follow those who do. The trail is fairly gentle and suitable for cross-country skis, but consider snow conditions the day of the walk and that the property is densely wooded. Dress warmly in layers. Bring food to warm over the campfire. Bring binoculars and a hand lens.

More information: Contact Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or keddy01@gmail.com.

MAD Cap Horse

Sunday, January 17, 2010,  2 pm, Lanark Legion Hall, Lanark, ON

Organized by the Nature Lover’s Bookshop: Enjoy a presentation by Michael Runtz, naturalist, photographer, wilderness guide, biologist, teacher (voted by students at Carleton University as “Best Lecturer”), consultant and all-round outdoorsman. Due to Michael’s popularity, the lecture will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Lanark Legion (beside the Post Office on the main street (George Street) in Lanark Village.

Michael’s lively presentation will be followed by more discussion, refreshments and a book signing at the Nature Lover’s Bookshop across the street at 62 George Street.

Admission to Michael Runtz’s presentation  is a $10.00 donation to the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy.  For more information please call 613-259-5654.

Press Release

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

January 8, 2010

Carleton Place and Lanark Highlands Christmas bird counts sponsored by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists show record numbers of wild turkeys and plenty of others

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists sponsored two Christmas Bird counts (CBC) in Lanark County, the 59th Annual Carleton Place CBC and the 7th Annual Lanark Highlands count. Over two thousand such counts were held across North and South America, representing the largest citizen scientist activity anywhere in the world. All records are stored with the Audubon Society and used for research and conservation programmes.

These Lanark counts were both exceptional for the record number of wild turkeys seen. Common to both counts was the reduced number of winter finches (low or sharply reduced numbers of pine siskins, crossbills and pine grosbeaks). These northern boreal forest birds are likely finding adequate food further north this winter.

The 59th Carleton Place Christmas Bird Count took place on December 27, 2009 and was led by Iain Wilkes who was also the compiler. Georgina Doe led the feeder counts. Thirty-two field observers and 25 feeder counts took part during a day starting out with fog and clouds with temperatures hovering near zero after the freezing rain of Boxing Day. In all of 41 species were seen and 4562 individuals counted. This is down 7 species and approx. 500 individuals from the 2008 year. Many of the smaller rural roads were difficult to drive and significant surface ice on the road sides made it treacherous in places to pull over on the shoulder. The highlights were 2 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Grackles, 15 Red-winged Blackbirds and a record number of Turkeys at 285. There were a goodly number of Bohemians Waxwings at 159 and as well 500 Snow Buntings seen just outside Carleton Place. At the end of the day a count-in was held where the teams shared sandwiches and refreshments while compiling the results and trading stories of their days outing. Complete individual species recorded for the 2009 Carleton Place Count were:

Canada Goose (30), Mallard (9), Goldeneye (50), Hooded Merganser (2), Bald Eagle (2), Cooper’s Hawk (3), Red-tailed Hawk (5), Rough-legged Hawk (1), Ruffed Grouse (10), Turkey (285), Ring-billed Gull (3), Rock Pigeon (697), Mourning Dove (192), Downy Woodpecker (44), Hairy Woodpeckers (39), Pileated Woodpecker (8), Northern Shrike (3), Blue Jay (244), Crow (382), Raven (12), Chickadee (839), Red-breasted Nuthatch (9), White-breasted Nuthatch (76), Brown Creeper (4), Robin (7), Starling (417), Bohemian Waxwing (159), Tree Sparrow (46), White-throated Sparrow (3), Junco (43), Snow Bunting (515), Cardinal (28), Red-winged Blackbird (15), Rusty Blackbird (1), Grackle (3), Purple Finch (5), House Finch (8), Common Redpoll (10), Pine Siskin (30), Goldfinch (246), and House Sparrow (78).

Thirty-one birders took to the roads and fields for the 7th Annual Lanark Highlands Christmas Bird Count, held on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 to register every bird seen or heard within the fifteen kilometre radius circle centered on Watsons Corners. The Lanark Highlands count was led by Cliff Bennett, with Bruce LeGallais, Bobby Clarke, Ted Mosquin, and Gloria Opzoomer heading up the sections. Marj Montgomery organized and compiled reports from over sixteen feeder counters, to add to the total. At the end of the count day, participants convened to Nature Lovers Book Store in Lanark for the count-in and hot beverages.
The previous record of 188 turkeys, set in last year’s count easily surpassed this year’s 288. The continued build-up of wild turkeys in the area is now evident as each year of the count produces greater numbers. Total count for the circle was 3154 birds, lowest only to the first Lanark Highlands count of 2829 in 2003. A few dozen (76) evening grosbeaks were found, mostly in the Poland area, two dozen purple finches and only four redpolls showed up and no pine siskins, crossbills or pine grosbeaks were found. In spite of the low numbers, records were set for downy woodpeckers (77), Cooper’s hawk (4) and white-breasted nuthatches (101). New to the count was a brown thrasher, which was hanging around a feeder because of an injured wing and one northern harrier. Last year set a record at 4130 birds. Number of species found this year remained high at 38, two down from last year’s record listing of 40 species. Complete individual species recorded for the Lanark Highlands count were:

mallard duck (1), common merganser (10), ruffed grouse (4), wild turkey (288), bald eagle (3), sharp-shinned hawk (1), northern harrier (1), Cooper’s hawk (4), red-tailed hawk , rough-legged hawk (1), rock pigeon (210), mourning dove (98), barred owl (1), downy woodpecker (77), hairy woodpecker (89), pileated woodpecker (7), northern shrike (2), blue jay (224), crow (97), raven (30), black-capped chickadee (897), red-breasted nuthatch (25), white-breasted nuthatch (101), brown creeper (3), golden-crowned kinglet (1), brown thrasher (1), starling (97), Bohemian waxwing (93), tree-sparrows, (87), dark-eyed junco (55), snow bunting (166), cardinal (7), purple finch (26), house finch (6), common redpoll (4), goldfinch (334), evening grosbeak (76), house sparrow (13).

Press Release

Submitted by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

January 8, 2010

Reflections between local history and the natural landscape with Queen’s University Geographer/Historian

For the next lecture in the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ (MVFN) “Big Picture Conservation” series, guest speaker Dr. Brian Osborne takes us back to a time when people first began to put down roots in our region. A specialist in unfolding the fascinating history of Eastern Ontario, Dr. Osborne will hold up a two-way mirror to shed light on the interaction between the natural environment and human history. Professor Emeritus of Geography at Queen’s University, Osborne is also past-president of the Ontario Historical Society and the Kingston Historical Society, and advises agencies such as Parks Canada, the National Capital Commission, and the National Film Board.

Our natural environment is a template guiding local human history, from the paths taken by our ancestors in exploration, settlement and stewardship to the marks made on the urban and rural landscape by present day activities. The nature of past and present human activities reflects both the opportunities and harshness presented by the local natural environment, and, in turn, the state of our natural environment mirrors our activities. The rugged, billion-year-old bedrock of the Canadian Shield with its great forests and legacy of ancient glacial lakes, a diverse landscape crisscrossed by rivers and a mosaic of wetlands and uplands-our lives today are intimately connected to our natural heritage. To what extent is our history reflected in the landscape we view today?

To understand and appreciate the intimate relationship between our own lives and the diversity of the natural landscape, attend Professor Osborne’s presentation “Shifting Perceptions of Nature: The Two-way Mirror of Landscapes, Inscapes, and Proscapes” at MVFN’s next lecture, Thursday, January 21, 7:30 p.m., Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. All are welcome with a $5 fee for non-MVFN members. For further information please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or see MVFN’s website at www.mvfn.ca.

Press Release

January 2, 2010

Wild Turkeys Excel in Christmas Bird Count

A new record for signing up wild turkeys was registered in the 7th Annual Lanark Highlands Christmas Bird Count, held on Wednesday, Dec. 30. The previous record of 188 turkeys, set in last year’s count, was bested this year at 288. The continued build-up of wild turkeys in the area is now evident as each year of the count produces greater numbers. The Carleton Place Count also registered a record number of wild turkeys.

Thirty-one counters took to the field this year, to register every bird seen or heard within the fifteen kilometre radius circle centered on Watsons Corners. Organized and sponsored by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists and led by ERA columnist Cliff Bennett, the circle is divided into four equal pieces like a pie. Bruce LeGallais, Heron Mills Road, led section A; Bobby Clarke, Rosetta Road, headed section B; Ted Mosquin, Playfairville area, led Section C and Gloria Opzoomer, Bathurst 9th Conc. organized Section D.

Marj Montgomery, Drummond 12th line, organized and compiled reports from over sixteen feeder counters, to add to the total.

Numbers of birds counted this year were the second lowest in seven years, due mostly to the absence of winter finches from the northern Boreal Forest. A few dozen (76) evening grosbeaks were found, mostly in the Poland area, two dozen purple finches and only four redpolls showed up and no pine siskins, crossbills or pine grosbeaks were found. In spite of the low numbers, records were set for downy woodpeckers (77), Cooper’s |hawk (4) and white-breasted nuthatches (101). New to the count was a brown thrasher, which is hanging around a feeder because of an injured wing and one northern harrier.

Total count for the circle was 3154 birds, lowest only to the first count of 2829 in 2003.

Last year set a record at 4130 birds. Number of species found this year remained high at 38, two down from last year’s record listing of 40 species. Complete individual species recorded were mallard duck (1); common merganser (10, ruffed grouse (4), wild turkey (288), bald eagle (3); sharp-shinned hawk (1), northern harrier (1), Cooper’s hawk (4), red-tailed hawk #), rough-legged hawk (1); rock pigeon (210), mourning dove (98), barred owl (1), downy woodpecker (77), hairy woodpecker (89), pleated woodpecker (7), northern shrike (2), blue jay (224), crow (97), raven (30), black-capped chickadee (897), red-breasted nuthatch (25), white-breasted nuthatch (101), brown creeper (3), golden-crowned kinglet (1), brown thrasher (1), starling (97), Bohemian waxwing (93), tree-sparrows, (87), dark-eyed junco (55), snow bunting (166), cardinal (7), purple finch (26), house finch (6), common redpoll (4), goldfinch (334), evening grosbeak (76), house sparrow (13).

At the end of the count day, all participants convened to Nature Lovers Book Store in Lanark for the count-in and hot beverages. Refreshments were provided by store owner Mary Vandenhoff, assisted by Mary Dixon. The Lanark Highlands Christmas Bird Count is one of over two thousand counts held across North and South America and is the largest citizen scientist activity anywhere in the world. All records are stored with the Audubon Society and used for research and conservation programmes.

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists will be taking part by welcoming visitors indoors at the Education Centre with crafts, gifts and club information, and outdoors visitors can participate in our Nature Treasure Hunt.

For complete details on this MVC event please see information at http://www.mvc.on.ca/.

Birders and nature enthusiasts in Carleton Place and area will join birders across the western hemisphere and participate in Audubon’s longest-running wintertime tradition, the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), to be held on December 27th. This year, over 2,000 individual counts are scheduled to take place throughout the Americas and beyond from December 14, 2009 to January 5, 2010.

“Each CBC volunteer observer is an important contributor, helping to shape the overall direction of bird conservation,” says Dick Cannings, Bird Studies Canada’s Christmas Bird Count Coordinator. “Bird Studies Canada and our partners at the National Audubon Society in the United States, rely on data from the CBC database to monitor bird populations across North America.” During last year’s count, about 70 million birds were tallied by nearly 58,000 volunteers across the continent, which was a record number of observers. In Canada, 11,565 participants counted over 3.2 million birds on a record-high 371 counts.

The data gathered by all this work goes into a huge database used daily by biologists all over the world to monitor the populations and distribution of North American birds. Some of it is key evidence for serious declines; recently Christmas Bird Count data provided pivotal information in the decision to list the Newfoundland Red Crossbill and Rusty Blackbird under the federal Species At Risk Act.

The CBC began over a century ago when 27 conservationists in 25 localities, led by scientist and writer Frank Chapman, changed the course of ornithological history. On Christmas Day in 1900, the small group posed an alternative to the “side hunt,” a Christmas day activity in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds and small mammals. Instead, Chapman proposed that they identify, count, and record all the birds they saw, founding what is now considered to be the world’s most significant citizen-based conservation effort – and a more than century-old institution.

Since Chapman’s retirement in 1934, new generations of observers have performed the modern-day count. Today, over 55,000 volunteers from all 50 states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands, count and record every individual bird and bird species seen in a specified area.

The 110th CBC is expected to be larger than ever, expanding its geographical coverage and accumulating information about the winter distributions of various birds. The CBC is vital in monitoring the status of resident and migratory birds across the Western Hemisphere, and the data, which are 100% volunteer generated, have become a crucial part of Canada’s natural history monitoring database.

The Carleton Place Christmas Bird Count takes place on Sunday, December 27th and it is organized by Iain Wilkes, who is also the official Carleton Place compiler for BSC and Georgina Doe co-ordinates all of the feeder counts. Volunteers are welcomed and you don’t need to be an expert but it helps to know the local birds. Participants will be placed in a team led by an experienced birder. You will need a pair of binoculars, a hot thermos and lunch. There is a $5 participation fee levied for each counter. For more information or to register, contact Iain Wilkes, 257-1126 or iain.wilkes@sympatico.ca. Home residents with bird feeders can also help by listing all birds at your feeder or in your yard on the count day. Feeder counters should register with Georgina Doe, 257-2103.

