Thanks to the 12 volunteers who came out to the Lawson Nature Reserve on November 6, 2021 to rebuild the bridge and help reroute the Edwards Trail. It now runs up the ridge to avoid the increasing encroachment of water on the northeast corner. Thanks to Ontario Nature and Zane for the expertise on trail construction.
Author: ingersolldistrictnatureclub
Dogs Don’t Understand Social Distancing
Originally posted on the Oxford County Trails Council Facebook page.
BYLAW AMENDED: Due to the high number of dog instances, The Township of South-West Oxford has increased the fines if your dog attacks or bites anyone or another animal to $1000. Please keep your dogs on a leash and pick up after them. Respect the rights of others to enjoy the trail who are not dog people.
Animal Care and Control By-law 76-2017 to establish a set fine in the amount of $1,000 per occurrence if a person fails to prevent their dog from attacking or biting a person or domestic animal. Enforcement staff may issue a ticket to the dog owner if or when an incident occurs. Additional charges may be brought upon the owner as per the provincial Dog Owner’s Liability Act. It is the responsibility of dog owners to ensure their dog remains under their control at all times, and does not bite or attack.</p
Watch Birds Out Your Window And Be Part Of Scientific Research
Source: Birds Canada – article by Kerrie Wilcox, Manager, Project Feederwatch
Did you know that you can connect to nature, learn about backyard birds, and contribute to important scientific research – without leaving your home? You can with Project FeederWatch!
Our backyards are important habitats for birds year-round. To help birds, we need to understand how these habitats and the birds using them are changing over time. Your counts of winter backyard birds tell us which species are doing OK and which ones need our conservation attention.
Read more at https://www.birdscanada.org/watch-birds-out-your-window-and-be-part-of-scientific-research/
National Day For Truth And Reconciliation
The first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as well as Orange Shirt Day, is on Thursday, September 30. Truth and Reconciliation Day is a day dedicated to honour the lost children, residential school survivors, and their families. We at Ingersoll District Nature Club want to acknowledge that Every Child Matters, and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous communities by helping spread awareness surrounding the tragic history of residential schools.
We encourage everyone to recognize this important day by wearing an orange shirt as a show of support for residential school survivors and to honour those who lost their lives. We hope members of our local communities take the time to recognize this day, and to reflect on the lives lost and the lives that have been forever changed.
For more information, visit National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – Canada.ca to learn about Indigenous history in Canada and the reasons behind the need for Truth and Reconciliation and a Call to Action.
Thames Talbot Land Trust To Hold BioBlitz Fundraiser
From the Thames Talbot Land Trust:
Thames Talbot Land Trust is holding a BioBlitz Fundraiser called Out for the Count. The event will collect valuable species data while raising funds for nature! Anyone can participate, from complete beginners to seasoned experts. The event runs for a full 24 hours on September 18, 2021 (12 a.m. to midnight).
Folks can sign up in teams to participate on the event day or people can join one (or more) or the community challenges we are offering this year with or without a team. People can visit a TTLT nature reserve or their favourite spot close to home. We’re also selling t-shirts for $15 that people can pick up and wear for the event!
More information and registration is available on our website: https://www.thamestalbotlandtrust.ca/outforthecount2021
Nature Needs Your Vote
From Nature Canada:
Canada is home to vast forests, bountiful oceans, sprawling grasslands, and a myriad of other ecosystems but the effects of climate change continue to threaten their future. This election, our candidates must commit to a plan that protects and restores the nature we have left before it’s too late.
Now more than ever, we need to make nature a ballot-box issue. Our five-point nature platform provides a breakdown of policy priorities that we believe our next federal government should focus on to ensure a green and promising future for generations to come.
Read the Nature Platform before you vote.
As Canadians across the country suffer through forest fires, heatwaves, and other signs of severe weather to come, Canada needs an immediate and credible plan to halt and reverse nature loss.
On election day, will you vote for nature? Together, we can elect a government that will uphold environmental protection, social justice, and Indigenous rights for the future of all Canadians.
Yours for nature,
Nature Canada
P.S. Not sure who to vote for? Ask your candidates these five questions to see if they’re truly committed to protecting nature.
Great Horned Owl Visits Lawson Nature Reserve
Thanks to Megan Leedham for sending these photos from our December 2020 bird count. With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. It is one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home across all landscapes – wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics. The great horned owl remains so widely distributed and remarkably tolerant of major habitat disturbance by people that its future seems secure. It is listed as “Least Concern (Population stable). However, it is always exciting when we see a bird of prey of this stature on our property.
Cool Facts:
- Great Horned Owls are fierce predators that can take large prey, including raptors such as Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, and other owls. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions.
- When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this deadly grip to sever the spine of large prey.
