Out on the lake

If you're willing to brave the mosquitoes on the Dr. George Trail, you'll find that the high water levels this year have led to some interesting sights.

The beavers have recently started taking down a few trees in a normally dry part of the forest. I was sort of surprised that they waited this long to start feeding there, but I'm assuming that the high water has made lots of different trees more accessible to them and we just haven't noticed the busier areas yet.

You can find these chewed trees close to the Nature Centre as you first enter the forest on the Dr. George Trail.

One of the nicer things about the flooding has been that it's much easier to watch our muskrats at work on the West Lake from the viewing deck. Usually you'd need binoculars to see whether the brown thing swimming in the water is a muskrat or a beaver, but this year it's not uncommon to see muskrats feeding on cattails right beside the deck.

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I thought I'd end with a quick note about the edible plant walk I mentioned below. The program is definitely a go, so if you're interested in learning the basics of safe grazing give us a call at (403) 346-2010 before July 14th to pre-register. We'll be meeting at Fort Normandeau at 6:30 pm on Saturday the 14th. Hope to see you there!

Weed control

Darlene from New Brunswick has started with us as our Sanctuary Maintenance person for the summer. Her main job will be doing weed control in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary -- thistles, white cockle, black henbane, toadflax, etc. Smile and wave or say "bonjour!" to Darlene if you see her swinginig a scythe or lugging a weed eater when you walk the trails.

Prickly Wild Rose

If you manage to get on the trail sometime in between rainstorms, you might still be able to see some of the wild roses blooming.

Prickly Wild Rose (Rosa acicularis) is Alberta's provincial flower and was chosen by the schoolchildren of the province back in 1930.

Our other provincial symbols include:

• Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia)
• Rough Fescue (Festuca scabrella)
• Petrified Wood
• Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
• Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
• and the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Come Fly With Me

The Come Fly With Me exhibit at the Nature Centre works again!

What's the big deal, you ask? Isn't it supposed to work? Ahh yes, but it hasn't in a couple of years. It was running on an old laser disk player. (Laser disks are about the size of a vinyl LP record -- and just as obsolete.) The disk player died; we found a used player, and it died too. No others were to be had anywhere, it seemed, so we spent a lot of time searching for and finally installing some modern technology. The six minute movie is now on a chip, and is plugged into a chip reader. No more moving parts, so nothing to wear out!

The only down side of this is that the video is so very dated ... the 67th Street bridge wasn't built, Three Mile Bend and Heritage Ranch were still under construction and were still bare earth from the bulldozers, and all the trees around the Nature Centre were only a metre high. Waskasoo Park has changed since 1987 when the movie was filmed. Now, if we had a spare $40,000 we could make an updated version of Come Fly With Me!

Sphinx Moth

Late last week Jim spotted the creature below hanging on the side of the building. After a little bit of internet research I'm thinking that it might be a Blinded Sphinx Moth (Paonias excaecatus). I'm definitely not a moth expert at the best of times, though, so if this is a wrong identification please let me know.



Sphinx moths like this one camouflage as dried-up leaves to keep from being eaten by birds and other predators.

The Blinded Sphinx Moth gets its nickname because the eyespots on its underwings (not visible in these photos) lack a "pupil".

Yellow Lady's-Slippers

While the recent weather may not agree with all of us, it definitely agrees with the orchids in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary. I took this photo a couple of days ago in the grassland on the Dr. George Trail.


Remember, it's important not to pick this or any other wildflower you see in the Sanctuary. If nothing else, by leaving them alone you're giving other visitors a chance to enjoy them.

Office visitor

I was sharing the office this morning with a couple of these little spiders. By little, I mean far less than a centimetre in diameter, legs included.

They're called Zebra Jumping Spiders (Salticus scenicus), and to an arachnophile they're very entertaining.

The Salticids (jumping spiders) don't make webs but instead actively leap at their prey. Because of this they need very good eyesight. Yes, there really are spiders with good eyesight.

Jumping spiders are quite aware of their environment and will turn with characteristic jerky motions to follow every movement made near them. It makes it a bit hard to take photos of them with an autofocus camera, since the spiders are constantly coming closer to check out what you're doing.

Zebra Jumpers are found in both North America and Europe. They get their common name from the black and white stripes found on their abdomens.

These little spiders are harmless to humans and are actually kind of fun to watch as they leap around their habitats. And sometimes their habitat can be the desk of an easily distracted naturalist, apparently. Thanks, boys. I enjoyed the visit.

Sanctuary flooding

We've had higher water in the Sanctuary this year than in the last twenty, and it's led to interesting things like duck families swimming through the forest. Here are some photos from last week:

You can see the usual level of the West Lake from the remnants of last year's cattails.

This flooded forest path is where we usually take groups of school children for things like insect hunts. We're making alternate plans this time around.

The water level's come down a bit since I took this photo, but it's still a little deep to walk through. Plan to take the grassland route to get to the Wishart Trail for at least a while longer. The sign in the middle of the water, by the way, reads Life in An Abandoned Channel.

