Signs of Spring

Spring was definitely in the air this weekend!

What did you do to enjoy it?

Did you remember your camera?

Submit your photos to the Muskoka Heritage Foundation "Spring to Life" Photography Contest

I noticed some sure signs of spring when I was out during the past week:

The ice is melting and shifting on Lake Rosseau

New growth and buds on this Red Maple in Annie Williams Park, Bracebridge

The river is free of ice, most of the snow has melted, and buds are starting to appear on the trees in Annie Williams Park in Bracebridge.

All the details you need to enter the "Spring to Life" Photography contest can be found here or on the blog post from last week.

There are some great prizes! Deadline for entry is this Friday, April 8, 2011

Spring to Life! Photo Contest

Spring to Life! Amateur Photography Contest

A celebration of Muskoka’s environment and the global Earth Hour and Earth Day initiatives.

Frogs, toads, snakes, and turtles emerge! Photo Rebecca Francis

Scour your backyard, nearby lakes, swamps, woodlands, and neighbourhoods for the unique found-only-in Muskoka shot of the local environment as it comes to life after a long, sleepy winter.

What we're looking for are photographs that exemplify the signs of spring in Muskoka. What comes to mind when you think of spring? What feelings do you experience when "spring is in the air"?

Critters like chipmunks come out and robins and red-winged blackbirds return. Swollen buds take over the tips of branches and clothes can be hung on the line. For each person spring shows up in different, subtle ways. Photograph submissions should reflect your personal experience of the transition from winter to spring- and our enjoyment of that special time. The snow melts and we can once again see the forest floor. Ground covers sprout up and woodland pools foster lots of life. Photo: Rebecca Francis

1st Prize! An in-flight aerial photography lesson with professional photographer Paul Bennett. Visit http://www.paulbennettphotography.com/.

2nd Prize! A one-year subscription to the Wednesday edition of your choice, The Gravenhurst Banner, The Huntsville Forester or The Bracebridge Examiner.

3rd Prize! A one-year membership with the Muskoka Heritage Foundation and a copy of the MHF DVD entitled Life on the Edge: Stories of Muskoka’s Past.

Ducks and other birds return from their winter away. photo: Greg Francis

Criteria

• Open to amateur photographers


• Contest starts same day as Earth Hour— March 26


• Entries must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. April 8


• Email entry to events@muskokaheritage.org


• Photos must be at least 300 dpi and 8 inches wide


• To be eligible, submissions must include the name of the photographer and a brief description of the photo, including where it was shot in Muskoka


• 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize photos will be published in the April 20th, edition of Metroland’s local Wednesday papers (The Gravenhurst Banner, The Huntsville Forester, The Bracebridge Examiner) - 2 days before Earth Day!


• Winning photos will be published on the Muskoka Heritage Foundation website


• 
  
  Metroland Media Inc. and the Muskoka Heritage Foundation reserve the right to reproduce submissions

Get outside, take your shots, and enter soon!!

Sponsors

Maple Syrup in Muskoka

Word from hard maple stands in Muskoka is that the sap is starting to run!

Buckets on trees

Maple syrup production has a long history in Canada, beginning with aboriginal people. Check out some neat photos of some of the first sap collection techniques used here.

Tools of the trade

Remember, it's the International Year of Forests, to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. Maple syrup and forest health are strongly linked.

Sugar bush management involves thinning the trees to improve the health of the woodlot and the sap producing potential of individual maple trees. The development of wide and deep crowns is encouraged to support the production of large volumes of sweet sap.

The types of trees removed in improvement operations include the following:

• Non-maple species including hemlock, beech and ash which interfere with the growth of maple crop trees.
• Over-mature trees
• Diseased, dying and defective trees
• Trees producing sap with a sugar content of less than 1%

But remember, it is good practice to maintain species diversity to accommodate other values including aesthetics, wildlife and bio-diversity.

Tapping the tree

Feeding the fire to boil the syrup

Did you know?...It takes about 40 litres of Sugar Maple sap to make 1 litre of maple syrup!

Filtering the syrup

Upcoming workshop: Savour Muskoka is running a workshop at Brooklands Farm this Sunday, March 20th about maple syrup production fundamentals. For more details and a full description visit the "Stewardship Workshops and Events" page.

Want to know more?

• This Extension Note about "Backyard Maple Syrup Production" tells you more about how to produce maple syrup in your own backyard.
• This Extension Note about "Sugar Maple" trees is also helpful in learning more about this species and how to identify it.
• Atkinson Maple Syrup Supplies has some helpful info sheets on various topics.
• The Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association has some educational resources too-- especially for children!
• Managing Maple Trees for Sap Production: resources from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs.
• FAQs about maple syrup production from OMAFRA

Thanks to Ariel Zwicker for the great photos from her family maple syrup operation!

