Flowering things

If you head toward the back door (staff parking lot end of the building) of the Nature Centre in the next little while, you're in for a treat. Our Prickly Pear Cactus garden is beginning to flower, and it's a real show.

After you've admired the cactus be sure to check out what other things are flowering in the Wildflower Garden. When I looked today the Columbines in particular were showing off nicely.

Out on the trails there are many other things flowering, but sometimes you have to look a little more closely to find them. I noticed these Twinflowers blooming beside the Wishart Trail today. They're a personal favourite of mine, partly because it takes a bit of work to find them, and partly because (according to science folklore, anyway) Twinflower is the only plant that Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, chose to name after himself. There's something kind of neat about the man who was naming everything deciding on such a tiny but beautiful flower for his own.

Here's a look at the underside of the bell-shaped flowers, with my fingers giving a sense of scale. If you want to find Twinflowers the next time you're out for a walk, look for a creeping, oval-leaved plant that likes to grow along the edges of the path in moist coniferous or mixed-wood forest.

Seen in the Sanctuary:

Prickly Wild Rose (Rosa acicularis) flowers

Male and female Ruddy Ducks on the West Gaetz Lake

Our "abandoned" river channel looking not-quite abandoned

Seen in the Sanctuary:

Mating Damselflies

Wood Frog hiding among fallen poplar leaves

Click on either photo to enlarge it.

Update to bird sightings

Over the last few days, these following species have been seen:

• Ruddy ducks
• Coots
• Olive-sided Flycatcher
• Western Wood-Pewee
• Vesper Sparrow
• Common Grackle - heard
• Red-necked Grebes and American Coots on nests
• Red-breasted Nuthatch nest with young
• Two Red-winged Blackbird nests with young
• Phoebe nesting under one of the viewing decks
• Pileated woodpecker continues to visit the suet log outside of the bookstore windows

Let us know what birds, butterflies, blooms, and beasts you seen in and around the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary.

Construction zone

It may not look like much at the moment, but this pile of mud and sticks next to the boardwalk on the Dr George Trail might be worth watching if we get more rain. It seems that our beavers are tired of the water overflowing into the forest on the other side of the boardwalk and have decided to dam things up a bit.

I wouldn't expect this to become a very elaborate dam -- beavers generally do only as much work as is necessary to maintain the pond -- but if the water should rise you might notice that they start to reinforce their mud push-ups with sticks and cattail leaves.

It's also worth keeping your eyes open for the beavers themselves and not just their handiwork. Todd was out with a school group the other day and they were lucky enough to get a good look at a large beaver munching away on a branch, seemingly unconcerned about the excited Grade Ones standing nearby.

Jason Rogers, a local birder, reports the following species in/near the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary:
- Common Goldeneyes with broods.
- Alder Flycatchers and Red-eyed Vireos have returned since my last report.
- Possible Philadelphia Vireo along the paved loop trail near the Kerry Wood Nature Centre.
- Tennessee Warbler at the nature centre.
- Ovenbird and Mourning Warbler at old Woodlea ski hill just south of sanctuary.

Feeder visitor

This Pileated Woodpecker has become a regular visitor to our suet feeder in the past couple of weeks. The lack of a red "moustache" shows that she's a female. I haven't noticed a male coming to feed at all, but that could just be because I don't keep a constant watch on the suet.

The Pileated Woodpecker is Alberta's largest, and it's pretty obvious when you see one come to a feeder that is usually frequented by the (much) smaller Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers.

The suet feeder is located right outside our bookstore. Be sure to have a look for our woodpeckers the next time you come shopping.

Seen at Fort Fest:

Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe

Our New Neighbour

On Thursday last week Diane and I were out taking pictures of the building for new banners, web-images and other uses. I've got the camera nicely mounted to the tripod and totally locked into a position that, while great for taking slightly upwards-facing images of the building, was totally useless for what came next.

From behind me I heard Diane exclaim "That's the oddest looking Ground Squirrel I've ever... wait a minute... that's a weasel!"

I turned around and sure enough, there, sitting up like the world's skinniest-looking Richardson's Ground Squirrel, was a Long-Tailed Weasel.

We are trying to get a picture of it but it's a quick little critter. The best either of us has so far is a black-tipped tail & rear-end zipping off through the bush.

