DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #147, MAY 2024

Birds, one in particular, beavers, muskrats, turtles, new growth….  

It’s spring time at Petrie

While well past sunrise, there was still nice light on the trees in the south channel

Three sandhill cranes flew overhead as we got out of the car. Within a few minutes of starting down the  Basswood Trail, my Merlin Bird Phone App was hearing 11 different birds:

Warbling vireo, yellow warbler, red-winged blackbird, song sparrow, catbird, great crested flycatcher, mourning dove, spotted sandpiper, cardinal, Tennessee warbler,  American redstart.

There was no way I’d see them in the leaves, but I knew they were there. As we walked the trails we came across others.

Canada geese were very scarce, we saw two in the grass along way off, and a family of 3 goslings and parents were swimming far off in the south channel

A northern flicker looking for breakfast behind some brush

A lone cormorant flew over from the Quebec side

I did manage to get photos of some small flitty birds that stayed still for a few seconds. A song sparrow, a male goldfinch and a female redstart

One of the chickadees was hoping for a handout….

There did seem to be a number of spotted sandpipers around, or maybe just one that moved along with us. But they were always a long way away. This one was on the far side of Turtle Pond.

A couple of crows were having a discussion. They didn’t sound like crows at all, they sounded like woodpeckers pecking lightly on a tree.

Crows are a very intelligent bird that can mimic many sounds (including human talking)

There were a few male mallards and two female merganser ducks in the river, the sky was heavily overcast so the water was very grey. I thought the “chirping”  sound the merganser was making was interesting   

The one bird that did preoccupy us was a female Baltimore oriole,. My wife Gwen spotted her in a tree overhanging the trail appearing to be busily starting to build her nest. (Their nests are unusual in that they look like a sock and hang down)

We quickly realized that she had managed to tie her foot to the branch. She was trying to untie the string she had worked so hard to attach firmly to the branch for the start of the nest. ​​​​​​​

After a while we continued our walk assuming she would free herself. When we came back an hour later she was still firmly tied to the branch.

The branch was about 12-14 feet above the ground, so we knew we needed help to free her. After some phone calls to various Friends of Petrie Island executive members, Michel came down and opened the shed, from which we  borrowed the step ladder and a long branch lopper. With Michael Ricco’s assistance as well, the branch was cut down and she flew into the brush.

But she still had a small section of branch attached to her which was getting tangled with the other branches. We managed to get hold of her, and Gwen carefully cut the strings off her leg . After at least 3 hours of being trapped she flew away a happy bird .

We didn’t expect to see any beavers or muskrats around as it was getting close to 7:30am, but there were at least two beavers busily swimming about as well as several muskrats, including one that seemed to be collecting nesting material

One of the older beaver lodges on Turtle Pond was very easy to see.  While there were lots of small trees the beavers had brought down, there was a large one at the end of Bill Holland trail that they never finished with. Not sure how much use it would have been for them as it was dead.

While we didn’t see a river otter, there was good evidence that they are still around with large fresh holes appearing on the shoreline.

There were a few land based furry creatures about too. None of which were keen on having their photo taken. Both the groundhog and the chipmunk scurried off as fast as they could, while the rabbit went into the brush.

At the end of Bill Holland Trail there were some deer tracks in the sand. While I have never seen any deer at Petrie, others have and I guess the deer are still around.

There was no signs of snapping turtles laying eggs yet (it is a few weeks too early perhaps) but there certainly were signs of turtles (or beaver tails?) crawling through the sand coming from the river into Turtle Pond.

The map turtles were certainly up early to grab the best seats on the logs to sun themselves. The painted turtles started appearing about 2 hours later and had to settle for second best.

It must be time for the bullfrogs to get together to lay eggs. One large one was up on a log and we counted at least another 6 in water nearby.

Being spring, there is new growth everywhere on the Island.

The new ferns are quite noticeable. 

Scroll over the photos for the ID of the type of fern (although reputable internet sites didn’t always agree with the ID????)

sensitive fern

Ssnsitive fern

ostrich fern

ostrich/marsh fern

ostrich fern

chewed off ostrich fern

An ash tree had managed to sprout again after a beaver had taken it all 

White violets (with blue flecks) and blue violets were in bloom

Pignut hickory and poison ivy were off to a good start

The sedge grass was getting ready to bloom

Greater celandine, false solomon seal and American yellow-rocket were in bloom

(The first and last are new to me)

New growth on plums and maples 

While NOT new growth, but ready to reach out and grab your clothes, there are lots of burrs from last year.

The grapevines get very large over the years

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #146, MARCH 2024

It had been a busy month but hearing about the active beavers at Petrie I had to make a point of getting down. I arrived about 90 minutes before sunset and started looking for the beavers. 

There was another person there who told me where the beavers usually were; she was there looking for an otter.

No luck with the beavers early on, but while standing near the water just short of the end trail, I spotted an otter 200 yards away and managed a fuzzy photo. We walked down to where  the otter was to see if I could get a better shot, only to find he was now  on the ice about 50 feet from where I was standing when I first saw him!! So another fuzzy shot from 200 yards???? 

(Both photos are tightly cropped  to the extent the fuzziness would allow)

He swam back towards us, but was too quick to get a decent photo.

Walking along the trail  I spotted a single tom wild turkey on the far shore. No female turkeys  were in sight. Later on at the large sandy area half way down the trail, there was lots of evidence of the turkeys having been there.

There is still a thin layer of ice in some spots on the ponds

And where the small waves have been coming ashore along the river, there is ice accumulation on the shoreline bushes/branches

Unless my memory is faulty, I don’t recall any Canada Geese at Petrie when I first started dropping by some 25± years ago. Now there are skeins upon skeins flying over. The flocks seem to get smaller as the dusk gets stronger.

Then not much before sunset we spotted a beaver way over on the far side in amongst a small group of hooded mergansers. But they were a long long way off….

As the sun was setting, a few beavers came closer, but the light was bad (Can’t please everyone????)

The sun dipped below the horizon painting the sky with beautiful colours

Then finally, in the dying light, I managed to be in the right place at the right time for some nice beaver close-ups

Walking back to car as it was getting darker, one of several muskrats I had seen gave me a chance for a photo op

Not far from the muskrat was a pair of Canada Geese. Seemed that one was acting as a look out while the other fed on water weeds.

