March 25, 2024

Spring Wild Flowers & Returning Migrants

Our very own Brian Popelier, Land Stewarship Coordinator & Ecologiest, brings this month's journal post to you:


April - Spring Wild flowers
The weather is warming and the sun is shining so keep a look out for Spring ephemerals as you hike along the Bruce Trail. These plants are the first to flower after the cold, grey winter and complete their life cycle in just a few short weeks before the tree canopy leafs out, shading the forest floor from the available sunlight. After this, these plants wither and die back with only a wisp of their former self remaining until next Spring. So get out on the trail and watch for Trilliums, Spring Beauties, Bloodroot, Hepaticas, Trout Lilies and Dutchman's Breeches to name a few. And don’t forget to add your observations to the Bruce Trail Conservancy iNaturalist project while you're at it.



Round Lobed Hepatica– photo credit – Brian Popelier

Yellow Trout Lily – photo credit – Brian Popelier

White Trillium – photo credit – Brian Popelier

Bloodroot – photo credit – Brian Popelier

Dutchman's Breeches – photo credit – Brian Popelier

Carolina Spring Beauty– photo credit – Brian Popelier

May – Returning migrants
May is a great month for birding along the Bruce Trail as many of Ontario’s migratory birds are returning from their wintering grounds. Whether it’s a cloud of Blackbirds or a wave of Warblers, its always exhilarating to see our feathered friends return with the warmer weather. The Bruce Trail Conservancy ensures these birds have habitat to rest and feed during their long journeys as well as forests, meadows and wetlands for breeding and nesting.


Blackburnian Warbler– photo credit – Brian Popelier

Common Grackle– photo credit – Brian Popelier

Eastern Towhee– photo credit – Brian Popelier
Scarlet Tanager– photo credit – Brian Popelier

One way to aovid missing our Journal Posts is to get it sent directly in your email inbox:

1) Join the Bruce Trail Conservancy's iNaturalist Project, AND
2) Check "Project Journal Posts" under your iNaturalist Account Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications.

Thank you for your interest in the Bruce Trail Conservancy and our work to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

Posted on March 25, 2024 08:31 PM by shimeem shimeem | 2 comments | Leave a comment

February 22, 2024

Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club Embraces iNaturalist

Gary Hall from the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, wears many hats, as the Land Stewardship Director, Hike Leader, and iNaturalist enthusiast, Gary brings this month's journal post to you:

Prior to joining iNaturalist in May of 2019, I used to think that a Bumblebee was a bumblebee, but I’ve learned since that there are actually sixteen species of Bumble Bee in Ontario.



Northern Amber Bumblebee – photo credit – Gary Hal


I also didn’t appreciate the beauty of insects like this Goldenrod Crab Spider until I started to pay closer attention.




Goldenrod Crab Spider – photo credit – Gary Hall


For years I’ve been a nature enthusiast as well as an avid nature photographer, but it was iNaturalist that helped me enhance my observation skills.

2024 will mark my 30th year of volunteering for the Bruce Trail. This also marks my twelfth-year volunteering with the Land Stewardship Team including seven years as Land Steward Director with the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club. Apps like iNaturalist, Seek, Merlin, What3Words and the Bruce Trail App have become standard tools of the job.

In 2019, the Caledon Hills club formed a Biodiversity Committee. One of the committee’s objectives was to educate ourselves and others about preserving and enhancing biodiversity along the Bruce Trail corridor.




Red Eft – photo Credit Richard Smythe

We soon recognized the potential of iNaturalist and the Bruce Trail Project to help us achieve this goal. This eventually led to a successful Zoom seminar “Managing Invasive Species on our Trail” in the spring of 2020. Via this webinar, we were able to develop a list of motivated volunteers to join work parties to help manage invasive species. Before you can manage invasive species, you need to recognize what they look like. iNaturalist turned out to be the ideal tool for most of our volunteers to recognize and report locations of various invasive species.
Our second strategy was to hold a series of Nature Walks with an emphasis on observation skills to help participants better enjoy nature along the trail. Besides members of our Biodiversity Team, we have other experts leading nature walks on various themes including identification of spring ephemerals, ferns, birds, mushrooms, and insects. A spring nature walk with entomologist Jim Chaput led to many new discoveries.




Nature Walk – photo credit – Gary Hall


In the spring of 2021, we held our first iNaturalist training session via one of our nature walks. A second training session was held in July. Participants took to iNaturalist right away. It was difficult moving them beyond the parking lot.




iNaturalist Training – Photo credit – Gary Hall


We discovered that most outdoor enthusiasts are interested in nature and would like to contribute to iNaturalist, but some are hesitant because there is quite a learning curve, especially for people trying to keep up with technology. We have a bit more work to do in this area.
We learned that the “Seek” app was a good gateway to iNaturalist. Seek doesn’t need an account and is an excellent tool to help beginners learn to identify flora and fauna. Seek is an excellent tool to encourage children to engage with nature. Through the Seek App, they can earn badges as they identify more species, a good motivational tool.