You can find more information about Long-Tailed Weasels here.

We'll do our best to get a decent photo posted. Watch this space.


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In other news.

Our thanks go out to Community Savings Credit Union and Sobey's Eastview for sponsoring Fort Fest at Fort Normandeau this past weekend.

The Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe and the Waskasoo Bluegrass Society both put on great shows. The Red Deer Archery Club taught dozens of kids how to safely shoot a bow & arrows. The 65th Mount Royal Rifles and the Firestick Living History Society recreated their annual "Battle that never actually ever happened but it's fun to shoot at each other skirmish". The employees and volunteers at the Fort cranked and served gallons of ice-cream and the 78th Field Artillery Unit from Red Deer gave folks a chance to meet the new army and send messages to our troops overseas. Add to that an antiques show and sale and you've got a very full weekend.

If you happen to be at the Fort over the next few days, forgive them their exhausted looks. They all put in a huge effort.

Red-winged Blackbirds

If you look carefully at this tangle of last year's cattails you should be able to spot a small nest hiding in amongst them. It's the nest of a Red-winged Blackbird, and it's right next to the bird blind on the West Gaetz Lake.


Like many other birds, the male of this species (left) is much showier than the female (right). Males depend on their bright plumage to help attract mates, but females need to be more camouflaged so that they can safely sit on the nest.

Here's another look at the male:


As always, click on the photo for a larger version.

This time of year it's very important to be quiet while using the viewing decks, and this year it's even more important than usual. The high water levels in the lakes has led to many more nests close to the decks. Noise on the decks may discourage the birds from using these nests, and the extra energy needed to rebuild elsewhere can sometimes lead to nest failure.

Enjoy visiting our birds, but please remember to visit responsibly.

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

Bird report May 24, 2008

Jason Rogers reports:
Canada Goose - 8
Gadwall - 1
American Wigeon - 2
Mallard - 10
Blue-winged Teal - 7
Northern Shoveler - 2
Canvasback - 10
Redhead - 6
Ring-necked Duck - 1
Lesser Scaup - 14
Common Goldeneye - 5
Ruddy Duck - 8
Common Loon - 1
Pied-billed Grebe - 2
Red-necked Grebe - 7
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Sora - 5
American Coot - 10
Spotted Sandpiper - 2
Franklin's Gull - heard
California Gull - heard
Rock Pigeon - 2
Mourning Dove - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 2
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Least Flycatcher - 8
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Black-billed Magpie - 1
American Crow - 2
Common Raven - 1
Tree Swallow - 2
Bank Swallow - 3
Black-capped Chickadee - 9
Boreal Chickadee - 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 6
House Wren - 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1-2
Swainson's Thrush - 1
American Robin - 6
Gray Catbird - 2
Yellow Warbler - 18
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4
Ovenbird - 1 just south of the Sanctuary
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Chipping Sparrow - 17
Clay-colored Sparrow - 13
Savannah Sparrow - 1
Le Conte's Sparrow - 4
Song Sparrow - 2
Lincoln's Sparrow - 3
White-throated Sparrow - 6
Dark-eyed Junco - 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 2
Red-winged Blackbird - 19
Brown-headed Cowbird - 8
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Purple Finch - 2
House Finch - 2
Red Crossbill - 3
White-winged Crossbill - 30
Pine Siskin - 8
American Goldfinch - 3
House Sparrow - 2

Spring on the lake

Although this photo doesn't really show it, things are starting to look like spring around here. It only takes a few steps out the back door to hear the songs of territory-setting birds (and frogs. Our Boreal Chorus Frogs are singing up a storm right now), and if you keep your eyes open you may even see signs of the start of nesting season.

The Canada Goose in the photo above has chosen an old muskrat mound as a nesting site. This particular mound is fairly close to one of the viewing decks on the West Lake, and that's already given a couple of youth groups a chance to see nest care up close.

Please remember that there may be other, more hidden nests around our viewing decks this time of year, and help us help the birds by using the decks as quietly as possible.

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Project Porchlight recently posted a feature on Kathryn on their blog. For more information on Project Porchlight, check out their site here.

We've got bats

Not in our belfry, no, but we do have bats on the building.