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #145, FEBRUARY 2024

Early afternoon, mid-week, and late February combined to present a very quiet visit. One ice fisherman on Muskrat Bay, two walkers and three chickadees who dropped by to say hello once.  The only noise was the quiet rustling of the ice flowing down the river rubbing against the grounded ice.

What few ice fishing huts/tents that are out in place will likely be coming back to shore with the warming temperatures 

While the “in-land” waters are still ice covered, there are areas of water on top of the ice

The River on the other hand is full of flowing slushy ice. Some of the ice from colder days is still frozen in place, while the slushy ice pushes its way up onto the ice grounded in the shallows.

Sitting, or standing, didn’t seem to be yielding fish at the end of the line. (Despite using a digital fishfinder to help find the fish)

A few rabbit tracks were evident in the fresh snow

Last fall’s chewings by the beavers were still looking very fresh

The dogwood branches were certainly standing out in the bright sun against the white snow

The black and white chickadees certainly showed in amongst the red brush

Last year’s grasses were emerging from the snow, fall flowers including fall asters were still carrying their seeds and the burrs were standing by to catch a ride on your pants

A shrub I found growing in just one spot some 20 years ago and hadn’t noticed for a long time is still there. Nine-bark seed pods stood out in the bramble

Both the buckthorn berries and the bittersweet were looking dried out after the winter

The basswood tree seeds seemed to be everywhere 

In the meantime the maple tree buds have set and will be producing leaves sooner than we might think.

The picnic benches are close at hand, ready for the visitors to come and enjoy FOPI’s wonderful facilities

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #144, JANUARY 2024

After the snow and rain of a few days ago I expected the river to be up a bit, but I found the Bill Holland Trail impassable with open, flowing water. I checked the River levels website and discovered it was some three plus feet over the normal summer levels.

The other trails were covered with fresh ice so not much walking was possible around the Island today.

There were tracks in the snow that showed other animals were out and about.

Red squirrel

The wild turkey tracks were pointing the way….

Someone with a tail dragging in the snow had passed by.

These were identified later as muskrat tracks. I’m surprised a muskrat was out at this time of year.

A few tracks were not identifiable

I thought at first I had some deer tracks, but on closer inspection, I think it is someone with a boot with a heel which leaves a deer-like print behind.

(Those are turkey tracks  going vertically in the photo)

There were a few birds….

A raven, a nuthatch, a chickadee, a female hairy woodpecker and a cardinal

Plus a red squirrel horning in on the birds’ seeds

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n5I6PazAZXQ%3Fsi%3DL9-HRyEe99zdk0qU

A last year’s robin nest was exposed to the elements

What I thought might be a tangled baltimore oriole nest turned out to be strands of ribbon/paper…

The buckthorn berries are awaiting the birds looking for last-resort food.

There is still lots of grass showing above the layer of snow

The main channel of the river was ice covered for the most part, with large shards of ice piled up by the current and winds

The ice-fishing huts are still “in port”, but there was some fishing going on

With the bright sun, the cabins were glowing brightly

DISPATCH #143 FROM PETRIE, (EARLY) DECEMBER 2023

I spent two hours in a winter wonderland at Petrie the day after freezing rain and some 4-5″ of snow. The trails and trees were all coated with snow. It would only have been better had it be a clear sunny day.

Coming down Tweddle Road from the Queensway…

Walking the trails

Scenes along shoreline of Turtle Pond

Two muskrats were sitting on the edge of the ice halfway out in Turtle Pond chewing on reeds

~

Based on the size of the footprint, I think this was the track of a beaver crossing the trail between Turtle Pond and the River

A single red squirrel was towards the western end of the trail

No need to be cautious of  poison ivy….

Various berries were crowned by fresh snow

Carrion-flower berries (a.k.a Coonberries)

Invasive buckthorn berries

Highbush cranberries

Bittersweet

Other plants were endowed with snow as well

The grasses and ferns were bent over in the snow

The chickadees and nuthatches were looking for a handout

The cardinals were looking after themselves thank you very much

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E_yA3G4tD2w%3Fsi%3DwZVNwofhb9MLS1q4

The waterfowl were being very shy

The Canada geese (infiltrated by mallards at times) would swim away as soon as they were aware of my presence on the trail.

The mallards would turn their backs on me

And the common golden-eyes stayed a long way out in the river and some flew off into the light snow

Some snowflakes were caught up in two strands of spider webs. 

(The photos are quite bad, but I left them because of the uniqueness)

A few sticks caught in the ice of Muskrat Bay were very noticeable. 

One reminded me of walking stick insect????

There were interesting ice patterns on Muskrat Bay

It is still very early in the winter, so small, rippling “waves” were lapping at the shoreline on the River

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE, #142 OCTOBER, 2023

I didn’t get down to Petrie until the last week of the month, and it was the middle of the day when things are quieter.

I noticed right away one sign that winter is coming…. the ice fishing huts were being lined up, and the muskie “lodge” was already in the water.

The fall colours, which hadn’t been all that great this year, were still hangin on around the Islands.

Sumach leaves were very much in evidence with their red fall colouring.

The virginia creeper leaves also turn a bright red in the fall

Some (pignut) hickory leaves were slowly turning colour

It’s interesting that when I first started visiting Petrie some 25 years ago, that there was not a Canada Goose to be found, now they are very numerous, to say the least.

One group of Canada Geese were being very noisy, splashing about. They seemed to be taking a bath, flipping over on their backs to get thoroughly wet. Water was flying everywhere.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GgoBq0Z847U%3Fsi%3DpXIdYUrI25bnqVbN

In the midst of it all, I didn’t see the egret in the reeds in front of the geese until a few minutes into the raucous

A few geese and some mallards were enjoying a siesta on the logs normally reserved for the turtles.

Not only did I initially miss seeing the egret, I completely missed the great blue heron until I got home and noticed it in one of the photos. It isn’t a great photo, but they frequently have started to head south by now. (It is there, look at the bottom left????????)