- If you hear an agitated group of cawing American Crows, they may be mobbing a Great Horned Owl. Crows may gather from near and far and harass the owl for hours. The crows have good reason, because the Great Horned Owl is their most dangerous predator.
- Even though the female Great Horned Owl is larger than her mate, the male has a larger voice box and a deeper voice. Pairs often call together, with audible differences in pitch.
- Great Horned Owls are covered in extremely soft feathers that insulate them against the cold winter weather and help them fly very quietly in pursuit of prey. Their short, wide wings allow them to maneuver among the trees of the forest.
- Great Horned Owls have large eyes, pupils that open widely in the dark, and retinas containing many rod cells for excellent night vision. Their eyes don’t move in their sockets, but they can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to look in any direction. They also have sensitive hearing, thanks in part to facial disc feathers that direct sound waves to their ears.
The Canadian Bat Box Project
By: Karen Vanderwolf
PhD student, Trent University
Research Associate, New Brunswick MuseumEnvironmental Life Sciences
If you have a bat box I want to know about it!
Bats in Canada face multiple threats from habitat loss and disease. As towns and cities expand, the large old trees that bats call home are being cleared, and bats are losing their roosts. Bats need a warm and secure place to roost during the day in the summer. A bat box is a simple and effective way to provide additional roosting habitat for bats, but little is known about bat box use in Canada. This especially important as three bat species in Canada are listed as endangered: little brown bats, northern long-eared bats, and tricolored bats. Bats now face additional persecution due to worries about COVID-19, but bats in North America do not have the virus that causes COVID-19 https://cwf-fcf.org/en/about-cwf/faq/faqs/should-i-be-worried-bats.html?src=blog
Which bat species use bat boxes?
Of the 18 bat species that are regularly found in Canada, 13 have been documented using bat boxes, although these data come from studies farther south in the United States. Current recommendations on bat box design are based on research in the United States, especially Texas, and in Europe. Since the box design bats prefer varies by region and species, more information on bat boxes in Canada is urgently needed. There is very little previous research about which bat species prefer which bat box designs in Canada. Little brown bats are known to use bat boxes throughout Canada, big brown bats use boxes in some parts of Canada, and Yuma bats use boxes in British Columbia.
How you can help!
Our research seeks to determine which bat species use bat boxes across Canada, what box designs are preferred by bats, and which temperatures bats prefer for roosting in our northern climate. To accomplish this, we need to know where bat boxes are located in Canada, the physical characteristics of the boxes, and whether they are being used by bats! Participants will be sent temperature loggers to install in their box and supplies to collect guano (bat poop), as bat species can be identified from guano.
If you have a bat box and would like to participate in this study, please fill out this online multiple-choice survey with questions about your bat box. Your participation is important even if your box does not have any bats! https://trentu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86og8C3MIgO2ff7
This project is in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Canadian Wildlife Federation https://wcsbats.ca/Our-work-to-save-bats/Batbox-Project/BatBox-Project-Canada-wide
More information about which box designs bats use in Canada will help bat conservation by providing recommendations for improving bat box design and placement in our northern climate.
Why install a bat box?
Installing a bat box gives bats an alternative to roosting in your house, and since all bats in Canada eat only insects, you may even notice a decrease in the insect population around your house! Bats eat a variety of insects, including agricultural and forestry pests. You can watch bats swooping around your backyard at dusk catching insets in midair.
How do I tell if bats are using my box?
You can tell whether your box is being used by bats by searching for guano underneath your box and watching your box at sunset in June to count bats as they emerge for an evening of eating insects. You can watch an example of bats flying out of bat boxes in Prince Edward Island here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqZbyjhC0XI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1qGaCvi6ucbCdgaJkTES2O517H1uzhTbGeqAN6Srf_oLGrYmPH4TPj5L0 You can also shine a light up into the box during the day to see if there are bats inside from May to October in Canada. The boxes will be too cold for bats during the winter.
How do I get bats to use my box?
Not all bat boxes will be occupied in the first year after installation. Occupancy depends on many factors, ranging from the period in which it was installed to the fact that bats are very selective and might need a little time to familiarize themselves with your bat box. There are no lures or attractants, such as guano, that can attract bats to a bat box, although larger bat boxes with multiple chambers more commonly attract bats than smaller boxes.
Bat boxes are most successful when attached to houses or poles as opposed to trees. Trees shade the box and can block access to the box entrance. If bats are not using your box after two years, try moving the bat box to a new location.
Like tree hollows, bat boxes need to have temperatures that bats like. Bats like hot temperatures, but even in Canada some bat boxes get too hot during the summer, which can increase bat mortality. Temperatures of over 40˚C in bat boxes is too hot, and temperatures in some bat boxes in Canada have been recorded over 50˚C!