This normally dry dip in the grassland (the continuation of the old river channel) has hosted a pair of ducks this year. When I took the picture there were Boreal Chorus Frogs singing in there as well.

The water is slowly falling with our last few days' worth of warm weather, but since the water table is fairly high it wouldn't take much of a rainstorm to bring things back up again. Please be careful out on the trails, and let our staff know if you notice any flood damage during your walks.

Old and new

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. It's been a little busy here at the Nature Centre. I'll do my best to make up for the neglect today, though.

I'll start with a big thank-you to everyone who came out to help us celebrate Kerry Wood's 100th birthday on Saturday, June 2nd. The party was a big success, with a highlight being the re-dedication of the old/new Sanctuary gate.


For anyone who's wondering how a gate can be both old and new, here's how it happened. Recently, the pillars marking the old Sanctuary entrance (which hadn't been used since the Nature Centre was opened, creating a new entrance) were moved into position at our current entrance. As part of both the celebration of Kerry Wood's centenary and Historic Red Deer Week, the old Sanctuary sign was recreated. New plaques have been placed on the pillars, commemorating both the Gaetz family for their donation of the Sanctuary land and Kerry Wood for his commitment to the preservation of nature.

You can see our old/new gate right outside the back doors of the Nature Centre.

When I went out to take a picture of the sign this morning, I happened to catch a (slightly scruffy-looking) red squirrel making use of one of our bird feeders:


Here at the Nature Centre bird feeders definitely aren't just for the birds. Tree squirrels often steal a few seeds (and occasionally nest in the feeders), and ground squirrels scavenge the spilled food. If you happen to be out for a walk around dusk, you may even be treated to the sight of our resident deers heading to the feeders to clean up any leftovers.

Trail report (of sorts)

This slightly fuzzy cameraphone picture was taken yesterday on the Dr. George Trail. It seems that our recent rainfall helped make the abandoned river channel not-so-abandoned. Right now this section of the path isn't walkable (it is, however, wade-able), so if you're headed out for a stroll in the Sanctuary in the next couple of days you may want to go through the grassland to access the Wishart Trail.

So, about spring...

It's a sad fact that I took this photo just outside the nature centre's back doors a few minutes ago. Spring's looking disturbingly un-springlike so far, don't you think?

There's probably a bad joke in there somewhere about the Easter Bunny having seen its shadow, but I'm not sure I should attempt it.

Oh well. Winter will be over some day or other. Until it is, I suppose we'll all have to make do with thinking warm thoughts instead.

Know Your Watershed

ResEau is an online government project that focuses on making water information easily accessible to all Canadians. The new Know Your Watershed website provides an easy way to learn more about your watershed as well as making it easier to find local watershed protection groups. All you have to do is go to the website, type in your location, and check out what's in the database.

You can find the site here: Know Your Watershed.

Slippery and Slushy

Yes it's that time of year when the Wishart trail will both make a mess of your pant legs and break your wrist at the same time.

Areas of the trail exposed to the sun are probably quite muddy so bring your boots. However, areas in the shade are fast becoming vertical skating rinks so make sure those boots have some treads or cleats on them.

With the great looking weekend ahead of us, a walk around the Sanctuary would be a fun Saturday activity for the family.

We Know, We're Living With It

Those of you driving up and down 45th Ave past the Nature Centre, Parkland School and River Glenn School have probably noticed this scene being played out on the east side of the road.

Trust us, we are well aware of what's happening and to be perfectly honest, we're not all that concerned at the moment.

The City of Red Deer is installing some much needed water supply and sanitary lines. Four of them to be exact and they're pretty large. What the digger/bulldozer brigade is up to is site preparation so the pipe crews can safely excavate & shore their route.

The plan did go through the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary Management committee and while the work is happening on the Sanctuary buffer zone, it's outside the Sanctuary proper. The land being prepped & excavated is not pristine, untouched land. It has been disturbed in the past and will be replanted & returned to a natural state at the end of the project.

This is a two-phase project. There are two lines going in this year and then two more proposed for 2008.

The City's news release is located on the City website here.

We are not anticipating any changes to the Nature Centre's hours, operations or programming.

Backyard snowshoe

Hello from up North! We are finally getting a good whack of snow so I could enjoy one of my favorite pastimes... snowshoeing! Like anything, it's important you get them on correctly. There's nothing that creates more misery when your snowshoes keep falling off (like my first time). I figured out that my shoe is too small or that the binding is too big but I managed a short term fix of stuffing a glove between the shoe and the binding. :) It was a beautiful day for a snowy romp, the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky. And lots of deep snow. At first, I experienced the first impressions that I have seen with many beginners, that little disappointment that you don't stay right on top of the snow and do sink quite a bit. Seems silly to doubt it, I know but it's like driving.. when you're driving on the highway and after awhile it doesn't seem like you are driving that fast anymore (til you slow down anyways).. well, it's the same with snowshoeing, after awhile it doesn't seem like you're staying that much on top of the snow (until you try it without them).And being me, I had to make sure.

