Tag: birds

Mud Lake: a Nature Lover’s Paradise

~ Loreeebee ~ 4 Comments

Recently I took my four year old grandson to Mud Lake, tucked in between the water filtration plant and Britannia beach in Ottawa. More of a (man made) wetland than a lake, Mud Lake is sure to delight nature lovers of any age. Also called the Britannia Conservation area, Mud Lake is maintained by the National Capital Commission (NCC)

Creatures in Their Natural Habitat

On our 3.5 km trek around the lake, we saw numerous friendly adult and baby ducks and geese, turtles, tiny frogs and tadpoles, huge bullfrogs, beaver dams (but no beavers) rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, chickadees and herons.

My grandson wanted to catch them all, but I convinced him to leave them there with their mommies and daddies.

  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake
  • Mud Lake

Directions to Mud Lake

You can get there off Poulin, then Howe Street or by following Britannia Road to Cassels Street, next to the Britannia Yacht club. There are a few designated parking spots, but parking on either Howe Street on the south side or Cassels Road on the north side is easier and permitted. There are entrances to the trails around the perimeter of the lake from both sides.

NCC Rules

There are no dogs allowed and no bikes on the trails. These rules make sense as the area is supposed to be about conservation, namely the health and happiness of the wildlife that considers this area their home.

Although you are not supposed to feed the animals, the geese and ducks in particular were quite friendly, approaching us looking for food.

This aggressiveness is one reason you are not supposed to feed them. Creating dependence on humans for food is another reason to avoid feeding them our food. Ideally, they should be able to forage for any food they need to survive.

Respecting the natural beauty is an essential rule. No littering is obvious. Trails are well maintained and should be adhered to for protection of the fragile eco system.

When to Visit Mud Lake

Open year round, Mud Lake offers beauty, peacefulness and nature at its best throughout each season. Birds are predominant in the winter months, but the trails themselves are especially beautiful when snow covered.

Between Mud Lake and the yacht club, the elevated trails can be icy in the winter and spring though, so explore these carefully.

In the spring, migratory birds are abundant, in fact the area is know to bird watchers and photographers. The latest report shows 269 bird species!

In the summer months the wetlands come to life, full of all sorts of creatures. The trails are wide and easily manageable, even for seniors or baby strollers.

Favourite Moment

After our hike around the lake, we were enjoying a snack when a snake-like formation of geese approached. Mom was in the lead with at least 18 babies following along. They waddled ashore right beside us, climbed the small embankment and disappeared across the road…

Tropical Sightings

~ Loreeebee ~ 3 Comments

Recently returned from a vacation, I cannot help but notice how quickly reality reinstates itself.  In fact, today the sight outside my window is decidedly whiter and frostier, my tropical view has disappeared…

tropical view
not so tropical view

 

There were lots of tropical sightings throughout our two weeks immersed in the warm weather of Casey Key and its surrounding area on the gulf coast of Florida.  These included the vegetation, local beaches, wildlife, sunsets, Christmas decorations and of course the margaritas.

Vegetation

As I’ve said before, you can take this gardening girl out of her gardens, but you can never take the (love for) gardens and plants out of this girl!  Wherever my travels lead me, I cannot help but notice the variety of plants and the design of gardens.  Succulents are my favourite, here in Canada and anywhere else I find them, although most plants do seem so much more spectacular in tropical climates.  For example, I have planted yuccas (Adam’s Needle variety) here in my local gardens and their 4 foot stalks of white, bell-shaped blooms are beautiful. I did not witness their tropical cousins in bloom, but am willing to bet they definitely outshine (and outgrow) the northern varieties…

Adam’s Needle (northern variety) Yucca
Tropical Yucca Flower Stalk

 

Wildlife

I love all wildlife, but I find the tropical species especially interesting. The variety of birds alone kept my camera clicking, from pelicans to gulls, terns, ibis, sandpipers, egrets, herons and osprey.  Their antics and routines were fascinating. The saying “birds of a feather flock together” was evident, especially at sundown.

sandpipers
gulls
egrets

 

I realize that some of these birds are not exclusive to tropical locales, but I have never before seen an osprey patiently waiting for fishermen to donate their catches.  Apparently osprey were just removed from Florida’s endangered species list in January 2019.  This particular beauty would perch on a nearby pole, emitting a piercing chirp occasionally to let his donors know he was there, and wait for the fishermen to leave a fish on the jetty.  Much to their chagrin the more common pelicans and egrets hovering nearby were shooed away so the osprey could literally swoop in to retrieve the offering, then soar away…

waiting perch
moving in
grabbing the fish
flying away, above a swimmer

 