A pair of wood ducks were warily keeping their distance from me as they are wont to do..

Mallards on the other hand just ignore people  as they swim about.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UEJtX2mr9SU%3Fsi%3D6wYK_RC8T4x-cQKz

A flock of about 50 lesser scaups (I think)  were scared up by a lone goose flying  up the middle of the river. The ducks flew down river for about 300 yards, then turned back and settled again. Despite my long lens, the ducks were still a long way off so no great photos. But I don’t recall seeing a flock of teals before at Petrie. Note added: probably lesser scaups, not teals.

A lone cormorant was basking in the sun, taking a break from his fishing

With many leaves having fallen from the trees, bird nests are no longer invisible

Some of the bittersweet berries were starting to “crack open” and revealed their seeds

The berries of carrion flower, highbush cranberries and buckthorn were hanging for all to see.

A few small black grapes were on the vine at the end of the Bill Holland Trail

Burdock (burrs) with their hooked spines, were in prime condition to grab onto your clothes as you walk by

Asters and thistles have gone to seed

Ferns had enjoyed a nice summer and were in the midst of dying back

There weren’t many mushrooms and fungus to be found 

Visitors were enjoying the Islands from the water

In a shady spot walking back to the car, the grass was covered with rain drops from the past few days

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #141, SEPTEMBER, 2023

We visited Petrie Island late in the afternoon mid-month. The light was wonderful for photos, but the wildlife is much less active at that time of day.

The late summer/fall flowers were in bloom

(Scroll over for ID)

Bottle gentian

Bottle gentian

Turtleheads

Sneezeweed

Sneezeweed with bee

Water smartweed

Marsh woundwort

Fall asters

Impatiens, Touch-me-not

Berries were becoming common

Bittersweet, carrion-flower, highbush cranberry

​​​​​​​Pigeon horntail (a primitive bee/wasp)

Description of a pigeon horntail

Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies

A co-operative, but distant at times, egret…

A more camouflaged great blue heron

 A few mallards found a spot in the sun, while three painted turtles, after the sun moved, were sitting in the shade.

A cottontail rabbit and a grey squirrel were sorting out right-of-ways

Some odd looking growths on a leaf turned out to be a parasite:

Hackberry nipplegall psyllid,

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #140

A brief walk on August 24, 2023 produced some flowers, and other things, not seen on August 15th

Impatiens, aka touch-me-not and/or  jewel weed, seemed to be everywhere. One was hosting a Japanese beetle (which was likely eating the blossom for a morning snack).

One of my favourite flowers was in bloom – the cardinal flower.

A flower I always associate with Petrie is the turtlehead flower

Scroll over the photos for individual identification

Monkeyflower

Bottle Gentian (aka Closed gentian)

purple loosestrife

Canada thistle (aka field thistle)

Field mint

Field mint

Water smartweed

Water smartweed

Water smartweed

Red shank

Wild cucumber

Dogwood

Aster

Gypswort (aka water horehound)

The long-jawed orb weaver (?) spiders have been busy making lacrosse sticks?

A thistle seed was grasping onto a stem of grass while dew drops were being held on a blade of grass by unseen tiny hairs.

Stinging nettle plants were ready to brush against bare skin. Yellow foxtail grass was starting to sprout and a Canada thistle was dropping its seeds.

I would have thought it was late in the summer, but a good number of tadpoles were in the shallows

A lone mallard (black?) duck was sitting on a fallen branch with his friend the phoebe, while a kingbird was on his own smaller branch.

Despite my general reluctance to take photos of people, there were some young people enjoying the Island too….

DISPATCH FROM PETRIE #139

Dropped into Petrie Island this morning (August 15, 2023) for a brief walkabout and then watch a turtle hatchling release. (We had been party to the first Petrie unofficial hatchling release in 2002.)

Driving down Tweddle Road the phone wires were hosting a flock of barn swallows. A few of them are in the photos below

A female red-wing blackbird was in the bushes alongside the water, while a yellow warbler was flitting about along the walking trail.

Last time I had seen wood ducks at Petrie was 15-20 years ago  (but I admit to not having been there much in the meantime). At that time they were in more westerly parts of the islands no where near any walking trails. Today’s were in Turtle Pond, but very skittish of people, flying off if anyone came within 30-40 yards of them.

Three females were on a branch a long way off in the middle of Turtle Pond.

A few males, in full molt, were even further off, but I did finally mange to find one closer.

The only mallard we saw was a male, also in full molt, sitting on a sunken log in the middle of Turtle Pond as well.

A few Canada geese were at the west end of Turtle Pond

While a cormorant was fishing in the Ottawa River

The last birds seen were a flicker and a robin on the west end of the Bill Holland trail. 

The flicker looks much bigger than the robin – it ‘s all a question of camera angles and perspective.

The wildflowers are trending towards fall flowers already.  Scroll over the picture for ID.

Purple loosestrife

Burdock (only one I found in bloom)

Wild rose

Pickerel weed- only one

Devil’s darning needles

Purple Loosestrife

Canada Thistle – also only one

Bird’s foot trefoil

Evening primrose

Showy tick-trefoil

Joe-pye weed

Arrowhead

Dogwood

Seed pods and berries were all along the trails

Wild rose hips

Bittersweet

Milkweed

Elderberry

Highbush cranberry

Dogwood

Groundnut

While neither a flower nor seeds, two other plants caught my eye. An insect gall on a Canada thistle and some red-leafed poison ivy

Insect gall on a Canada thistle

Poison ivy

A raccoon had walked by recently leaving his wet tracks in the sand. Nearby was evidence of a raccoon-raided snapping turtle nest from June.

The turtle hatchling releases seemed to be a hit. Twenty-five people were at this morning’s wait-listed release.

Two snapping turtles and five map turtles were released.

One of the two snappers was allowed to make its own entrance to the water.

The other snapper, as well as the map turtles, were handed off directly into the water

Two of the hatchlings swam around a bit, and came back to the shore for a few minutes.

I started doing “dispatches” from Petrie 22 years ago. The dispatches, a summary of what I saw on visits,  were weekly for two years then dropped off to bi-weekly and monthly until 2005.  Having moved from Orleans, the dispatches became quite infrequent with two in 2006 and 2009, and one in 2010 and 2018……..

