In Ontario and Canada there is a plethora of funding opportunities for protecting species at risk. Grants from the Federal, Provinical governments and NGOs assist organizations in protecting species at risk across a wide range of habitat types. Turtles are among some of the most threatened species in the province, and the Northumberland Land Trust is working to protect them. Unfortunately we don’t know what turtle species are out there on our properties.
Category: Environment
Cross Country Skiing in Harper Park
With all of the snow we have received in the last several weeks there is now a plethora of options in the Peterborough Area when it comes to cross country skiing. If you’re looking for more of a back-country experience, look no further than Harper Park. On February 11th we cut a trail through the park and conditions are ripe for an excellent skiing adventure! To access the park you can leave your vehicle on the side of the road and ski in on the trail marked on this map! Be sure to share your adventure on the Harper Park facebook page or @harperparkptbo on twitter.
Happy Skiing!
The 88th Peterborough Christmas Bird Count
This year nearly 80 members of the Peterborough naturalist community coordinated our 66th annual Christmas bird count. The count happened in December, but I’m only now writing about it since I have caught up from the holidays.
There have been lots of recaps and personal accounts in the newspaper and people’s blogs, but I thought there would be no harm in adding my story to the stack.
After finally meeting up with our group we made our way down to the area surrounding the Peterborough airport. It was a slow start to the morning, only making out some starlings and chickadees on the horizon. It was to be expected, the temperature was below 30 degrees. We made our way down the the Otonabee river and teased some red-bellied woodpeckers out of the silver maple swamp. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I’ve ever seen on the Otonabee, steam coming off the river and the sun sparkling in the ice that had formed on the tree branches. (more…)
Friday Cheer For A Cold Day
Looking out the back door while sipping on some tea my wonderful partner exclaimed that I should look out back, quickly! To my surprise a squirrel dangled high in the branches grasping onto the ultimate winter treat! I had enough time to grab my camera before it’s prize plummeted to the ground.
Happy New Year!
Harper Park: A Splendid Year in Review
This year has been a big one for Harper Park! There are so many wonderful events, people, and stories to share. We started the year with an incredible session hosted by the Peterborough Dialogues where the community collectively created a vision for the future of the park. So many excellent ideas and stories were shared between those who care for the park. It was clear from that point we had quite the special group of people to work with into the future. Big thanks to Kim Zippel, Peter Pula, Ben Wolfe, Cheryl Lyon, Jo Hayward-Haines, Dhoog and others for helping to organize the event. The renewed energy and spirit from that event helped spur our actions throughout the rest of the year!
Just before our summit we were pleased to find out that the wetland that dominates Harper Park was designated as provincially significant! This was all made possible by the hard working members of the Peterborough Field Naturalists. New restrictions on development within 120m of the wetland were put in place with this new important designation!
Celebrating the new status of Harper Park as a Provincially Significant Wetland (Jesse Thomas 2017)
Harper Park also saw big changes on the internet this year. Thanks to a generous donation the stewards of Harper Park were able to create a brand new website (harperpark.ca) to share news, stories, updates and events with the public! The website is always changing and looking for new stories, if you would like to contribute stories, news items, or thoughts email info@harperpark.ca and we’ll work to share your story!
Throughout the spring and early summer new efforts were put forward to monitor all of the diversity of life in Harper Park. A funding campaign to research Brook Trout in the park was successful and is currently being carried out. We hosted a “bio-month” in June where we worked to catalogue as much of the life in the park as we could, with wildly successful results. Our regular spring bird walks compiled a plethora of bird species among other plants and animals (We just hit 100 bird species catalogued!) Finally, Harper Park was listed on Inaturalist, so anyone who visits the park can list their findings for others to see!
A menagerie of birds were often found in the poplars during our spring bird walks. (Basil Conlin 2017)
There was no shortage of school projects that took place in Harper Park! Students at Holy Cross secondary school assembled a series of incredible educational videos on the park. If you are looking to learn more about the park, the creek, the wildlife or the stresses that the park faces look no further! More videos will be posted soon!
Students from Fleming College also assembled one of the most comprehensive baseline documentation for the park that has ever been completed. The document will be posted in the coming weeks for all to see. This baseline documentation will give the public (And perhaps city hall?) insight into what a precious piece of land that this park has become. Thanks to Shelby, Dylan, Kyra for all of their hard work!
I’ve not mentioned many of the wonderful stories that have happened this year, but look throught the pages of harperpark.ca and I’m sure you’ll find them! Harper Park faced many challenges this year, and will continue to face them into the future, but with your support and passion we can hope that in the near future Harper Park will be recognized and protected as a natural wonder that all can enjoy. Here’s looking forward to an exciting 2018!
Coastal Wetlands of Oliphant
Location: Oliphant, Lake Huron Coast
Date: November 4th 2017
Weather: Dreary, cold
Notes: Hikes with friends are excellent.
