A walk on the Beaver Trail



I don't think i've ever walked the Beaver Trail myself....Ottawa has alot of nature trails, conservation areas and the like. The beaver trail is a nice one. Apparently it used to be farmland, which I personally can't see. It's a bit swampy, very rocky, and has about three centimeters of topsoil, but you can still see the signs. There's an old, now defunct well, moss clinging to it's sides. There are a few places where you can see the remains of a foundation, and an old fence. What the beaver trail IS good for growing is trees. It's a great place if you're fond of cedar, which I personally am. it's also one of the few places in Ottawa with an abundance of Red Oak, which are beautiful this time of year.

I was suprized to see that even with the cold, and the frost we've had, there are a few flowering plants that are still hanging on quite well. technically, I suppose, they're weeds, but frankly I don't care. I saw a few brave Chicory plants (chicorium intybus). Chicory is, apparently, an introduced species. It's root is a coffee substitute, so it makes sense that there would be some near where pioneers lived. If you've never seen it, it's quite pretty. A tall, slender, bristly plant that stands erect, with blue flowers, and hairy yellowish seeds. As a point of interest, for some odd reason, when photographed using film, chicory flowers show up as a pinkish purple. this isn't a problem with digital photography, as near as I can tell.

I also saw some Asters, though I'm not sure of the specific type. Pretty blue flowers as well, those are.


Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) sounds like a used car salesman, but it is infact a small flowering plant. It has pink flowers, about one centimeter across. it's not native to Canada, but it's a hardy plant for gardeners, and as such occasionally pops up where it isn't supposed to be. It doesn't seem to have take over, and it's a nice little thing, so I'm happy to have seen it. Even the leaves are appealing....very fern like.

it was also a good day for birds. Firstoff, I saw more Robins (turdus migratorius) than I have ever seen in one place. Robins, of course, are extraordinarily common, particularly in ottawa, but even so, it's not normal to see that many at once. I suppose they are migrating now, so I won't get to see any more for quite some time. I had the opportunity to observe them nesting this summer. Quite the experience. They built a nest some 1.5 meters up in a cedar bush, and raised two clutches there before moving on to greener pastures. The eggs hatched pretty quickly. ....maybe after two weeks at most, and it took not much longer than that for the hatchlings to get big. They started off naked and hideous, as most of us do, but fledged so quickly you could almost see it happening. Fledgeling robins look alot like their parents, only instead of red breasts, they have white breasts spotted with black. The nest was something pretty special in and of itself. if somebody said to me "Fop, you have to pick a bird to build your house", I'd go for the robins. they do a stick-and-mud nest that looks like it could hold up against a nuclear explosion. the inside is plasterered with mud, to make for a smooth, and presumably comfortable incubator.


Robins aren't the only birds I saw migrating today. There were Juncos (Junco hyemalis) on the trail. You don't often see them in Ottawa. They don't breed here, they just pass through. I only caught a few glimpses of them, but they're easily recognized by their white tail feathers.

Ever present on any Ottawa trail are the Chickadees. These are Black-Capped chickadees ( parus atricapillus) of course. I don't think you get any other species in this neck of the woods. Chickadees are common as muck, but they are such cheerfull looking birds, you can't help but be happy to see them. Most of the birds around here are used to people, and so if you bring seeds, you can quite often feed them from your hand, which is an experience and a half....to have something wild sitting in your hand, i mean. I had no seeds, but they got right close inspecting me, in case I had secreted some about my person and was trying not to share. You've got to watch these nature types...they're tricky.

I met some other people on the trail, who said that they had been looking for birds to feed, and hadn't seen any. I wonder if we were walking in the same woods, because the trees were alive....well, trees are always alive, except for the dead ones, but you know what I mean. we went on our ways quickly enough, which is fine by me. They seemed like nice people, but frankly I think the chickadees are better conversationalists. But I think birds are better conversationalists than alot of people, so it's nothing personal.


as a side note, I saw evidence of a few animals that I didn't actually see in person. There was a tree that had, pretty recently, been chewed halfway through by a beaver.....this in a patch of woods made up predominantly of maple trees. Very Canadian. I almost broke into a rousing chorus of the national anthem. There was also, at one point, a pile of woodchips that absolutely didn't come from a beaver. My guess would be a Pileated Woodpecker, which isn't an uncommon site in the woods around here. I see more evidence of them than I do actual birds. If you should see a rectangular hole pecked in a tree, you know who's to blame. Those holes are favoured by other birds, and some mammals, as nesting places. Amazing how things work out some times, isn't it?

Apparently the beaver trail is a good place for orchids in the spring....so you know where I'll be come the thaw.