At the end of the day, count teams return to the Community Room upstairs at Steve’s Independent in Carleton Place on McNeely Avenue for the count-in as well as refreshments. We look forward to the December 27th count and best of the season to all.

-Iain Wilkes

The 110 th Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for 2009 will take place over a six week period beginning in mid December.

One day counts have been operating for decades in Lanark County and area including Carleton Place (the oldest, started in 1944), Rideau Ferry, which takes in Perth and Smiths Falls, Pakenham and newest to the list, Lanark Highlands. All counts are conducted within a 15km radius circle.

The Lanark Highlands CBC circle, was established by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) in the Lanark Highlands area in 2003. Centered on Watson’s Corners, this circle includes Brightside to the north, most of Dalhousie Lake to the west, south to within a km. of Balderson and east to include Middleville.

A count is conducted by local interested birders forming into teams and combing the villages, roads, trails and woodlots during the count day to record every bird seen or heard. The results compiled are sent to Bird Studies Canada at Long Point Ontario.

CBCs have been around since the year 1900 and are conducted all over North and Central America, the Caribbean and Hawaii and now, in South America. This event produces the largest definitive census of our bird population distribution and is used for many research and conservation programmes designed to encourage the continuing health of our avian friends. The CBC is definitely the most significant, continual, citizen-scientist based conservation movement to this day.

The date for the Lanark Highlands Christmas Bird Count will be Wednesday, Dec. 30, 8:00 P.M. til 4:30 P.M. All persons interested in the health of our local bird population, are invited to join in on the count. Teams will be formed, each team with a more knowledgeable birder as leader. They will be assigned a count area and will spend the daylight hours counting every bird they see or hear. At the end of the day,
all will gather at the Nature Lovers Book Store in Lanark Village, to record their findings and enjoy hot refreshments.

Residents in the count circle who have active bird feeders are also invited to take part in the tally. To register for the feeder counts, please contact the feeder coordinator Marjorie Montgomery, 259-3078 or email mateetukm@sympatico.ca before the tally date. Then, on Dec. 30, feeder watchers will count every bird coming to their feeders or appearing in their yard, and phone in their resulting tally to Marj. These numbers will be added to the numbers from the field observations.

Count coordinator and compiler for this count is Lanark Era columnist Cliff Bennett. To register for the field count, please contact Cliff at 256-5013 or by e-mail bennett@magma.ca.

Press Release

November 6, 2009

Big Picture Conservation from the perspective of the nearby 1000 Islands-Frontenac Arch UNESCO Designated Biosphere Reserve at next MVFN lecture

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) lecture series “Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A): Big Picture Conservation” continues Thursday, November 19 with a lecture about the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve located south-west of us. The central theme of the A2A lecture series has been shifting our thinking about biodiversity protection to a broader, ‘bigger picture’ scale than we are accustomed to. During our October lecture we learned about Algonquin Park, the northern anchor of the A2A conservation corridor, from Park Naturalist Justin Peter. This month we are pleased to welcome Don Ross, Executive Director of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve (FABR) for a presentation on this special region located between Algonquin and the Adirondacks.

We are fortunate to live close to a UNESCO designated biosphere reserve such as the !000 Islands-Frontenac Arch, which is one of only fifteen biosphere reserves found in all of Canada (worldwide 553 biosphere reserves are found across 107 countries). The 2,700 square km of the Frontenac Arch biosphere reserve stretches from the St. Lawrence River north to the southern tip of Lanark County and includes over 70 of the 300 km of the Algonquin to Adirondacks conservation corridor. Here one finds the intersection of the broad and ancient Frontenac axis (the granite ridge and important wildlife corridor joining the northern Canadian Shield regions to the Adirondack Mountains) and the St. Lawrence Valley. At this significant crossroads of two significant migration routes for plants and animals, one finds the greatest diversity of living things in Eastern Canada!

The Frontanac Arch Biosphere Reserve organization is designed to meet one of the most challenging issues we face today: preservation of the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms in our living “biosphere” through maintenance of healthy natural systems, while, at the same time, meeting the material needs and aspirations of an increasing number of people. How can we reconcile conservation of natural resources with their sustainable use? Biosphere reserves were designed as tools to help reconcile and integrate conflicting interests and pressures that characterize land-use planning today.

How is the FABR fulfilling its goal to facilitate co-operative action toward a more sustainable way of life? Initiatives have included the development of self-guided canoe and kayak routes through the historic 1000 Islands, the Local Flavours Project, and the waterfront living and healthy shorelines program. Most recently, a project was initiated to develop key indicators of economic, environmental, social and cultural health in the biosphere region for use in monitoring the state-of-the-biosphere. Don Ross, Executive Director of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, will tell us all about how this biosphere reserve works in his presentation “The Biosphere Reserve Between Algonquin and the Adirondacks.” What might we learn that we could apply to life in Lanark County? Find out at this MVFN lecture, 7:30 pm Thursday November 19 at the Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. For further information please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089.

Press Release

October 2, 2009

Enjoy a virtual visit to Algonquin Park at Almonte lecture by Senior Park Naturalist, Justin Peter

Lanark County functions as one of the links in a continental-scale conservation connection called Algonquin to Adirondacks, or A2A for short. It is somewhat like the Yellowstone to Yukon initiative to conserve Rocky Mountain biodiversity. A2A stretches over 300 km of the Canadian Shield from Algonquin Provincial Park, across the St. Lawrence River, to Adirondack State Park in New York.

The theme of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) 2009-2010 lecture series is Algonquin to Adirondacks: Big Picture Conservation. It encourages us to consider protecting biodiversity on a scale broader than we are accustomed to thinking about-planning on a scale bigger than landscape, larger than a national park, greater in extent than the jurisdiction of most land management units.

Algonquin Park, the northern anchor of this connection, will be featured in the second lecture of the series. Justin Peter, Senior Park Naturalist and Natural Heritage Education Specialist at Algonquin Park, will tell us about managing the Park’s ecosystems in the face of real and potential threats to their ability to function. Using evidence from within the Park and beyond it, Justin will also explore the implications of landscape connectivity for conservation of Algonquin, both within the Park and down the A2A corridor.

Enjoy a virtual visit to Algonquin Park from the comfort of a warm room in Almonte and learn about its future and role in the A2A connection from Justin’s presentation, The Algonquin in the A2A Conservation Connection, 7:30 pm., Thursday, October 15, Almonte United Church Social Hall, 106 Elgin St. in Almonte. All are welcome ($5 fee for non-members). For further information, please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or visit www.mvfn.ca.

Mill of Kintail Conservation Area, October 14-15, 2009

A full day, water-themed, environmental education program. Curriculum based, suitable for Grades 2-5.

Festival begins at 9:30 am and discovery centres will run until 2:30 pm.

Registration required, spaces are limited. Teachers or schools, for more information or to register contact Sarah O’Grady at 613-256-3610 ext 1 or sogrady@mvc.on.ca. Also see pdf poster for childrens-water-festival.

Volunteers able to help with this event should contact Sarah O’Grady.

For the first time, this event will be held in Tay Valley Township at the new ECOTAY Education Centre – a venue comprised of three beautifully restored barns. This is the first year to have the watershed discovery event on a weekend afternoon so that everyone can get out and enjoy an afternoon filled with activities for the whole family.The theme of this year’s Watershed Discovery is Shoreline Revitalization and there will be a panel discussion on this topic with several experts in the area, including Andrea Klymko, Allan Goddard and Jeff Kohl. We will have a selection of “kinder to the shoreline” non-motorized boats on display, including some traditional first-nations birch bark canoes.

For the kids of all ages, there will plenty of concurrent interactive activities so that you will have a choice of things to do and see. We will have the Paddling Puppeteer and Voyageur Tim Armstrong’s entertaining paddle-making workshop, as well as the Kettle Boys traditional rope making, skipping, and dancing limberjack show. There will also be many different interpretive and information displays and exhibits, as well as tantalizing food and refreshments by Denton.

So please plan on taking a short drive on this fall afternoon to EcoTay to enjoy the totally free events, to have some fun, or just to soak in the ambiance of this wonderful new educational facility. In the event of rain, all of the events will be under cover. There will be plenty of parking in the EcoTay parking area off the Menzies Munroe Side Road.

For more information, please go to our website www.tayriver.org , or call Annie Dalton (613-259-5639) or Colin Stephenson (613-264-2609).

We hope to see you there!

Colin Stephenson
On behalf of the FoTW Board

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Canoe The Madawaska River from Burnstown. For all MVFN members and guests.

Carpooling details:
Meet at the Esso Service Station at Almonte, corner of highway 29 and County Rd. 16 for departure by 9:00 A.M. West Lanark paddlers might want to drive up 511 to Calabogie and east to Burnstown. Launch site is the Municipal park about 1/2 km east of Burnstown. We plan to be there by 9:45 A.M.

Bring: Lunch, binocs, camera, and sunscreen.

Please register with Cliff beforehand -613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca. If you need a partner, ask Cliff and he will do his best to match you up. In case of bad weather, this trip will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Cliff before 8:30 A.M.

Sept 29-Oct 2, 2009

Discover the wonderful world of mushrooms and other fungi in this 2 and a half day workshop . All experience levels welcome. Hands-on indentification, plus discussions on ecology, uses and etymology.

Cost: $295; includes tuition, meals, accomodatioin, use of lab space and microscopes.

Location: QUeens’s University Biological Station.

Further Information: www.queensu.ca/biology/qubs/events.html.

Instructor: Richard Aaron(natureteacher1@gmail.com).

Where: Almonte Geoheritage Park, at Metcalfe Park, beside the Hydro development site in Almonte.

When: Saturday, October 3rd from 1-3 pm.

Find out about the progress being made and join in some fun activities. Bring a favorite rock or fossil and have it examined by an expert! Learn about different types of rocks.

“Take a Tour” (rocks now in place); “The Geologist in You” (use a geological compass to measure planar and linear features in bedrock); “Stromatolite Central” (biogenic structures that are especially abundant in and around Almonte); and the “Geologic Matching Game” (photos of rocky sites within and
near Almonte).

Book prizes to be awarded to three successful participants.

Click here for printable copy of this schedule mvfn-bioblitz-tentative-schedule 

Please note that this schedule is subject to change.
Participants should pre-register for events at the Bioblitz Base site. There is no charge for registration or for the scheduled biological survey events. Inventory activity takes place from 3 pm Saturday to 3 pm Sunday. Registration will be open between 2 pm and 9 pm Saturday, September 19 and between 6:30 am and 2 pm Sunday, September 20.

Saturday, September 19

2:00 pm Bioblitz Base opens, Registration begins
3:00 – 3:15 pm Bioblitz opening ceremony
3:15 – 4:00 pm Bell property ecological orientation- west side
4:15 – 5:00 pm Bell property ecological orientation- east side
5:00 – 6:00 pm Fungus collection for spore prints; Moth trap set-up; Spotting geological features;  Inspect small mammal traps
6:00 – 7:30 pm Inventory on your own
7:30 – 8:30 pm Calling seasonal creatures of the night
8:30 – 9:30 pm Moth mania
10:00 pm Registration closes 9 pm, Bioblitz Base closes 10 pm
Sunday, September 20

6:30 am BioBlitz Base Registration begins
7:00 – 8:00 am Bird watching
8:00 – 9:00 am Catch anything? check small mammal & pit traps,  Bird watching
9:00 – 9:55 am Memorable mosses; Reptiles & amphibians: are you here?; Woodland discovery for children
10:00 – 10:55 am Fantastic fungi; Plants with wet feet
11:00 – 11:55 am Plants liking it drier;  Loveable lichens
12:00 – 12:55pm Insects at large; Fungi frenzy

1:00 – 1:55 pm Invertebrates without 6 legs;  Flying pictures: butterflies and dragonflies
2:00 – 2:55 pm Mammals and anything missed: a walk on the wild side with detective Jim; Lanark rocks!
2:00 – 3:00 pm Registration closes 2 pm; Last call for tally sheets 3:00 pm
4:00 pm BioBlitz closing ceremony – results, quiz. Post-BioBlitz BBQ

MVFN BioBlitz 2009 is presented by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Community Stewardship Council of Lanark County. The event takes place at the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Bell property near Almonte and can be accessed at 1633/1631 Clayton Road near Ramsay Conc. 3B. Follow signs for parking.

For further information, or if you plan to participate, please contact Mike McPhail at 613-256-7211 or mcphaill@hotmail.com or visit www.mvfn.ca.

Enjoy Nature in all its Fall Grandeur. Join our hosts Janet and David in walking the Manitou Mountain Trail, Calabogie area

Carpooling
East Lanark and area: Meet at Union Hall for departure at 9:00 AM
West Lanark and area: Meet at Hopetown General Store for 9:15 AM

We will be on the trail by 10AM, starting at David and Janet’s cottage and return around 1:00 P.M. for lunch on the shores of beautiful Lake Calabogie.