For the past few years a small colony of what are probably Little Brown Bats (I haven't managed to get close enough to do a proper identification, so that's an educated guess) has made its home in a "secret" location on the Nature Centre.

As of last week, our bats have returned from their winter hibernaculum and are again hanging out (literally) at their summer home.

I put "secret" in quotation marks because the location that our bats have chosen probably is a secret to most of our visitors. If you're interested in the bats, though, our staff knows where to find them and would be happy to show you.

You might be surprised to learn how close you can be to wildlife without even realising it.

Recent bird sightings

Jason Rogers, a Red Deer birder, walked around the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary on Sunday April 27th. Here is what Jason reported. (He didn't bring his scope, so there are no totals for most of the waterbirds.)

Greater White-fronted Goose - 20
Canada Goose
Gadwall - 1
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail - 1
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback - 2
Ring-necked Duck
[Lesser Scaup?]
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-necked Grebe - 1
Osprey - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
American Coot - 20
Franklin's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
[Herring Gull?]
Rock Pigeon - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 4
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Black-billed Magpie - 1
American Crow - 1
Common Raven - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 9
Boreal Chickadee - 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 13
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
American Robin - 6
American Pipit - 3
Bohemian Waxwing - 40
Song Sparrow - 1 along river
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
[Brown-headed Cowbird?] - 1
Purple Finch - 4
House Finch - 2
White-winged Crossbill - 2
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch - 1

While you might not see all of these yourself, you get the idea: this is an interesting time to be out in the Sanctuary!

25 and 50 Years Ago

On Wednesday April 23rd, the Red Deer Advocate posted a couple of brief stories worth repeating here. (http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/lifestyles/Kerry_Wood_wins_second_GG_award.html)

50 years ago
• Red Deer author Kerry Wood won his second Governor-General Award for literature in three years. Wood’s book, The Great Chief, won the medal in the class of books for juveniles.

(Kerry Wood's first GG award was for ‘The Map Maker’, the story of David Thompson, written in 1955. Kerry Wood wrote ‘The Great Chief’, life of Maskepetoon, Peace Chief of the Crees, in 1957.)

25 years ago
• At an expropriation inquiry, former city councillor Ron McCullough argued the city was trying to take his Glenmere Farms primarily so it could build a bridge over the river at 67th Street as recommended by a consultant. Parks planner Craig Curtis insisted the expropriation would protect the Gaetz Lakes sanctuary and allow room for a nature centre. “The sole purpose for acquiring this property is for parkland. Any other inference is incorrect and misleading.” The Kerry Wood Nature Centre was built in 1985; the bridge was built in 1987-88.

(The land that makes up the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary was assembled in part from provincial land in the southeast, part of the Red Deer Public School District #104's land in the southwest -- each purchased for $1.00 -- and the McCullough land, including the Allen Bungalow, which was expropriated.)

Ode to Recycling

Last week was Spring Break for my kids so, naturally, we went to Grandma's. Grandma still lives in the same house I grew up in, so I took my kids to one of my favorite old haunts : the tire playground. It was there that I had a epiphany.

I can remember when town council first decided there was going to be a new playground, and that it was going to be made of old tires. My friends and I were so excited: we'd go and watch the workers getting the space ready, then hauling in the tires. We couldn't believe the size of some of them: up until then, tractor tires were the biggest ones we'd ever seen! We would spend countless hours imagining what the tire playground would look like. Would it have a fort? Would there be swings? How were they going to hold all those tires together? Our little minds were buzzing.

Finally it was finished and it was great! There was a fort, with two draw bridges and a triangle of two-storey compartments to crawl in. The workers had made us a little boat/car shaped sculpture, a giant four-sectioned sandbox, and a bumpy three tire thing that resembled a sea serpent, but was made of tires big enough for us to actually crawl inside. And to top it off, three tire swings on poles so long that you could practically reach orbit before coming anywhere close to your neighbour. It was a child's dream and only now, sitting in my favorite spot reflecting on the fun I'd had there, did I realize what else it was. The tire playground was an ode to recycling, a fantastic use of resources at hand and a desire to make something useful out of what might have been considered junk. Tire playground, I salute you! You are a beacon of the right way to recycle, to reduce, to reuse.