Every year myself and some of my closest friends pack our bags and head up to a cottage on the Bruce Peninsula. The Peninsula has to be one of my favorite places in this whole world, and this past weekend just added many more reasons to the list.
On our first day, we decided to go for a walk along the coast. I didn’t expect to see anything out of the ordinary, but I was wrong. Attempting to take some photos of Lake Huron with some wetland in the foreground, I stumbled upon one of my favorite Ontario plants: The Pitcher Plant.
For those of you who don’t know, the pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant that consumes insects. The insects get trapped in the pitcher and are unable to escape due to the orientation of the hairs on the inside of the plant. The bugs are then slowly digested in the base of the pitcher.
I was surprised to see pitcher plants in a coastal wetland of all places! Consuming insects as a plant is not a very efficient way of collecting nutrients, so often other plants are able to out compete the pitcher plant. However, when nutrients are low the pitcher plant shines, as it is able to access nutrients that other plants do not have access to. Coastal wetlands are often nutrient rich places, with the waves bringing nutrients ashore, and runoff bringing them to the beaches. Clearly these beaches are exceptional, and the locals know it too!
As a final treat before heading in to play board games, we came across this small and gnarled cedar tree growing out the side of a limestone rock. I estimated at the base of this tree is at least 7cm in diameter. I think that the harsh and exposed conditions have kept this tree quite small since the time it germinated. For all I know, this tree could very well be 20 to 30 years old. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful area, I’m looking forward to visiting this place some day in the summer or spring!
Barrier Beach at Jack’s Marsh
Location: Jack’s Marsh
Date: October 21st 2017
Weather: Sunny, hot
Notes: Wellies are mandatory at this point.
Fall is in full swing and Lake Ontario’s water levels have dropped to normal levels. This year I had intended to install a pressure transducer in the wetland to monitor fluctuations in water level over the course of the year. The abnormally high water levels of lake Ontario had other plans.
However I was not disappointed, I have been worried about the growth of cattails in the marsh since the land trust acquired the property so it was a pleasant surprise to see them knocked back a little bit when I arrived there this fall.
I was also interested to see if the absence of the barrier beach over the course of the year has allowed any carp to enter the wetland. As far as I can tell, there aren’t any fish that are apparent, but it will be something to keep an eye on.
Something that I worried about was that the majority of turtle nesting habitat may have washed away with the wave action. Much to my delight, it appears that habitat ripe for turtle nesting has increased, how delightful!
The only major issue that needs to be addressed is access. The high water levels in the wetland have washed away part of the road allowance that allowed us to walk down to the lakeshore. In the spring we may need to come up with a solution to getting over one of the ancient culverts that remain in the heart of the forest. I would also like to install a deer stand adjacent to the wetland to monitor birds and potential turtle basking habitat throughout the summer, all projects for next spring.
All is well at Jacks Marsh, and I hope to keep it that way.
Late Fall In Harper Park
Location: Harper Park
Date: November 9th 2017
Weather: Impending flurries, generally dreary
Notes: Should have packed a snack. Wool socks are the best.
Its cold and it’s getting dark. Daylight savings has just passed and dusk is arriving by 4:30. The first snow of the season in the forecast and flurries can be seen on the radar to the west. I quickly make my way into the park after leaving my vehicle on the side of the road. The public works folks have been testy with me lately about leaving my car on the side of the road, but its a public park and a public space, so they are more than welcome to leave me alone.
After passing the first thicket of White Cedars, a Roughed Grouse startles me as it flutters out of the bushes next to the path. I’ve come across hundreds of Grouse in my life, but even still they always seem to elicit a shock from me. At this point in the day the casino construction is in full swing, its quite noisy to say the least. Further along the path the wasp nest I’ve been avoiding all summer lays dormant, no longer a threat.
Through the meadow Chickadees dart by in groups overhead. Not much in the way of bird life today, I suppose the impending weather has scared them away. I decide that the next place to visit should be the wetland. This is an excellent time of year to be looking at certain species of wetland life, the remnants of rare plants can often be found after the overgrowth has died back for the season.
The branches I’m standing on crack beneath me and my foot plunges into the frigid water. The icy spring water flows into my boot and my feet sting from the cold. Its time to go back to shore. It is officially wool sock season.
Continuing along the cedar thicket, the trees rattle in the wind overhead. It is as if I am passing underneath an ancient trestle. As I Leave the park, the floor of the forest reveals the garbage heap from the old homestead. A kettle sitting out under the trees appears to be waiting for someone to make their next pot of tea.
Its nearly dark. One of the Mayor’s Taxis whiz by as I depart the park. I expect the next time I visit there will be snow on the ground. Even at this time of the year, when all is so quiet the park is buzzing just below the surface.
The Bird List From This Visit: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40399037