Bring your lunch, binoculars, a magnifying glass, etc.

Note: This is a moderately difficult level of trail. Note: In case of foul weather, this event will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Cliff before 8:30 AM on the day of the event.

Please register beforehand with Cliff 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca

For further information, contact Cliff.

Press Release

Sept 7, 2009

The Lanark County link in the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Connection

You may have heard of the transcontinental Yellowstone to Yukon initiative to conserve Rocky Mountain biodiversity, but did you know that Lanark County is part of another continental conservation connection? It is called Algonquin to Adirondacks, or A2A for short. The A2A area covers the part of the Canadian Shield that stretches for about 300 km from Algonquin Provincial Park, across the St. Lawrence River, to Adirondack State Park in New York. And Lanark County is a vital link in this conservation chain.

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) 2009-2010 lecture series, Algonquin to Adirondacks: Big Picture Conservation, will begin September 17 with a presentation by Emily Conger, President of the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Association. Emily will speak about conservation accomplishments and progress under this initiative, highlighting the role Lanark County can play and the benefits this can bring to individual landowners and the public as a whole.

The A2A vision requires us to consider protecting biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems on a scale broader than we are accustomed to thinking about-planning on a scale bigger than landscape, larger than a national park, and extending beyond the jurisdiction of most land management units. At this scale, conservation issues can be addressed and projects undertaken using initiatives, impractical locally, but which can provide benefits for those who live here (such as the re-introduction of native species or the re-establishment of natural, large-scale ecosystem-creating processes).

In light of climate change, the focus of the A2A initiative-maintaining a natural, north-south connection as a biological highway-is imperative for there to be the ecological resilience needed for species survival. Learn more about A2A and the Lanark link at Ms. Conger’s presentation, Algonquin to Adirondacks: a Continental Conservation Connection, 7:30 pm., Thursday, September 17, Almonte United Church Social Hall, 106 Elgin St. in Almonte. All are welcome ($5 fee for non-members). For further information, please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or visit www.mvfn.ca.

MASTER GARDENERS OF ONTARIO INCORPORATED
ZONE 8 – OTTAWA CARLETON, UNITED COUNTIES, LANARK

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
ALGONQUIN COLLEGE, WOODROFFE CAMPUS, OTTAWA, ONTARIO
[SOUTH OF COLLEGE SQUARE MALL NEAR WOODROFFE AVENUE AND BASELINE ROAD]

MESSAGE FROM ZONE 8
Zone 8′s Technical Update Committee is pleased to present a star-studded program featuring a very special keynote speaker, Dr. Peter Kevan. Dr. Kevan will be ably supported by excellent local presenters on the vital matter of pollination – that quiet activity that often goes unnoticed and under-appreciated, but which plays a major role in the ongoing survival of our fragile planet.
We want this up-to-date information to leave you inspired, better equipped to explain the pollination process and ready to take a stand on the protection and encouragement of our complex population of pollinators.

POLLINATORS: VITAL KEY TO SUCCESS – ZONE 8 – SEPTEMBER 26 – 2009

Keynote Speaker
Peter Kevan is Professor in Environmental Biology at the University of Guelph, and is regarded as one of the most active pollination biologists world-wide. He is presently principal investigator on a multi-million dollar NSERC-Canadian Pollination Initiative research network, chair of the Task Force on Declining Pollination of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), part of the steering committee for the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, and a member of the Canadian Pollinator Protection Initiative. Dr. Kevan is actively involved in initiatives in pollination stemming from the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as many other pollination or pollinator-related projects.

Scott Olan
Scott joined the Ministry of the Environment as a Pesticides Specialist and designated Provincial Officer in Eastern Region in March 2005. Before beginning his career, Scott graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. He is presently working on his Masters of Science in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University. His passion for gardening developed early while growing up on the family farm. Scott has never used pesticides on his lawn. His motto is “enjoy a lawn for what it is, not what others think it should be”. Scott was a Master Gardener from 1997 to 2003. He also spent three years as Zone Director on the MGOI Board. He was a Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture from 1997 – 2006.

Ken Farr
Ken Farr is a forest taxonomist and science policy advisor with the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada. He is a Registered Professional Forester and a member of the Canadian Institute of Forestry. His current activities include international forest trade issues, invasive forest pests and plant quarantine issues. He is the Canadian Forest Service Scientific Authority for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Ken has taught horticulture, urban forestry and arboriculture in the Horticulture Department of Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario and also as adjunct professor of Dendrology at the University of Toronto School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He was project dendrologist for the well-known reference text Trees in Canada by John Laird Farrar, and is author of the Canadian Forest Service publication The Forests of Canada.

Dale Odorizzi, Gloria Oopzoomer and Ankaret Dean
Partnership for Pollinators
Master Gardeners Gloria Oopzoomer and Dale Odorizzi present a case study on developing and maintaining an all-volunteer public Butterfly Garden, combining the strengths of the Rideau Valley Field Naturalists, Rideau Valley Conservation area and Lanark County Master Gardeners.

The Secret Life of Bees
Master Gardener and Beekeeper, Ankaret Dean, will describe the life of bees and the important plants that attract bees to your garden.

To Register, forward a cheque to the following address, including your name, Mailing Address and Email address if you have one. Also, include any group affiliation (MVFN) or United Counties Master Gardeners
Mail To: E. Falconer, 3276 Klondike Road, North Gower, Ontario K0A 2T0
$35 for Master Gardeners, $40 for all other participants

Lunch and refreshments for the day will be catered by the Algonquin College Catering Service. Cost of all food and beverages is included in your registration fee. If you have special needs, please note them in this section. If we can accommodate them we will.

If you have any questions, please contact Dale Odorizzi at 613 264-8135 or odorizzi@storm.ca.
Hope to see you there.

Sunday, Aug 30, 2009

Trip will be to Tay River, Marsh and Canal (#21 on Lanark County Canoe and Kayak Journeys guide)

Carpooling details:
East Lanark: Meet at Union Hall, for departure at 9:00 A.M.
West Lanark: Meet at Last Duel Park boat launch area in Perth
for 9:30 A.M. launch

Bring: Lunch, binocs, camera, bug juice and sunscreen

Please register with Cliff beforehand -613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca. If you need a partner, ask Cliff and he will do his best to match you up.

Note: In case of bad weather, this trip will be cancelled. If in doubt, please call Cliff before 8:30 A.M.

When: Sunday, Aug. 9
Where: Clayton/Taylor Lake, #16 on guide
Launch Site: At the dam site in Clayton Village
Launch Time: 9:30 A.M.

Where to Meet: At the dam site in Clayton. (Clayton is 4 km north of Union Hall on County Road 9)
What to Bring: lunch, binocs, bug juice, sun screen etc.

Note: Please let Cliff know if you are coming and also if you need a partner. He will do his best to match you up. In case of foul weather, this trip will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Cliff before 8:00 a.m. (We could have canoed the Madawaska our last trip. The weather was great all day. I’ll never trust the weather forcast again).

For more information: Call Cliff at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca

Submitted by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

June 25, 2009

2009 Cliff Bennett Nature Bursary Awards presented to two local students set to attend Sir Sandford Flemming College Environmental Technology program

The Cliff Bennett Nature Bursary Awards, supported by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN), are awarded annually to local high school graduates planning to pursue post-secondary studies in an aspect of nature or an environmental field. Both the young 2009 recipients of the award, André Drapeau and Scott Quackenbush, were on hand outside the Carleton Place Canoe Club June 23 rd to receive their $500 bursaries, as well as congratulations from Cliff Bennett and Joyce Clinton, President of MVFN.

Both nature bursary award recipients have been accepted into the Sir Sandford Flemming College Environmental Technology program offered at Flemming College’s Frost Campus in Lindsay, Ontario.

Nature Bursary winner André Drapeau, is a resident of Beckwith and a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Carleton Place. He has acquired a strong appreciation for issues related to the environment during his high school years and considers his large family at home to be very “green.” An advocate of environmentally safe disposal of computer supplies, he operates a small home-based business to promote the Ontario Electronics Stewardship programme. André hopes his college education will hold him in good stead to further his career interests in environmental sciences research and improvement of systems.

Scott Quackenbush, also a resident of Beckwith, has attended Carleton Place High School for the past four years and has always been interested and concerned with environmental issues. This summer, he plans to work as a volunteer with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority in their City Stream Watch Programme. Upon completion of the 2-3 year Environmental Technology program at Flemming College he would like to continue in the post-graduate Natural Resources Law Enforcement course towards fulfillment of one of his future ambitions i.e. work as a Conservation Officer or an Environmental Officer.

The Cliff Bennett Nature Bursary Award was established in 2007 by MVFN members and friends and family of naturalist and retired educator Cliff Bennett on the occasion of his 75th birthday. The annual bursary programme is supported by MVFN, and application and other details may be found on MVFN’s website at www.mvfn.ca.

Congratulations to both of this years award winners and best wishes for your studies!

Photo 1: 2009 Nature Bursary winner André Drapeau accepts award from MVFN President Joyce Clinton outside the Carleton Place Canoe Club Photo:Pauline Donaldson

Photo 2: Cliff Bennett (right) makes the presentation of a Nature Bursary to Carleton Place High School student Scott Quackenbush outside at the Carleton Place Canoe Club. Photo - Pauline Donaldson

When: Sunday, July 26
Where: Madawaska River at Burnstown (Note change of location from schedule)
Launch Site: Municipal Park, on highway # 508, ½ km east of intersection in village,
Launch Time: 9:30 A.M.

Where to Meet: Eastern Lanark: Esso Service Station, Almonte, for departure 8:45 A.M.
Western Lanark: Come to Esso Station or, take #511 to Calabogie and east on #508 to Burnstown and launch site. Ottawa and area: take highway 417 and 17 past Arnprior to Calabogie, turn on highway #508 to Burnstown and launch site. (Note: you get to launch site before the village).

What to Bring: lunch, binocs, bug juice, sun screen etc.

Note: Please let Cliff know if you are coming and also if you need a partner. He will do his best to match you up. In case of foul weather, this trip will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Cliff before 8:00 a.m

For more information: Call Cliff at 613-256-5013 or email bennett@magma.ca.

Nature Conservancy of Canada helps local conservation-minded landowner protect her land legacy in Wolf Grove Wetlands Complex

July 9, 2009

Nature Conservancy of Canada

Mississippi Mills, ON – The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has protected a 225-acre (91-hectare) property in Mississippi Mills, eastern Lanark County thanks in part to the determination of Martha Webber to see her land protected. Mrs. Webber’s hopes were realized following successful fundraising for both the purchase and essential long-term management of the land.

“Martha Webber is a locally known and respected botanist and naturalist,” said NCC’s Eastern Ontario Program Manager, Gary Bell. “She had received offers from others wishing to buy her property but, quite admirably, preferred to see it protected for conservation.”

The property is the largest single landholding within the provincially significant Wolf Grove Wetlands Complex and contains some of the best examples of diverse hardwood forest and wetlands. The largest open body of water within the natural area, Bowley Lake, is completely contained within this newly protected property.

“That property has meant a lot to us over the years for camping and exploring,” remarked Mrs. Webber. “The more I learn about the variety of habitat, the more I am impressed with our luck in acquiring it and the need to preserve it. Now it provides for the future. Best investment we ever made.”

Existing inventory data revealed that a high number of regionally rare species were located on the property including endangered Butternut and globally-rare Rugulose Grapefern. Also supported on the property is the most easterly example of a rare Poison Sumac Swamp community and the Red-shouldered Hawk, a bird recently removed from the Species at Risk list. The protection of areas like this will help ensure the hawk stays off the list.

Significant funding for this project was obtained through the Nature Conservancy of Canada-Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Greenlands Program under which NCC must match provincial funds. Matching private funds for this project were raised through dedicated efforts by the Ottawa Field Naturalists, the local community, and a generous donation from Mr. Leonard Lee, founder of Lee Valley Tools and Canica Designs.

This property will be owned and managed by NCC. A complete biological inventory of the property is currently being carried out, which will lead to a better understanding of the natural values of the property and how to best manage it for future generations. Mrs. Webber has used the property as a place to lead nature groups in the past and it is anticipated that this type of educational use will be continued.

The Wolf Grove Wetlands Complex is part of the larger Middle Mississippi River Wetlands Natural Area, a large series of interconnecting and isolated wetlands extending from Lanark to Pakenham. The natural area includes wooded swamps and marshes, fens, and associated aquatic systems and the terrestrial habitats that support them.

Contact

Gary Bell
Eastern Ontario Program Manager
613-862-3331
gary.bell@natureconservancy.ca.

Hugh Bennett
Eastern Ontario Major Gifts Officer
613-243-2502
hugh.bennett@natureconservancy.ca.

MVFN BioBlitz 2009

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and with assistance from the Community Stewardship Council of Lanark County invite you to participate in the 2009 MVFN BioBlitz taking place on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Bell Property.

 NOTE: click here for a printable version of this MVFN BioBlitz 2009 Information

Please see our full colour mvfn-bioblitz-2009-poster as a pdf file.

