The Christmas Bird Count was on Dec 28, a calm day after a week of bitter cold, snow and howling winds. The temperature was from -2ºC to +3ºC. Unfortunately waterways were frozen from the prior cold spell. The area that Headwaters Nature and friends cover for the annual Christmas Bird Count is officially labelled ‘ONCD’. It covers much of Caledon as well as parts of Orangeville and Erin. This is the 31st count, beginning in 1987 with a few missing years. We had a total of 11 teams, each with part of or the whole of the various Areas outlined in the above map. There were also 4 Project FeederWatch reports submitted to Headwaters Nature. We had 48 species which is the best since 2005 (average 39.4 the last five years), but a number of these species are only represented by one or two birds. Our total count of 3135 is… Read more »
We’ll meet at the Mono Pollinator Garden .9 km E of #10 on Hockley Rd, on the south side, with a clear sign into the parking lot. There is enough room for 15-20 cars if we park carefully. Walking is on flat crushed limestone paths; the total length of paths is perhaps 250 metres maximum.
One of our hoped-for series of field trips for this year is to participate in the annual Credit Valley Conservation’s Butterfly Blitz. This citizen science program is creating a watershed-wide inventory of butterflies. The data you collect will give insights to protect and restore wildlife habitat in the Credit River Watershed. Headwaters Nature were hoping for three field trips, along the lines of the three we had several years ago. While these may still be able to happen in some form or other, as individuals we certainly can participate on our own properties or where it is safe to practice physical distancing. We’ll send more details as the potential easing of lockdown restrictions unfold. In the meantime, CVC is holding three free online training events, on Saturday May 23rd and Sunday May 24th, and on the next Saturday, May 30th. You can register online for these free webinars. CVC is… Read more »