I took a picture of my snowshoe track,as you can see. The hole beside it was a step I had taken without the snowshoe. The hole is at least one hand deeper than my snowshoe track. It was proof that my snowshoes really were helping me stay on top of the snow. I quite happily snowshoed all over the back yard and along the school yard after that, it was great. Now I just have to get bigger shoes (some boots maybe) and I can head into the forest :) and find the smaller version of my tracks (the snowshoe hare's tracks)!

Winter Visitor

We get our fair share of critters who make the Nature Centre and the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary their seasonal home. There are a couple of Little Brown Bats who roost over the back door each summer. Countless thousands of waterfowl take up residence on the lakes each spring. The beavers live year round in their lodge. The list is seemingly endless. And, as familiarity breeds more familiarity, we start to take the animals for granted; sort of a mobile part of the background.

Every once in a while though, we have a visitor that for whatever reason, be it curiousity on our part, curiosity on their part, great timing or some other tilt of circumstance, catches our eye and distracts us like little children.

This "little" guy is currently getting all our attention.

Yes, it's a moose. We'll try to get a better picture up here. He(?) seems to have developed a fascination with the Nature Centre - or more properly with our full bird feeders. This sub-adult moose is apparently separated from it's mother as she has only been seen once in the last couple of weeks. Not to worry. He(?) has an ample food supply (poplar branches and sunflower seeds) and seems to have a great flight response. Barring anything unfortunate - like coyotes - this little moose will probably be OK.

As an aside, it's an entertaining illustration of the times when a group of naturalists sees an animal and instantly starting whipping out their camera phones to get pictures.

Seeing stars

I thought I'd remind everyone that our brand new Starlab portable planetarium is up and running. Well, not literally up and running (we don't keep it inflated at all times, of course), but it is available for school and youth group bookings. We can do star shows here at the Nature Centre or, if you have several groups and a suitable space, we can take the shows to you.

Please give us a call at (403) 346-2010 for information on rates and space requirements.

We are planning to offer public shows in the upcoming months as well, so if you'd like to see the planetarium in action keep an eye on your local papers and this blog for dates and times.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

For anyone who thought that I might have disappeared, no such luck. ;)

And for anyone looking for something to do over the holidays with visiting family or friends, please remember that Kerry Wood Nature Centre is open every day (excepting Christmas Day itself), and that the trails in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary are accessible to the public even when the Nature Centre building is closed.

For more information on our holiday hours or upcoming events, don't hesitate to call us at (403) 346-2010.




A quick note to our staff bloggers: This blog has been switched to the new version of Blogger, which means that you'll have to sign in using a Google account from now on. For now, though, just sign in to post as you usually would. Blogger will give you instructions on how to create your new account.

A looooooonnnnggg walk somewhere by Fox Lake

Snowmobiles. Some people like them, some don't. I followed a trail through the forest a couple of days made ago by them. The trail was wide enough for two snowmobiles side by side heading into the forest. I thought that it would lead back to Fox Lake turning back to the left. However after a very long walk, and the sun going down, I gave up trying to find Fox Lake by continuing the trail and decided to back track. I was thankful for the wide trail on the way back as it made it easier to tell which way was home in the dark. And I knew it would be a long walk back, I was hoping a snowmobile would stop by. But no luck. I saw lights and heard them in the distance. One was even coming my direction but then turned off into the forest. My legs were so sore the next day (turned out to be a 6-7 hour walk). So I still don't know how I feel about snowmobiles. I saw lots of tracks across the trail, even saw two critters at different instances scurry across from one side to the other. The first I think was a red squirrel as the tracks led from tree on side to a tree on the other but it was pretty far away so hard to say. Tracks looked squirrelish but not very identifiable. The second critter that scurried across was closer, a small brown plump little thing that climbed up little ledge of trail back into a hole under the snow. A shrew maybe? I saw mouse tracks further down the track leading from a tunnel to another tunnel. I saw a pair of pine grosbeaks, both male - they were so red, nice against the green - I should've known I wasn't getting that close to Fox Lake by the trees... it's pretty much all aspen around where I live, but this forest had quite the number of spruce trees amongst the aspen. On my way home, there was some big creature close by the trail too. I didn't get to see it, but I heard it - I must have scared it (it sure scared me, as hear this huge thrash right beside me, something running away knocking branches full of snow right by me). And it was too dark to look for tracks. I'm sure it is used to the few strange big things announcing itself from long off such as the noisy, bright snowmobiles. It was an experience, that's for sure :) A beautiful peaceful walk (I didn't see or hear any snowmobiles until after I wanted to see one, three quarters of the way back home so I really did get to enjoy a beautiful peaceful walk with safety from not getting lost by staying on the trail). Hopefully though, as suggested by my aching muscles, my next adventure is a bit shorter :)