Junior Naturalists – Photo credit – Sandra Green


In order to encourage more members in our club to report their findings to iNaturalist, we introduced our Caledon Hills Citizen Scientist Badge. To qualify for the badge, participants need to identify and upload one hundred species to iNaturalist. Observations may occur anywhere on the Bruce Trail and members of other BTC clubs are eligible.




Citizen Scientist Badge

One way to aovid missing our Journal Posts is to get it sent directly in your email inbox:

1) Join the Bruce Trail Conservancy's iNaturalist Project, AND
2) Check "Project Journal Posts" under your iNaturalist Account Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications.

Thank you for your interest in the Bruce Trail Conservancy and our work to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

Posted on February 22, 2024 08:23 PM by shimeem shimeem | 0 comments | Leave a comment

January 31, 2024

Benefits of iNaturalist for Bruce Trail Conservancy Trail Captains

Our Trail Captain Jessica Hachey from the Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club brings this month's journal post to you:

As a Bruce Trail Captain, I routinely hike the same section of trail and commit to inspecting, monitoring, and ensuring the optimal conditions of the trail. My responsibilities span from reporting hazards and structure repair requirements to maintaining visible blazes, removing litter, and clearing encroaching weeds from the trail corridor. Amid these responsibilities, my phone stands out as a vital tool, aiding in documentation through notes and photographs, capturing dates, times, and geographical locations for reporting.

Now, you might be wondering, "How does this connect to iNaturalist?" From my experience, there is a symbiotic relationship between this app and the role of a Trail Captain, that elevates my hikes to new levels of excitement and impact.

Benefits of Using iNaturalist as a Trail Captain:

1. Adding novelty and adventure to my routine

As I walk my section repeatedly, iNaturalist transforms my hikes into digital treasure hunts. I can capture images of the diverse flora and fauna encountered along the way, turning routine checks into an exciting treasure hunt of biodiversity. For example, while clearing some fallen branches from the trail in late December, I discovered this Wild Yam seed! Thanks to iNaturalist, I now know that it is not only a native plant, but medicinal as well. I carefully moved the branch off of the trail where the seeds could germinate and this plant could continue to grow. I enjoy the excitement of discovering new to me species in what otherwise can look like a tangle of confusing brown and greens.





Wild Yam seed


2. Increasing my naturalist skills in an accessible way

I can say farewell to the days of carrying heavy and sometimes outdated field guides and flipping through hundreds of pages in an attempt to identify mysterious plants. Or taking a photograph with the intent to look it up when I get home and promptly forgetting all about it. Instead, I can now take multiple photographs with the iNaturalist app, and if I have service, can get on the spot suggestions as to what I am seeing in real time. And if I’m having trouble with the identification, there are thousands of other helpful users who will make suggestions to help me confirm what I saw, like this American Bladdernut seed.





American Bladdernut seed


3. Introducing me to the joys of birding along the trail

I am discovering a new love for birding, especially during my winter hikes, when the leaves have fallen and it is so much easier to spot our feathered friends usually hidden in the branches. Bird identification can be tricky as there are so many species and variations depending on the age of the bird, the season of the year, the position of the bird and so on. Using iNaturalist, I have been able to document my bird sightings, and even with far off and blurry photographs, have been able to identify many species along my section of trail, like this Eastern Bluebird who was calling to me from above.





Eastern Bluebird


4. Enhanced contribution to conservation efforts

Being a Trail Captain provides me with a feeling of satisfaction knowing that I’m able to enhance trail user’s experience and connection to nature on the Bruce Trail. The knowledge that while I’m out there, I can also use my observation skills to document flora and fauna on iNaturalist and directly contribute to the conservation and land stewardship mission as well is deeply satisfying. By connecting the app to the Bruce Trail Conservancy Project, I am providing data that can have a direct impact on evidence-based conservation decisions. For example, finding this patch of dog strangling vine along my section. I can remove the vines that I found, have noted it in the project with iNaturalist and it can be monitored to see if further action will be require to remediate the invasive species.