The tire playground looks almost the same as it did 20-odd years ago, another testament to what a great idea it was. The only things missing are the tire swings and the climbing wall. I have found a link, check it out: http://www.seevirtual360.com/themes/41/alberta.aspx?listingID=11162. Click on "Community Centres" in the virtual tour menu to get the right picture.

First you will see the ball diamonds, then as the camera turns you can make out the three bumps of the sea serpent-like structure off in the distance. Still standing, still well-loved, still a great idea.

Earth Day Ecology Lesson

It's Earth Month, and I hope that everyone's as excited about the impending Earth Day as I am! We have a special treat here at the Nature Centre on Earth Day: Abrah Arneson, a local Certified Herbal Therapist and owner of The Green Clinic, will be presenting on the Ecology of Herbal Medicine. It will be an enjoyable evening of ecologically-friendly refreshments and conversation, with all proceeds going to support the Kerry Wood Nature Centre and its many environmental initiatives.

Sounds like something you'd like to go to? Here are the details:

The Ecology of Herbal Medicine: Plants for the Health and Well Being of All, Tuesday, April 22, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre. Admission is $20/person + GST, in advance or at the door. Call 346-2010 for more details or to register.

No matter what you do this Earth Day, remember to keep in mind why you're doing it. Our planet is important, not just for our own offsprings' survival, but for that of every species' offspring, and their offspring, and their offspring ad infinitum.

Make every day Earth Day!

Watch this...

We've been sent a couple of interesting video links lately that show some of the creative ways that people around the world are increasing environmental awareness.

This first one is from The Netherlands and reminds us that children who grow up playing outside and in natural areas tend to be happier and healthier: Last Children in the Woods.

The next one is an award-winning ad from Germany that's a lot of fun: Wind Power.

And now that you've watched them, it must be time to get up from the computer desk and go outside, right? Our March - May event calendar and newsletter will be out soon. Keep an eye on this space (when you're not actually outside, of course) for information on our upcoming nature and history programs in Waskasoo Park.

Fluorescent bulb recycling

Jim passed on this link to me from the City of Red Deer's website: Mercury in Fluorescent Light Bulbs.

With the coming switch to fluorescent bulbs from the old incandescent ones in 2012, it's pretty important that we all know how to dispose of them properly.

Job Re-post

I'm re-posting the Nature Nursery Assistant job. Let's go people, we need this one filled quickly.

It's a 30 hour/week job, working with kids in an indoor/outdoor, nautre-based setting. All you need is a love of children, an appreciation for nature and an ECD Level I certification issued by the Alberta Government Children and Family Services division.

If you have any questions, please email me at programs@waskasoopark.ca you can send your resumes to executive@waskasoopark.ca

Todd

New Stuff on the Blog a Holiday Entertaining Idea and Some Inspiration

The blog has seen a lot of activity this week. Make sure you scroll down in order to keep up with the comings and goings, thoughts and ramblings of the staff.

New to the sidebar (look to the right of the screen) is a link to the World Clock. The default setting for the world clock is "Year" and the scrolling numbers represent accumulations over the past twelve months. If you click the "Now" button at the top, most values will reset to zero. It's a pretty interesting look at the state of the population and the rate at which we produce and consume.

If you are planning your holiday party this year, keep in mind the impact of your dishes and cutlery. Most of us do not own enough plates, glasses, cutlery etc... to stage a house party. Your options for putting your hands on more stuff are kind of limited. Obviously we'd prefer that you not buy foam plates, plastic cups and plastic cutlery. These are single use items that are not recyclable nor are they biodegradable. Foam and plastic will simply sit in a landfill for hundreds of years. Your best option would probably be to rent from somewhere like Parkland Party and Equipment Rentals. Sure, there is an energy cost to washing and sterilizing the dishes after each rental. However, there are no new materials being consumed to produce new items and there is no waste heading to the landfill. It's a trade-off but it's probably the best option in the end. If you must buy disposable, head on over to the Waste Reduction Store. They have disposable biodegradable cutlery, plates and glasses. Their containers are made from potato, corn and sugar cane by-products. They breakdown quickly in a landfill, release no harmful chemicals into the air or ground water and consume very few resources in terms of new, raw materials. We use them here at the Nature Centre for large events and public gatherings.

