UFO Pictures from FortWhyte Alive

Yup, you read the title right:  I am posting pictures from yesterday's Unidentified Fluffy Owl encounter at the Bird Feeding Station South of the Interpretive Centre.

After ruling out species I'm familiar with, I consulted field guides to try and classify the owl.  I think it is a Northern Hawk Owl - but as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words...please, birders, give me your thousand words of confirmation, disagreement, etc. so I can correctly ID the owl!

(A HUGE thanks to Tara for the use of the photo!)

The owl seemed fairly unconcerned with the human attention it drew, but was distinctly uncomfortable when a flock of chickadees surrounded it.  The chickadees did not actually "mob" the owl, as I've seen crows do, but surrounded it and started "looking at it funny"...after about a minute of being surrounded by chickadees, the owl flew to a different perch, where there were no chickadees to hassle it.

After about 45 minutes of being admired, the owl flew away into some dense forest.

The Manitoba Rare Bird Alert system states the Northern Hawk Owl is a rare (about one sighting per year) bird in the Southern Manitoba Prairie region.  I count myself very fortunate to have been in the right place, at the right time, to see the owl.

If you have seen this owl - or if you'd like to confirm or dispute my ID- please do so!

A very Happy New Year to everyone.  Keep it fun, keep it safe, and get outside today or tonight...it's cold, but it's beautiful!

City TV spot - and a Northern Hawk Owl?

Hello, everyone out there in Blogland!

Two quick updates from today:

1.  City TV Winnipeg will be airing an interview (or parts thereof) with yours truly tomorrow morning (Dec. 31st) at 6 am, 7 am, and 8 am, on the hour, as part of there news programming.  The interview looks back at the environmental year that was in Winnipeg, and what we can do to make 2010 greener and cleaner!

2.  During out public snowshoe orienteering program this afternoon, two of our volunteers saw an unusual bird.  We watched the bird for the better part of an hour.  The bird was an owl of some sort - but every time we thought we had an ID, some characteristic ruled the ID out.  Back at my desk, I consulted a field guide, and am 99.9% sure we saw a Northern Hawk Owl.  Pictures will be posted ASAP - if you are a birder, an owl fan, or a FortWhyte Alive fan, please check them out to confirm my ID, dispute my ID, or just for the fun of seeing an owl!

Happy New Year!  I'll be writing again next year!

-Barret

PS:  Don't forget the snowshoe biathlon - see yesterday's post for more details!

The Inaugural FortWhyte Alive Biathlon

January 9th, 2010 - Registration Noon, event starts 1 pm

I am proud to officially announce an unofficial FortWhyte Alive event!

Join us on January 9th, 2010, for the first-ever FortWhyte Alive Biathlon - an event combining the disciplines of snowshoeing and atlatl!

The snowshoe course is approximately 3.5 km long.  We will use a standard archery target for the atlatl throwing, from a distance of 10 metres.  Every "hit" of the target shaves two full minutes off a participants' time in the race.  Each partipant will throw four darts.

This is a "just-for-fun" event, but...the participant with the best time will win the Grand Prize for the day - a handmade atlatl set!

The event is open to anyone who feels they would like to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon snowshoeing and throwing atlatl darts. As the organizer, I ask you email me (click here to do so!) and let me know you are interested - I may have to limit numbers to fifteen racers, to ensure atlatl availability for all.

Though this is an inaugural, "just-for-fun" event, there is a Grand Prize:  the participant with the best time, and most accurate atlatl performance

There is no cost to particpate - standard admission to FortWhyte Alive is required, though.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time atlatl and snowshoeing have been combined into a modern sport - though, given the ancient heritage of both technologies, it's likely the two were used in combination sometime in the past.  This event will be a fun way to honour human history, get some outdoor winter exercise, and meet others with similar interests.

The challenge is open - see you at FortWhyte Alive on January 9th!

-Barret

Saving Space For Making Tracks

10 am, Friday, December 4th: Having just met a school group and introduced their volunteer leaders, I sat down at my desk to check my morning crop of emails.

Then, the phone rang.

Somehow, when I started at FortWhyte, I chose the desk next to the Education Team's communanal telephone.  Perhaps it was a natural penchant for answering inquiries...perhaps it was an expression of my need to be connected to people...perhaps it was the proximity to the coffee station...whatever the reason, I usually answer the phone.

