Guided hike to Dewberry Trail and Mer Bleue Bog

Mid of May is the most exciting time in Ottawa Valley. Most spring flowers are starting to bloom. Birds come back to nesting sites and occupy their individual territories. We organize a guided tour to Dewberry Trail and Mer Bleue area to observe spring flowers and other plants, and to see birds and other forest dwellers.  In mid of May, tamarack at Mer Bleue is covered by fresh tender needles, we’ll explore the bog and talk about its history and ecological role. If you are interested to know more about plants and animals in spring, join our hike on Sunday, May 14 at 9 am. We meet at the Parking on Dolman Ridge Rd. of Ottawa Greenbelt. After a hike along Dewberry Trail, we will drive to Mer Bleue – Parking 22 that to explore the bog area.

How to dress?

Please, watch the weather forecast to be prepared for a trip. It is expected that it will be warm weather on Sunday, good for hiking. Perhaps, first mosquitoes will be already active. You will need comfortable clothes and good shoes for hiking.

What else might be needed?

It will be great to have your cameras and binoculars for nature observation. It is good also to take water and light snacks.

Mud Lake: Turtles and Birds in the Spring Time

This is a free guided hike for those who are interested to know more about birds and mammals that are well adapted to urban conditions or stop near Mud Lake during migration. We’ll meet at 9:00 am on May 06 (Saturday) at the parking along Cassels Street near Mud Lake.  We’ll explore the area near Ottawa River and around Mud Lake to enjoy the blooming season of first Trout Lilies and other spring flowers, we’ll walk around the lake that to observe amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, inhabiting the urban area in spring or just passing this area on their way to summer breeding places in the tundra and boreal forests of Canada. We hope to hear the first American toads with their very specific spring calls. We also hope to see many turtles just emerged after hibernation and basking on the floating logs in small bays of the lake. At this time, we have a chance to see their large gatherings. Three species of turtles inhabit Mud Lake and if we’ll be lucky, we’ll observe all these three species. We also will be able to observe several duck species, which nest in the tree hollows and near the banks of the lake.

How to dress?

Please, watch the weather forecast to be prepared for a trip. It could be good warm weather this time, but you need to have waterproof shoes that are most comfortable for a trip on the wet forest paths.

What else might be needed?

It is great if you have your own binoculars for bird observations, cameras, or cell phones to make photos of birds, turtles, mammals, and other animals. It would be also good to have light snacks and water.

Travel to Dewberry Trail and around

It is expected to rain this Sunday. It is not clear when it will start, but if the morning will be clear we would like to invite nature lovers to visit several places in Ottawa Greenbelt. And first of them is the Dewberry Trail in the eastern corner of Ottawa. Due to the May storm, the trail is still closed for the mass visiting, however, we have been there last weekend and explored the area. The trail is mostly clear, with few trees on the side trails closing the road. We select the safe route in the area to explore wildlife inhabiting the Ottawa Greenbelt.

Place and Subject of the Excursion:

We plan to visit the different types of forest: coniferous, mixed, and deciduous and learn about its dwellers: birds, amphibians, mammals, and insects.  We plan also to explore the diversity of fungi that appear on the trunks of the trees and on the ground.

We’ll meet at 8:30 am at the Parking near Dewberry Trail. We’ll walk along the trail with many stops to observe plants, fungi, birds, and other animals. We’ll watch for the weather, and if it will allow we’ll visit several other places around this area.

Dress:

The forecast is for hot weather this weekend, so, we can expect many mosquitoes after several showers of rain this week. Be prepared to prevent mosquito bites. We suggest you take mosquito spray,  water, and a light snack.

Forest dwellers in your neighborhood

Do you know where to spot porcupines this wintertime? How many bird species stay around us in the cold weather? How to recognize animal footprints on snow? You can answer these questions during our guided nature tour to the Stony Swamp area on Sunday, December 19.

Place and Subject of the Excursion:

We organize our next seasonal guided tour for families with kids. We hope to spot during our hike many squirrels and many birds. We also hope to see many animal footprints near our path. We’ll learn how to identify species by call and sight. If we’ll be lucky we’ll see porcupines. We’ll have also the opportunity to feed chickadees and nuthatches often lending on the open arms with seeds.

We’ll meet at 9:30 am on Parking lot 8 along Moody Drive, Stony Swamp Area: Moodie Dr, Nepean, ON K2R 1H8. We plan to walk 3-4 km around – visiting a beaver pond and porcupine woods. If we’ll have enough time, we’ll move to Jack Pine Trail (Parking lot 9) to explore this path as well.

Dress:

Winter is just starting. The weather is still unpredictable. So, we suggest you be prepared for a frosty day. However, we’ll walk in the forest, therefore, we suggest wearing warm, but light enough jackets and shoes. Do not forget your gloves or mittens! You can take a snack for your walk, but remember that all active forest dwellers will follow us hoping to profit from a delicious treat. Food for birds, sunflower seeds, or other treats is welcomed.

The Garter Snake on the forest path…

The mating behavior of snakes is not so easy to see. The mating displays usually occur immediately after the snakes leave their hibernacula (this term is used for winter shelters, where snakes brumate of sleeping, similarly to hibernation of other animals such as mammals) places, where they sometimes congregate in large clusters. But getting to such a hibernacula without a special purpose and without knowing the peculiarities of the ecology of snakes is almost impossible.