March Break Nature Retreat – Earth Mentoring

This week a profile of a very cool program in Muskoka: Earth Mentorship Programs

Earth Mentorship Programs runs a variety of programs designed to help participants learn valuable and comprehensive knowledge of the natural world through experiential activities, story telling and the application of ancient wilderness skills and bush craft. They also help implement land stewardship projects and write/approve Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (MFTIP) plans.


Check out this cool video from the founder and main mentor, Chris Gilmour.

Earth Mentoring Programs are excite to offer the 3rd annual March Break Nature Retreat!

This retreat will offer you a chance to rejuvenate in nature’s beauty, deepening your connection to, and understanding of, the natural world. We will be expanding our awareness & knowledge, while exploring some of the many uses of nature’s gifts. Come learn new skills to bring back to the classroom or integrate into your life outside of work.

Activities Include:
- Studying Wildlife through the Eye of a Tracker
- Snowshoeing and Camp Fires
- Basket and Container Making with Natural Materials
- Wilderness Awareness Games/Activities
- Story Telling
- Wilderness Crafts with Natural Materials
- Intro to Earth Based Mentoring (coyote mentoring)
- Good Food & Good Fun


When: March 15 – 18, 2011 (March Break)
Where: Wolf Den Bunkhouse, Oxtongue, ON, 8 min West of Algonquin Park. Each participant will sleep in a beautful log cabin.
Food: We will provide healthy, wholesome dinners.Participants bring & prepare their own lunch & breakfast in the Wolf Dens communal kitchen.
Kids/Youth – If you have children you wish to bring along, arrangements may be made for nature based day care during the program. Please inquire.
Price: $360/person – Includes 3 nights accommodations,3 dinners, course materials, snow shoes extra if required

Contact Chris for more information or to register!

Or click on any of the photos to go to the Earth Mentorship website

Wood Duck Adventure

Who lives here?

Introducing the Wood Duck!

(Aix sponsa)

{A male wood duck on the left and a female on the right}

photo credit: Randolph Femmer

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the Pileated Woodpecker and the importance of cavities. Wood ducks are one of the species that uses cavities made by pileated woodpeckers. However, wood ducks can also be induced to nest in artificial boxes.

Armed with this knowledge, an invitation from a landowner here in Muskoka, a cordless drill, a sharpie, and some wood shavings, a group of us headed out to see for ourselves if any nesting had taken place last spring on this property.

The incredible volunteers who accompanied me are none other than 3 of the Master Stewards from the Muskoka Stewardship Program. We were invited to this spectacular 100 acre property located in Muskoka to see if there had been any wood duck activity during the past year and prepare the boxes for this coming spring.

You see, wood ducks like to nest in cavities in wetlands because it makes it very difficult for predators to access their nests. These boxes are located in a 30 acre wetland. It's actually quite an amazing beaver pond. Normally inaccessible, the wood duck boxes had to be put up in winter and we needed the ice to be solid to change the material in the boxes for the coming spring.

Above: Paula unscrews the front of the box...you can see our shadows as we eagerly anticipate the contents of the first box!!

Female wood ducks often return to nest in the place where they were born. There is an increased chance they will use the boxes if they are not dirty from the previous year and also if the material inside is dry.

Our mission for the afternoon: clean out boxes, make observations on each one (amount of eggs inside, other animals that may have used it), and refill the boxes with new material. We also re-labelled the numbers on the 8 boxes from last year and assigned numbers to the 5 new boxes that were put up.

Inside each box the material is compacted down. There are often layers of broken shells and downy feathers. Notice the inside of the front piece that is sitting on the ground. The horizontal lines are carved in so the hatchlings can grab on to climb out before they fledge.

This box has quite a few shells and some feathers. In some of the boxes we could tell it was a wood duck because of the iridescent colour of the feathers.

A close up of the egg shell and some downy feathers.

Here is the crew, with our tools, in front of Box #5. Notice the oblong shape of the entry hole for the wood ducks. This shape is suited for them and is also big enough, but not too big. If you decide to put up boxes of your own, this is an important component. Also important is the forward slanted way they are affixed to the tree.

A beautiful day to get ready for spring and help the wood ducks have suitable nesting spots for when they return this spring. Perhaps we'll return next year to see how they did!

photo: Mike Sweet

Interested in building your own wood duck box?
Follow the same directions as the landowner whose property we visited!


Want to know more about wood ducks?
There are lots of websites:
Hinterland's Who's Who
House Construction Tips
Ducks Unlimited
The Wood Duck Society

Winter Visitor

Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

This woodpecker was pecking away in our yard when we got home the other day! We can see he has been working on a couple of the coniferous trees in our yard by the fresh wood chips on the snow.

It really is neat to see a pileated woodpecker. They are large birds (up to 47cm tall!) and are quite striking with their red tufts atop their heads and white and black markings around their eyes and neck.