This dispatch is from July 11, 2023. Arriving much later than my usual sunrise visits in the “old” days we missed any sightings of beaver, raccoons etc. We didn’t see any herons at all. ​​​​​​​

A young robin was chirping heartily when we parked the car by the culverts.

A kingbird and a cedar waxwing were hopping about in the trees. A flicker defied me taking a decent picture of it.

There was a family of three Baltimore orioles playing hide and seek with me along the trail. I managed to get three barely passable pictures of each of them. The first two are the juveniles.

Only two ducks, mallards, seemed to a round. The male was in full molt which is normal at this time of year. The female molts while  on the nest.

A juvenile ringbilled gull was more interested in finding something to eat  than being bothered by me creeping closer to take its picture.

Unlike the “old” days when there were no Canada Geese, a large flock was swimming in the river just off the sandy shores  at the west end of the trails.

They left ample evidence behind of their having been on shore….

WIth the weather having been so warm the water has warmed up and there is no need for the turtles to come up and rest of logs etc. But we did find two painted turtles enjoying the sunshine.  Very different scene than in early June when there are so many turtles sunning themselves.

A small snail was making its way up a tall stem of grass

While walking back east along the shore it was evident a tree branch had been dragged from the river shore, along an informal trail that leads south from the River Loop trail to Bill Holland Trail and into Muskrat Bay. Must have been a busy beaver that morning.

The small maple “seedlings” I used to see each year in the sane along the Ottawa River are still there, they never amount to anything.

I am not sure if the black ants were farming the aphids, or eating them. Ants are known to “farm” or care for aphids as the aphids feed primarily on the sap from plants and secrete a liquid called honeydew. This secretion is very sugar-rich, and quite favoured by ants as a food source.

Aside from the ants and aphids, above, and mosquitoes etc, two other insects spotted were a tiny forktail damselfly and a red admiral butterfly.

There was a massive amount of pickerel weed in bloom.

Lots  of other summer wildflowers were in bloom. Scroll the picture to see its name.

Vervain

Fleabane

Sweet pea

Tufted vetch

Goat rue

White waterlily

Yellow waterlily

St John’s wort

Bird’s foot trefoil

Showy tick-trefoil

Narrow leaf loosestrife

Yellow loosestrife

Meadow rue

Cordgrass

White meadowsweet

Milkweed

White sweet clover

Bladder camapion

Nannyberry

Swamp milkweed

Bindweed

Canada thistle

Flowering rush

Burdock

Dogwood berries and grapes were abundant.

I tread carefully and did not disturb the fairies playing by the FOPI offices.

A few kayaks and stand-up boards had been launched and were exploring.

Al Tweddle was a great man. We became friends about a year after the Kennedy family first moved into Orléans. I had received a flat “no” (actually three), from the local Parks & Rec guy, when I asked if I could start a children’s paddling program at Petrie Island. I needed a new angle. A firefighter friend tipped me off that “nothing” happens at Petrie unless Al gives his blessing. The next day I looked him up, and sent him a heartfelt essay about how I grew up outside- I was always either playing in the woods or paddling on the lake, and I felt that that was the healthiest place for kids to be. Al invited me down to the island, so he could show me around. On that first day, he literally pointed to the swath of beach we currently occupy, and said, “That would be a great place for a canoe club”. I agreed. Al rang up Councillor Monette, and together, the three of us went to City Hall, to ask the General Manager of Parks & Rec for permission to start a learn-to-kayak program.

Petrie Island Canoe Club was made possible because Al saw the canoe club as a positive asset for the community, and an appropriate use of the island he so loved. 

In the early days, the guys at Friends of Petrie Island helped me build kayak racks and A-frame signs. They cleared out room in their shed to give us a secure place to store all of our equipment, loaned us a safety boat, and welcomed us into the FOPI cabin to wait out thunderstorms.  Over the years, FOPI and PICC collaborated on many nature-ey projects. Club kids helped cut down invasive species, dig gravel, haul bricks, plant trees, catch specimens, and basically do whatever Friends of Petrie Island needed done that week. Al was perpetually gruff, but never unkind. He was a practical man whose rare smiles belied an excellent sense of humour, and a tremendous generosity of spirit. 

Al died peacefully on May 1st, surrounded by his wonderful family. He will be deeply missed.

Petrie Island once again experienced significant flooding this spring.

See a drone video of the island from 5 May 2023.

April 17 2023. Photos taken 10:50. River is at 43.2 meters above sea level. About ten inches of water before the curve. At this rate, the road will be closed later this week.

(Le français suit l’anglais)

June was unusual this year as the river was so high that most of the trails were flooded. They are now walkable; however, there is still some debris on portions of the trails from the derecho storm in May. The City will be addressing the larger trees in the future. Our workdays are continuing on Wednesdays from 9-12 and all are welcome. We have several high school volunteers collecting their 40 hours by doing various projects.  As well, have 2 new co-op students working with us, Cole and Ted. 

On the beach side, the beaches are open with lifeguards on duty from 12 – 7 pm.  After a pause caused by the pandemic, there was a successful Canada day held here. The new canteen is officially open serving various kinds of food and drink. 

Our programming resumed once we got our summer staff hired.  Our coordinators, Mason and Catherine,as well as our park monitors, Anita, Alicia, and Meghan, are now working full time.  We are running our children’s naturalist programs every Tuesday and Thursday.  We have a day camp from Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health at Petrie four days a week for July, and they have enjoyed a few naturalist sessions.

Potential developments near Petrie continue to be a concern. The Splashifax proposal to put an inflatable water park was not well received by our local community with concerns ranging from parking and traffic, a change in the nature experience, and potential impacts on wildlife. While it looks like the proposal is not proceeding we monitor for other developments including various high rises which may affect our wetland areas. We have discussed refreshing a Petrie Island Management Plan with the City during the next term of council with our Councillor and with our City liaisons.