And finally - for today at least - get inspired to take some local action to help your planet. Here is Al Gore's Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

Now that winter's here...

...we can ring in the New Year! We have some great events coming up in January here at the Nature Centre!

Join us New Year's day for some family winter fun. From noon til 5 p.m., enjoy a barbeque and winter activities. Call 346-2010 for more details.

Get your mountain culture fix with the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, in Red Deer on January 10 & 11. There are still some tickets available: call 346-2010 or pop in to Valhalla Pure Outfitters, our co-presenter for this event, to reserve yours today!

On January 12 & 13, come to the Red Deer Rock and Gem Show, co-presented with the Red Deer Rock and Gem Society (a great bunch of guys who know practically everything about rocks). This year, we're showcasing Jobs that Rock, a.k.a. jobs that have something to do with rocks or the Earth. Lots of fun activities are planned, so come have a look!

Then, on January 26, we're hosting another Eco-Session, this time on Freecycling and Community Gardening. (In case you're wondering, freecycling is a grassroots movement of people trading their unwanted goods through a web-based group, and community gardening is just that, a garden worked by the community.) This one will be admission by donation, so come on out and support the Nature Centre while you learn more ways you can help the planet.

And that's not all! Public planetariums, singles' night, kid's sessions....winter doesn't slow us down. Remember to call the Nature Centre for more information about our winter schedule, then come out and have some frosty fun!

To the Top of the Wall

Now don't go dashing away just yet. The snow is falling, the temperature is getting downright cold, the lakes and rivers are freezing over and the car-accident rates are going up. It must be getting to be winter in Central Alberta.

Winter in the Sanctuary means getting out on snowshoes and listening to the Red Squirrels cuss you out for daring to be under their tree. Winter in the Sanctuary means tracking the local deer and coyotes through the grass by following their footprints. Winter in the Sanctuary means watching the pre-schoolers lying on their backs in the snow trying to catch the falling flakes; wishing that you had the time to join them.

It's a time to watch the Black-capped Chickadees lose their minds and try to breed every time the temperature rises a few degrees. Chickadees are nothing if not entertaining. It's also the time of year I catch myself staring wistfully out my office window, knowing that it will be dark when I leave work. This winter, I'll be sharing that view with the newly-arrived, previously-mentioned Daring Jumping Spider who has taken up residence on my desk. I'm betting that she is less wistful about the view than I am.

Enjoy the winter folks. It looks like we've set in for a cold one.

Spider sightings

We don't get to see a lot of spiders at the Nature Centre this time of year, since our native species have either laid eggs and died or found places to hide from winter by now. Today, though, we've had a visit from a Jumping Spider who seems to have hitched a ride up to Red Deer from California via some grapes.

After searching the internet, we think we may have identified the hitchhiker. Not too shabby, considering that there's not an arachnologist among us. It looks to be a member of the Phidippus genus; most likely Phidippus aurax, which is commonly known as the Daring (or Bold) Jumping Spider. The spider is widespread through North America and can often be identified by the three white spots on its abdomen. That stumped us for a little while since our spider very definitely has orange spots rather than white ones, but this photo on bugguide.net turned out to be a near-perfect match.

They say you learn something every day, and today I learned that the Daring Jumping Spider has a few colour variations.

I took some photos of our latest office pet (yep, we're going to try to keep her), but since they were taken through a bug box they're not terribly clear. If you look closely at the last one, though, you can see a hint of her iridescent green jaws (chelicerae).




These spiders will bite if provoked, but like most spiders in our area the bite doesn't usually cause anything worse than a bump or slight rash. A small price to pay for something that helps keep the garden pest population at bay.

A New Tree To Me

Hello to all... living now in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, I found a new tree to learn about. In the Gaetz Lake Sanctuary, there are a lot of white spruce, balsam poplar and aspen poplar trees. I took a walk through the Alcott Creek Demonstration Forest here, and while they have many spruce and aspen (not so much balsam), there were also many jack pine trees. In the picture, the jack pine are all the yellowish green trees, and the tall spruce are in the back, and if you look carefully there are some naked aspen trees. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.. if I took it now, it would look much more white. Yes, we do have snow here, hope Red Deer gets some soon, I'm really enjoying it up here. Anyways, back to the jack pine tree, I'm rather new to it, so if anyone has some stories or facts about it, feel free to post a comment or two :)

Not one but TWO!