Frozen pay offs

Well I got a little lost in Fox Lake so my one hour walk turned into a four hour walk! Although frozen, I got to seem some really neat things... One of them was snow prints! Given the pairs of tracks, their size, and how far north we are, I am guessing it is the tracks of the least or short-tailed weasel - that's my best guess anyways. Sometimes snow can make identification hard because you can't see individual tracks very well. Then I saw a pine grosbeak, you could really see the red when it flew away and such a pretty song. Then I saw the most bizarre thing.. pink/red aspen trees. It looked like a big shaker from the sky had poured red powder on the trees. At closer inspection it was red flecks all over the bark but didn't stick out or anything, really flat lichen, maybe?? I'm really not sure. And it was just the one block of trees. It reminded me of the pink bellies of fish... interesting.. the rest of the aspen trees here as I mentioned before look really white so the red really stands out. Another interesting thing I saw was a fence I saw (there aren't very many of them around here, but this one outlines the airfield and the posts were made of aspen trees, makes sense seeming there are so many aspen trees, just interesting instead of seeing smooth wood posts, seeing chunks of tree with wire in between.. I almost wondered if they were actually rooted trees just cut off at such and such a height.

the birds and the trees

You would think there would be snow up here... not yet! But the ground in the forest here is so soft. I looked under my feet to see why. You may remember how when leaves fall, they form a leaf litter layer with later snow on top that invertebrates, small rodents and plants use to survive the winter. Well the leaf litter layer is 10 cm thick here! Years of accumulation. I saw some small birds too, exciting for me since I have seen little else besides a crow and a magpie. They were small and way up in a tree so difficult to identify but I think they were snow buntings, light yellow underneath, white wing patches, darker on top... it was so nice to see cute little birds again.. I miss seeing chickadees everywhere. I'll keep my eyes out for more and keep you posted.

The wilds of Fox Lake

I saw my first wild animal today... a mid sized white moth, well at least its feathery antennae told me it was a moth, not sure what kind though. But I haven't had a good chance to explore as just settling in.. for those of you who don't know, I have moved to Fox Lake, a reserve way up north east of High Level and Fort Vermillion, to the west of Wood Buffalo National Park. I am honored that I will get to share my northern nature experiences with you. I didn't have a camera with me, and the moth was flying a little funny probably from the cold or being near the end of its life. We haven't had any snow up here yet but it is getting cold.. no rain either so it is pretty dry, very yellow place right now and dusty.. lots of dust.. maybe all the wildlife are hiding under it :) I'll get a good days worth of exploring in and let you know.

Spiders, spiders

I came on just now intending to post about Jewel Spiders, but then I remembered that I posted about them at around the same time last year.

Sure enough, a little poking around the archives led me to this post (complete with picture, even), so rather than type the same information again I'll encourage you to have a look there instead.

If you have a question about Jewel Spiders, other spiders, or even non-spiders, be sure to give us a call at 346-2010.

East Gaetz Lake, 24 Aug 06

Seen in the Sanctuary

This is a photo of Coyote scat found on the Wishart Trail in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary this afternoon.

Some concerned visitors spotted it earlier in the day and were wondering if a bear had indeed done what bears are reputed to do in the woods.

At this time of year it's an easy mistake to make. Coyotes in late summer become very omnivorous; consuming berries, leaves, decaying animals and prey they themselves have killed. This combination of foods, especially the berry content, makes scat that very much resembles bear droppings.

The keys to identifying these souvenirs as being left behind by a coyote and not a bear are the shape of the individual scats and the size of deposit. This sample is much smaller and better formed than anything a Black Bear would excrete.

Coyotes, foxes, moose, deer and other mammals are all consuming sugar-rich berries at this time of year. This means that almost everything is leaving scats that resemble bear droppings.

Seen in the Sanctuary:

Ripe Chokecherries on the trail to the bird blind.

Female Thin-Legged Wolf Spider camouflaged beside the edge of the path.

Kerry Wood Nature Centre from the Dr. George Trail.

Walking McKenzie

I was down at McKenzie Trail Recreation Area for a little while this afternoon. For those of you who aren't familiar with the park, it's the next one down the bike trail from the Nature Centre and is quite a nice picnic spot. McKenzie Trail park consists partly of a reclaimed gravel pit which has been turned into a nesting pond that is very popular with the local goose and duck population.


McKenzie's a favourite place with those who enjoy feeding geese, but I'd ask that you consider feeding them something other than bread. Bread's actually pretty tough for those birds to digest in large quantities. If you're looking for alternative foods, you might try dried peas or cracked corn. The Nature Centre Bookstore sells small bags of corn for a dollar.


Across the road from the pond is one of the lesser-known trails in Waskasoo Park. The loop at McKenzie isn't very long (it can easily be walked in twenty minutes), but it winds its way through some very interesting plant communities. My favourite is one of the few old growth White Spruce forests in Red Deer. The forest is quiet but not as dark as a younger conifer stand.

As you walk through McKenzie, see if you can spot the traces of last year's flood. McKenzie ended up as part of the river last June, but it's amazing to see how quickly the river silt is being covered up by new plant growth.