In spring, garter snake likes to bask in the morning near forest path

But then one day at the end of April, on a forest path, the rustling of foliage attracted my attention. I did not immediately understand where the rustle came from, but looking around I spotted an extraordinary sight. On the dry foliage of last year, covering the first shoots of the breaking green growth, an unusual ball rolled, from which for a moment heads or tails appeared on the surface … Yellow stripes on the body made it possible to immediately identify the species – it was a mating procession of a Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). One larger snake was distinctive from another dozen and half snakes of smaller size that are literally hovered around it. Squirming, first merging into one large ball, then stretching in a chain, the snakes continued their movement along the invisible pass in the dry foliage. But as soon as I took a step towards this extraordinary procession, the ball instantly became alert, assessing the situation, and began to disintegrate. Individual snakes crawled on the sides, looking for cover under the foliage, in the cracks between the hard rocks and between the roots of trees. Nevertheless, about a dozen of the most persistent continued to follow the largest snake. The presence of a small rock in the forest indicated that the snake hibernacula was somewhere nearby: snakes usually hibernate in cavities under rocks or in natural depressions formed under the roots of dead trees, where they can gather from several tens to several hundred or even thousands of individuals.

The common garter snake is widespread in Ontario. In the forests around Ottawa, it is the most common snake species. The slender body of garter snakes with a light stripe running along the keel from head to tail, with yellow or reddish longitudinal stripes on the sides and an elegant narrow head that smoothly merges into the body, allow anyone to immediately unmistakably identifies this species. The average length of a snake with a tail is 50-70 cm. Sometimes there are specimens that are larger – up to a meter in length, but they rarely can be found. Females are much larger than males. Only one female, accompanied by more than a dozen males, led the mating procession that I observed. This feature of the biology of the species directed to the fact that there are much more males in the population than females. Garter snakes are also remarkable by the reproduction features: they can both lay eggs, from which small snakes then hatch, and give birth to alive little snakes. Usually, individuals living in the north latitudes give birth to live offspring, and more southerly occurring counterparts lay eggs. In Ontario, garter snakes give birth to live young. During the season, the female can give birth from ten to forty offspring. But only a few individuals survive to adulthood since snakes are a desiring prey for both four-legged and feathered predators. In addition, a significant number of snakes are killed on the roads, under the wheels of cars in populated areas with a dense road network. In Ontario, there are two subspecies that are externally different: in the south, the nominative subspecies of Eastern Garter snake has the bright yellow stripes on the sides of the body, and in the northern subspecies, the red-sided garter snake has reddish-orange stripes.

Garter snakes are found in a wide variety of habitats, both in forests and in meadow communities as well as around wetlands. In the Ottawa Greenbelt and around, it is definitely a forest species, inhabiting light deciduous and mixed forests. The main food items for snakes are amphibians and earthworms, but on occasion these snakes can catch small rodents and passerines, as well as small fish. Hunting strategy includes two types of behavior.  Sometimes, garter snakes wait for prey, attacking approaching animals. But more often they actively pursue their prey, effectively catching fast tadpoles and small fish.

Garter snakes are harmless to humans. But this does not mean that anyone can catch them. It must be understood that the capture of any living creature is a huge stress for the latter. Therefore, if you notice a garter snake near the forest path, walk by, or watch the snake from the side without trying to catch it.

Garter snakes often hide in construction near human settlements, especially near forest cabins

If you wish, you can also join one of the programs of Ontario Nature such as Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas or Youth Circle for Mother Earth, and contribute to wildlife monitoring and conservation.

Rustles, shadows and voices of the night forest in Greenbelt area (in Russian)


We organize a night hike to the forest in Ottawa Greenbelt that to learn about the nightlife of the woods. We learn about birds, amphibians, and other animals active at night and try to see and listen to some of them. The size of the group is limited to 15 people. Time of hike 2 – 2.5 hours.

В эту субботу вечером мы организуем вечерний поход в лес, чтобы послушать, какие из лесных обитателей активны на вечерней заре и позднее. Мы собираемся на закате (в 7:30 вечера) на парковке No 8 у Chipmunk Trail (Stony Swamp area). Сначала мы пойдем к болоту, где сейчас начинается вечерняя тяга у недавно прилетевших американских вальдшнепов. Мы послушаем, как токуют эти интересные птицы, а может быть даже и увидим, как они летают над болотом. Эти кулики обычно активны ночью и увидеть днем их можно только случайно. Также мы послушаем и посмотрим, какие другие обитатели леса и водоемов подают в это время свои голоса. Затем мы дойдем до бобрового пруда, где мы тоже остановимся, чтобы проверить – проснулись ли бобры и плавают ли они уже по ночам. Далее мы по тропе пройдем в хвойный лес, где зимой были активны несколько дикобразов. Конец марта – начало апреля – это время, когда активны совы. Некоторые из них возвращаются на свои постоянные участки, которые они занимают много лет подряд. Другие – в это время спешат назад к своим местам гнездования в тайге. Мы узнаем, какие совы гнездятся в зеленой зоне Оттавы, и позовем их, используя специальную методику учета ночных птиц по голосам. Если нам повезет, то мы сможем услышать, как кто-то из них откликается.

Длина маршрута – 2 -3 км. Согласно прогнозу, ожидается довольно хорошая погода (дождя быть не должно и будет не очень-то холодно). Тем не менее, желательно всем быть в непромокаемой обуви – так как мы пересечем несколько ручьев – и в теплой одежде, а также всем иметь при себе фонарики. В лесу темнеет быстро.

На снимке бекас Вильсона, который еще не прилетел, но тоже скоро будет летать над болотами и прудами, оповещая о своем возвращении звуком, напоминающим пропеллер самолета. Это самцы токуют таким образом, привлекая к себе внимание представительниц противоположного пола.


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