So, I did, as is my custom.

It was my colleague Melanie, calling from her cel. I immediately thought some problem had befallen her school tour.

Melanie did not have an emergency.  She had tracks in the freshly-fallen snow.

She wasn't quite sure what kind of animal had left the tracks - and had to lead a program.  She could not investigate the tracks.

I was more than happy to do some follow up!

The tracks at first appeared to be in a parallel line.  My first thought was mustelid...some member of the weasel family.

As I got closer, and could see the track pattern and size, I knew my inital guess was wrong.  Way wrong.  These were canid tracks - dog family.

I followed the tracks down a hill behind our Interpretive Centre.  The wind was starting to feel a little cold through my toque (this fall has been too warm, I'm still not acclimatised to cold!) but the quality of the tracks, and the story they told, were worth the chill.

Very little to no sign of coyotes had been seen at FortWhyte Alive for some time.  The official line in the fall had been we had no resident coyotes on site.  I still cannot say if we have resident coyotes, but sometime early in the morning of December 4th, we had two coyotes pass through FortWhyte Alive, very near the Interpretive Centre.

Coyotes have been on the receiving end of some negative attention lately, with a suspicious attack in Cape Breton this fall.  Some people may feel uncomfortable knowing coyotes are in Winnipeg.

I think it's kind of cool.  Coyotes are predators - we must always respect that fact.  They are wild members of the dog family - we need to give them space, and, in a chance encounter, remind them we are the bigger, stronger animal by standing our ground, and not harassing the animals in any way.  They are not cute and cuddly - they are wild.

It is this wildness I find enchanting.  I think it is absolutely amazing that we humans can share Winnipeg with wild animals the size of coyotes.  To me, these tracks are also a reminder of the fragile nature of wild habitat in the City...if we want to continue to have wild species within Winnipeg, we must keep wild spaces healthy.

Wild Spaces = Wild Species.

No Wild Spaces=    (I'm a writer, not a mathematician.  I'm sure you readers, many times more brilliant than I, can figure out the equation.)

Forage Day - the Results!

Was my foraging successful?  Did I end up buying lunch?  Did I go hungry?

Yes, no, and no.

My foraging started at 1:30pm - late for lunch, yes, but my work schedule got in the way of my foraging schedule.

Lesson One:  A modern work day interferes with a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.


I thought some acorns might be a nice, nutty nosh - but raccoons and squirrels had beaten me to the best oak trees.  My efforts in acorn hunting were rewarded not by oak mast, but raccoon poop.

Lesson Two:  Raccoons are better wild omnivores than I am.  I was outforaged by red squirrels...

My hunger growing, I started to look harder.  I found some mountain ash berries - unpalatable during the summer, but after a frost, only slightly bitter and sour.  Score:  One handful of slightly unpleasant berries.

I remembered we had some cloves of garlic and onions from FortWhyte Farms kicking around.  They belong to everyone, and no one...a tragedy of the commons, really, as no one would likely use them.  Except me.

Score:  Two cloves of garlic, one onion, and some berries.

I remembered some past foraging I'd done, during mushroom season.  I had some lovely dried morels, and a few oyster mushrooms.  Add these to the score.

Looking around the FortWhyte landscape, I saw the one plant we can count on to feed us in any season- the cattail.  Fall and winter, cattail roots provide a potato-like, if somewhat fibrous, starch food.  My colleague Minna and I grabbed a spade, and five minutes later, could add one cup of cattail root to the score.

I will post the recipe below, but cooked together into a hearty soup, my foraged ingredients made a nice, late afternoon soup lunch.  Vegetable, starch, a tiny bit of butter for fat and dairy, and a reasonably balanced lunch results.

The initial review of the soup was very positive.  The mountain ash berries, which are pretty poor snacking on their own, lent a tang to the soup.  The onion, garlic, mushrooms and cattail came together to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Lesson Three:  Sometimes, with a little ingenuity, the most unlikely things just come together and become good!


Lesson Four:  A return to only hunting and gathering is not likely the answer to our current problem of over-consumption and consumerism.  But it was a fun way to mark Buy Nothing Day.  It was an experience that reminded me of the value of food, how easy it can be for us to get food, and how we still have a long way to go to make sure scrounging and foraging is a choice, not a necessity, for people, here and elsewhere.