Spittlebugs and other things

Keen observers might notice that some of the plants beside the Sanctuary paths look like someone's been rather rudely clearing his throat onto them. The fact is that we really don't need to be putting up "No Spitting" signs -- what looks like spit is actually the home of the nymph of the aptly-named Spittlebug. The foamy covering the nymph produces helps hide it and protects it from predators.

I was able to get out for a brief walk on the Dr. George Trail this afternoon, and it was interesting to see that even in the hot, muggy weather we've been having things were still pretty busy in the grassland. In the grassland, she says? Well, yes. I know it can look like one of the blander parts of the Sanctuary, but this time of year it's actually got quite a lot going on. You just have to look at things on a smaller scale.

The goldenrod, asters, and (sigh) thistles have brought out the butterflies in decent numbers, for one thing. I'm not at my best with butterfly IDs, but even I could find wood nymphs, sulphurs, and fritillaries darting from flower to flower.

This is also grasshopper season, and while grasshoppers may not be appreciated in a crop I find it a very summery experience to walk through the meadow and hear them buzzing.

I suppose all this is by way of saying that even when the large animals are off in the quiet and shade of the forest, there's still a lot of life to be seen if you take a moment to look at things a little differently.

See you out on the path!

Template Addition

For those of you interested in the state of the Red Deer River - and other rivers in the Red Deer River Basin - I've added a link to the Alberta Government's river basin information map. It's located just to the right of the page in the sidebar.

For example: by selecting the Red Deer River Sub-Basin and selecting River Flows and Levels, you can generate a graph that shows historical and current streamflows for the Red Deer River. This is particularly helpful for getting an idea how fast or deep the river is running before you plan you canoe, kayak or float trip on our rivers.

The photo below is a snapshot of a typical streamflow graph.

Recent spider photos

I haven't posted any spider pictures lately, so here are a few in one go. As always, just click on the photo to enlarge it.

I was lucky enough to snap this shot yesterday when I was out on the Dr. George trail in the Sanctuary. It's a female Goldenrod Spider (Misumena vatia) defending her egg sac. These spiders are ambush predators and don't use webs for catching insects, but they do use silk to wrap up the leaf they've chosen to cache their eggs in. This crab spider will spend the rest of her life defending her egg sac; in fact, she's likely to die of starvation (or exhaustion) before the spiderlings hatch out.

Earlier this week I had a chance to watch this spider at work beside my father's fish pond. It's a Long-Jawed Orb Weaver (Tetragnatha sp.). The Long-Jawed Orb Weaver builds a typical-looking orb web, but it's often on a bit of a tilt and has the middle hub removed so that the spider can cross from side to side. Long-Jawed Orb Weavers can be found near wetlands (amongst other places), and will stretch out their long, skinny bodies to camouflage themselves in the reeds. This one didn't have any reeds nearby to hide in, but the cotoneaster leaves in the background should give you an idea of its size.

Since I was planning to post the first two spiders, I thought I may as well include a photo I took last week too. It looks a bit less than natural compared to the other two, but that's just because I sneaked a piece of paper behind the spider so that its markings would show up better. It's called a Bowl-and-Doily Spider (Frontinella communis) and is a member of the Linyphiidae or Sheet Weaver family. The web this spider builds is quite remarkable. The top part looks like an upside-down bowl, and it's suspended above a flat-sheet "doily". The web isn't sticky, but is enough to hinder any small insects that fall on it long enough for the spider to bite through the web and drag its prey under. The Bowl-and-Doily Spider's markings often look a bit like a cursive "mc".

Each of these spiders is harmless to humans, as are the vast majority of spiders here in Alberta.

We don't have a resident spider expert at the Nature Centre, but if you have spider (or other) questions please don't hesitate to give us a call. We'll do our best to see what information we can find for you.

Saskatoons

I grew up helping my grandmother pick saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia) for pies and preserves, and even though I rarely do anything with them but eat them straight off the bush these days I still look forward to berry-picking season.

That's funny, actually, because saskatoons aren't really berries. They're technically known as pomes, and if you had the patience to dissect one (rather than just eat it) you'd find all of the same structures inside a saskatoon as you do in an apple.

Judging by the looks of the earliest-ripening fruits, I'd say that our saskatoon season is going to be a decent one this year. Which brings me to the reason for this post...

If you had planned to come to the Nature Centre to walk in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary with your berry-picking bucket, you might do better to leave the bucket at home and just go for the walk. While we don't mind visitors sampling one or two saskatoons as they go, we'd prefer that most of the pomes in the Sanctuary be left for the many animals that depend on them.

Also, a reminder to those who like to collect saskatoons and other fruit from the bushes along 45th Avenue on the way to the Nature Centre: please take extra care to park your car safely. The road's fairly narrow, and over the years I've seen my share of near-misses on that stretch during picking season.

Happy (and safe) harvest, everyone!