This morning I was pulling into the parking lot and out of the corner of my eye happened to spot something in a tree. As I pulled in to park I looked up the tree to see what was there, low and behold there were 2 porcupines. 2 porcupines hanging out in a tree in the island in the parking lot. There is also a fair amount of porcupine droppings on the ground around the tree, so watch your step if you're walking on the paved path across the island. Sadly I left my camera at home today.
Keep your eyes open I'm sure we'll see more as the winter wears on.

Seen in the Sanctuary

Snow-covered squirrel midden on the Dr. George Trail

Track tales

I was out on the Dr. George trail this morning taking some photos of the weekend snow (that in itself seems an odd thing to do. We'll no doubt have enough snow in the coming months that I won't even want to look at it, let alone take its picture) and I found myself doing an informal survey of our local trail-users on the way.

You've probably guessed from the above photo (click the photo for a closer view) that I don't mean the human trail-users.

Many of the animals in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary make heavy use of the trails when the human visitors aren't around. It's not too surprising. Animals are as likely as humans to want to use the easiest means to get from place to place, and when there's a choice between crashing through the forest or using a pre-made path the path will often win.

Normally we don't even notice our animal trail-users because they tend to be crepuscular (active at dawn or dusk) or nocturnal. After a snowfall, though, the night's activities can leave very clear marks for anyone willing to look down and investigate as they walk.

In case you were wondering about today's findings, I noticed quite a number of deer tracks, one moose trail, one coyote, several squirrels, some mice or voles, and the occasional magpie. Not a bad tally for fifteen minutes of walking.

If you're interested in more information about who's leaving what footprint in the snow, ask us about the tracking resources available in the Kerry Wood Reading Room or check out the bookstore's stock of tracking field guides.

Those little moths

By now you've probably noticed the dozens of small, fairly drab moths clinging to buildings around town in the morning. A little bit of internet searching has me thinking that they're probably Bruce Spanworm (Operophtera bruceata) moths, and believe it or not it's normal for them to be showing up this time of year.

All of the flying Bruce Spanworm moths you see are males, as the females lack developed wings. In October (through to early November, depending on the weather), the males seek out the flightless females which then lay eggs in places like bark crevasses. These eggs overwinter and hatch out in the spring.

The larvae (known as spanworms or inchworms), like all caterpillars, can do some damage to tree leaves but usually don't cause permanent harm to the trees themselves.

As always, click on the photo for a larger version.

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.

Seen in the Sanctuary:

Chokecherries and turning leaves

Yesterday, it was a beautiful 29 degrees (Celsius) here in Red Deer. The sun was shining, the geese were honking, and me, being the plan-ahead person that I am, was wearing a sweater. (I thought cotton would breathe a little...). Last night, as I wrapped up my day in the same sweater that I started out in, it occurred to me that this occasion called for a blog entry. So here it is:

DON'T BE SILLY LIKE ME AND WEAR A SWEATER (even a thin one) ON A 29 DEGREE DAY!

Actually, the point of this entry is to remind you that we are having very nice fall weather...get out and enjoy it while you can! The geese are flocking, the leaves are turning, the sky is that gorgeous blue (well, not today), and that wonderful, crisp smell is in the air. Get out and enjoy fall for what it is, before the snow comes and we get locked in our houses by 40 below.

(Did I mention you should get out and enjoy the weather?)

And watch out for garter snakes...they're going to be heading to a hibernaculum soon.
Happy trails!

Hello Hello

Hi,
I'm Katherine Blakely and I am the newest interpreter here at the Nature Centre. However since there is already a Kathryn on staff you can call me Kat (though I will respond to my full name as well).

I'm excited to be here and look forward to the crazy Kerry Wood adventures ahead of me.

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.

YUM

What happens when one hungry dragonfly meets a smaller dragonfly? Call it a very active buffet. Yum.

This scene played itself out in the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary on July 25. I'd never really thought of dragonflies as being cannibalistic before. I've seen video of them catching smaller insects but this was a first for me.