There are a number of interesting environmental projects happening at Petrie. Malcolm Fenech of the University of Ottawa is continuing his research on turtle basking habits with David Seaburn of the CWF.  As well, we have partnered with them on turtle egg conservation.  Sadly many of the nests this year have been predated, even those with protectors.  However, we anticipate having some hatchlings return from incubation at the CWF offices so that they can be released this fall. There is also additional research turtles and bumblebees happening.  The Friends continue with the wildflower garden, shoreline erosion, invasive species mitigation and trail maintenance.  

As well, the Friends work to improve signage and refresh displays.  Thanks to the local Councillor we have a new bulletin board at the entrance to the beach area.  We have also been doing a weekly biodiversity campaign on social media to profile the breadth and depth of the flora and fauna at Petrie.  Be sure to drop into the office and give us feedback next time you are out at Petrie.  

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Juin a été inhabituel cette année car la rivière était si haute que la plupart des sentiers ont été inondés. Ils sont maintenant praticables, mais il y a encore quelques débris sur certaines parties des sentiers, suite à la tempête derecho en mai. La minicipalité s’attaquera aux plus grands arbres tombés. Nos journées de travail se poursuivent les mercredis de 9 h à 12 h et tous sont bienvenus. Nous avons plusieurs bénévoles du secondaire qui collectent leurs 40 heures en réalisant divers projets. De plus, 2 nouveaux étudiants coopératifs travaillent avec nous, Cole et Ted.

Les plages sont ouvertes avec des sauveteurs de service de 12 à 19 heures. Après une pause causée par la pandémie, une fête du Canada a eu lieu ici à l’île, un succès. La nouvelle cantine est officiellement ouverte et sert divers types d’aliments et de boissons.

Notre programme a repris une fois que nous avons embauché notre personnel d’été. Nos coordinateurs, Mason et Catherine, ainsi que nos moniteurs, Anita, Alicia et Meghan, travaillent maintenant à temps plein. Nous organisons nos programmes naturalistes pour enfants tous les mardis et jeudis. Nous avons un camp de jour du Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health à Petrie quatre jours par semaine pour juillet, et ils ont apprécié quelques séances de naturalistes.

Les développements potentiels à proximité continuent d’être préoccupants. La proposition de Splashifax de mettre en place un parc aquatique gonflable n’a pas été bien accueillie par notre communauté, les préoccupations: stationnement et circulation, effets sur l’expérience de la nature et impacts potentiels sur la faune. Bien qu’il semble que la proposition ne soit plus active, nous surveillons d’autres développements, y compris divers édifices en hauteur qui pourraient affecter nos zones humides. Nous avons discuté de l’actualisation d’un plan de gestion de l’île Petrie avec la municipalité au cours du prochain mandat du conseil avec notre conseiller et avec nos agents de liaison.

Il y a un certain nombre de projets environnementaux intéressants en cours à Petrie. Malcolm Fenech, de l’Université d’Ottawa, poursuit ses recherches sur les habitudes des tirtues qui jouissent du soleil dans les eaux de Petrie, avec David Seaburn de la FCF. De plus, nous nous sommes associés à eux pour la conservation des œufs de tortue. Malheureusement, de nombreux nids de ont été attaqués par les prédateurs, même ceux qui avaient été protégés. Cependant, nous prévoyons que certains nouveau-nés reviennent de l’incubation dans les bureaux de la FCF afin qu’ils puissent être relâchés cet automne. Il y a aussi des recherches supplémentaires sur les tortues et les bourdons. Les Amis cultivent le jardin de fleurs sauvages, font des remblais sur les rives pour ralentir l’érosion, éliminent certaines espèces envahissantes et font l’entretien des sentiers.

De plus, les Amis travaillent à améliorer la signalisation et à rafraîchir les affichages. Grâce au conseiller local, nous avons un nouveau tableau d’affichage à l’entrée de la plage. Nous avons également mené une campagne hebdomadaire sur la biodiversité sur les médias sociaux pour dresser le profil de l’étendue et de la profondeur de la flore et de la faune à Petrie. Assurez-vous de passer au bureau et de nous faire part de vos commentaires la prochaine fois que vous serez à Petrie.

Turtle research study at Petrie Island

The turtle season is right around the corner and turtles should start basking in the next few weeks at Petrie Island! As many of you know, we will be continuing to research the turtles at Petrie Island in 2022 and here are the projects that we will be running:

1) Continuing my thesis research about why freshwater turtles (painted and northern map turtles) aggregate at basking sites. I will be collecting data for the second half of my project by conducting controlled disturbance trials of basking turtles by canoe and testing the “many-eyes” hypothesis. Fortunately, the turtles at Petrie Island quickly return to basking sites once displacing themselves into the water after being disturbed.

2) Continuing the mark-recapture of northern map turtles and assessing turtles for injuries from motorboats. We had success last year catching over 30 northern map turtles and look to build on this number. However, we will not be capturing painted turtles this summer. Additionally, we will not be painting numbers on the carapace of captured individuals (as seen below from last year). We will be catching the turtles using basking traps as pictured below and will have appropriate signage on them.

3) We plan on conducting nesting surveys every morning during the nesting season to get a better idea of where turtles nest throughout Petrie Island and how this has changed over the years. We will also collect some nests to incubate at the Canadian Wildlife Federation. This conservation work will be coordinated with the Friends of Petrie Island and more details will be released closer to the nesting season. All of our research is conducted with the appropriate permits and approved animal care protocols and we will once again be collaborating with the Canadian Wildlife Federation. If you have any questions, I would love to answer them!

Happy Spring to all our members!

As the Island emerges from hibernation, conversations turn to the 2022 season. And it will be a special one. The Friends of Petrie Island are celebrating 25 years! A small group of passionate people came together in 1997 to protect Petrie’s unique ecology and educate visitors about the importance of conservation and preservation.

To celebrate, we will be launching our Memorial Walk, to acknowledge our volunteers who are no longer with us. As well, stay tuned for a Biodiversity campaign to profile the unique life forms at Petrie Island. We are looking for volunteers to help create an archive of our historical materials for a local library. (Please email us if interested). And we look forward to the next 25 years, working with our three levels of government to find a way to rebuild a Nature Centre. MP Marie-France Lalonde (L – Orleans) has identified this as a local priority. At the municipal level, a refreshed Petrie Island Management Plan will be part of the agenda for the next term of Council. 

