November/December eNewsletter
Content:
- Highlights from the fall
- Wildlife sightings at the park
- Upcoming volunteer opportunities
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Fall updates from the park
In September we held a variety of wetland stewardship events at the new Sheep Paddocks wetland.
We installed more branches along the edges of the new wetland for native amphibians to attach their eggs to come spring.
We also experimented with gathering and distributing some native seeds.
We continued to clear vegetation from the turtle beach and weed the native plantings.
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This October we also participated in the regional parks EcoBlitz, with 2 native planting events to fill in gaps where shrubs had failed in the initial plantings around the wetland.
Over 2 weekends, we planted 446 1-gallon pots - the species were Nootka Rose, Baldhip Rose, Nodding Onion, Dull Oregon-grape, Salal, and Red Elderberry.
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out!
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Nature table in the works!
We are updating our display material to be ready set up pop-up nature tables in the park. We will be trialling a few events in over the winter as the weather permits to be ready to go in the spring.
Get in touch if you are interested in being involved - we will be looking for volunteers to run the tables (any experience level welcome).
We are also looking for great photos of wildlife in the park, and ideas for rotating content and interactive displays to keep things fresh.
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Northern Shrike & American Mink (Photos: Colin Clasen)
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The Northern Shrike has been back on the Wilson’s farm side of the park near the pumphouse. Shrikes are predatory songbirds - they use stealth tactics to hunt birds and small mammals and save prey for later by impaling them on thorns or barbed wire.
There have also been a few glimpse of the mink nearby - Mink are small weasels with a brown coat and a white chin patch. They grow to ~2ft compared to 3-4ft for River Otters which can also be seen in the park.
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Northern Harrier & Woolly Bear caterpillar (Photos: Colin Clasen & Maddie Edmonds)
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This is also a great time of year to see Northern Harriers foraging above the old fields. These are one of the raptor species that rely on open habitat like the fields at Colony Farm to catch voles and mice. They can be easily distinguished in flight by a prominent white rump patch.
But wait, look down! Have you seen all the Woolly Bear caterpillars heading cross-country along the trails? When disturbed they curl up into a ball and stay motionless (which you may notice if you help them off the path). These are the larvae of the Isabella Tiger Moth, which emerge from eggs in the fall and are looking for places to overwinter. They freeze solid, but can revive in the spring.
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Volunteer opportunities
Here is the link to the sign up sheet for upcoming volunteer activities for November and December.
Native planting event - Saturday November 13, 1pm-3pm
> help us plant native Nootka Rose plugs to fill in gaps in the restoration plantings around the new Sheep Paddocks wetland. We have 290 plugs to fill in to smaller gaps.
Wetland water quality monitoring & weeding blitz, Saturday December 11, 1pm-3pm
>> keep the wetland plantings clear of weedy vegetation & test the water parameters
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For the latest on our activities you can also follow us on social media @colonyfarmparkassociation (on Facebook and Instagram).
If you want to pass along the link, anyone can subscribe to the eNewsletter here - http://eepurl.com/hrB5yX
Membership fees are optional this year due to the pandemic. To join or renew your membership, please fill out this form.
(Contact us at colonyfarmparkassociation@gmail.com with any questions or for further instructions for mailing a cheque.)
If you would like to support the Park Association financially, yyou can contribute to our donation page through through the Pacific Parklands Foundation.
Email colonyfarmparkassociation@gmail.com if you have stories or photos to share with us. You could be featured in a future newsletter!
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