Dog Strangling Vine
iNaturalist is quickly becoming a favourite tool while conducting my trail inspections, and I’ve only just begun to explore its capabilities. I will continue to use it to explore and connect with my section of trail, increase my knowledge of the plants and animals that share the trail and hope my findings can assist with the Conservancy’s mission to preserve this ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

One way to aovid missing our Journal Posts is to get it sent directly in your email inbox:

1) Join the Bruce Trail Conservancy's iNaturalist Project, AND
2) Check "Project Journal Posts" under your iNaturalist Account Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications.

Thank you for your interest in the Bruce Trail Conservancy and our work to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

Posted on January 31, 2024 01:56 PM by shimeem shimeem | 0 comments | Leave a comment

January 10, 2024

Bruce Trail Project Reaches 40,000 Observations!

We are delighted to annouce that more than 40,000 observations were made within the first week of 2024! What a great way to kickoff the New Year! A huge thank you to all the Bruce Trail Conservancy Citizen Science Volunteers for making this happen! Our understanding of the biodiversity of the Niagara Escarpment is forever growing thanks to your valuable participation. Please keep sharing your sightings and remeber to stay safe while out on your winter hikes !

Posted on January 10, 2024 04:11 PM by shimeem shimeem | 2 comments | Leave a comment

December 4, 2023

Bruce Trail Botany – month by month - Part 2!

Last month our Land Steward Coordinator & Ecologist Mara McHaffie took us along the Bruce Trail Botany month by month and we ended at the month of June. If you missed that posting, you can read it here.

We pick up from the month of July:

In July, I love to take the time to peer closely at Common Milkweed, like this plant found in the Caledon Hills section. Most people know that milkweed is the host plant for Monarch caterpillars, but its leaves, nectar and pollen also support tons of other critters, like the Common Red Soldier Beetle in the middle of this photo. How many other insects can you spot in this photo? Make sure you take a look at your local milkweed patch next summer to see what kinds of bugs you can find!





July: Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)


While I wasn’t exactly happy to observe this invasive Japanese Stiltgrass, I was glad I could document it using iNaturalist! There are very few occurrences of this species in Canada at the moment, but there is a large population at Short Hills Provincial Park, which hosts a portion of the Bruce Trail. Unfortunately, in recent years, it has started to spread outside the park along the edges of the Trail. I have been documenting new patches of it using iNaturalist, and I encourage you to do the same if you’re in this area! Adding your observations to this iNaturalist project allows us to act quickly to remove new patches where they pop up, containing the spread. The silvery vein in the middle of the leaf is a distinct feature you can use to identify this grass.





August: Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)

For many, September signifies the start of the fall season, but for botanists, it’s aster and goldenrod season! Many plants in the aster family bloom in the fall, providing a beautiful end-of-summer display and much needed resources for pollinators. However, for the beginner botanist, the many similar-looking species of asters can lead to a season of frustration! If you’re attempting to identify a plant from this group, make sure you take several photos of the flowers, leaves, stem, base and habitat so you can work your way through an ID key or get help from others in the iNaturalist community. This beautiful Swamp Aster likes wet habitats and has light purple rays, a hairy purplish stem, and leaves that are hairy underneath.





September: Swamp Aster (Symphyotrichum puniceum)

This October did not disappoint, with a beautiful show of fall colours to enjoy! In the Niagara section, the Northern Spicebush (another Carolinian species) was putting on a show with mottled yellow leaves and bright red berries (you can spot one in the center of this photo). True to its name, spicebush emits a lovely citrus-y aroma when the leaves are rubbed. Try the scratch-and-sniff for yourself next time you see this plant!





October: Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

November and December…still to come! Can’t wait to see what I find!

I hope you enjoyed this twiggy tour through time along the Trail! I must say, having an observation goal to work towards that kept me active in every season has been extremely rewarding. I encourage you to try it for yourself – whether it’s a plant a day, a bird of the month, or your own unique challenge, have fun and make sure you share your observations with us!

One way to aovid missing our Journal Posts is to get it sent directly in your email inbox:

1) Join the Bruce Trail Conservancy's iNaturalist Project, AND
2) Check "Project Journal Posts" under your iNaturalist Account Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications.

Thank you for your interest in the Bruce Trail Conservancy and our work to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

Posted on December 4, 2023 10:04 PM by shimeem shimeem | 0 comments | Leave a comment

November 3, 2023

Bruce Trail Botany – month by month - Part 1!

Our Land Steward Coordinator & Ecologist Mara McHaffie brings this month's journal post to you:

For the last few years, I’ve joined year-long iNaturalist projects called ‘Ontario Botanists’ Big Year’, which collect observations of plants in Ontario. Each year, the project sets a new goal for participants, and the 2023 project’s goal was one of my favourites: submit at least 30 observations of plants in Ontario each month of the year. I thought this would be a great chance to pay attention to the different characteristics of plants that you can see at different times of year, and at the beginning of the year, it was a great motivator to get outside even on those chilly days! I eagerly got to work.


