On April 22, celebrate Earth Day at Macphail Woods with an afternoon nature walk. We'll look at identifying trees and shrubs before they leaf out, spot the first migrating birds and see what else is waking up along the trails of Macphail Woods this spring. The walk will be a celebration of the beauty that is around us and starts at 2pm at the Nature Centre.

Sharing a Love of Nature at Macphail Woods

The Macphail Woods Ecological Forest Project is once again providing an opportunity for children to learn more about nature and have fun at the same time. The week-long "Sharing a Love of Nature" programs take place from 9am to 3pm at the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in Orwell. There are four programs over the summer:

July 7-11: ages 6-8
July 21-25: ages 8-10
August 4-8: ages 10-12
August 18-22: ages 6-12

Cost for the week is $50. To register or for more information, please call Eric at 651-2575.

Come celebrate the wonderful world of owls at the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead in Orwell on Saturday, April 19. The Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation will be opening up the Great Room of the Homestead at 6:00pm and serve warm apple cider, tea and coffee. Visitors can warm themselves by the fireplace and have a specially-baked Owl Cookie treat to commemorate the event. There will be no cost but donations to the Foundation will be gratefully accepted.

Workshop on Invasive Species
Saturday, March 15th, 9:00am till Noon
New London Community Complex

Invasive species can have a huge negative impact not only on the natural environment, but also on our economy. Research has shown that invasive species can displace native species in forest communities. Recently, the introduction species such as various forms of tunicate, green crab and oyster thief are having a dramatic impact on our shellfishery.

Red Fox
Out for a drive on the Bethel Road, not far from Macphail woods, and came across a red fox working a field for a meal. We stopped and watched her for quite a while and she didn't seem to mind as she kept hunting. She was a very able hunter. We watched her do the pounce thing and be successful. We watched her eat one of her catch and then she left, carrying one in her mouth to take home with.

I've put together some of the better pics into a gallery at the following link.

February 26, 2008

Horse-logging project underway in provincial forests
Use of animals to move trees harkens back to earlier time
The Guardian

DUNDAS — Way down along a snow-covered logging road near Dundas, two horses and a sleigh pull three generations of Taylor men through narrow pathways in the woods.
The men pick through a four-acre area of Crown land, choosing dead or crooked trees in the stand for firewood. Their chainsaws mark the only sound of machinery for miles as they slice through the trunks of their handpicked trees.

Common Redpoll
One of the most enjoyable visitors to bird feeders in winter are redpolls. The common redpoll is a small goldfinch sized bird that is very active and vocal when in groups. The most distinguishing feature of redpolls is the red-colored patch on their forehead and a black chin. The males have some pink splashed on the chest, while females have no pink. During the summer, they are located further north and to them, our winters are southern vacations if you can believe it :).

February 3, 2008

A while back, the city of Charlottetown created a new plan for the ecological integrity of Victoria Park, the crown jewel of the city's parks. The plan was writen by Gary and the city hired someone to help make this plan a reality. She has made a couple of really wonderful booklets describing the restoration project and the flora and fauna of the park. The booklets are in Adobe Reader (PDF) format. The plan and booklets are available at this webpage.

http://www.macphailwoods.org/victoriapark-plan.html

I have decided to move the photo gallery over to this blog. I have already started to migrate pictures over and some of the gallery's are ready for viewing. First up, some pictures from the nursery.

Please follow this link.

http://www.macphailwoods.org/blog/image/tid/37