Our tentative schedule for the expert-led biological surveys is now also available. Follow the links from the home page or click on  mvfn-bioblitz-tentative-schedule1 for a printable pdf.

A BioBlitz is part contest, social gathering, educational event and citizen-science endeavour. The BioBlitz will bring together scientists, and expert and novice nature enthusiasts to see how many species they can find in a 24 hour biological survey.

The BioBlitz provides an opportunity for all participants to learn from experts how to identify the many plants, animals and birds that will be found during this 24 hour period. Specialists and experts from a diverse set of disciplines will be grouped with interested participants to explore the area under investigation.

The inventory and interaction of specialists with the public are integral goals of this event.

The event is both educational and fun. Individuals of all ages including children are welcome to attend. There is no charge for this event.

THE DATE
The BioBlitz takes place from:

3:00 pm on Saturday, 19 September
to
3:00 pm on Sunday, 20 September

The event will run, rain or shine.

THE SITE
The Bioblitz will take place on the Bell Property, owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. We are delighted to be able to hold this BioBlitz on this approximately 85 acre conservation property which has a variety of habitats including, hardwood and mixed wood forest, seasonal wetlands, and streams.

ACCESS AND LOCATION
The property is located at the intersection of Clayton Road and Ramsay Concession 3B. Mississippi Mills, Ont. K0A 1A0 in Lanark County -near the town of Almonte (just west of Ottawa).

Coming from the town of Almonte
1) Turn right (north) onto County Rd. 29/Christian St
Continue to follow County Rd. 29 for 3.1 km
2) Turn left (west) onto Clayton Rd. and continue for 8.1 km
BioBlitz is on the left (south side) at 1633/1631 Clayton Rd.
Please park where indicated (not on the Clayton Road) and follow signs to the Base to register.

ACCOMMODATION
There will be limited free overnight camping near the Bell Property on Cliff & Lynda Bennett’s property 1772 Clayton Rd. (north side) just west of Ramsay Concession 3B and 1 km before County Rd. 9 (Tatlock Rd.). Please let us know if you are planning to camp.

Information on commercial accommodations in Mississippi Mills area can be found at
http://www.mississippimills.ca/tourism/articleListing.cfm?articleListingId=297.

REGISTRATION
Participants must register at the BioBlitz Base site between 2:00 and 9:00 PM on Saturday, Sept. 19 or between 6:30 AM and 2:00 PM on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Upon registration, you will be provided with instructions, directions and a map of the property as well as tally sheets on which to list species observed.

Please return your final tally sheets and field notes to the Base site before departure. These will be copied and returned to you if you wish.

WHAT TO BRING
Please bring your own meals and snacks, but note the Sunday BBQ social (see below).

Please also bring sunscreen, insect repellant, hat, and a flashlight for night activities.
Good walking boots are advised and appropriate clothing including long pants.
You may like to bring your own binoculars, hand lens, clipboard, checklist and field guides.

Cameras and GPS units will be useful (but not required) to record rare species, and for recording species needing identification.

Potable water and a washroom will be available at the Base site and camp site. Please bring your own water bottle and travel mug and camping equipment if camping overnight.

BARBEQUE SOCIAL
A free barbeque will be held at the post count wrap up after 3:00pm.

PLEASE . . .
NO dogs at this event. Please be sensitive to the fact that this is conservation property and we are there only at the invitation of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Try to keep the impact to a minimum and attempt to leave things as they were found.

We look forward to this event and hope you do too. Please share this information with anyone you know who might be interested.

Volunteers are needed to run the BioBlitz. Please contact Cliff Bennett if you are willing to help (phone 613 256-5013 or email bennett@magma.ca)

Contact me if you plan to participate or wish to have any questions answered
(phone 613-256-7211 or e-mail mcphaill@hotmail.com ).

Yours truly,
Mike McPhail

MVFN BioBlitz – Communication Lead

Near the end of Lammermoor Road there is about three km of unmaintained roadway, it proceeds through old forest properties, a few small wetlands, and finally reaches a high plateau of open agricultural fields. The road ends at a local cemetery.

To find Lammermoor Road, go north on highway 511 from Perth, through Lanark Village and Hopetown. Lammermoor is the first road north of County Rd. 16, on the left. Drive to the end of the road and park. Please do not block the laneway.

Good all seasons.

When: Sunday, July 12
Where: Clyde River and Kerr Lake (see Guide #12)
Launch Site: Village of Lanark, by the feed mill just over the bridge (north side)
Launch Time: 10 A.M.
Where to Meet: Eastern Lanark: Union Hall, for departure 9:30 A.M.
Western Lanark: Meet at launch site
What to Bring: lunch, binocs, bug juice, sun screen etc.

Note: Please let Cliff know if you are coming and also if you need a partner for your canoe or need a canoeing partner.

For more information, please contact Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca

The following article on turtle nesting season was written by Dr. Paul Keddy. Dr. Keddy, is an MVFN member and scientist and author of many articles and books on wetlands and wildlife including Earth, Water, Fire: An Ecological Profile of Lanark County. For more information on identifying Lanark County turtles, please visit a local bookshop or consult the Toronto zoo’s adopt- a- pond website at www.torontozoo.com/adoptapond/turtles.asp .

June is here. The nesting turtles are back! March is for maple syrup, in April the ice melts away, in May the leaves come out, and in June it’s turtle time!

Every one of these annual events reminds us where we live; the previous statement could not be made in Paris or Los Angeles. Of course, if you are a high rise building dweller who rarely ventures outside the big city, you may not appreciate my point. Here in Lanark County, every June, many turtles crawl out of their ponds and streams and start crossing the highways looking for nesting sites. Elsewhere, tourists might pay a fortune, say, to travel to South Africa for lions, or British Columbia or Quebec for whales, but here the wildlife comes to visit us!

Most of the time turtles are rather secretive – hibernating nearly half the year on the bottom of lakes and ponds. Much of the rest of the year they swim around looking for dead things to eat and occasionally taking a break to warm up in the sun stretched out on a log. Overall, turtles are harmless, and in fact do some good since they are efficient scavengers that clean up dead animals from our water supply. All of our turtles – even the large snapping turtle – are opportunist feeders. They eat whatever they can conveniently find, which is mainly insects and dead fish. Biologists have spent many years studying turtle diets -by counting the items in their stomachs – and have this well-documented. Even large snapping turtles, which get blamed for eating ducks or game fish, rarely have any of these items in their stomachs. They too eat carrion. Yes, snapping turtles will snap at you — when on land — particularly if you let your dog frighten them, or if you poke them with a stick. Many people would do the same.

Let me mention, too, that every part of the world has its own set of turtles. If you were lost, and someone gave you a list of local turtles, you could pin down almost exactly where you were. North America has just over 50 species in all. Some places, like the west coast, are impoverished, having just one species. Other places, like Louisiana, are blessed with turtles – more than 30 species. Lanark County, has exactly, five. In approximate order of size, beginning with the smallest, they are musk turtle (or stinkpot), painted turtle, map turtle, Blanding’s turtle and snapping turtle. All but the painted turtle are now considered species at risk – that is, they are declining. Two, the musk turtle and the Blanding’s turtle, are officially considered threatened species. The decline has two main causes, (1) death on roads and (2) destruction of wild places.
Nesting time is a dangerous time
So, for nearly 50 weeks each year turtles are rather quiet, inoffensive neighbours, who pretty much keep to themselves. In this way, they might set a good example for human neighbors, like the ones with the loud stereos and motorbikes … but I digress, I was asked to write about turtles. My point is that, finally, after 50 weeks of peace, all hell breaks loose in mid June! All the females of reproductive age climb out of the water and begin the laborious task of hiking around to find a nesting site. It is probably terrifying for them to leave the familiar water and venture onto land, but the nesting urge is too strong to resist. Once they find just the right location, they dig a hole, bury their eggs, and leave. That is the end of motherly care. The eggs are heated by the summer sun, and then, in September, baby turtles about the size of a half-walnut dig their way up to the surface and somehow find their way back to water.

This means that without fail, near the middle of each June, we are treated to a parade of female turtles, wandering around our roads and properties, trying to nest. They have been doing this for about 200 million years, more or less. Turtles existed before the dinosaurs, and they even survived whatever it was – an asteroid collision? – that eliminated the dinosaurs. Despite their long history, turtles just have not had time to learn to adapt to two new things: cars and roads. That tiny brain has no idea that a road means danger. And so, increasingly, we are losing our turtles as the reproductive females (and often the eggs they contain) are killed on highways.

Biologists have calculated how important certain types of individuals are to their species survival, i.e. their “reproductive value”. New baby turtles have low reproductive value because only a few ever survive -skunks, raccoons, crows, fish and even bullfrogs eat them. This high mortality rate for babies is natural for turtles. However the reproductive value of the adult female turtle is extremely high. Once she has made it to 20 years old she has the capacity to make up for the high mortality rate of the babies by laying from 10 to 30 eggs every year for decades. The turtles being killed on our roads are usually the adult females — with the highest reproductive value. When a female is killed – it means the loss of hundreds of offspring she might have produced over future summers. These loses cannot be replaced. As a result, turtles that were present in my childhood, like musk turtles and Blanding’s turtles, are now uncommon. Not only do turtles just cross roads, they are actually attracted to roads. The warm sand and gravel along the road side makes a perfect nest site. So turtles will come long distances to climb onto the shoulder and lay their eggs. If drivers are careless, the highway becomes a ribbon of death.
So what can we do?
1. The first is to accept and even appreciate this annual event. Just as the maple syrup flows in March, so do turtles flow across our roads in June. We might even build an annual tourist event around the nesting week. We could put up some highway crossing signs at critical locations, or better still, plan ahead and build small underpasses when roads are being reconstructed. And, of course, we have to protect critical nesting areas from subdivisions. More urgently there is the immediate issue of death on the roads.

2. Drive carefully. Turtles are slow-movers, so it really does take a complete idiot to hit one with a car.
- Don’t tailgate (which your driver training instructor no doubt told you anyway), as you may run over a turtle that the car in front just missed.
-Help them out. Stop, and carry the turtle the rest of the way across the road – in the direction she was headed, of course. Yes, some will not appreciate your help, and might try to scratch or bite, so keep a pair of gardening gloves handy and perhaps a shovel to help lift. A big snapping turtle is heavy, so I would recommend extreme care – probably best to simply act like a shepherd.
- Alert other drivers. Yes, you can stop your car and let other people know that a turtle is crossing the road. Not a good idea at 100 kilometers per hour, perhaps, but certainly feasible on many side roads.
-Let them nest in peace. If one arrives in your yard, keep the pets away, and let the children watch quietly from a respectful distance more than ten feet away. Think about the respect we give to pregnant women, and give the pregnant turtle the same courtesy. If she does nest, you can put a piece of chicken wire (not mosquito netting – that will trap the baby turtles in the fall) over the nest. Then, wait. Given the right amount of sun and rain, baby turtles should emerge in September.

One of the joys of living here is the annual spectacle of the June turtles. If you still think you must drive so fast that you ignore the crossing turtles, may I respectfully suggest you consider moving to downtown Phoenix or Las Vegas or Toronto, or one of our other larger urban centers, where you won’t have to be inconvenienced by other living creatures. Learning to share the landscape with wild animals is part of what it means to live here. We might start with courtesy to turtles, and then extend it to frogs, birds, butterflies, bears and all the other animals that lived here long before our ancestors decided to settle in North America.

Not everyone can personally save a blue whale, or a black rhinoceros, but everyone can drive responsibly, and, like a good boy scout, help the occasional turtle across the road.

Attention Volunteers!

Are you good at identifying adult dragonflies and damselflies?

Do you have a pond, wetland, or lake that you like to visit?

Could you commit to one-hour surveys once per week over the summer?

If you answered ‘yes’ to each of these questions, then you are invited to join an important scientific study. We are trying to learn how much time and effort is needed to survey adult dragonflies and damselflies. The information will help conservationists and researchers who work with these amazing animals.

This study is being run by Jason Bried of The Nature Conservancy at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Jennette Fox is helping out here in Canada – feel free to contact either for questions, comments or concerns.

For more info please contact:
Jason Bried
The Nature Conservancy
jbried@tnc.org  518-456-0655 ext221

or
Jennette Fox (Canada)
tncodonataproject@yahoo.com

OSO COMMUNITY HALL

8:30 am Doors Open
9:00 Welcome and Introduction – Gray Merriam
9:15 New Findings in Loon Territoriality – Dr. Charles Walcott
10:00 Questions and Discussion
10:30 Refreshment/Discussion Break
11:00 The Canadian Loon Survey – Kathy Jones
11:30 Questions and Discussion
11:45 Draw for Loon Book Door Prize – Mary Vandenhoff
12:00 Lunch in Sharbot Lake
1:30 Artificial Loon Nesting Platforms – Kathy Jones
2:00 Questions and Discussion
2:20 Draw for Lake Association winner of loon nest platform
2:30 Refreshment/Discussion Break
2:45 Human Interactions with Loons – Cliff Bennett
3:15 Questions and Discussion
3:45 Wrap-Up

ANGLICAN CHURCH MEETING ROOM
across the parking lot –10:00-12:00& 1:30-4:00

Visual Images by Simon Lunn

Audio Images by Cliff Bennett

Loon Books for Sale (including books by Kit Chubb) — the Nature Lovers Bookshop of Lanark

DISPLAYS IN HALL (all day)
Frontenac Stewardship Council kits for lake stewards/ Food for loon adults and chicks/ loon nesting platforms programs and mehods

PARKING LOT DISPLAY (all day)

Loon Nesting Platform built & contributed by
Ontario Power Generation, Environmental Sustainability division
(to be won by a Lake Association – Draw at 2:20)

Sunday, June 21

Canonto Lake (just off the north-western edge of Lanark County)

Car Pooling Points:
Eastern Lanark-Meet at Union Hall, for 8:30 A.M. departure.
Western Lanark-Hopetown, 8:45 A.M.