Black Powder and Red Insects

First, our thanks to everybody who attended and/or participated in this past weekend's FortFest at Fort Normandeau. Once again contributions from our volunteers, the Firestick Society, the Red Deer aboriginal Dance Troupe and the 65th Mount Royal Rifles Commemorative Regiment were invaluable and, as always, entertaining.

Aside: If anybody atteding FortFest on Sunday got a photo of the outstanding smoke ring created by the 65th's cannon, please get in touch with us. We'd really like a copy of the image.

In the "Seen in the Park" vein, we had one of the areas neatest and more secretive insects brought into us last week. The critter below is an Elm Sawfly, Cimbex americana. While it's somewhat ferocious looking - especially when it's held in an outstretched, empty Gatorade bottle - this large insect is completely harmless. It is a hymenopteran like wasps, bees and hornets, but sawflies have no stinger. If you're really diligent and somewhat lucky, you can find Elm Sawflies resting in the summer sun on the branches of willow, elm and poplars; often along watercourses.

Due to the significant damage they cause to their host Elm trees, Elm Sawfly larvae are considered an agricultural pest.

Elm Sawfly, Cimbex americana

Hi Sharn

New at the Centre

The latest addition to our critter collection at the Nature Centre is currently making himself at home in the bird cage. The Evening Grosbeak was brought to Medicine River Wildlife Centre with a wing injury, and since he was non-releasable he'll be living here at the Nature Centre. He's really a beautiful bird, and I hope everyone will drop by to have a look at him.

If you do come down to the Nature Centre to visit the Grosbeak (or look at the displays or take a walk or browse the bookstore...), be sure to take a moment and look at the Prickly Pear Cactus bed beside our back door (the staff entrance). The cactus flowers are just starting to come out, and when the whole bed's in bloom the waxy-looking flowers make for quite a show.

Blue-Eyed Grass

Sharp-eyed park visitors may find that some of our grass seems to have very ungrasslike flowers. The truth is that the flower is not actually on a grass, but on a member of the Iris family known as Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum) because of its grass-like leaves.

You may not even notice Blue-Eyed Grass flowers at first because they're not very big and tend to blend into the surrounding grass fairly well, but once you've spotted your first flower you'll start to find them on the grassy edges of paths throughout Waskasoo Park.

Peregrine Falcon Webcam

The University of Alberta's Peregrine Falcon Webcam is showing that the Peregrines on the Clinical Sciences Building are currently incubating four eggs. The eggs should hatch mid-June.

The images on the webcams update every fifteen seconds. It's worth a look!

Spring smells

If you were to go for a walk on the Dr. George Trail today, I don't think you'd be able to not notice the start of the wild rose bloom. Rosa acicularis is, of course, Alberta's provincial flower, but it's also one of my personal favourites. The wild rose may not be as showy as a hybrid tea rose, but it's hardy, fragrant, and actually has a very high nutritive value. In a few days' time the walk towards the bird blind trail should smell better than any perfume counter.

Right now, though, it smells more like somebody mixed up far too many perfume-counter samples at once. The culprit isn't the roses, but the small yellow flowers on the Silverberry (better known to some as Wolf Willow) bushes.

It's hard to believe that the Silverberry's tiny, nearly inconspicuous flowers can raise such a big stink, but there's a pretty good reason for it. The plant depends on insects to pollinate its flowers, and scents are quite effective at attracting them. Generally speaking, sweet smells attract bees and butterflies, while rotten smells attract flies.

Many people like the smell of Silverberry, while others find it a bit on the overpowering side. Count me in with the latter group, I suppose, but I'll be happy when the Silverberry's done and the roses are front and centre.

Spring birding

Here are a few thoughts from Jim on what's happening in the bird world right now:

This is the start of "shorebird season" -- look to sloughs and the muddy shores of shallow lakes for things like sandpipers and yellowlegs.

Snipe are winnowing -- that is, making their weird sound as they dive through the air (over and over and over and ...!) in their mating / territorial flights.

Goldfinches, the native sparrows and the birds that catch flying insects -- flycatchers, swallows, peewees, phoebes, kingbirds -- are here now too. We haven't seen many warblers yet, however.

Any waxwings you see these days are likely to be cedar waxwings: the Bohemians have, for the most part, migrated away until Thanksgiving.

And, it's time to put up your hummingbird feeders! Call the Nature Centre at 346-2010 for a recipe for do-it-yourself hummingbird nectar.

Seen in the Sanctuary

I had a chance to get out on the Dr. George Trail briefly this morning. It was fairly quiet out there -- or at least as far as human visitors go, it was quiet. Things are full-on spring noisy in the animal world. If you head out to one of the lake viewing decks you'll likely be treated to quite a show, between the Red-Winged Blackbirds defending territory and the various waterfowl choosing mates or nesting sites.

It's definitely spring in the plant community as well. Most of the trees and shrubs have leafed out now, and early flowerers like this Chokecherry are starting to bud. No doubt anyone who's been out on any of the Red Deer trails has noticed that the Balsam Poplars are shedding their winter bud covers. Those are the pointy brown "stickies" that we'll all be pulling off of our shoes, cars, and pets for the next couple of weeks.