For anyone who is interested, I'm posting the recipe below.

Foraged Soup with Cattail Root and Wild Mushroom

1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper optional
10 frozen mountain ash berries
1 cup dried mushrooms (morels and oysters?)
1 cup cattail roots, freshly dug
l litre of fresh water.

Saute onion, garlic in butter.  Add salt and pepper, and mountain ash berries.  Wash and peel cattail roots, saute for two minute.  Add half the water.  Bring to boil for five minutes.  Add mushrooms and remaining water.  Bring back to boil, and simmer for ten minutes, until mushrooms are tender and rehydrated.

Serves two hungry people, allows for four light tastings.

 

Forage Day!!!

Hello, Readers!

Today, I will be going for a walk in the woods, and foraging for my lunch.  It's Manitoba, in November.  Even with our warm fall, there is not a whole lot growing anymore...it's going to be a challenge!

I can hear the question forming in your heads..."WHY!?!?!?!  Why not enjoy something nice from the cafe?  Why not bring lunch from home?"

Today is "Buy Nothing Day", an annual protest against the rampant consumerism of the developed world.  The observance, founded by the folks at Adbusters Magazine in the 1980's, encourages people to take a day, and opt out of our consumer society by attempting to do exactly what the name implies, and buy nothing.

For me, Buy Nothing Day is an annual reminder of how our consumer society touches everything we do.  If you are reading my blog, you've bought power to run a computer, for example.  Also, I find it somewhat ironic that Buy Nothing Day was founded and is promoted by a magazine...granted, a magazine that stands against advertising and wanton consumerism, but still a somewhat commercial concern.

I'm not writing today to start a debate about Buy Nothing Day.  Again, the fact that I'm writing means I've already "bought in" and purchased power (I realize that hardcore Buy Nothing observers could point out that this is not a conscious act of consumerism, and so does not technically violate the spirit of Buy Nothing Day).  I'm a big believer in honouring an observance in a way that is personally meaningful - hence, Foraging For Lunch Day.

So, I will be foraging - I cannot get much more into the "Buy Nothing Day" spirit than by channeling
our collective hunter-gatherer past..  I will post later to let everyone out in Blogland know how my foraging excursion goes.

A Warm November to Remember

With the skiff of snow, and lower temperatures yesterday and today, it seems winter may finally have arrived at FortWhyte Alive.

Until now, I (and my colleagues) have been wondering when the inevitable cool-down would occur.  We've been enjoying above average temperatures this month - some days, as high as ten degrees above normal!

Our non-human FortWhyte neighbours have been affected by the warm weather, as well.  Though the ground in the forest is starting to freeze, some of our bedding plants seem a bit confused about the season, and have held on to flowers longer than normal.  Certainly, the trees were late in dropping their leaves.

Our song bird migration seemd late.  Having only been here at FortWhyte Alive for two previous autumns, I must admit I lack a deep frame of reference, but warblers, vireos, towhees, and all their feathered friendsmoved through a few weeks later than I expected.  Until our lakes starting freezing over at night (which only began a few days ago) none of the geese staging here showed any urgency in continuing migration.  With the arrival of ice, their behaviour has changed, with fewer flocks returning to roost here at night, presumably having left for fresher, frost-free fields and liquid lakes.

The deer have not been moving around as they have the past few falls, either.  The herd seems to be most active in the middle of the night - two or three in the morning - instead of the dawn-and-dusk pattern we would expect from deer in November.  This seems to be the case right across Southern Manitoba, resulting in many a frustrated hunter (and, I would imagine, happy deer!).  I've heard many theories as to why this might be, but I subscribe to the "with a winter coat and stored fat...it's just to warm to move in the daytime" theory.  As we've seen temperatures drop a little bit, we've seen the deer become a little more active in the morning and evening.

If you're seeing anything unusual, and suspect the warmer temperatures we've seen this fall may be the cause, let me know! 

CBC Radio One Interview - Nov. 24

Hello, Everyone!

I will be on CBC Radio One (89.9 FM, 990 AM) tomorrow morning between 7:45 and 8:00 am.  The CBC folks want a naturalist's perspective on our unusually warm fall weather - they've lined up little ol' me to represent FortWhyte Alive and the Winnipeg region, and have a guest from Churchill speaking about the effect in our province's north.