Pending funding for summer staff we plan to again offer our Young Naturalist Program for children and youth as well as the Friends and Family tours. Tent and picnic table rentals (which include a barbecue permit) are available through the website. Our trail team will be diligently maintaining the seven kilometers of walking paths. We will continue to build on our educational signage and displays to add to the Petrie Island experience. 

Conservation work is a high priority as well and we will be actively engaging volunteers and partners. Turtle conservation will continue with leadership from our colleagues at the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. We also hope to continue the wildflower garden, shoreline erosion remediation, invasive species removal and the tree inventory. Pretty ambitious so if anyone would like to take a lead role with these please send us a message. We had a suggestion to organize a blitz to remove the LLD moth egg masses that are on the trees. If anyone is interested in helping organize one in April please let us know. Several of you have identified an interest in volunteering so if you don’t hear from us in the next month or two please reconnect with us. 

We were delighted to see the success of online registration and payments through our website. We will relaunch a membership drive later this spring but you may do it anytime online. Our FaceBook page, and Group (Petrie Island: Our Small Wilderness) and our Instagram account continue to see high participation. We have some pretty amazing photographers and some strong champions for nature on our platforms! Thank you. 

It looks like spring flooding may pass quickly, which would allow us to restart our Wednesday morning (9-12) workdays. Whether you are at the Island to volunteer, to take in the sights or get some fresh air, do drop into the visitor area and say hi!

Thought for the day –  “The wild places are where we began. Where they end, so do we.” (David Brower)

As we close out summer, it is a great time to reflect on the progress to date and think about what comes next for the Friends of Petrie Island.  It has been a very busy summer and we are delighted with the increased interest in our beloved Island as evidenced by almost 600,000 visitors to date in 2021.  Memberships, volunteer hours, picnic table rentals and social media participation are all up significantly. Memberships have more than doubled from last year and over 1400 people are members of the Friends of Petrie Island Facebook Group.  Visitors continue to enjoy our educational programming such as our displays and Naturalist sessions.  A number of species are getting established in our expanded wildflower garden. 

We have made some real progress on the conservation side as well.  Our activities this summer have included: remediation of shore line erosion, continued work on our tree inventory, tracking beaver activity and removal of invasive species.  Thank you to Ottawa Riverkeeper and local guides and scouts for continued clean up events.  With our dedicated volunteers and staff we were able to protect over 200 turtle eggs from predation.  There is another turtle release planned on September 26 at 2 pm.  Please register through the email: inquiries@petrieisland.org.  The University of Ottawa and the Canadian Wildlife Federation have also been conducting research on our turtle population so this all bodes well for the future of Petrie Island turtles. 

We invite you to check out these new points of interest in the Petrie Island landscape.

• Our giant squid and other driftwood sculptures
• Displays and signage in our interpretive area, for example on freshwater mussels, tree inventory, history of Petrie Island
• More whimsy in the dogwood fairy maze.  Many thanks to Carol, one of our volunteers for the log castles and amazing bird paintings
•  The Volunteer Memorial Trail and Bench.  Tucked under some trees and facing Petrie’s incredible sunsets, this place is a tribute to volunteers like René Cloutier, Bill Bowers and Helen Tweddle, who contributed to the Friends of Petrie Island but are no longer with us.  

While our summer programming has closed, we know that fall is one of the best times to visit Petrie Island.  Wednesday workdays (9-12) will continue while the weather permits.  Staff will be present at the office on weekends til early October.  The beach pavilion is closed for the season but the portapotties stay until after Thanksgiving. The City has removed the parking machines.  There are several fall events at Petrie Island such as a Vendor’s Market, a corporate service event and a general meeting of an environmental agency. You are all cordially invited to the Friends of Petrie Island Annual Meeting on Tuesday Oct. 5 at 5:30 pm at the Event Tent near the office. (Rain date- Oct. 19 at 7:30 at the Queenswood Heights Community Centre). 

The Friends welcome your comments and ideas for future activities. Your feedback is useful to improve programming, set priorities and stimulate creativity. Feel free to send an email (inquiries@petrieisland.org), stop by the office, or message us on Facebook.  A couple projects currently being scoped include a project to enhance our interpretive materials and a project by Carleton University students to examine bird populations at Petrie. 

In closing, we would like to thank you for your support.  Donations, memberships, volunteering, participating in events and social media, and being the eyes and ears of the Island, all contribute to our mandate of protecting the ecology of Petrie and engaging the community in the preservation of our small wilderness. Hope to see you out there. 

For all of our new members since May, we would like to extend a big thank you for supporting the Friends of Petrie Island! Your membership helps fund our conservation projects, maintenance of the picnic area and trails, and educational displays.

In June, the rest of our summer staff joined the team (Kyra, Catherine, Mason, and Clare), and in July, our new co-op student, Anita started! We have been very busy the last couple of months, with increased attendance in May and June compared to last year, and July at slightly lower attendance (this may be due to the frequency of poor weather). We have hosted lots of Naturalist programs and we are happy to see increased numbers of groups are reserving picnic areas. There have been a number of camps and children’s groups that we have hosted, including a Girl Guides group which helped us with our Gypsy moth caterpillar removal! Our staff and volunteers have been removing a number of invasive species, including dog-strangling vine, garlic mustard, buckthorn, and burdock, in order to protect the native biodiversity at Petrie.

We have had an influx of new volunteers and high school students helping us with our many projects, including our wildflower gardens, trail maintenance, and upgrading our Nature Centre area. The owner of BANANAS (the old restaurant on the beach), donated several thousand dollars worth of patio stone to us, which our volunteers helped turn into a new patio for the Nature Centre. Leftover stone will be used at the Memorial Bench and near our sheds. Our volunteers also helped us with our soil erosion project, burying the base of a tree along the shore with an exposed root system, in hopes to prevent the soil from further eroding. The Petrie Island tree inventory has started back up with three volunteers, who will be exploring the furthest parts of the island and noting the different species and their approximate age. Lastly, we had eight turtle watch volunteers this season who helped us find and protect 14 nests, including 6 snapping nests, 5 painted nests, and 3 map nests, for a total of 285 eggs protected! This is nearly three times the number of eggs we protected last year, which will hopefully increase the populations of these at-risk species. Turtle researchers from the University of Ottawa have also been active at Petrie this summer, observing basking patterns of map and painted turtles. They have seen ___ adults so far, and lots of last year’s hatchlings in Crappie Bay!