For me, a real sign of spring is finding my first Early Blue Violet and my first Wild Strawberry flower. Keep an eye on the sun-warmed margins of the paths throughout the park for these early beauties.

Remember, if you happen to be out on the trails anywhere in the city and notice one of the Nature Centre's naturalists walking along, we'd be more than happy to answer any of your nature or history questions. And if we don't have the answer, we'll certainly give you a hand finding it.

Walking the Wishart

I was out on the 4 km (Wishart) trail fairly early this morning, and for the first time this season (terrible to have to admit that).

Now that the days have warmed up a bit, morning is actually a great time to get out for a walk. The birds are usually more active than they are in the afternoon, and the trails themselves tend to be less busy than they get later in the day.

Spring walkers will notice that green is definitely starting to peek out from under last year's dead grasses. Many of the deciduous trees are budding as well. It's interesting to see, though, that even with the warmth we've had lately the mineral springs are still frozen and are likely to remain that way for a few weeks yet.


One of my more intriguing finds this morning was the beaver-chewed stump you see below:


And why on earth is a chewed stump intriguing? Well, for at least two years now we've had no sign of beaver activity in the Sanctuary at all. I think they probably moved on to greener pastures (or at least the river) when the water level in the lakes was so low during the drought. A freshly chewed stump is a pretty clear indication that they're back again. This one was very close to the far viewing deck on the West Lake. I'd expect to see the beavers doing repairs on the existing lodge across from the viewing deck if that's where they're hanging out, so make sure you keep an eye open for them.

Wind!!

And lots of it. I'm sitting at the front counter watching the very large spruce trees blow around like flags in the wind. Keep your eyes open and your head up while walking both on our trails and anywhere there are trees overhead. In the past we've had entire trees come down in the wind. I'm pretty sure that our regular trail walkers will be to report blown down trees and branches before the day is over.

More importantly, the wind is helping to disperse pollen and seeds, assisting in plant reproduction. During last year's big spring and summer winds we watched massive clouds of pollen blowing off the spruce trees.

Check out our article in the Sunday Red Deer Life.

Keep you hand on your hat. It's a good day for flying kites and watching the clouds race across the sky.

Life at the pond

I took a quick walk down the road to McKenzie Trail this morning to see how the clean-up after last summer's flood has come along. The park should be open to the public again in the first part of May, and we at the Nature Centre are looking forward to doing pond studies with grade five students down there this spring.


It's a bit of a windy day today, but the goose population out on the nesting islands doesn't seem to be especially concerned. The robins are busily hunting all over the park, and down towards the parking lot I could hear the phoebe calling (thanks for the heads-up on that one, Judy).


The loons seem to have moved back as well. Judy was saying that last year's nest had been washed out in the flood and she thought they may have decided to try Three Mile Bend this time instead, but this morning they were happily diving at McKenzie again. Considering the amount of river water that passed through the ponds last year, the birds may be finding interesting new sources of food there now.

Check out the Eagle!

Here is a live cam of a bald eagle nest on Hornby Island - just off of Vancouver Island, B.C. It's really cool!

Happy April

As you can see, it's finally starting to look less like winter out there. Not that I'm counting out another storm since this is Alberta (I am knocking wood as I type this), but even pessimistic me had to admit that it felt like spring this morning.

A chilly, breezy spring, yes. But spring nonetheless.


It's starting to sound like spring as well. The geese are very vocally reminding us that they're back, many other birds are setting territory, and the red squirrels (sorry for the slightly fuzzy shot. It was a quick hand-held zoom snap)... well, the red squirrels are as obnoxious as ever.

I mean that in a good way. I like red squirrels, but I'm the first to admit that between fighting with each other and chattering at every other animal or person who happens to pass by, they're not exactly calm neighbours.

Staying with the squirrels, our Richardson's Ground Squirrels (better known to most as gophers) have emerged from hibernation and are busily searching out anything remotely edible out there.

Yep, it's definitely spring. That doesn't mean, though, that we don't still have a bit of winter out on the trails. If you're going out for a walk, please be careful of the occasional icy patches still to be found in shaded areas.

And speaking of walks, be sure to drop by the Nature Centre on Saturday, April 8th for our Birds and Buds walk. We'll be looking and listening for signs of spring in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary. The walk leaves the Nature Centre at 1:00 p.m. Please be sure to dress for the weather.

As always, give us a call at (403)346-2010 for information on this or any other Nature Centre program or event.

Let it snow :)

It has come at last... snow!! Bring out the sleds, skis, or my favorite... snowshoes!! If you don't have a pair of snowshoes, feel free to come on down to the nature centre and rent one of ours. We will show you how to put them on, give you some tips for your trip all for the low cost of $2.00 per person per hour. Or you can rent them for the day and take them elsewhere in the Waskasoo Park System or out of town. If you are snowshoeing in the Gaetz Lake Sanctuary, please make sure you still stay on the trails. Thanks and have fun while it lasts.