The annual spider link

Yep, judging from the number of search engine hits the blog is getting and the number of questions we're hearing from the public, it's time to talk about Jewel Spiders again.

Jewel spiders are large, harmless orb weavers. Most people ask about them simply because they didn't realise that Red Deer is home to any large spiders.

Rather than repeat already-blogged information I'll direct you to this post from 2005: Natural Selections: 'Tis the season.

If you have any further questions (or any other neat spiders to report) don't hesitate to call us at the Nature Centre (403.346.2010).

Seen in the Sanctuary:

Our muskrats are still very active on the West Lake. Today I noticed a lot of busyness over towards the viewing deck, so I made sure to watch where the harvested cattails were being taken to. Funnily enough, they were being taken right under the deck itself.

Since the water level is still fairly high, at least one family of muskrats has decided to den in the bank under the deck. You can see the den if you stand on the open deck and look back toward the trail-end.

The second photo isn't a great shot, but it was snapped near the den. This guy was taking advantage of a fairly quiet day in the Sanctuary to have a snack right beside the deck.

A visitor

I meant to post this spider photo a couple of weeks ago, but it got put aside until... well, now. I'd been moving chairs in the theatre when I came to one that looked like it had a fair-sized piece of black lint on it. It was quite a surprise when the black lint moved.

I've never seen a jumping spider this big in Alberta. If anyone knows the species or even just the genus name of this lovely not-so-little girl, please give us a call at the nature centre.

If it looks like she was staring at the camera, that's because she was. Jumping spiders have the keenest eyesight of any of the spider groups, and she was definitely keeping an eye on what I was doing.

The green fabric in the background is chair upholstery, if that helps give a sense of scale.

Seen in the Sanctuary:

A flip through Alberta Butterflies has me thinking that the slightly beaten-up looking butterfly that I watched nectaring on goldenrod this afternoon is a Northern Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes cocyta). I freely admit to being no expert when it comes to butterflies, though, so if this is a wrong identification please let me know.

As always, click on the photo to see a larger version.

Dragonflies

We've had a number of questions about dragonflies lately, and no wonder. When you go for a walk on any of the Waskasoo Park trails, they seem to be completely swarming with dragonflies like this male Meadowhawk (probably Sympetrum internum, the Cherry-faced Meadowhawk. Males are red, while females are yellow). Luckily for those of us on the receiving end of the question of why there are so many dragonflies around, there's a pretty easy answer.

The high water levels this year led to a very high mosquito population. Dragonflies depend on mosquitoes as one of their major food sources, and the extra food supports more of the predators. The fact that dragonflies use mosquitoes for food both in their aquatic (nymphal) phase and in their adult phase has meant that they've been well-nourished throughout their life cycle this year.

The nice thing is that we're all benefitting from the high dragonfly population. More dragonflies eat more mosquitoes. It's natural pest control.

Important Email Service Announcement

If you have been trying to send us email for the last 3 or 4 days you'll notice that your messages are bouncing back to you. C.I.R.S., the non-profit that provides our internet service is going through a difficult and time-consuming server upgrade.

We apologise for any inconvenience. This technical issue will be solved ASAP. If you desperately need to get in touch with us, either phone the Nature Centre at 403 346-2010 or leave us a comment at the bottom of this post.

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Back to our regularly scheduled program...

We have an exhibit opening and Meet the Artists Coffee Reception this Saturday, July 21 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Lyndal Osborne and John Freeman's exhibit Tidal Trace will open Saturday in the Marjorie Wood Gallery here at the Nature Centre. Click the link to get an idea of Lyndal and John's vision. The exhibit will be open for viewing during our normal operating hours. Tidal Trace closes September 9, 2007.

Trail flooding

Not to sound like a broken record (although I do feel like I've said this many times this year), but the recent downpours have flooded several sections of the Dr. George Trail again. This particular puddle, while it looks relatively harmless, is about running-shoe deep and can easily give you unexpectedly wet socks.

Plan on taking the grassland route if you're planning to walk the Wishart Trail.

Seen in the Sanctuary

The beavers are still busy taking down trees right next to the Dr. George Trail, as you can see.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this Western Wood Lily just off the trail the other day. I don't get a chance to see these beautiful flowers in the Sanctuary very often.

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.