As an ecologist for the Bruce Trail Conservancy, I naturally spend a lot of my outdoor time along the Bruce Trail, meaning many of the iNaturalist observations I submit end up a part of the Bruce Trail Conservancy project too. So, now that we’re nearing the end of 2023, I thought it would be a great time to reflect on what I’ve observed throughout the different seasons and highlight my favourite observation from each month so far. I hope you enjoy the journey through the seasons and along the trail!





January: American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

A wintry walk at Mount Nemo Conservation area in the Iroquoia section led to some stunning photos of snow-covered trees. This young American Beech tree is exhibiting a phenomenon called ‘marcescence’, which is when plants hold onto their withered leaves throughout the winter rather than shedding them. We’re not really sure why some trees do this, but it’s common in certain species, including young beech trees. It can help you identify these species from a distance - though don’t confuse it with Ironwood or Oak, which also commonly exhibit marcescence!





February: Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

When the leaves of deciduous trees are withered and fallen, it’s a great time to show some appreciation for our evergreen trees! While none of my observations for the month of February were taken directly along the Bruce Trail, I observed this Eastern Hemlock fairly close to the Bruce Trail, at the Royal Botanical Gardens Arboretum. With its tolerance for shade, Eastern Hemlock is an important part of the canopy of mature forests on moist, cool slopes. Both the Royal Botanical Gardens lands and the Iroquoia section of the Bruce Trail corridor are part of the Cootes to Escarpment Ecopark system, which includes natural lands that connect the Niagara Escarpment with Cootes Paradise in Hamilton and Burlington. Together, these lands provide connected areas of habitat that allow wildlife to move around to find food, water, and other things they need.





March: American Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

This American Witch-Hazel seed capsule may not look like much in the winter, but it packs a punch! This understory shrub is one of our latest flowering native plants, producing delicate yellow flowers in late fall (around now, if you’re reading this in November). After flowering, it produces a seed capsule that, when it matures, splits open and fires its seeds through the air at astonishing speeds – up to 30 feet per second! It’s ability to rapidly fire its seeds has even caught the attention of biomechanical engineers, who are trying to understand its springiness and apply this knowledge to improving synthetic springs like those used in robots. The capsule you see in this photo has already split open and released its seeds.





April: Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

With April comes an abundance of spring flowers, like these Yellow Trout Lilies. This species, like many that bloom in April, is called a spring ephemeral. They take advantage of the brief period in springtime before the tree leaves expand when sunlight is hitting the forest floor, and rapidly pop up, photosynthesize, flower and fruit. Then, as the forest floor becomes shaded, their aboveground leaves and stems wither and die, and the plant remains dormant belowground for the rest of the year.



May: Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

I was excited to find a grove of provincially rare pawpaw trees blooming in May! A Carolinian species, pawpaw reaches the northern limit of its range in Southern Ontario, so along the Bruce Trail you’re most likely to find it in the Niagara section. The maroon flowers smell quite stinky, attracting flies for pollination. It then produces the largest fruit of any native North American tree, and it’s edible (tasting like a mix of banana and mango)! It’s believed that these fruits were originally eaten by the megafauna that once roamed the continent, like mammoths and giant sloths!


June: Rattlesnake Fern (Botrypus virginianus)

I couldn’t let the year go by without acknowledging the ferns, which disperse by spores rather than seeds. I found this beautiful Rattlesnake Fern in the Peninsula section. Those tiny balls on the edges of the frond are the sporangia, which are the spore-producing parts of the plant. To me they look like beautiful beads on an intricate piece of jewelry!

Be sure to come back to read Part 2 next month! One way to avoid missing our Journal Posts is to get it sent directly in your email inbox:

1) Join the Bruce Trail Conservancy's iNaturalist Project, AND
2) Check "Project Journal Posts" under your iNaturalist Account Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications.

Thank you for your interest in the Bruce Trail Conservancy and our work to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

Posted on November 3, 2023 05:20 PM by shimeem shimeem | 0 comments | Leave a comment

August 10, 2023

Highlights from BTC Trail Ambassadors in Sydenham

Two of our Bruce Trail Conservancy Trail Ambassadors, Anna Zandvliet & Kate Bonn, have had some amazing species sightings along the Niagara Escarpment this summer in the Sydenham section of the Bruce Trail (Blantyre to Wiarton). Check out this update:

Over the past 9 weeks, Kate and I have identified about 150 species of plants, insects, fungi, etc. using iNaturalist. Here are some highlights:


One of my first observations was at Jones Falls – a species of chocolate tube slimes. It looked like this old tree trunk was being turned into a brown shag carpet. Fungi and slime molds have the best names – chocolate tube slime, fairy fingers, Dryad’s saddle… So imaginative.