Other tropical wildlife species included dolphins, sea turtles and even more birds, all beautiful in their own way…

dolphin swimming off jetty
sea turtle
snowy egret
blue heron
ibis
pelican

Sunsets

A great argument for preferring the west (Gulf) coast of Florida to the east (Atlantic) coast is the abundance of gorgeous sunsets.  Every single night we watched the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico, with the cloud formations making each sunset unique…

 

Beaches

The plentiful beaches along the Florida gulf coast are all spectacular, each featuring something different.  Siesta Key, near Sarasota, offers an extra wide expanse of soft (my granddaughter called it “squishy”) white sand, with a firmly packed strip close to the water’s edge perfect for walking, biking, jogging, and even strollers or wheel chairs. This beach is lined with miles of hotels to choose from.

Nokomis Beach on Casey Key (20 minutes south of Sarasota) boasts miles of sandy shoreline, a rock jetty at one end, lots of seashells and spectacular waterfront homes to admire.  We looked up one (smaller) home that is up for sale. A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom fixer-upper located on the inland waterway side of the road with deeded access to the gulf is going for a cool $2.2 million USD.  I can’t afford that, but if any of you can, I will promise to come visit! Many of these gorgeous homes were damaged in a 2018 storm, so many are still under renovation.  One of the best features of Casey Key (we think) is that it is largely non-commercialized. Family owned homes and motels are restricted to two stories, supporting a more natural feel.

Venice Beach, 5 minutes further south, also sports miles of sandy shoreline as well as a massive wooden fishing jetty.  It too is dotted with high rise apartments and hotels, but offers a quainter shopping district nearby.

 

Christmas Decorations

Even the Christmas decorations have a tropical feel, although I had a hard time conjuring up any Christmas spirit without snow and cold weather.  A Santa Claus parade featured decorated boats, ranging from tiny sailboats to huge luxury yachts, floating down the intracoastal waterway one evening.  Many businesses, including our favourite Mexican food restaurant, are lit up for the holiday season too.

Weather

We were fortunate on this vacation as the weather was awesome, with the daytime temperatures hovering between 20 and 26 degrees Celsius.  Definitely more tropical than the weather here in Canada.  As you can see from some of the pictures, we did see lots of storm clouds, but only experienced rain on the very last day and even then only for a few moments.

 

 

 

Cats Should Not be Permitted to Roam Freely Outside!

outside cat
~ Loreeebee ~ 20 Comments

My rant for the day is this:  Why are cats allowed to roam outside freely, killing birds and rabbits and pooping in gardens while dogs must be leashed with their owners picking up their poop immediately after it hits the ground?

My husband was upset when he witnessed a cat killing a baby rabbit in our backyard recently.  He was looking out our kitchen window and saw the cat chasing the bunny.  By the time he got out to the backyard, the cat had injured the bunny so badly it barely had the strength to limp across the yard before it collapse dead.

This video posted on Youtube recently shows a cat eating baby birds in a nest…

One of my gardening clients says her cat brings her dead birds as “presents” all the time. My cousin, also an avid nature lover, posted recently on Facebook about a cat in his neighbourhood that attacked a nest of baby cardinals…

Why is this allowed in this day and age?  Granted, cats rarely attack people and their pile of poop is smaller than most dog’s, but cat poop or feces is very dangerous to pregnant women and small children.  I learned this firsthand as TOXOPLASMOSIS was one of the suspected reasons for the three  STILLBIRTHS  I suffered through years ago. Toxoplasmosis is a parasite transferred to humans through exposure to cat feces.

I understand that cats like to hunt the birds and bunnies, thinking they are presenting their owners with a gift.  Domesticated cats certainly do not need to hunt these poor unfortunate creatures as a source of food.  Some of you will say this practice is part of nature.  Cats like to stalk, shred, scratch etc.  Regardless, it is a cruel, unnecessary practice that should be prevented!

Cat owners should be accountable and responsible for their cats as dog owners have to be for their dogs.  If you cannot prevent your cats from roaming the neighbourhood killing creatures of nature, get them declawed or keep the cats on a leash.  Better yet, keep them inside, buy them fancy toys to play with or let them shred your furniture.

photo credit