27-MAR-2010
FWG exhibit at the Ottawa Wildlife Festival
This is the annual Wildlife Awareness event held at Billings Bridge mall in Ottawa. About 24 local conservation, natural history, and outdoor type groups, set up exhibits for the weekend. There are many other activities hosted by the festival, this being the biggest. This shot shows our FWG display.
26-MAR-2010
The pond with fence around bridge
The pond has a very thin skin of ice in places. I can't see much sign of recent beaver activity and wonder if the lack of food may have driven him off in the last little while. Or maybe he was upset with the constant dam breakage. I keep looking at the sumacs which I would think he'd have a go at as he did in the fall. But no recent cutting can be found. On the other hand, the downed Manitoba maple has definitely been chewed at, but whether in the last few days or the last few weeks....
26-MAR-2010
Fenced pond
Here is a look at the new fence that AAFC installed yesterday. At first, I thought that it would certainly deter people. But closer inspection showed a gap on the other (south) side and I reckoned that someone would probably try to get by it. Sure enough, later, I saw two young fellows standing on the bridge. I asked them to please move off and they did. Then I dug out my handy-dandy flagging tape which I always have in my knapsack (never know when you'll need it!), and tried to create more of a barrier.
26-MAR-2010
American robin
Sitting on the Butterfly Meadow post! There were robins all over the place just after noon when I got to the garden. Must have counted close to 20. Heard a couple of red-winged blackbirds, saw several downy woodpeckers, 3 juncos, 3 song sparrows, and the usual assortment of cardinals, chickadees, crows, house finches, and a lone white-breasted nuthatch.
26-MAR-2010
Stinkbug (Pentatomid sp.)
I saw this large stinkbug (close to 15 mm I'd say), on the wall of the interpretive centre. A few days ago in the west end, I saw a gorgeous, brilliant green Large Green Stinkbug. It was a sunny but very cold day, particularly in comparison to what we've been experiencing. It was -19 with windchill this morning, and it felt only slightly warmer standing in the wind later in the day. So I was surprised to see this guy and a bunch of cluster flies (I think, I didn't really look closely). But the wall of the building would be warm.
25-MAR-2010
Installing the fence
Around noon, Jeewanthi noticed these AAFC workers with the orange plastic fence we had hoped they'd install around the bridge. Since we can't stop people from damaging the beaver dam, and since their interference is worsening the erosion, and since the bridge could eventually become unstable, we had asked if a fence on either side of the bridge could be installed. They didn't waste time!! I'm very impressed.
25-MAR-2010
Heralds of spring
Well, maybe not really, but it is nice to see this burst of brilliant colour. This cluster is over by the semicircle where we used to have a leaf dump. All sorts of garden plants appear there, even all these years later (the leaf dump was in the mid-90's and only in place for a year or two).
25-MAR-2010
Song sparrow
This little guy was sitting near a spot where this species traditionally nests in the garden. He was trying to sing his usual full song, but not succeeding!
There were quite a few birds around today. A female kestrel hovered over the garden for a short few seconds before heading off. A raven was calling as it was chased by crows. Jeewanthi saw many red-winged blackbirds in the pond early in the morning. Robins, cardinals, house finches, white-breasted nuthatch and of course, chickadees, were very noticeable.
23-MAR-2010
Beaver dam
As you can see, the dam is getting to be quite a size. At the far (south) end, you can also see where someone has broken the dam. I found lots of debris and branches from the dam tossed into the ravine. This is really stupid. By breaking the dam at that point they are causing the water to run across the trail and it is creating erosion. If the dam was left alone it would contain the water well. I don't know if the person or persons doing it are just plain stupid, hate beaver, or think they are helping. It infuriates me when people take it upon themselves to interfere. There is a lot of that sort of thing at the FWG, and rarely is it for the best.
23-MAR-2010
Beaver dam, looking north
I pushed as much debris, sticks and branches as I could back into place to try and stop the flow. As you see, the flow has already reduced considerably. I need to bring a shove and fork to do a better job. Now if only interfering people will leave it alone.
I was so angry that I put up a handwritten notice telling people to leave the dam alone! I also spoke with a fellow who said that he saw a fellow breaking the dam in several places. His excuse was that he wanted to see if the beaver was still alive. He figured that if he broke the dam the beaver would repair it and he'd know if it was still there. The guy I spoke with said he was thrilled to see the beaver work. He commented that many people, living in the city, rarely get a chance to see this kind of thing up close. He said he comes by often just to look at it because he thinks it is so neat. And of course, he'd love to see the beaver.
23-MAR-2010
Wild turkey scat
Walking along the trail from the centre I noticed this pile of scat and thought "Hmmm, this looks suspiciously like fresh wild turkey scat". A few seconds later, I was peering over into the ravine when a great scuffling noise beneath me caught my attention. There was a large female wild turkey scrambling to run away as fast as she could!!! She ran further into the ravine and though I looked into the ravine many times over the next hour, I didn't see her again. This is not our first turkey sighting at the garden. Some years ago, Gretchen and Tony found one heading into the New Woods. I went over to look for it but all I saw was some turkey scat in the New Woods. Wild turkeys can fly strongly and fast when they want to, though they prefer to head off at a run. Wonder if she'll stick around.
What next at the garden?! Beavers, muskrats, deer, turtles of all sorts, now turkeys...
22-MAR-2010
Willow in flower
This is a welcome sight! The flowers are opening and with this action, we should be seeing Andrenid bees swarming the flowers for the pollen. However, with the colder weather coming for the rest of the week, the bees will likely stay hidden until it warms up again. They certainly don't need really warm weather and I've seen them out when there is still snow on the ground and the air temperature about +6. But freezing rain and below freezing temperatures are something else. Anyway, something to look for!
It is astonishing how fast these willows burst into bloom. I checked them out on Saturday and saw only the soft grey catkins. Jeewanthi was there today, Monday, and took this shot. What a difference a day makes!