I've posted before about the importance of cavity trees in our woodlots. Pileated woodpeckers require snags (standing dead trees) for habitat, like the white spruce below. All the needles and much of the bark have fallen off. There are two in a row that are similar and the woodpecker seems to like them both!

There are also often wood-boring insects who are feasting on the dead tree, which in turn make a tasty feast for the pileated woodpecker. By eating large numbers of these insects, pileated woodpeckers also help to control insect populations that can damage valuable trees- commercially important or otherwise.

Pileated woodpeckers excavate cavities in snags that can be used for nesting and roosting. They are usually long oval or rectangle shaped holes in the tree. I went out the next day to see the work of this particular bird:

Pileated woodpeckers often abandon the cavities they create. These abandoned cavities make high quality nesting and refuge habitat for other species like wood ducks and squirrels.

Keep your ears open for the tapping of a pileated woodpecker this winter. If you can find where it is, you have a good chance of catching it at work- and helping to keep the forest healthy.

RMR: Bear Tagging

I just came accross this and can't resist sharing even though it is from March of 2009. It features some Muskokans who work in Algonquin Provincial Park- and Rick Mercer of course.

Funny and amazing!

Enjoy and stay warm this week!

Light Pollution: bad for our health and pocketbooks

An excerpt from an article that was published in the Huntsville Forester on January 5th:

We're only a few weeks past the winter solstice, and daylight is still in short supply.At this darkest time of the year it seems appropriate to stop and contemplate the night and what it means to humans and nature....

Keep reading here

LEARN MORE!

1. Muskoka Heritage Foundation brochure: "Help Preserve Our Night Sky"
2. Muskoka Watershed Council technical bulletin: "Dark Sky Lighting"
3. Learn more about the Torrance Barrens, Dark Sky Reserve
4. Visit the International Dark Sky Association website

photos above are from IDA website

Lunar Eclipse Photos

I stepped outside last night around 2am to have a look at the eclipse. It was cold out in Muskoka last night: -16! I've seen lunar eclipses before but this one was special since it fell on the same day as the winter solstice. There is a strange feeling that comes along with the moon, especially when it's full, don't you think?

the beginning of the eclipse

halfway there...

We were lucky to have a clear night in Muskoka!

I went inside to warm up for a bit and came back out around 2.45am to a red moon. I wish I had a better camera...the moon looked like it was popping out of the sky.

A bit blurry, but very dark red around 3am

On a stewardship side note, here are some links I thought you might find interesting:

Related to the night sky, Why it's important to consider the concept of dark skies, a Muskoka example, and what you can do on your property

Did anyone see any shooting stars?

Did you get some photos or videos?

Send them to me and I'll post them to the blog!

Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight!

Let's hope for a clear night!

It's the winter solstice tonight and mother nature has a couple of bonuses in store!

Bundle up and head outside to catch a glimpse of the total lunar eclipse!

In Muskoka, it will happen early Tuesday morning around 1:45am. The moon should look entirely red an hour or so later.

No equipment needed; clear skies pending, it will be visible with the naked eye.

During a lunar eclipse, the Earth is exactly in line between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's light from bouncing off the moon.

An added bonus: A minor meteor shower could send a few shooting stars across the sky during the height of the moon cover!

Want to know more?
Read this Toronto Star Article

Interested in the science?
Check our this site dedicated to Lunar Eclipses for Beginners

Come back tomorrow and let me know what you saw!
Leave a comment or email me a photo and I'll post it to the blog.
Happy gazing!

Cool things that happen when the temperature drops!

photo courtesy of www.cottageblog.ca

The last couple of days have indeed been not only cool, but downright cold, here in Muskoka. The lakes are beginning to freeze, snow is piling up and while we're bundling up to stay warm, the trees and animals are making their own adjustments for the frigid temperatures.

The sap of evergreen acts like an anti-freeze allowing their needles to survive throughout the long winter season. The nice smell when you crush the needles is the oil beneath their surface that allows them to survive. The needles also have a think wax coating allowing moisture to stay in.

photo courtesy of www.cottageblog.ca

The subnivean layer is the space between the warmer ground and the snow where small animals are active throughout the winter. The layer is used for both warmth and shelter, but also an area to hide from predators. At -40 outside the subnivean layer can be as warm as -4

Chipmunks aren't able to build up a think fat layer for hibernation, so instead they take long naps and wake up periodically for a snack from the storage of nuts they collected over the fall.

Snowshoe hares and ptarmigans turn white allowing them to camouflage in the snow.

Animals create many trail systems in the winter (like the deer trail above), connecting water, food and home locations. The trails allow for greater conservation of energy (which is key in the winter!). Moose and deer make trails based on shortest distance, as a result of their long narrow legs making traveling difficult in snow. Smaller animals on the other hand such as hares, skunks, and squirrels and even foxes make trails for both energy conservation and for survival; allowing them to swiftly escape their predators.

What COOL things are happening where you are??

I would love to hear from you: leave a comment below.