Bring lunch, sun screen, bug juice, camera, binocs etc.

Please register for this event by calling or e-mailing Cliff at 613-256-5013 bennett@magma.ca.

If you need a partner for your canoe or don’t have a canoe and want to partner with someone who does, ask when registering and Cliff will do his best to match you up .

As this is our first canoe/kayak trip of the new season, please check your equipment to ensure you have spare paddle, life jacket, heaving line, bailing bucket and emergency whistle.

Note: In case of foul weather, this event will be cancelled. If in doubt, call Cliff before 8:00 A.M. on Sunday morning.

(Please note that MVFN’s indoor series of lectures resumes September 17, 2009)

BIRD WATCHING OUTINGS
March 29 – Presqu’ile Duck Migration
April 22 – Early Morning Birding: 6 a.m. til 8 a.m.

CANOEING/KAYAKING
June 21- Annual Spring Nature Paddle- Canonto Lake
July 12- Scheduled summer paddle: #12 on guide
July 26- Scheduled summer paddle: #2 on guide
August 9- Scheduled summer paddle: #16 on guide
Aug. 30- Scheduled summer paddle: #21 on guide
Sept 11-14 – 2nd Annual Canoe Camp- Algonquin Park
Oct 4- Fall Colours Paddle- members’ choice.

NATURE WALKS
May 9- Burntlands Alvar Nature Walk
May 31- Annual Spring Nature Walk Bathurst Conc. 9 Sept. 27- Annual Fall Nature Walk-Calabogie Lake area

Paddle #’s refer to those in Lanark County Canoe and Kayak Journeys produced in 2007 by MVFN. Further details to be posted at www.mvfn.ca or contact Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca

This is not an MVFN event. This event is part of Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month. For further information and possible updates please see the information posted at www.mmbicyclemonth.ca or contact mmbicyclemonth@gmail.com.

The group will meet at Groundz (78 Mill St., Almonte) at 8 am on Sunday, June 7 for a cup of Equator coffee and one of Shari’s morning goodies before setting off. If you are arriving by car there is plenty of parking on the market square behind Groundz.

The leisurely ride will go north to the hamlet of Blakeney, then across the Mississippi River to the Mill of Kintail Conservation Area, before returning to Almonte. There will be a visit to the viewing platform near Auld Kirk at the Almonte sewage lagoons. This trip is open to all. Please bring a lunch or snacks for along the way. Binoculars and cameras recommended. 

Please contact mmbicyclemonth@gmail.com  with any questions.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

To the beautiful and lush property of MVFN members Gloria Opzoomer’s and Paul Sprague’s farm in Tay Valley. Featuring wetlands, forest and open areas, trails.

Car Pooling: Eastern Lanark: Meet at Union Hall (Corner of County Roads 9 and 16) at 8:30 A.M.
Western Lanark: Meet at Balderson (back parking lot of Balderson Cheese) at 8:45.
Bring: bug juice, bug juice, bug juice, binoculars, and anything else for the woods.

Lunch: is scheduled at Temples Maple Sugar Bush restaurant, near Ferguson Falls.
For more information, contact Mike McPhail at 613-256-7211 (evenings and week-ends) or mcphaim@algonquincollege.com.

Please register and confirm attendance with Mike.

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists Annual General Meeting will be held Thursday, May 21, 2009 at Union Hall. Reception will begin at 6 pm followed by welcome and business meeting starting at 7 pm. At approximately 8:30 pm a presentation of nature photographs by Mark Garbutt.

Further details to follow.

Birds In My Garden

Turning and digging and tilling the soil
I work the earth in loving toil
under the watchful eyes of robins in the dew-bejeweled grass,
their red breasts bright in the morning sun,
hopping ever nearer in hopes of snatching an easy breakfast revealed by my labour.

Having laid out line and row
I gather my seeds and begin to sow,
closely watched by hopeful sparrows
and soon joined by cheery chickadees
chatting their dee-dee-dee as they flit in bobbing flight to the tree
where higher up perches a blackbird adding his musical erk-a-lee.
After I’m done they come down to the ground for a good look around,
but the seeds are well covered and they soon leave, disappointed,
and tired of the brash bullying of brazen blue jays boldly hollering their raucous kwe-kwe.

Time passes and my garden grows green,
lush and full with occasional nibbles from critters unseen.
Hummingbirds visit to sip from each flower
and sometimes when I water, indulge in a shower.
The robins still visit, and the occasional small bird,
in search of worms in the dirt and other juicy morsels on the leaves of the plants,
leaving the aphids to the ladybugs and ants.
It’s nice to see these birds in my garden, tilling the soil and tending the plants.

I smile as I watch them flitting around, now in the air and then on the ground.
their bright colours and energetic antics cheer my day,
their cheeping chatter and sweet song lift my heart.
But I must admit the misleading mimicry of the catbird’s eow brings a frown to my brow
when I hear it coming from my strawberry patch!
I really don’t mind sharing a berry or two, but their wanton pilfering simply won’t do!
They and the waxwings search out the best, always finding the biggest and brightest,
eat about half and just leave the rest!
If you heard me speak then I’d have to beg your pardon,
‘cause I really get vexed by those birds in my garden!

But I know in the end, when all’s said and done,
the garden harvested and earth bare to the sun,
when summer is passed and fall almost ended, the birds will move south or grow quiet.
I’ll feel sad and a little lonely, and miss every one
of the birds in my garden.

Tammy MacKenzie April 2009

For more information on Tammy’s work, or the Live Poets Society (LiPS), contact tammym@toast.net  or visit the LiPS website at www.lanarkcountylips.com.

We are pleased to announce to MVFN members and friends a nature walk to Burnt Lands Alvar located just outside of Almonte. The walk will be led by international alvar expert Dr. Paul Catling.

Date: Saturday, May 9, 2009

We will meet at the parking lot of JR’s Restaurant in Almonte (385 Ottawa St. Almonte) at 9:30am for some instruction from Paul then proceed to the alvar as a group.

Bring lunch, sunscreen, insect repellent, and a hat. Rubber boots are advised. Wear long pants to protect against poison ivy. Also don’t forget binoculars, hand lens, observation journal & camera.

Alvars are rare ecosystems present in very few places on earth, so do take this opportunity to explore the Burnt Lands with Dr. Paul Catling.

For more info. and to register contact: Mike McPhail at 613-256-7211 or mcphaim@algonquincollege.com.

On Sunday, May 3 the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy is hosting a fund-raising Walk for Nature at Alba Wilderness in Flower Station. The walk, guided by local naturalists, will go though woodlands, beside beaver ponds and wetlands to the top of Blueberry Mountain where the vista is stunning. This delightful property, rich in natural heritage, has been named one of the Seven Wonders of Lanark County: this is an opportunity to find out why.

This spring the Clifford family donated the 1200 acre Alba Wilderness property under a Conservation Easement to the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy to ensure that it will be protected in its natural state for the next 999 years. To raise funds to cover the MMLTC costs of acquiring this Conservation Easement, there will be an entrance fee of $10 per person. By supporting MMLTC you make it possible for beautiful, ecologically sensitive properties, such as this one, be provided long-term protection.

The return hike to the top of the mountain and back takes approximately 45 minutes each way with a short steep climb to the top. Starting out at 10:00 you may wish to bring along a lunch to enjoy at the lookout but some light refreshments will also be available upon return. Spring weather causes runoff down the mountainside so appropriate footwear is advised. The Nature Walk will take place rain or shine.

Alba Wilderness is located at 502 Hills of Peace Rd in Flower Station. Information sheets including maps with directions are available at Nature Lover’s Bookshop in Lanark, Riverguild in Perth and Miller’s Tale in Almonte.

Further information visit www.mmltc.ca  or call Alba at 613 259-3412.

Date: Wednesday, May 6. Time: 6:00 A.M. until 8:A.M.

Meet at: Union Hall, 5:30 A.M. with canoes/kayaks and partners plus thermos and binoculars.

Please register with Cliff beforehand at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca.
If you need a partner for your canoe or want to partner with someone else, please call.

On the heels of a most successful international outing this past winter to Mexico (an MVFN first) to visit the wintering quarters of the migrating monarch butterfly, the MVFN programme committee announces another international outing for next winter, Nature Tour of Cuba

Enjoy finding many exotic tropical birds including 21 species found only in Cuba plus many of our Canadian birds wintering over in this wonderful island nation.This is a ten day trip, Tuesday, Feb. 23 ’til Thursday, March 4. It is designated moderate difficulty, not as hard as the mountains in Mexico. Designed by Quest Nature Tours exclusively for MVFN, our leader Don Shanahan, a retired Ontario high school science teacher and excellent birder well familiar with Cuba and Cuban birds, will take us into unspoiled (by tourists) regions. Don will be assisted by and experienced English speaking Cuban naturalist who is with us for the entire trip.

Highlights of the tour will include the Sierra del Rosario Mountains, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and Heritage sites, old restored coffee plantations, lunches with local farmers, the fabled Zapata Peninsula flooded woodland and salt marshes, historic colonial coastal city of Trinidad, natural parks and botanical gardens, the Escambray Mountains, a wonderful beach resort on the north coast, a tour of the restored historic areas of Havana and many, many more surprises. This is a great tour! I know, for I have been to all of these places before, with Quest Nature Tours.

DETAILS OF THE TOUR:
cost: US$2195 per person. The tour is priced in US$ because the Convertible Peso in Cuba is equal to the US$ including all accommodations (double occupancy) (single accommodation pays a surcharge of US$295)
Gratuities for all services provided by Quest
Ground transportation
All meals as offered
Bottled water at meals plus in the bus
Airport transfers
Park entrance fees
Services of Quest leader Don Shanahan and Cuban bilingual guide

Airfare is separate, we get our own tickets for a specially booked Air Canada flight, Toronto to Havana and return. That way, we can use out travel points.
Also not covered are any fuel surcharges, extra accommodations due to interruption of flight services, airport departure taxes/Cuban tourist visa card (we get these from the airline), airport transfers if you don’t fly on the group flight, bar expenses and optional activities, items of a personal nature, Additional transportation due to any emergency situation (your insurance should cover that).

As some members of the Mexico trip did, we can drive to Toronto the day before, stay overnight in the Carlingview Hotel, leave our vehicles free, and get transported to the air terminal and back. Or, you can fly in from Ottawa if you wish.

A deposit of US$500 is required (You can pay the equivalent in Cdn dollars) by Sept. 1 of this year, balance by Dec. 4 of this year. If you want to join us in another very successful (I’m sure) international outing, here’s what you have to do; Send me an email indicating your interest and I will send you a full itinerary, an application form, waiver, plus other details. Return to me your forms and deposit before Sept. 1 and, you’re in!

Mail to MVFN Box 1617, Almonte K0A 1A0 or give them to me personally. Deposit cheques should be made to Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists. This tour is limited to only 16 persons so I will take you in priority of receipt of application and deposit. If it looks like we won’t have the full complement by mid August, I am going to open registration to Macnamara Field Naturalist Club and Rideau Valley Field Naturalists.

Any questions, please contact me.

Best for now,

Cliff Bennett (613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca

By the close of spring of 2009 the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists will have completed a series of  presentations on Climate Change Awareness and Adaptation to the Stewardship Council of Lanark County, the Mississippi-Rideau Source Water Protection Committee and to the municipal Councils of Mississippi Mills, Lanark Highlands, Carleton Place, Tay Valley, North Frontenac, Ottawa, Drummond-North Elmsley, and Beckwith.

The purpose of the presentations is to communicate the details of the findings of a two-day workshop, called “Weathering Climate Change”, held in September 2007 in Almonte, Ontario. Emerging from this workshop is the 2008 publication “From Impacts Towards Adaptation – Mississippi Watershed in a Changing Climate.” The document captures much of the key information and feedback from the workshop. The presentations were made by MVFN’s Environmental Issues Committee Chaired by Bill Slade and with presentations by members Howard Robinson and Cliff Bennett

Based on the discussion and feedback at the workshop and as documented in the publication, MVFN is aware that evidence shows the climate is already changing and that it will continue to change. Thus there is a need to plan for the impact of the future changes. Local strategies for action should be developed with assistance of the conservation authorities.

