Members of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club are as diverse as the taxa they study; from birders to botanists, highschool students to university professors, backyard garden admirers to conservation officers. The OFNC blog will be featuring profiles of members to showcase the incredible array of natural history enthusiasts. Whether you've just joined or are a lifetime member, please [...]
By Natalie Sopinka Catoptilia stigmatella. Photo: Suzanne Deschenes The OFNC and its members are quite fond of moths - leading excursions to locate moths in Larose Forest, keeping track of moths in the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, showcasing the diversity and beauty of this butterfly relative via numerous photographs, and simply observing nightly visitors to porch lights. [...]
By Sarah Wray Reprinted with permission from Trail & Landscape 2014; 48(1) Sarah Wray describes her experience at the 2013 Youth Summit In September 2013, I was sponsored by the OFNC to attend the 4th annual Ontario Nature Youth Summit focusing on biodiversity and green solutions. It was held over a weekend at [...]
By Natalie Sopinka Ever get stumped trying to describe that smell after a misty, spring rain when the grass is dewy and lush? Well that smell has an official term, petrichor. Produced by interactions between plant oils, bacteria, and an organic compound called geosmin, petrichor is the earthy aroma after rain. This spring, as the [...]
by Sandy Garland, based on notes from the campaign blog The chimney swifts are back, and they're moving right in to their new roosting site in Shawville, Quebec! In summer 2013, the West Quebec School Board hired contractors to shorten and cap a now-unused tall chimney on McDowell school in Shawville. What they didn't know [...]
by Sandy Garland with much help from Rémy Poulin (OFNC) and Bill Petrie (IPBO) First photo from the newly installed webcam at Innis Point Bird Observatory Plans to install a webcam on an Osprey nesting platform with a live feed to the Internet took a leap forward this spring. Although wireless service is [...]
by Natalie Sopinka This year the Ottawa Regional Science Fair was held April 4-5 at Carleton University. With over 200 students from grades 7-12, the event was filled with young bright minds asking questions about energy, the environment, human health, and natural resources. Kathleen Conlan and Natalie Sopinka were on hand to judge projects that demonstrated [...]
The Slanty Shanty on Long Point offers excellent protection from the wind and sun, an excellent view of tip birds, and a place to sit - photo by Rob Alvo by Rob Alvo, Bob Manson and Peter Manson What serious birder wouldn’t take flight at the chance for a week at an isolated [...]