Our research group measures the temperature inside bat boxes using temperature loggers that can take a reading every hour over the whole summer. One way to ensure that bats can choose their preferred roosting temperature is to install multiple bat boxes as they will vary in temperature depending on how much direct sunlight they receive.
This bat box on the side of a house in New Brunswick houses little brown bats and their pups during the summer. Photo by Karen Vanderwolf
Little brown bats in a bat box in the Maritimes. Photo by Jordi Segers.
What’s Happening In The Nature Network
Connect to and learn from organizations across Canada engaging communities in discovering, restoring, and defending nature. Keep scrolling to get inspired by initiatives happening on the ground. Thank you for being a part of the movement!
Connecting to Nature through Art
One thing we have certainly come to appreciate this past year during COVID-19 is the value of nature in our neighbourhoods: our NatureHoods. Both Nature Canada’s NatureHood program and Bateman Foundation’s Nature Sketch program are built on connecting people to nature. Our partners at Bateman Foundation have written a guest blog all about connecting with nature through art, and provided access to a number of free useful educational resources, great for homeschooling folks, educators, adults and children alike!
Studies have shown that reconnecting with nature can help lift depression, improve energy, and boost overall well-being and mental health. Sketching nature has its own benefits; promoting knowledge, understanding, and connection to the environment, and the act itself is a mindful one: taking the time to stop, look and sketch can be a useful tool for managing anxiety and depression.
Given the benefits reaped from nature, it is of the utmost importance that the nature community collectively continues to acknowledge, understand, and act on the barriers to nature experienced by racialized, and marginalized communities.
Read more and access resources here.
Webinar: Understanding and advancing nature-based climate solutions in your community
Nature Canada is hosting a webinar with the Sustainability Network on March 4th at 2pm EST about Nature-based climate solutions at the community level. Participants will learn about ways nature-based climate solutions can be incorporated into climate plans, and how to advocate for their inclusion. We will discuss how local groups can get involved in the implementation of nature-based climate solutions in their communities. In addition, we will create a space to provide feedback on these ideas, and discuss the opportunities and challenges to advancing nature-based climate solutions in their local communities.
Bird Friendly City: A conversation with Jesse Hildebrand
Recently, Nature Canada’s Urban Nature Organizer, Aly Hyder Ali sat down with Jesse Hildebrand, lead for the Conservation Stories Canada project to talk about Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly City certification program. Check out the link below to learn more about the launch of the program, and urban conservation in Canadian cities.
Learn more about Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly City program, and if you are interested in making your city a Bird Friendly City, reach out to the Bird Friendly City program coordinator: Aly Hyder Ali AHyderAli@naturecanada.ca.
Learning to See: Identifying Trees from Bark to Bud
Here is some eye candy for all you forest lovers out there! Check out this video to learn how to identify trees from their bark. Cameos appearances will be made by the white, chestnut, and red oaks, the American Beech, Wild Cherry, and the Shagbark Hickory. This is a great video to watch as we get excited for the federal 2 Billion Tree program. Although it is still early days of the program roll-out, this is a good time to be asking whether your municipality knows about the program, and if they are planning on participating. If you want to ask these questions we would love to hear from you! Please fill in the form so we can get in touch.
Earth Hour 2021
Earth Hour 2021 will take place on March 27, 2021 – 8:30 p.m. your local time.
A message from WWF International:
The road to Earth Hour 2021 has begun, and we’re incredibly excited to have you on this journey!
To our Earth Hour fam joining us from last year, welcome back and virtual hugs! And for those joining us for the first time this year, we’re here to empower you to speak up for nature, wherever you are in the world. 🌍
We know what you’re thinking – “Why are we talking nature loss, climate change, and our planet’s issues when there’s a pandemic to be worried about?” Just like everyone else, we’d like nothing more than to emerge from the shadow of COVID-19. But there’s never been a better time to talk about the state of our planet than right now. Our health is directly linked to the health of our planet, and we must fix our broken relationship with the nature if we are to minimize the risk of future pandemics and ensure our long-term health and quality of life.
After all, Earth Hour has always been about two things – people and planet – and with your support we can remind the world just how important this relationship is. 💪
New Year, Same Goal
Things are a little different this year, but there’s never been a better opportunity to make an impact. Discover what’s new this year?
New to Earth Hour? Discover what we’re about!
We feel you – whether it’s at school or at work, being the new kid on the block can be scary. But not when it comes to Earth Hour! As long as you understand why we’re doing what we’re doing and want to play a part, you’re part of the team! Learn more.
What We’re Up Against
Whether you’re team Marvel or team DC, team Mac or team Windows, or team pineapples-on-pizza or team no-pineapples-on-pizza – one thing’s for certain: when it comes to the issues our planet faces, we’re all in this together.
Be a MVP for team Earth by learning more about nature loss and climate change – the biggest challenges of our time. Find out more.
Ingersoll District Nature Club 