As we mentioned earlier, lots has been happening at Petrie! We’ve had several special events, including our successful Member’s Days, a garbage cleanup organized by our co-op student, and a video that The Friends filmed with the Orleans councilor, Matt Luloff, about the rules of the island. We have been working hard to increase awareness of the rules, promoting them on our social media, website, signage, and by producing this video. It will be in English and French, and it covers why it is important to follow the rules. There will be more updates to come on that, so please keep your eyes on your emails and social media! Additionally, the Friends of Petrie Island was also briefly featured in a CTV interview about the tree inventory, which you can check out here: https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/mobile/what-type-of-trees-are-on-your-street-there-s-a-map-for-that-1.5453517

The summer staff have been working hard on our displays to make a fun and educational Nature Centre that we are glad to say has been enjoyed by many! We have updated some of our old signs and we have been adding French text to all of our signs that lacked it previously. The staff are working on new signs which will each highlight a FOPI project, including the tree inventory, invasive species removal, turtle conservation, and more. We have some new displays in our Nature Centre container, including a snowy owl figure (taxidermy), wildflower and tree specimens, a pond life aquarium, a mussel section, and a garter snake snakeskin, donated by one of our members! You may also have noticed that the river-side of our Nature Centre container has been painted! Our staff worked hard this week to create a scene of Petrie on the side of the container, which will be completed by the end of the summer. We also have a brand-new display area near this mural- we have repurposed an old wooden bridge to showcase some more educational signs, our dioramas, and a new display in the works, which will show Petrie throughout the ages.

All in all, it has been a very active summer so far, and we look forward to the rest of the 2021 season. We have a number of events planned for late summer and early fall, including our turtle releases which will likely be in September. We will update our members on as soon as the turtles hatch. Petrie will also be hosting a vendors’ market, which will take place at our Event Tent on September 11^th and 12^th. You can find more information about this on the Instagram page @petrieislandvendorsmarket. Lastly, there will be an event hosted by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) on October 10^th, which focuses on appreciating nature and the exploring the health benefits nature has. More information to come on that in our August dispatch.

Thank you all for supporting and respecting the conservation of Petrie Island. We are working hard to preserve the biodiversity of this important ecosystem and create a space for people to enjoy nature. We greatly appreciate you following all of the island’s rules, including keeping your dogs at home, fishing in designated areas only, and only using gas barbeques (with a permit). All of the information about the rules can be found here: https://www.petrieisland.org/before-you-visit.

We hope you enjoy Petrie as much as we do, and we look forward to seeing you on the island!

Signed,

Cassara

FOPI Staff

Quiet Morning on the Water

It has been 3 weeks since last paddling down at Petrie Island, and yesterday there was a dire need to refresh myself with an outing amongst the conservation area of the isle.

By 7:30 am, I was on the water and Crappie Bay was like a mirror, ideal for skipping stones. The dip and swish of the paddle had me soon entering Snake Channel where I found the plant growth under and on top of the water almost too much for any gliding. In the 22 years I have been paddling in this area, I have never seen such density, more than likely due to the lowness in the water level, with more sunlight entering the water resulting in more growth and cleaner water. My first Blue Heron was standing on a water laden tree log and quite docile as it scanned the water’s surface. I gave him a wide birth……knowing that he was a regular and quite use to passing canoeists and kaykers. Before leaving, I was surprised not to see the beaver in the water or near its abode.

Entering Muskrat Bay, I headed toward the slit in the embankment to enter Middle Channel, but only to find that a beaver had commenced creating a dam. I sure as heck didn’t want to return through the tangle again and around, so I decided, since I was already here, why not paddle within the bay first. At the far end next to the trail, I met up with Michael Rocco and had a short chat…….he was on a mission with his zoom lens camera in hand.

I made a second attempt through the slit by ramming my canoe upon the dam, crawled up toward the bow and disembarked. What a putrid smell from the clayish mud the beavers were using; however, I did manage to haul my canoe up and over this obstacle. On my way again and onto Second Passage, I soon spotted a Blue Heron in the grassy reeds, hunting of course. Again, before reaching the end of the island, there was another Blue Heron hunting for his breakfast, too. It was that time of day when the sun’s light was at its best.

Scanning the shoreline, I noticed a beautiful pink Hibiscus in full bloom partially hidden among the bulrushes. Again, I rammed my canoe in among the reeds towards shore, crawled up and over the bow and hauled in the canoe further. Not only was there this flower, but other species as well not seen from the waterway. I made a good choice to investigate and was rewarded.

Across the entrance of the channel with the Ottawa River, there was another huge Blue Heron along the shallow shoreline. I couldn’t believe I was seeing so many. And as I entered rounded the westerly point of Petrie, there was but a Blue Heron hunting in knee-deep water. Swinging out into the river, I drifted with the current to take in the marvelous techniques used by the Heron to hunt and capture its prey. It is an art! This was the first time this year paddling alongside the isle on the Ottawa River and it brought back a lot of fine sights from years ago, but now I noticed more erosion and missing trees because of the Spring ice break-ups and flooding. Before reaching the end of this stretch of shoreline, I informed an elderly gentleman on the path to backtrack and he would be able to view a beautiful Blue Heron grooming itself in some short reeds. As I passed, he waved and gave a thanks for the heads up.

By this time, I was numb-bummed and decided to rest at the beach where I met up with Al Tweddle and got caught up with the “happenings” on the isle over the summer, especially the scientific research counting, etc with the turtles. Appears that this research with continue on into next year.