Along the road is not where you expect to find cool colourful creatures. But sure enough, on the road on our way to Bluewater Park, we found a pink primrose moth. We were passing some evening primrose, and I saw something pink in the middle of a flower. It struck me as weird, so we stopped and found this beautiful little moth. As the name suggests, evening primrose is the host plant for this species’ larva.





We were walking in the Kemble Mountain area - near Dodd’s Hill - and I saw what looked to me like a fried potato. But when Kate picked it up, it was hollow. iNaturalist said it was in the genus Amphibolips. Through a little googling and the help of iNaturalist members, I discovered it was an old oak apple gall of the larger oak apple wasp.





One of my favourite observations was the American cancer root. We found it in the Lindenwood Management Area. At first, it looked like a bunch of pinecones standing up. It didn’t look like a plant or fungi, so I was stumped. That was because this is a non-photosynthesizing, fully parasitic plant. It gets its nutrients from attaching to the roots of oak or beech trees.





The best observations are the ones you aren’t looking for and just happen by chance/luck.

To receive our Journal Posts directly in your email inbox, be sure to:

1) Join the Bruce Trail Conservancy's iNaturalist Project, AND
2) Check "Project Journal Posts" under your iNaturalist Account Settings > Notifications > Email Notifications.

Thank you for your interest in the Bruce Trail Conservancy and our work to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.

Posted on August 10, 2023 12:38 PM by shimeem shimeem | 1 comment | Leave a comment

July 24, 2023

Rare Species Sighted on BTC Protected Natural Areas

Hi everyone,

We just wanted to share some of the amazing rare species recently recorded on Bruce Trail Conservancy protected natural areas. These observations were made at the end of June by our Land Stewardship Coordinator & Ecologist, Brian Popelier.

Incredible pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers near Cape Chin:
Red-headed Woodpeckers are Endangered and we likely have a breeding pair on one of our BTC properties.

Milksnake, Peninsula section:
Milksnakes have been recently de-listed in Ontario but are still rated as Special Concern in Canada. Protecting properties in the Peninsula section have helped preserve Milksnake habitat contributing to its de-listing from the Species at Risk list.

Eastern Meadowlark and Bobolink, Peninsula section:
Our protected grasslands and managed hay fields allow plenty of room for these birds to thrive. They are both Threatened species and our fields are full of them.

Baby and mother Sandhill Cranes at Otter Lake Nature Reserve:
Sandhill Cranes are not rare, but the sight of a mother and chick here reveals the importance of this BTC protected natural area to the successful breeding of these amazing birds.

Provanchers Fleabane and Ontario Goldenrod:
Both of these plants are rare but not assessed yet by the provincial Species at Risk Act. The rocky shores and cliffs of the escarpment are some of the only places these plants grow in Canada.

You may be wondering why we haven't shared the location of where some of these rare and endangered species were observed. This in part to protect them and their habitat from any unnecessary disturbances that may affect them. By conserving biodiversity, we can help reduce disruptions in the food chain and habitat which helps protect and recover species at risk.

Posted on July 24, 2023 11:54 AM by shimeem shimeem | 3 comments | Leave a comment

May 19, 2022

Join the Bruce Trail Spring Bioblitz May 27th - 29th, 2022

Hi everyone,

We invite you to join the trail-wide Bruce Trail Spring Bioblitz from May 27th-29th, 2022. Consider finding some time next Friday, Saturday or Sunday to hike a portion of the Bruce Trail and add your observations to this project!

All observations made and added to the project between May 27th and 29th, 2022 will be included in the bioblitz, and we'll be sure to share the results with you afterward. Prizes will be awarded for most observations and most species recorded during the bioblitz. Plus, all bioblitz participants will be entered into a draw to win a special BTC prize!

https://brucetrail.org/events/218-bruce-trail-spring-bioblitz-may-27-2022

Posted on May 19, 2022 03:10 PM by maram maram | 1 comment | Leave a comment

February 5, 2021

Webinar Recording and Data Report

Thank you to everyone who joined us last night for the webinar! For those who would like to watch the recording, please check it out here:
https://youtu.be/QrnFJeRsIMY

You can also find the report from last night on our Citizen Science page on our website:
https://brucetrail.org/system/rich/rich_files/rich_files/000/000/388/original/btc-citizen-science-2020-inaturalist-report.pdf

Posted on February 5, 2021 05:13 PM by mcroll mcroll | 0 comments | Leave a comment