Mainly on the Plain: Bird Edition
As a 'mature' lister, I don't always have my historic birds on ebird. When I look at my ebird checklists, and my 'lifers' I see that there is one list that sets the bar for all other lists. It is the June 14, 2008 checklist ebird from the Carden Alvar. This place is one of my all time favourite places to go and explore nature. I originally come from that area, born in Orillia, moved to Keswick when I was 5, then Newmarket when I got married and in 2009 I migrated south to Lambton County (Alvinston, Petrolia and now Wyoming) I found this scrapbook that I had put together for the Carden Alvar Nature Festival. I thought it would be fun to reproduce it here. The photos are 35 mm prints that I have scanned/photographed for digital purposes. I will go back there again, I hear there is a Carden Alvar PP now and Bob Bowles has his own Nature Centre that I would love to visit. Maybe in the spring with OFO?
Mainly on the Plain
Driving north along Hwy 48, past Orillia, towards Kirkfield, Ontario (home of the famous lift locks), the land starts to change and you realize that you are in an eerily different place. The land becomes flatter, much like the prairies out west. Remnant grasslands and pasture with the occasional Elm tree make up the terrain.
Upon a closer look, you realize that you are in a very unique alvar environment that is unlike any other ecosystem in this south central region of Ontario. This harsh and inhospitable environment surprisingly supports an amazing diversity of flora and fauna.
The Carden Alvar is an IBA (important Bird Area) , a designation by the Canadian Nature Federation and Bird Studies Canada. The qualifying criteria is providing habitat to endangered, threatened and vulnerable species. With its Hawthorn trees, Shrubland and short grasslands, the Loggerhead Shrike, Upland Sandpiper and Golden Winged Warbler thrive here.
Alvar habitats are divided into three main types, including pavements (more than 50% exposed bedrock, likely cracked and fissured, with less than 1" of soil) shrublands (at least 25% shrub cover) and grasslands.
I have had the opportunity over the past few years to explore this area and have come to appreciate its beauty and respect its uniqueness. It is an area to be treasured and conserved at all costs. Along with its unique natural beauty, I have met some highly respected and wonderful field naturalists and scientists who are passionate about conserving and educating people about this beautiful land.
Every year I go back for the Bird counts, Butterfly counts and Dragonfly counts. There is always something to learn from these people and more to appreciate. These inventories of the flora and fauna of the region is essential to track the health of the ecosystem and in increase awareness.
Alvar is a Swedish word that describes an open area with a thin covering of soil or no soil at all over a base of limestone. Surface water can accumulate during wet periods in the spring, but as the summer progresses the area becomes increasingly dry, almost desert like.
Only the hardiest plants, generally those adapted over millennia to this environment, can survive such extreme conditions, however certain invasive european grasses and weeds can quickly crowd out the natives if the soil is disturbed by hooves, machines or foot traffic. These special areas only occur in Eastern European Baltic regions and in the North American Great Lakes Region. The North American Alvars support very distinct plant and animal species and almost 75% of these Alvars are located here in Ontario. Of these Alvars located here in Ontario, here at Carden, Manitoulin Island, Bruce Peninsula, Smith Falls, Napanee and the western Lake Erie Islands (Pelee Island) Carden is one of the largest.
Grazing provides a benefit to grassland birds as it creates a mosaic of grass heights and plant structures, something that birds like. About 70% of the occupied land within the IBA is used as pasture for cattle and has been for well over a century. I have acquired a deeper respect for cows through my experience here. They know where to go when its hot and dry and they are very curious. The windmills that you see on the ranches are there for watering the cows in the dog days of summer when the alvar turns almost desert like.
