by Roy John Report of an Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club excursion on Sunday, 22 May 2016. A dozen people went to Mud Lake to take advantage of the recent change from cold windy weather to lovely warm sunshine. This had brought in numerous, much delayed, migrants over the last few days. Wood Duck photographed by [...]
It's been 125 years coming, but Beech Bark Scale Disease is here. It was accidentally introduced at Halifax, NS, in 1890, on some European beeches sent over by Queen Victoria. It is a two-stage disease, the first being the introduced scale insects. Though tiny, they proliferate over the bark of a tree, visible as a [...]
In 2015, we learned how to build simple mason bee boxes out of recycled materials. Unlike many “gadgets” purported to help wildlife, these actually work. Mason bees laid eggs in the paper tunnels we made for them, the eggs hatched and completed the life cycle, and the progeny are busily pollinating our fruit trees right [...]
by Lucy Patterson What is the most endangered bird species in the world? What is the best way to contain an oil spill? Will the emerald ash borer begin attacking lilacs once ash trees have died out? These questions and many more were tackled by students on April 8 and 9 this year at the [...]
by Danielle Chiasson For the OFNC’s March monthly meeting we were pleased to welcome Jeff Skevington and his family for a presentation on the natural history of Australia and stories from their recent trip down under. For the OFNC’s March monthly meeting we were pleased to welcome Jeff Skevington and his family for a presentation [...]
By Barry Cottam Nine presenters turned out on a messy winter’s night, with about a dozen more folks in the audience, for our 3rd annual members photo night event. Organizers Hume Douglas and Barry Cottam had some initial concern about the low numbers, but then were kept on their toes finding time for everyone to [...]
by Ken Buchan, OFNC Conservation Committee Note: The deadline for submissions is 18 March 2016 Background American Eel (Anguilla rostrata). See Freezing Nature for more photos The American Eel (Anguilla rostrata), once common over a large portion of eastern Canada, has declined dramatically in much of its Canadian range due to pressures from [...]
An American Robin getting a drink from still-open water in our creek by Sandy Garland This year, a group of FWG volunteers reported the smallest number of birds ever, although not the fewest species. The bitter cold over the weekend likely drove most birds into shelter. David Hobden, who leads this activity for [...]
This is the first in a series of suggestions from the Conservation Committee for things you can do around your home in aid of wildlife and conservation. Some will be published in the next few issues of Trail & Landscape, but others will appear only as blog posts under the category “Conservation how to” - [...]
One of the more than 100 Blanding's Turtles that live in an area slated for development in Kanata. Photo by David Seburn by the OFNC's Conservation Committee The Blanding's Turtle needs your help. Kanata Lakes North Development Inc. in Ottawa is proposing to "Kill, harm and harass Least Bittern as well as damage [...]