Flying in the sky!

such wonderful reasons to look up! A visitor just told me of how he just saw a Cooper's Hawk not 20 ft flying above and it reminded me of not one week ago when I was walking to work and saw a bald eagle flying just over the 67th St bridge. So take a look up once in awhile - it just might be as beautiful as stopping to smell the flowers :)

Job Posting - DayCamps

Open Competition:
Day Camp Coordinator

The Normandeau Cultural and Natural History Society, a non-profit charitable society which operates the Waskasoo Park Interpretive Program on contract for The City of Red Deer, has one position available for the coming summer as a Day Camp Coordinator.

Based at Red Deer's Historic Fort Normandeau and the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, the successful applicant will provide living, cultural history and natural history activities to day camp and sleepover participants. The position also entails assisting the Park Interpreters with their programming, and related duties such as planning, program preparation/cleanup, research and dressing in period costume to deliver living history and natural history programs.

Essential Qualifications:
· excellent public communication/drama skills and experience with/love for working with the public (including seniors, adults and children);
· post-secondary education in western Canadian history and/or biological sciences, education or interpretation
· an excellent knowledge of the sights, attractions, major events, roads and parks of Red Deer, including the bike trails of Waskasoo Park;
· current first aid/C.P.R. certificates;
· a valid driver's permit and reliable transportation;
· a neat appearance and the willingness to wear the Park uniform and period costumes properly, and to abide by the NCNHS's smoking and other policies;
· the ability to work cooperatively with other staff and volunteers;
· willingness and ability to stay the entire term of this position;
· willingness and ability to work most or all weekends and evenings;
· good health: some lifting is required;
· good organizational skills and the ability to plan your schedule and workload;
· basic knowledge of the human history of central Alberta.

Desirable Qualities:
· experience and training in drama;
· experience in art, traditional crafts (e.g. poultry or other livestock husbandry, baking, quilting, candle-, ice cream-, rope- or soap-making, sewing, spinning/weaving, animal husbandry, fence building, carpentry, wheel- or barrel-making, gardening, etc.)
· experience with computers (Windows environment): word processing, spreadsheets, database, desktop publishing;
· ability to cook on and bake in a wood-fired stove;
· knowledge of the natural history of central Alberta.
· retail sales experience;

Wages, Term and Conditions of Employment:
· June 26 to September 1, 2006, inclusive.
· This is a full-time summer position (37.5 hours/week, for 10 weeks)
· One position is available.
· Accommodation is not provided.
· Regular evening and weekend work is required.

To Apply:
Apply in writing by March 10, 2006 to:

Manager, Waskasoo Park Interpretive Program
6300-45th Avenue
Red Deer, AB
T4N 3M4
Fax: 403 347-2550
email: programs@waskasoopark.ca

Include a résumé outlining related experience and references, and a brief letter explaining why the position is of interest to you. No phone calls, please. Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

Keep Your Eyes Out

There is definitely benefits to keeping an eye out while walking in the Sanctuary. A family has recently sighted a porcupine sleeping in the squirrel tree just ahead of the fork in the trail to the bird blind. She was really high up, a good reminder to look everywhere.. up, down, and all around.

Holiday Fun

The holidays are here and if you are wondering what to do, come to the Nature Centre. Our gallery is displaying one of the most wonderful owl exhibits. Come see if you can guess what each owl sounds like. And the weather is supposed to be beautiful all week so there is no better time to take a walk around the sanctuary. The building hours are as follows:
now to Dec 24: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Dec 25: closed
Dec 26 and 27: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Dec 28 to 31 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Jan 1: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Jan 2: return to normal hours 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Hope to see you and have a good year :)

Seen in the Sanctuary:

Woodpecker holes on a fallen log.

Not all evergreens have needles

Sharp-eyed visitors to the Sanctuary this time of year may notice the occasional patch of plants that hasn't turned brown with the coming of the cold temperatures. In this particular case the plant in question is Pink Wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia).

While this wintergreen isn't the wintergreen used to flavour gums and mints, it has historically been used to ease toothaches, calm sore throats, and even stop or slow down bleeding.

Pink wintergreen can be found on the floor of moist conifer forests in central and northern Alberta. The small, round, leathery leaves appear to grow stemlessly from the ground. As the plant's common name implies, the leaves tend to stay greenish (but tend toward red in the winter) throughout the year. Each plant sends up a flower stalk in early to mid summer. The pink, cup-shaped flowers are attractive but easy to miss amongst the forest floor litter.

On the Wishart Trail

A look at part of the abandoned river channel. Obviously this picture was taken before our recent snowfall...

Seen in the Sanctuary:

It's not too hard to find moose tracks along the trails at the moment. My foot should give you a sense of the scale of the tracks here (sometimes you just have to work with what you've got...).

Even though we're probably past any dangers from this year's rut, animals in the Sanctuary should always be treated with caution. Wild animals are called wild for a reason, after all.