Christmas at the Nature Centre

Just a reminder to anyone looking for something a little different for Christmas gifts this year that tickets for the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour (January 13th & 14th at the Memorial Centre) are now available at the Nature Centre, Valhalla Pure Outfitters, or Purearth Organics. Tickets are $20+GST for each night, or $36+GST for both nights.

As well, the Nature Centre Bookstore is a great source of local nature books, bird feeders and seed, and a wide array of unusual stocking stuffers. Looking for planispheres? Pocket Naturalist Guides? Chocolate-covered Insects? We've got them here!

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If you're looking for Christmas/winter activities, consider participating in the Christmas Bird Count on December 19th. Potluck supper to follow at the Nature Centre. Please call the Red Deer River Naturalists at 403-347-8200 for more information.

For some old-fashioned Christmas fun, come out to Fort Normandeau and join us for Christmas at the Fort (Sunday, December 19th from 1 - 4 pm). There'll be snowshoeing, crafts, activities and a bonfire. It's a great afternoon of fun with the family. $3/person or $10/family at the gate.

For more information on any of our winter programming, please call us at 403-346-2010.

Bat Homes

The bats are here. They will reduce the number of unwelcome insects around your yard such as mosquitoes. In order to survive a bat needs to eats almost its weight in insects per day. Bat houses are available at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre Bookstore. They are very well constructed and follow the directions as per the book, Naturescape , by Myrna Pearman. You may purchase a painted one for $42.95(black) or an unpainted one for $38.95. Instructions for the successful erection of the homes accompany each bat house. For more information call Bob at KWNC Bookstore 346 2010

Looking out our back door

Technically I suppose it's more of a side door, but I don't think anyone's written any songs about side doors.

This male Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) was using the suet feeder at the bookstore door this morning, and I did my best to take a few photos of it through the window.

We usually get woodpeckers (including the Hairy, Downy, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, and the occasional Pileated) coming to the suet feeder throughout the year, but when the weather starts getting colder they become more frequent visitors.

There are many different commercial suet feeders available in stores, but making your own can be as simple as drilling a few large-bore holes into a length of wood and filling the holes with a homemade suet mix. Recipes for suet mixes can be found online or in books like NatureScape Alberta (available at the Nature Centre). Bob also has some suet recipes on hand, and he'd be happy to tell you what's been working best in our feeder if you drop by the bookstore.

Paddling, Portaging & Pageantry

This book by author Doreen Guilloux is available at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre Bookstore. It centers on the 1967 Centennial Canoe Pageant-a 3283 mile canoe trip from Rocky Mountain House to Montreal.On Sunday, September 16 at 2:00pm The KWNC bookstore will be hosting Doreen who will make a presentation about the 1967 canoe trip and do a book signing.For more details call Bob at KWNC 346 2010.