Every year the OFO along with the NCC participate in 2 bird counts, usually the first of June and then a week later. This comprises of counts at various locations on the Cameron Ranch as well as Windmill Ranch, both of which are NCC properties. This year I participated on May 31, 2008. We had quite a wet start but the morning turned out well. We observed many species of sparrow (Savannah, Grasshopper, Clay-coloured, Field and Chipping Sparrow) as well as the grassland birds Bobolink, Eastern Meadow lark, Upland Sandpiper, Common and Wilson's Snipe. We also observed Golden Winged Warbler and Chestnut sided Warblers. We saw Eastern Towhee, Eastern Bluebird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Flicker, Gray Catbird as well as American Goldfinch, Common Grackle, American Crow, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Black Capped Chickadee. Some other interesting birds of note were Blue Gray Gnatcatcher and Willow Flycatcher. We did see the ever elusive Loggerhead Shrike, but not on Windmill. As well as Marsh Wren, Virginia Rail and Least Bittern . Overhead flew a Merlin and a Harrier of the north.
The Loggerhead Shrike is a threatened species and is the only Shrike endemic to North America. They historically breed here, but there numbers dropped significantly in 70's . There is captive bird breeding program here where breeding pairs were released. I had a chance to visit the breeding program and it was very interesting. Loggerhead Shrike nest in Hawthorn trees that are abundant on the Plain.
The Eastern Bluebird was once as rare as the Loggerhead Shrike. Through an extensive cooperative effort by naturalists and farmers who built and installed nesting boxes, the Bluebird has risen to the ranks of 'uncommon' a wonderfully long way from being labeled 'threatened'. It can be done, every Bluebird that we see is proof that we can make a difference.
We met up with fellow birders doing the 'Carden Cup', a 24 hour birding challenge where participants bird from 6pm Friday night to 6pm Saturday night to raise funds to protect the birds of the Carden Alvar. It is a fun event that encourages 'recreational' as well as 'competitive" birders to to do what they love to do and raise money as well! I think I would like to try that next year.
When I first started coming to the Alvar, after an early morning bird count, we would all congregate for breakfast a the 'Lock Nest Restaurant" . The food was great and the tables large enough for all of us. The restaurant has changed hands and is now 'Jay-C's" and it is still as good. Last week I had the largest hamburger I've ever had in my life! The new proprietors are very friendly and knowledgeable about this area and they love us naturalists!
It is not always friendly though. The environmental theme is being challenged politically by a significant group of landowners, both local and from away, calling themselves alternately the 'Rural Revolution' of the 'Ontario Landowners Association' reject any government planned use of their private land (i.e. zoning) especially if it interferes with what they can do on it and who they can sell it to. They have posted signs throughout the area reading 'This is our land, Government back off" Seven local landowners on the Carden Plain went further in the summer of 2006 and posted signs prohibiting birders from looking at birds in their fields from the road.. One local landowner even began stopping birders walking on public roads, telling them to stop birding. He stopped once confronted by police.
In 2007 tensions between OLA and birders appeared to have abated. Most of the anti birding signs were not reposted. This calm was deceiving as in September hosted an OLA rally on a members property on the east side of Wylie Rd. opposite Box #10. They announced that they were going to clear all the Hawthorn trees from 13,000 acres to prevent Loggerhead Shrike from nesting. All in all about 100 trees were cut down in a 100 acre site, while the threats proved empty the rally did attract a good deal of local publicity and sparked the initiative to create an Integrated Conservation Strategy.
Whether it be going out at 6am on a wet spring morning to listen for bird song or to put oneself in a swamp of blistering heat to look for that elusive dragonfly, I find these forays a wonderful chance to help monitor this area as a citizen scientist as well as to meet like minded people who are as passionate as myself about the environment.
The NCC (Nature Conservancy of Canada) has purchased with the help of several naturalist groups and the Government of Ontario, 3 properties here. The 2869 acre Cameron Ranch, the 1600 Acre Windmill Ranch and the 275 Prairie Smoke Reserve, all of which comprise significant Alvar habitat, to preserve them in perpetuity.
I also would go to the Carden Alvar to document the flora and insects of the area, my next post will be about those adventures!
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