Fill our Seats to Protect our Trails!
Order your tickets today! All for Nun…The 2nd Coming! Special price $25 per person on Thursday, July 21st 8pm at the OCC…with a portion going back to Couchiching Conservancy! OCC Box Office (former Cinema 4) Mon-Sat 11 – 2 p.m. call 705-242-4092 or at White Lions Tea House 33 Westmount Dr N, Orillia 705-259-0568
Mallard ducks are now so common in our area that they can be found just about anywhere there is water. But it was not always so. When I was a small boy living in eastern Ontario, Mallards were seldom seen and when they were, they were referred to as “western ducks”. The most bountiful wild duck we had at the time was the American Black duck, a close relative of the Mallard. Now we see few “Blacks” and lots of Mallards. Both however are very beautiful birds.
Executive Director, Mark Bisset, recalls his experiences with barn swallows through the years.
Our water monitoring project is growing and moving into town this year. Every time we add a new site we learn so much we wish we had done it sooner. We console ourselves with the adage: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
Humbleness has never been my strong suit.
But you see, sometimes bragging is for the greater good. Take for example the Couchiching Conservancy. Starting with a few like-minded people sitting around a kitchen table, back in 1993, dreaming about a better way to protect local ecology.
Nearly 50 local birdwatchers topped off the busy month of May by participating in the 12th annual Carden Challenge, an event that combines skills, tenacity, and friendly competition for a good cause. The combined efforts of eleven participating teams raised over $23,000 in pledges and donations for the Carden Alvar programs of the Couchiching Conservancy.
Grant’s Woods is one of 44 properties that The Couchiching Conservancy helps to protect. It was donated by Bill Grant, who had the simple desire to protect the forest that he and his family loved.
Brown thrashers got their name from the thrashing sound they make as they forage for food in dried leaves and other vegetation on the ground. Where the “brown” came from is beyond me, because, in fact, they possess beautiful rufous- or rusty-coloured feathers on their back, wings and long tail.
RBC Bluewater and the Couchiching Conservancy are teaming up for a second year to monitor the water quality of critical streams and rivers in our region. There will be a kick-off event on June 2nd, which is RBC’s Clean Water Day nation-wide. Local RBC staff will join the Conservancy at Grant Wetland on Bay Street to watch our Water Team in action, learn how to test water themselves, and understand wetlands and watersheds.
Brown-headed Cowbirds are birds of the Western Prairies. They acquired their name from following herds of bison, feeding on the insects stirred up as the animals grazed the grasses. As the forests of Eastern Canada were cleared to provide agricultural farm lands, the cowbirds began to expand eastward, and their range now extends across Ontario.