Please click on the following link to view summary slides of MVFN’s 2009 presentations to Councils and which contains links to other source material for further information and study: Adapting to Climate Change in the Mississippi Watershed 

Click the following for copy of the 2008 publication:  From Impacts Towards Adaptation-Mississippi-Watershed In a Changing Climate

A professional Environmental Educator is sought by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists starting in May 2009 to carry out a year long curriculum-linked project at selected local schools, ‘Engaging Grade 8′s in Drinking Water Source Protection Planning’. The project will be carried out in partnership with Mississippi Valley Conservation and participating schools, and with financial support from the Source Protection Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. For project details please see the contractor terms of reference for Engaging-grade-8s-in-drinking-water-source-protection

Applications must be RECEIVED by April 30, 2009, and should include the following:

1) a CV
2) a statement of qualifications
3) a one-page, (single spaced, 12 point) outline of surface and groundwater issues of greatest importance in Lanark County
4) a one-page description of your proposed activity to enhance the students’ understanding of surface water quality (as per project task Oct 2009 in contractor terms of reference)
5) name and contact information for 2 references

Questions: contact Michael Macpherson at 613-256-3043 or Joyce Clinton at 613-257-4879. Please submit applications electronically to address indicated in Contractor Terms of Reference or mail to MVFN at Box 1617, Almonte, Ontario K0A 1A0.

They say the early bird catches the worm! Early morning is the best time to catch our returning bird species.
You are invited to join Cliff Bennett on an early morning birding outing

Because last Wednesday morning was snowy, the early morning outing to the Al Potvin Trail was cancelled.
By popular request, Cliff Bennett will lead an outing to the Al Potvin Trail on

Wed. April 22
6:00 A.M. til 8:00 A.M.
Meet at Tim Horton’s, Almonte

Everyone welcome. Come out and see the sunrise and get in some bird watching experience.

For the April 15 outing, eight intrepid bird enthusiasts showed up at Union Hall at 6:00 A.M. to bird the 12th line to Taylor Lake. An amazing 33 species were counted including five species of ducks, loons, great blue herons, bluebird, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, kestrels and a sharp-shinned hawk. Can this number be exceeded on the 22nd?

Bring your coffee, binoculars and good walking shoes/boots.

You don’t have to register beforehand, just show up.

Friends and children welcome.

For more information, contact Cliff at 613.256.5013 or bennett@magma.ca

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

April 6, 2009

Field naturalists reach for the stars with astronomy retrospective: Observing the Universe from our Home in Space

By Cathy Keddy

Did you know that this year is IYA2009 or International Year of Astronomy? Four centuries ago, Galileo first recorded astronomical observations using a telescope. His telescope magnified the view by just three times. Today, cameras aboard unmanned spacecraft send back observations at a dizzying pace as they travel towards distant planets. It does not seem like so long ago, but how long ago was it that Neil Armstrong touched the lunar surface? Where were you?

This month the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) reach for the stars as they present their final lecture in the series From the Ground, Up-Celebrating MVFN’s First 20 Years. On Thursday, April 16 Brian McCullough, astronomy and space science educator with the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, will present Naturalists of the Night – Observing the Universe from our Home in Space. Brian saw his first satellite as it passed over his family’s back yard around 1960 and was 15 when he received his first telescope – the same year Apollo 8 astronauts made their historic first voyage to the Moon. Kanata is now the home base for Brian’s backyard “Brightstar Observatory.”

As past president of the Ottawa Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Brian received the RASC Ottawa Centre Observer of the Year award in 2001 for his observations of Pluto, which at that time was still classed a major planet (and dwarf planet Eris was yet to be classed). He received the award again in 2006 for his extensive lunar observations and entertaining presentation series “The Ten Minute Moon.”

In this special International Year of Astronomy, Brian McCullough will offer highlights from his years immersed in the fascinating world of amateur astronomy. In recognition of MVFN’s 20th anniversary lecture series, his presentation promises to include some exciting astronomical developments from the past 20 years and the importance of Mississippi Mills’ outstanding leadership in controlling light pollution of the night sky.

Please join the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists for Naturalists of the Night – Observing the Universe from our Home in Space, Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 pm at the Almonte United Church Social Hall, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. Cost for non-MVFN members $5. For further information contact Cathy Keddy (613-257-3089), MVFN Program Chair.

Sunday, March 29

MVFN’s First Birding Outing of the Year. Annual Duck Migration, Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Brighton Ont.

Meet for car pooling at Union Hall, 8:00 A.M. and Tay Valley Municipal offices, Glen Tay 8:30 A.M.

Bring a lunch, refreshments, binocs. Dress warmly; it’s cool by the lake.

There may be an entrance fee.

Please confirm attendance with Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca

Press Release

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

By Cathy Keddy

With this month’s March 19 lecture in the series From the Ground, Up-Celebrating the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) First 20 Years, we launch into the arboreal realm. Guided by prize-winning photographer, author and naturalist, Michael Runtz, we will peer at nature in the trees in the forest, from the roots to the top of the canopy. Birds, bears, bats, beetles, beavers and many of their companions (frogs, flying squirrels, finches and fungi) share our forest trees. Dead or alive, trees are wanted by more natural denizens than you might guess-for food, shelter, breeding, well…for all occasions! What can the fur, nibbled seeds, bark chips, tracks, feathers, or eggshells beneath a tree tell us about its citizens? Michael Runtz would know.

Michael is one of our natural world’s leading ambassadors. He has received numerous awards for his education and conservation efforts. These have included an Outstanding Service Award from the Federation of Ontario Naturalists and a Distinguished Science Education Award from the Canadian Council of University Chairs. Michael has worked as a professional naturalist in provincial and national parks and is a frequent guest on natural history television and radio programs. His many books from Algonquin Souvenir to Moose Country to Wild Flowers reflect his passion, knowledge and stunning photography. He is also on the faculty of Carleton University where he teaches courses in natural history and ornithology. His courses are podcast internationally and attended by close to 1000 students per term. We are most fortunate to have Michael Runtz as our guest!

 Enjoy an evening of discovery and sharpen your woodland detective skills. Let Michael bring the forest to you through his lens and his fountain of knowledge of the natural world. Join the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists for his presentation on Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. For further information, contact Cathy Keddy, MVFN Program Chair, at 613-257-3089.

In anticipation of the first call of Eastern Ontario’s vocal little Spring Peepers, the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) are pleased to announce an upcoming workshop on amphibians and reptiles. This March 12th workshop is being offered free of charge by the Eastern Ontario Model Forest as part of their Herpetofaunal Atlas and awareness outreach program. Workshop participants will be provided with detailed information on identification and submitting much-needed data for Eastern Ontario’s Herpetofaunal Atlas, as well as tips for reptile and amphibian stewardship activities on their land. Pamphlets and amphibian/reptile ID cards will be available. With funding from the Ontario Species at Risk Stewardship Fund, this outreach program is designed to support the commitment to stewardship made by the province under its updated Endangered Species Act of 2007.

The herpetofaunal atlas is expected to be similar to the recent Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario (2001-2005) in that it will rely to a great extent on the participation of volunteer members of the public sending in, in this case, their sightings of frogs, toads, snakes, lizards etc. The workshop offers the encouragement, tools and information the public needs to help document the diversity, abundance and distribution of all amphibians and reptiles in Eastern Ontario. It is so important to stress the need for this information as the foundation for designing recovery strategies and land use plans that affect species at risk and the key role the public plays in gathering the information. Careful consideration is given to the accuracy of reports received for the atlas and, when needed, extra steps are taken to verify information prior to its entry in the database.

The Herptetofaunal Atlas and Awareness Workshop, being hosted by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN), will be held March 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Almonte United Church Social Hall, 106 Elgin St., Almonte. There is no charge for this workshop and all are welcome. For more information please call Pauline Donaldson, coordinator of the Almonte workshop for MVFN, at 613-256-9399.

What do we have to lose? Discover Species at Risk in Lanark County at next MVFN Lecture

Thursday, Feb 19, 2009

MVFN Press Release

by Cathy Keddy

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ (MVFN) lecture series continues February 19th with biologist Marie-Andrée Carrière’s presentation “Discover Species at Risk in Lanark County”. This will be the fifth in MVFN’s lecture series From the Ground, Up: Celebrating the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ First 20 Years.

Ms. Carrière is a Species at Risk Biologist whose work with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources helps to ensure implementation of the Endangered Species Act through research, field inventories and working with various groups on recovery strategies for species at risk. She conducted graduate research work on two turtles at risk- the northern map turtle (special concern) and the stinkpot (musk) turtle (threatened). Both occur in Lanark County.

Over 500 native species are considered at risk in Canada. Among the provinces, Ontario is home to the greatest number of these species. Most species at risk (SAR) in Ontario are classed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Some of the species listed, such as the eastern elk and deepwater cisco, are extinct and already lost from the province. Ninety-four or about half of Ontario’s species at risk occur in the ecological area known as the “Mixed Forest” region, where Lanark County is found. Wildlife categories with the largest numbers of SARs include birds such as the barn owl of grasslands; plants such as butternut and juniper sedge, as well as the dwarf iris of alvars; fish including the redside dace of clear, cool streams; and reptiles such as the five-lined skink of fire barrens. There are also mollusks, lichens, insects (e.g. Monarch butterfly) and mammals of our region on the provincial SAR list. Protection for all of these treasured species was greatly enhanced in 2008 with the passage of the provincial Endangered Species Act. In addition, funding has become available for stewardship programs as well as species recovery and management plans.

With these resources, how can we contribute to conserving our SARs? Which species in Lanark County are at risk? How is a species listed? Bring your questions about species at risk to the next meeting of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists. Marie-Andrée Carrière will address Species at Risk in Lanark County. Join MVFN February 19, 7:30 pm., at Almonte United Church, 106 Elgin St., Almonte to learn more about species at risk. A $5 charge for non-members applies. Please contact Program Chair, Cathy Keddy (613-257-3089) for more information.

 Winter Walk 2007 (photo Howard Robinson)

Explore Nature on the Little Clyde in Winter with Host Mark Garbutt and Naturalist Joel Byrne

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009

Car Pooling: meet at Union Hall, for departure at 9:00 A.M. Meet at Hopetown for departure 9:15 A.M.
Snowshoes are required; (XC skis won’t work). Dress warmly in layers. Bring food to cook over campfire.

Registration is required; Contact Cliff Bennett 613-256-5013 or e-mail bennett@magma.ca.

Justin Peter, Interpretive Naturalist
Visitor Centre
Algonquin Provincial Park
Ontario, Canada

 phone: 613-637-2828 or email justin.peter@ontario.ca.  

photos by Cathy Keddy

Rare snails, orchids and leafhoppers part of globally-rare alvar near Almonte and subject of next MVFN lecture

Press Release

Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

Jan 5, 2009

Submitted by Pauline Donaldson

The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ (MVFN) lecture series continues January 15th with Botanist Dr. Paul Catlings presentation Life at the Extremes: The Alvar Challenge. The lecture is the fourth in MVFN’s series From the Ground, Up: Celebrating the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ First 20 Years.

Alvars are rare ecosystems present in very few places on earth, in the European Baltic region and Great Lakes Basin of North America. They are under threat from urban development, quarry operations and fire suppression. These limestone pavement barrens with little soil may appear to have few prospects but they are actually biodiversity hotspots! Join MVFN and veteran alvar explorer Paul Catling for a virtual alvar tour to unravel this biodiversity riddle and learn about stewardship of these globally threatened ecosystems.

As Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based at the Central Experimental Farm, Paul Catlings research focuses on taxonomic and ecological approaches to biodiversity protection, new crop species, alien species, and Canadian plant species in general. Since 1988 Dr. Catling has been Curator of Canada’s Vascular Plant Herbarium. This world class collection of over one million dried and pressed plant specimens is a working collection used for plant identification and classification.

The largest alvar in Europe, The Great Alvar, on the Swedish island of Öland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another fine example however can be found closer to home just outside Almonte. The Burnt Lands Alvar is the most extensive alvar east of the Frontenac Axis and is an outstanding example of this globally significant habitat. It supports some 82 breeding bird species, 48 butterfly species and 98 owlet moths. It is home to globally rare species such as the Ram’s-head Lady’s slipper and a new owlet moth discovered there by naturalist Dan Brunton. Many of its invertebrate species, such as the snail species Vertigo hannai, have likely been isolated and survived in such remnants of a prairie-like community that previously covered a wide area of North America. Although the alvar is not a prairie, many prairie species are present such as prairie sawflies and a thriving population of wingless prairie leafhoppers whose nearest other known population is in the Bruce Peninsula.

Learn about the unique characteristics of alvars, the challenges alvar species face and stewardship of these special regions at Paul Catlings presentation 7:30 PM, January 15th at the Almonte United Church Social Hall, 106 Elgin St. in Almonte. All are welcome ($5 fee for non-members). For further information, please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or visit www.mvfn.ca.

With broad-brimmed hat on your head in summer, toque in winter,
and binoculars slung around your neck, let’s go bird watching in Lanark County!

Driving slowly or walking along our country roads, meandering along our many trails, checking out ample forests or peering over marshes, creeks or rivers, bird watching has become a very popular individual and family activity, bound to interest young and old alike.