It should be an interesting radio spot....hope you can tune in!

-Barret

PS:  if any readers have noticed anything unusual of note - budding trees, flowers that shouldn't be, strange animal behaviour, etc. - tips are appreciated!  Leave me a comment!  Thanks!

Atl Whatl? The fine art of throwing board repair.

When people ask what I do all day at FortWhyte Alive, there is no easy answer.

What makes the answer comlicated is the "Special Programs" part of my title.  What's a special program?  It can be just about anything.

Today, for example, I repaired the throwing board of an atlatl.

For those of you out there who think I also spend my time making up words with too many consonants and too few vowels, rest assured: atlatls are real.  Atlatl is a Nahautl (Aztec) word referring to a device consisting of a throwing board and spear.  Most every culture on earth has used the device at one time or another.  The throwing board is used to propel the spear at a target, faster and more accurately than unaided arm strength can manage.

We use the atlatl to help students connect with the challenges faced by people living on the Prairies in the past. At some point, everyone (regardless of geographic or cultural heritage) has had an ancestor who held a throwing board and a dart, and knew that this simple tool was all that stood between their current situation and starvation...all of a sudden, the little things that divide us pale, and the common human needs for food, shelter, and the drive to care for family come to the forefront.  Standing in front of grade five class and saying this all would get an interpreter laughed at.  Standing in front of a grade five class just finishing THROWING SPEARS!!!!, the interpreter has the class' full attention.

A full summer and fall of atlatl use left one of our throwing boards worse for wear.  The leather finger straps had torn away from the throwing board, the result of too much enthusiastic use.  This was not a worn out, damaged good, to be disposed of or junked, as we are so prone to do these days.  This was a colleague in need of help and rest - granted, I don't feel the same bond with the non-living chunk of wood and leather as with my living, breathing, teammates...however, I can't fix my living, breathing teammates when they need help and rest.  I can only listen.  I can fix an atlatl board!

I cannot disclose all the details involved in repairing an throwing board - any organization needs a few secrets!  I will let you know that the process involves milkweed stems, general-purpose epxoy, and time.

The repair part of the job was a challenge.  I love trying to get the look of the repair right, while at the same time ensuring it is structurally capable of handling pretty heavy use.  However, the really fun part of this task comes tomorrow...when I field test the repair!

Watch for pictures.  Talk to you then!

...sometimes, you'll find, you get what you need! (Like a Muskrat!)

It was late afternoon last Friday when we decided to take a walk as an education staff team.

Ostensibly, we needed to ensure all of our geochaches were well-hidden and stocked with papers, pencils, and were securely waterproofed.  The caches are part of the "Blazing Your Trail" program (see my last post).  Fortunately for nature, but unfortunately for our team, concerned visitors had been removing the caches and throwing them away as someone else's litter, keeping FortWhyte Alive clean and pristine - but making geocaching slightly difficult.

(We've now switched to a less-litter-looking format for our caches.  If you are a visitor, and find a coffee can in the woods, with a notepad inside, its supposed to be there.  I thank you in advance!)

We walked through the beautiful south wind and growing shadows of the November afternoon.  If we encountered visitors on the trail, we had a chance to chat, find out what our visitors had seen during the afternoon, and generally enjoy the walk.

One couple shared the location of a freshly-killed muskrat.  We decided to investigate.

Lying on the trail, right where we'd been told we'd find the recently-deceased muskrat, was...a recently-deceased muskrat!

I know this find is likely not exciting to most people.  In fact, some might feel a little revulsion upon finding a fresh ex-muskrat.  Reacting in quite the other direction, I was thrilled!  I've been waiting a LONG time to find a muskrat!

Though muskrats are a common FortWhyte Alive animal, we have not had a mounted muskrat in our Touch Museum for about 18 months.  Our old muskrat had seen long service, and over time, had simply been touched to the point of no longer being a fur-bearing animal.  The old mount was retired, with full honours, but no new muskrat had "stepped up" to the roel.

Our policy is to never kill, trap, or otherwise harm an animal to add a specimen to our collection.  We depend on good fortune, natural cycles, and motor-vehicle/animal interactions to fill our Museum.