An Eastern Ontario county, divided almost equally into Canadian Shield and St. Lawrence Limestone Plain, Lanark County is home, at some time each year, to some 200 species of birds.

About 130 migratory bird species nest in the county, 32 more are permanent residents and 35 migrate through the area to breed in the north. This guide will show many of the good places to find birds, although all of Lanark County’s rural roads produce some species most of the time.

Enjoy a wonderful day outdoors and still be home by sunset. Or, watch the sunset, stay the night with us and enjoy another day of bird watching in the County.

-Cliff Bennett for the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists

Town of Mississippi Mills

1. Appleton and Mississippi River

How to Get There: From Carleton Place, go north on County Rd. 29 towards Almonte. At Wilson St. turn towards village of Appleton, meander through the village and over the bridge, then left on River Rd. to bay and boat launch.

Observation Points: River viewing all along Wilson St.. Viewing at bay. Reverse and follow River Rd. to County Rd.17 (Appleton Sideroad). Turn right to look along Mississippi River.

Watch For: Open field birds and killdeer along golf course, River Rd. and Appleton Side Rd. Migrating ducks, loons, grebe, herons and kingfisher along water. Occasional bald eagle over river in bay. Warbling vireo nests in willows at bay. Martin house to east of bay. Swallows and shorebirds.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Some open water in winter.

2. Ramsay 7th Concession

How to Get There: In downtown Carleton Place, follow Bridge St. north to Thomas St., then right onto Ramsay Conc. 7.
From Almonte, take County Rd. 29 south to Rae Rd., turn west on Rae Rd. to Ramsay Conc. 7 and turn left.
Observation Points: There are several fields that flood in spring and fall all along this concession road. Various open fields, marshy land, woodlots and farm buildings.

Watch For: Shore birds and plovers when fields flooded; swallows around barns, resident red-tailed hawk near intersection with Drummond Rd. and field birds in open areas.

Seasonal Information: Best in spring and late autumn but good general birding all year.

3. Old Perth Road in Mississippi Mills

How to Get There: From Almonte or Carleton Place, find Old Perth Rd. on County Rd. 29 at the western edge of Almonte.

Observation Points: Good general birding all along Old Perth Rd. to end. Walk northwards on unopened Ramsay 6th Conc. and 7th Conc. Scan marshlands and creek, and heavily wooded roadway.

Watch For: Wetland birds in marshes and creek; great for warblers, tanagers, indigo buntings, brown thrashers, flycatchers.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Part of road not winter maintained but usually open.

4. Gemmill/Metcalfe Park

How to Get There: In Almonte, find arena on Bridge St.

Observation Points: Begin behind the arena, follow different trails from bottom of hill. Cross road and scan river. Take River Walk from behind post office for extra viewing of river.

Watch For: Forest birds, sharp-shinned hawk and merlin, cardinals, grebe and some ducks.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Much open water in winter.

5. Almonte Waste Sanitation Ponds

How to Get There: From Almonte, take County Rd. 16, (Wolf Grove Road) west. Ponds are on the right, about 1/2 km. from the intersection with County Rd. 29.

Observation Points: (i) Main Gate on County Rd.
(ii) Turn right at next intersection at the Auld Kirk, drive about 400 m to gate across from cemetery. Look for sign for bird watching and Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ nature trail. Trail leads to Al Potvin observation tower overlooking the municipal waste sanitation ponds).

Watch For: Shorebirds when water is low, ducks, geese, green heron and grebe.

Seasonal Information: Good from ice melting to freeze-up.
Note: For all municipal waste sanitation ponds, enter at your own risk.

6. Mill of Kintail

How to Get There: From Carleton Place, take McNeely Ave. to Town Line Rd. and County Rd 29. Turn left and then right onto Ramsay Conc. 8 at town limits and drive approx. 10 km. to Mill. From Almonte, take County Rd. 29 north three km. to Clayton Rd; drive two km. to Ramsay Conc. 8 and then north to Mill gate.

Observation Points: Before gateway, check open fields. From Mill parking lot, follow trail along river to mill. At mill, look for different species around all buildings. Cross over foot bridge and follow woodland trails.

Watch For: Hawks and sandhill cranes in open fields; spotted sandpipers along river; bluebirds, swallows and sparrows around buildings and warblers and thrushes in wooded areas.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons but trails are used by X-country skiers in winter. Drop a donation in the metal box at parking lot.

7. Bellamy Road

How to Get There: From Carleton Place and Almonte, travel north on County Rd. 29 to Cedar Hill Rd. This road leads onto Bellamy Rd.

Observation Points: From roadway only, open fields along Cedar Hill Rd. and the start of Bellamy Rd. Most of Bellamy Rd from Indian Creek is wooded. If time, check out trails at Fulton’s Pancake House.

Watch For: Sandhill cranes in open fields; bluebirds and thrushes and other woodland species. In breeding season, listen for sandhills calling. Extensive wetlands along roadside produce ducks, grebes and herons. Winter seed eaters in woods.

Seasonal Information: Good roadside birding all seasons.

8. Pakenham Conservation Area

How to Get There: From Almonte, go north on County Rd. 29 to village of Pakenham or, from Ottawa, take 417 north to Exit 169, Kinburn Side Rd. to Pakenham. Conservation area is both sides of Five Span Stone Bridge.

Observation Points: Park sites, both sides of river.

Watch For: Bay ducks, especially in fall, herons, spotted sandpiper, kingfisher and misc. upland species.

Seasonal Information: Good all season. Some open water in winter.

Township of Lanark Highlands

9. Drummond’s Pond to Taylor Lake

How to Get There: From Almonte, take County Rd. 16 west to Upper Perth Rd. The ponds are 1/2 km along this road at the intersection with Ramsay Conc. 1.

Observation Point: From roadway only.

Watch For: Ducks and shorebirds on ponds. Continue on: Upper Perth Rd. to Lanark Highlands Conc. 12 (field birds, bobolink, wild turkeys), north on Conc. 12 to Taylor Lake (water and marsh birds including bittern, loons). House wren, catbirds and cowbird around cottage at lake. Occasional merlins.

Seasonal Information: For ponds, Spring and Fall is best. Pond dries up in summer.
For Taylor Lake, Spring to freeze-up. Remainder, all seasons.

10. Clayton to Command Bridge

 How to get there: From Almonte, take County Rd. #16 west to County Rd. #9, north on #9 into Village of Clayton. Continue west on #9 to Galbraith Rd. and south to bridge over Indian River.

Observation Points: (i) In Clayton, check out bay by dam at boat launch and across the road to view downriver. (ii) At Command Bridge on Galbraith Rd, view marshes and river on both sides.

Watch For: Ducks, herons and shorebirds by dam. Herons and sometimes perching hawks down river. At Command Bridge, ducks, herons, warblers, loons, swamp sparrows. Continue down this road for whip-poor-wills in late evening springtime.

Seasonal Information: Best in spring and autumn. General winter birding along roadways

11. Deachman’s Bridge, Lanark

How to Get There: From Perth, go to Lanark Village on County Rd. 511. In the middle of the village on the main street (George), turn east on Owen and then onto Rosetta Rd. From Almonte, take County Rd. 16 to 511 and south to Village and Owen St.

Observation Point: Bridge over Clyde River on Rosetta Rd.

Watch For: Swallows under bridge, various water birds and black terns upriver. Continue on Rosetta Rd. for good open rural birding including northern shrikes in winter.

Seasonal Information: May to October is best at the bridge. All seasons for open rural areas.

12. Bairds Trail

How to Get There: From Perth, take County Rd. 511 north, through Lanark Village to County Rd. 8. Turn right (east) to park (sign). From Almonte, take County Rd. 16 to Middleville, turn south one block to County Rd. 8. Follow to park sign.

Observation Points: Small park and entire trail is good birding.

Watch For: Chestnut-sided warbler which nests at edge of parking lot. Northern waterthrushes and woodland warblers and thrushes. Sedge wrens near boardwalk. Northern harriers over marsh.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons.

13. Purdon Wetland Complex

How to Get There: From Perth, take County Rd. 511 to County Rd. 8. Follow Conservation Area signs. From Almonte take County Rd. 16 to Hopetown, go south on 511 to County Rd. 8.

Observation Points: From either parking lot, follow trails throughout the area.

Watch for: Grebes and ducks on small lake, kingfisher, forest species on Mosquin Trail. Check out the roadway between the two parking lots.

Seasonal Information: Trails not open in winter.

14. Dalhousie Lake, east end

How to Get There: From Perth, take County Rd. 511 to Balderson, west on County Rd. 7 to County Rd. 12 and west to McDonalds Corners. North on County Rd. 8 to bridge at Dalhousie Lake. From Almonte, take County Rd. 16 to Hopetown, County Rd. 511 south to County Rd. 8 and follow along to Dalhousie Lake.

Observation Points: View ball diamond before lake, east end of lake and further along shoreline on County Rd. 8.

Watch For: Osprey nest at ball diamond; ducks, herons, grebe, kingfishers, shore birds along lake and river shore; swallow species under bridge.

Seasonal Information: Frozen during winter with a little open water under bridge.

Township of Tay Valley

15. Brooke Valley

How to Get There: Take Hwy. 7 west of Perth to Brooke and Old Brooke Rd.

Observation Points: Trans Canada Trail crosses this road in four places. Walk trail sections or view entire area from road. McGowan Lake at west end.

Watch For: Many different species in various habitats.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons.

16. Murphy’s Point Provincial Park

How to Get There: From Perth Take County Rd. 1 south towards Rideau Ferry. Turn onto County Rd. 21 and follow signs to park. From Smiths Falls, take Hwy. 15 to Lombardy, turn west onto Rideau Ferry Rd., cross over bridge at Rideau Ferry and on to County Rd. 21. Follow the signs to park.

Observation Points: There are five good walking trails in this park, all great for spring, summer and fall birding. Register at park gate and pick up trail map.

Watch For: Forest warblers, woodland thrushes, flycatchers, shore and water species.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Some trails open to cross-county skiiers only in winter.
Town of Perth

17. Tay River/Rideau Trail

How to Get There: From Perth, follow Craig St. towards Smiths Falls. Immediately after crossing the bridge over the Tay River, turn right onto Riverside Rd.

Observation Points: Tay River on one side, heavy tangled brush on other. Take Rideau trail through fence at end of road and follow to end of river and on into marsh.

Watch For: Herons, bitterns, listen for rails all along the river. Watch for cardinals, tree sparrows, waxwings in tangled shrubbery.

Seasonal Information: Frozen in winter but good general birding on roadway.

Township of Drummond/North Elmsley

18. Perth Wildlife Preserve

How to Get There: From Perth, take County Rd. 1 south 2 km. to Wildlife Rd.
Turn east at Preserve sign.

Observation Points: Bird all along this road. Check out waste sanitation ponds on right. Park at Reserve area and take trail to Tay River Marsh.

Watch for: Warblers everywhere, fall migration species, water birds on ponds, osprey over marsh, rails and other marsh birds.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Ponds and marsh frozen over in winter.

19. Rideau Ferry Conservation Area

How To Get There: From Perth, take County Rd. 1 south of town to Rideau Ferry. Look for Conservation Area sign on left within the village. From Smiths Falls, take Hwy. 15 to Lombardy , go west on Rideau Ferry Rd. to village, cross over the bridge and Conservation Area sign is on the right.

Observation Points: All along roadway to picnic area and along lakeshore of Lower Rideau Lake. Check out village around marina and bridge.

Watch For: Swans, loons and many ducks, especially in spring. Finches and cardinals along roadway. Substantial duck migration area in spring and fall.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Some open water from bridge and marina.

20. Beveridge Locks/Tay Marsh

How to Get There: From Smiths Falls, take County Rd. 43 West to Port Elmsley, then onto County Rd. 18 to lock station. From Perth, take County Rd. 43 east to Port Elmsley, then onto County Rd. 18 to lock station.

Observation Points: Scan canal down to lakeshore and area. Walk under the bridge and follow road to upper locks and continue onto trails to scan marsh.

Watch For: Osprey nests, herons, many berry eaters, ruffed grouse, swallows,
marsh birds and many others.

Seasonal Information: Trails not open in winter but road to upper locks is. Some open water in locks in winter.

21. Mississippi Lake National Wildlife Area

How to Get There: From Carleton Place, take hwy 7 west past Innisville to Drummond Conc. 10B for first entrance and Drummond Conc. 9A for second entrance. Turn left both times. From Perth, go east on hwy. 7 for above roads and turn right both times.

Observation Points: On 10B, go to end of road, park and walk in to area and lakeshore. Heavy hedgerow growth along roadside. On 9A, drive to boat launch, observe along McIntyre Creek and into marsh at lake.

Watch For: Berry eating species like cardinals and finches. Ducks, grebes and herons. Wild turkeys in open fields and woodland warblers and thrushes in forest area.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Heavy duck population in fall. 

22. Blueberry Marsh/McIntyre Creek

How to Get There: From Carleton Place, take hwy 7 west past Innisville to Drummond Conc. 7. Turn right. From Perth, follow County Rd. 511 north to Drummond Conc. 7. Turn right.

Observation Points: Good birding all along this road, especially along McIntyre Creek and through Blueberry marsh.

Watch For: Waterbirds, marsh and sedge wrens in marsh and creek. Northern harriers over marsh. Wild turkeys in fields. Hawks.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons.

Town of Smiths Falls

23. Smiths Falls Park and Canal

How to Get There: In Smiths Falls, take Elmsley St. east to Old Slys and then further east along Hwy. 43 following canal.

Observation Points: (i) Cross canal on Old Slys and explore park along river. (ii) View Rideau canal and marshes along Hwy. 43.

Watch For: In park, shore and water birds, open area regulars and warblers in season.
Along 43, water birds, herons and grebes. Swallows and martins over river and canal.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Some open water in winter.

24. Upper Reach Park, Smiths Falls

How to Get There: Within the town, follow Lombard St. westward to Abbott St., Turn left and pass over the canal and into park.

Observation Points: Canal entrance into the marshes by open cantilever bridge and around boat houses.

Watch For: Osprey nest on south side of canal, martins and swallows around boathouses, ducks and marsh birds.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons

Township of Montague

25. Kilmarnock and Merrickville

How to Get There: From Smiths Falls, follow County Rd. #43 towards Merrickville. At Kilmarnock, turn onto Kilmarnock Rd. to Rideau Canal Lock.

Observation Points: Check out the marsh along east side of #43 just after Rosedale Road. Just before the locks, view large bay and area. Then follow over canal and along Sturgess Rd. and Roses Bridge Rd. for viewing at bridge. Return to #43 and immediately turn onto Rideau River Rd. which loops back to #43. Continue on into Merrickville.

Watch For: Osprey nests throughout area, ducks and other water birds in bay areas and other open wood species. On Rideau River Rd., check out the river and open fields.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Some open water during winter.

26. Nolan’s Corners Marsh

How to Get There: From Smiths Falls, go east on Roger Stevens Dr. (County Rd. 4) to Code Dr. (1km). Marsh is at the end of Code Dr. at Rosedale Rd.

Observation Points: Small lay-by at Rosedale Creek and small dam structure.

Watch For: Ducks, grebe and black terns plus other marsh birds.

Seasonal Information: Frozen over in winter.

27. Carroll Road

How To Get There: From Carleton Place, take Hwy. 15 past Franktown, to McLaughlin Rd, and west to Carroll Rd. From Perth, go east on County Rd. 10 to Gilles Corners and Ford Rd. From Smiths Falls, go north on Carroll Rd. from intersection of Cornelia St. and Elmsley St. at hospital.

Observation Points: From the road only. There are several marshes along Carroll Rd. plus forested areas and open fields.

Watch For: Rails in marshes, warblers, woodpeckers and thrushes in forested areas and many field species.

Seasonal Information: Best in spring and fall. Good for winter species in spots.

Township of Beckwith

28. Jock River Bridges in Beckwith

How to Get There: From Ottawa, take Hwy 7 towards Carleton Place to Cemetery Side Rd. (next past Ashton Station Rd.). Turn South to Jock River.

Observation Points: First Bridge is on Cemetery Side Rd. and second is around the corner on Beckwith Conc. 9. Both offer great viewing of Goodwood Marsh.

Watch For: Ducks, grebe, other water and marsh birds.

Seasonal Information: Best in spring and summer; frozen over in winter.

29. Beckwith Nature Trail

How to Get There: Take hwy. 15 south of Carleton Place to Blacks Corners, go east one km. on Beckwith 9th line to Beckwith Recreation Park. Look for trail entrance behind double arena.

Observation Points: Trail follows into Goodwood Marsh for 5 km.

Watch for: Wetland species including thrushes, waterthrush, ruffed grouse, winter wren. Forest warblers, flycatchers and thrushes also.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Ski and snowshoe in winter.

30. Scotch Corners Road

How to Get There: From Perth or from Carleton Place, follow Hwy. 7 to intersection with County Rd. 9, between Innisville and Carleton Place. Turn South on Scotch Corners Rd. and follow along to Drummond Conc. 11. Continue on this road to Ebbs Bay Rd. and back to Hwy. 7.

Observation Points: Roadway only. View ponds along roadside in spring and fall.

Watch For: Ducks and other water birds as well as open field and woodlot species.

Seasonal Information: Ponds dry up in summer. Otherwise, good all seasons.

Town of Carleton Place

31. Carleton Place Arena Trail

How to get there: At Carleton Place, take McNeely Ave. from Hwy. 7 to Lake Avenue. On Lake Avenue, go west to find the arena, just behind the hospital on Neelin St.. Park in front of the arena.

Observation Points: At river side of arena, join trail which meanders along the river.

Watch For: Water birds, berry-eating birds, warblers and many others.

Seasonal Information: Good all seasons. Some open water in winter.

32. Carleton Place Centennial Park

How to Get There: In Carleton Place, go through town on Bridge St. to High St. and west to Joseph St. Take Joseph St. to the river. O-ke-lee Trail is marked on right.

Observation Points: Scan park and river shores. Follow trails through area. While in town, drive to other side of river and Riverside Park at boat launch.

Watch For: Ducks in lagoons and in river; waterthrush, cardinals, berry eaters and high canopy warblers. Many duck species from boat launch.

Season Information: Good all seasons. River open in winter.

If you’d like to participate in the Perth area bird count on Sunday December 28, contact Jean Griffin of the Rideau Valley Field Naturalists at 613-264-8411 for further details and to register. You don’t need to be a great birder as Jean can match you up with a partner. If you can’t go out to do the count, maybe you could count all the birds that come to your feeder that day. Be a ‘citizen scientist’ and help provide essential data for conservation.

MVFN sponsors two Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), the Carleton Place Count (December 27) and the Lanark Highlands Count (December 30).

We need helpers for both of these counts.

Here’s an opportunity to shake off the excesses from Christmas and, become a citizen scientist by helping to record our bird population in these two areas. If you have counted before, please consider coming out again this year. If you are a novice, come out anyway as the extra pairs of eyes are invaluable. In both cases, we will place you with a team leader, one who knows birds.

Dress warmly, bring a hot thermos, and a lunch (unless joining a group lunch in a local pub). Don’t forget your binoculars.
There is a cost of $5 per person to help defray cost of compiling results.

If you can’t come out, will you agree to count all of the birds that come to your feeders that day?

For the Carleton Place Count (includes Almonte), Saturday, Dec. 27, contact organizer Iain Wilkes at 613-257-1126 or Iain.wilkes@sympatico.ca

For Carleton Place feeder counting (includes Almonte), contact Georgina Doe at 613-.57-2103 or loonlady@sympatico.ca.

For the Lanark Highlands Count on Tuesday, Dec. 30, contact organizer
Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca.

For Lanark Highlands feeder counting, contact Marj Montgomery at 613-259-3078.

At the end of the day, Carleton Place count teams return to the Community Room upstairs at Steve’s Independent in Carleton Place for the count-in as well as refreshments and the Lanark Highlands count teams return to the Nature Lovers Book Store.

We need helpers for both of these counts.

Here’s an opportunity to shake off the excesses from Christmas and, become a citizen scientist by helping to record our bird population in these two areas. If you have counted before, please consider coming out again this year. If you are a novice, come out anyway as the extra pairs of eyes are invaluable. In both cases, we will place you with a team leader, one who knows birds.

Dress warmly, bring a hot thermos, and a lunch (unless joining a group lunch in a local pub). Don’t forget your binoculars.
There is a cost of $5 per person to help defray cost of compiling results.

If you can’t come out, will you agree to count all of the birds that come to your feeders that day?

For the Carleton Place Count (includes Almonte), Saturday, Dec. 27, contact organizer Iain Wilkes at 613-257-1126 or Iain.wilkes@sympatico.ca

For Carleton Place feeder counting (includes Almonte), contact Georgina Doe at 613-.57-2103 or loonlady@sympatico.ca.

For the Lanark Highlands Count on Tuesday, Dec. 30, contact organizer
Cliff Bennett at 613-256-5013 or bennett@magma.ca.

For Lanark Highlands feeder counting, contact Marj Montgomery at 613-259-3078.

At the end of the day, Carleton Place count teams return to the Community Room upstairs at Steve’s Independent in Carleton Place for the count-in as well as refreshments and the Lanark Highlands count teams return to the Nature Lovers Book Store.

Press release by Judy Buehler, RVFN

Wetlands, beaver ponds, lakes, rivers, a bit of old growth forest and some Canadian Shield linking the Madawaska and Algonquin Highlands with the Appalachian Mountains all contribute to the ecological profile of Lanark County. This wonderful mix enables us to enjoy great biodiversity in our area and could be the reason you live here.

For an in-depth look at our natural heritage, don’t miss the Rideau Valley Field Naturalists’ lecture by Dr. Paul Keddy on Sunday, December 6th. Dr. Keddy has been a Professor of Biology at the University of Guelph, University of Ottawa and Southeastern Louisiana University. He is the author of several prize-winning books on ecology and a recipient of a National Wetlands Award for Science Research.

His love of this area and his vast knowledge of our local ecology promoted him to write Earth, Water, Fire, An Ecological Profile of Lanark County which is a must have for many environmentalists in this area. His book will be for sale at the meeting.

If you have an interest and appreciation for our ecology, or want to instil it in your children, bring them to this presentation, sponsored by the Rideau Valley Field Naturalists, at 2 p.m., Sun., Dec. 6th, in the All-Purpose Room at the Perth and District Indoor Swimming Pool on Wilson Street at Sunset Boulevard. There is a small admission fee of $5.00 for non-RVFN members.

For more information about the RVFN, contact Judy Buehler at 326-0106.

Press Release from MVC

It’s a riverside yuletide at the Mill of Kintail Conservation Area on Saturday, December 13 from noon to 6 p.m.

Join us for Kintail Country Christmas and step into the wonderful world of holidays past. From Father Christmas to the Valley Voices experience the simpler side of the season with music, laughter and the great outdoors. Take a stroll, or sleigh ride through the lantern-lit walkways or strap on your blades and go for a spin around the outdoor skating rink. Enjoy stories by the fire, a Children Only Gift Shop, complete with wrapping elves. There’s hot apple cider and home baking too.

Hosted by Mississippi Valley Conservation at the Mill of Kintail Conservation Area, this second annual event has something for everyone.

“Last year was a great success. We are so excited to host this event again this year,” says Museum Manager Stephanie Kolsters.

The holidays are a time when you appreciate what you have, and what we have is a beautiful outdoor site, heritage buildings and a wonderful group of supporters.

Enjoy performances by both the Valley Players and Valley Voices in the Gatehouse at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists will be hosting outdoor activities throughout the day while the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum and artist Jennifer Ryder-Jones provide ornament and craft making activities. Sleigh rides, courtesy of the Wolf Grove Ryed-hers, are a wonderful way to see the site. Free hot apple cider is provided courtesy of the Ottawa Region Media Group. Lily White will tell stories by the fire in the museum at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Weather permitting, the outdoor skating will be open for all.

Kintail Country Christmas is truly a community event celebrating this exciting and fun time of year.

“Family and friends are what this magical season is all about. We invite you to enjoy all the traditions of the holiday season and spend time with your loved ones surrounded by the beauty of the conservation area,” says Kolsters.

Father Christmas will also be visiting the Mill of Kintail conservation area on December 13. Visit him in the museum gallery; each family receives a free photograph.

The festivities run from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 13. Admission is only $10 per vehicle. For more information call Stephanie at 613-256-3610 ext. 2, visit www.mvc.on.ca  or look for us at the Pakenham and Almonte Christmas parades, December 6 and 7, for a detailed schedule of events and site map. Schedules and site maps will also be available at the entrance and online.

MVC has just released the report “From Impacts Towards Adaptation: Mississippi Watershed in a Changing Climate”.

The report co-authored by Paul Egginton and Beth Lavender, residents and users of the Mississippi Valley is based in part on their broad experience in addressing climate change impacts and adaptation issues and on stakeholder workshops held in the fall of 2007 in the Town of Almonte, Ontario.

The workshops, co-sponsored by Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC) and the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MFVN), identified local interests affected by the changing climate, including tourism and recreation, and possible adaptations to the change in our environment. The report is the culmination of these workshops.

The extensive literature available on climate change impacts indicates that the Mississippi Valley has and will continue to be affected in many ways, both directly and indirectly by climate change. Published research expects southern Ontario to warm by 3.5°C or more by the year 2050. While warmer temperatures, particularly in the dead of winter may not register as a significant concern, these shifts in average annual conditions will be accompanied by changes in climate variability and the frequency of extreme weather and climate events. Adapting and responding to these changes will present both challenges and opportunities.

Establishing effective dialogue at the local level will be important as the impact of changes in our climate will affect all sectors of society and the response by one sector can have significant implications for other sectors.

View the report here online from-impacts-towards-adaptation-mississippi-watershed-in-a-changing-climate  or visit www.mvc.on.ca and click on Climate Change.

For more information about the report and Climate Change in the Mississippi Valley, please contact:
Paul Egginton, author, 613-795-3237,
Paul Lehman, General Manager, Mississippi Valley Conservation, 613-259-2421, or
Bill Slade, Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists, 613 257-5437.