The muskrat in question seemed to have been caught by a bird of prey, and dropped.  (Perhaps the bird's eyes and stomach were bigger than it's wings...the muskrat is a fairly hefty fellow!)  In a few months, we will have another mount on display, allowing for visitors to explore the adaptations of the species without ever having to harass a living muskrat.

Mick Jagger summed up Mother Nature quite well.  You can't always get what you want (or, when you want it)...but if you try sometimes, you get what you need!

Instant Karma - Blazing Your Trail

It's sometimes hard to judge whether an interpretive program has any impact on the intended audience.  In fact, as interpreters, we're trained to deal with the concept of really not knowing if our programs, our work, has any impact whatsoever.

Our newest school program at FortWhyte, "Blazing Your Trail- an Introduction to Land Navigation", is the exception.

I realized why this afternoon. My very-cautious group of Grade Seven students tentatively, and with excessive coaching, started to twist and turn their orienteering map as they made their way across FortWhyte.

As the group gained comfort with the map, and the woods, caution turned to enthusiasm.  Tentative steps turned to running, and I found myself chasing a high-energy group rather than coaching from the front.

I had seen my group learn!  In the space of fifty metres, I had seen my group gain comfort, confidence, and competency with a new skill.  Instant gratification...instant feedback...the program (and the I, as the interpreter) had made a difference!  The volunteer interpreters working on this program have similar stories.

There was no question, hesitation, or uncertainty about impact today - each student had learned at least a little bit.  We gave information, it was accepted, processed, and acted upon.  We saw it happen, right in front of us

I LOVE THIS PROGRAM!

Barret's Top 10 Reasons To Love FortWhyte Alive

  

#10.  World's Biggest Urban Bison Herd - 27 of the world's ninth-largest land animal...right in Winnipeg's backyard!

#9.  Indoor Nature - Our Interpretive Centre houses permanent displays such as the Kiwanis Touch Museum, Aquarium of the Prairies, Climate Change and Greenhouse exhibits, Sustainable Agriculture dioramas, and live salamanders and snakes...plus the occasional ground squirrel, mink, or raccoon who decides to come in for a tour!

#8.  Open 364 Days a Year - Neither snow, nor sleet, nor heat of July, nor gloom of fourteen-hour December night ends the fun here.  Each season brings new outdoor activities to try...and love!

#7.  Food!!! -  It may be marshmallows or bannock on the campfire, and elegant, locally-sourced banquet meal, a quick bison burger at the Buffalo Stone Café, or fresh Saskatoons from the forest, but there's always a tasty nibble nearby!

#6.  Architecture - Each of our buildings strive to be green, and each is extremely unique in terms of design.

#5.  We Are Who We Are  - We are a non-profit environmental and cultural education centre based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We have a large, supportive volunteer corps.  We do not pretend to be anything else.  It's honest, it's refreshing, it's who we are!

#4.  All Trails Lead to FortWhyte Alive - Hiking?  Yes.  Snowshoeing?  Yup, we've got it.  Biking?  Horse-drawn wagon rides?  Deer paths in the forest?  Recovered rail beds?  Canoe routes?  FortWhyte Alive has it.

#3.  Goose Flights - Our largest lakes host up to 20,000 geese.  I do not believe it possible to watch 20,000 migrating geese settling on the water back lit by a blazing prairie sunset and not have one's soul stirred.

#2.  World Class Programs - FortWhyte Alive's programming always attempts to show the connection between culture and nature in a very personal way.  I used to take this thinking for granted - everyone must do things this way, right?  I was wrong.  For most people, tying culture, heritage, and environment together in a fun way is simply outside of their experience.  I have had people from Australia and Malaysia, from Austria and Tanzania, tell me what we are doing at FortWhyte is important work, and that more similar work needs to be done.  That they wish someone was doing something like it in their city, or country.  I've seen people moved to tears as they realize they have more in common than not, just by spending some time together sitting in a tipi and talking...

Sometimes, you need to go halfway around the world to realize what's in your backyard, and how special it is.

#1.  The People -  I get to spend everyday with my friends.  These could be my staff friends, volunteer friends, family friends, or FortWhyte Alive visitors, who are friends I just have not yet met!  FortWhyte Alive is about connection - to the land, to our history...to each other.  I love that sense of connection.

There's my top ten.  I'd love to hear your favourite things about FortWhyte!

See you on the trail,

Barret