After passing through the culvert, I noticed a light breeze and maple leaves were falling upon the water. Fall is getting closer as each day passed. Suddenly, I saw a slight movement out of the corner of my eye, and there, next to the reedy shoreline was another Blue Heron (7th). I think this bird had to be the same one I had encountered along Snake Channel……docile, even when two kayakers approached, although he tried to hide himself within the reeds and not move one iota,

Sitting in Second Passage in front of the entrance to Crappie Bay, I suddenly saw two ducks leave the reeds and swim towards me, their V-shapes behind them growing wider and wider. I wondered what was going on; I had always noticed ducks to be skittish and fly away. Next to my canoe, they gazed up at me quaking as if expecting a hand-out. I hope people are NOT feeding them because ducks are creatures of the wild. Soon, they became bored with me and swam towards the nearby kayakers, much to their delight.

I now decided to call it a day after being on the water for 4 hours. Other than the Blue Heron and the pass-over and honking of skeins of Geese, I didn’t see much other wildlife, but just being on the water, looking and listening, that was worthwhile indeed.

Canoe Paddle at Petrie Island

This morning was my first opportunity to go canoe paddling within the inlets and bays of Petrie Island. I was not only surprised to see the low water level, but also that the ramp and dock were not install. This did not deter me and I was on the water paddling by 7 am under a light, cool breeze with overhead scattered clouds and blue skies. The sun was trying desperately to show itself and when it did, the warmth was rewarding.

It felt so good to be on the water again listening to a variety of birds sounding out the morning……the Covid tensions had soon disappeared. My favourite paddle is by far through the twisting channel from Crappie Bay to Muskrat Bay……and the scenery was picturesque as always with fallen trees and limbs along the shoreline. I must have been early because the usual number of turtles were not out on the fallen trees sunning themselves as yet; however, I was not to be disappointed upon my return later in the morning.

During my trek, I had a chance to meet Mike, who was out photographing birds along the shoreline path, and later, Sharon in her kayak……..resulting in two great conversations on a variety of topics…….and one in particular, learning about the turtle traps and the research being conducted by students from the nearby university. Hopefully, we will hear about their findings on the turtle habitat at Petrie Island.

One area that really fascinated me was the dam the beavers had built at an entrance off Second Passage to a marsh leading to the causeway. With the raised water level, it certainly would be of a benefit for other habitat. I was aware of its existence, but was surprised in its length and size…….a job well done!

As usual, there were a variety of wildlife to be seen, muskrats, the splash of a beaver, ducks, geese and their goslings, Blue Heron, and scores of turtles and birds.

By the time I put out at 10 am, there were hoards of kayakers already on the waterways and more arriving in the parking lot. It is going to be a very busy day on the isle.

Thank you for supporting the Friends of Petrie Island. While programming ended last fall after the Turtle Release, our volunteers remain active over the winter; there was a letter of concern about future development of a 25-story high-rise building at Trim Road submitted, social media continued, and onsite monitoring was done regularly. Attendance at the Island continued at record highs all winter, which may have been influenced by the lovely weather, low snow fall, increasing east end population and the increased COVID-driven interest in nature. 2020 attendance was almost double previous records. All signs are that 2021 will surpass last year’s numbers. During a spectacular April, 43,000 people visited Petrie Island, with a one day high of 6,040 as people enjoyed the 24 degree weather on April 10. While May has started off cool, forecasts show sunshine ahead.

Our first summer student, Cassara, has started and we are busy making plans for this summer and recruiting new staff. The Friends of Petrie Island has been approved for 5 positions funded by Canada Summer Jobs.

Students will have 10-11 week contracts and will be undertaking conservation activities, delivering Naturalist sessions and tours, managing reservations and permits and doing outreach to visitors.

The increased attendance has put more strain on the environment so we are working with the City to better inform visitors of proper conduct to preserve the integrity of the Island. The most common problems we face are dogs, which disrupt the local ecology (e.g. nesting birds and mammals); shoreline fishing, which harms protected marine animals and is increasingly eroding the shoreline; picking plants and foraging; and littering. There is a 9:00 pm curfew on the Island that we will better enforce this year.

We are hoping to engage more visitors as members and volunteers.

Memberships are an important funding source, and demonstrate appreciation of the work that Friends does and support for our goals. If you are interested in supporting our projects, feel free to reach out.

We would be delighted to see individuals that would like to lead or participate in projects, and we would also welcome small groups to focus on specific projects. Please note that activities will be accordance with COVID-19 safety practices. If you are interested in starting or joining a group, please let us know at inquiries@petrieisland.org.

Here are our current projects:

– Turtle conservation- basking turtle counts, egg gathering, (this is separate from research being done by the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Wildlife Federation).

– Wildflower garden- preparing, planting, weeding, signage, gathering specimens (we would love to restart our Plant Group)

– Dogwood Maze/Fairy Garden- expand and add twig fences to protect the dogwood underpass

– Trail/Nature Centre amenities- benches, driftwood sculptures, sign painting, picnic table staining

– Art display- a semi permanent display of local artwork/artists

– Invasive species monitoring and removal

– Beaver monitoring- ideally a volunteer with a water craft to monitor numbers and locations and activity

– Tree inventory on west end of island and surrounding islands, ID special trees

– Tree wrapping

– Biodiversity plan- to be scoped

– Newspaper articles for Orleans Star- Petrie Island through the eyes of a child, an artist, a naturalist

– Events- clean up (Rotary Club is hosting on in June, date TBD), Turtle Day (date TBD, hopefully June)

– Leave no trace – handout and video on rules at Petrie

– Grant applications- funding for pavilion

– Shoreline- protecting shoreline/ erosion control with RVCA

If any of these speak to you, please let us know what you are interests are.

Of course, our members are always welcome to help out at Wednesday Workdays, and for now, people will be given independent activities until COVID protocols are relaxed. We will be hosting a Members Open House where we will discuss and demonstrate our projects, and a Members’

Guided Tour, both planned for June. Please watch your email, the website, or social media for specifics. We also welcome your comments and suggestions.

Hope to see you at the Island!

By Paul Le Fort

The Friends of Petrie Island have submitted comments on the proposed development at Trim Road & Jeanne d’Arc Blvd.

An application has been submitted to City of Ottawa Planning, Development and Construction, on September 17, 2020, regarding a change to the zoning of 1009 Trim Road in Ward 1 (ref: D01-01-20-0016). 

It calls for amending the Official Plan, Schedule 2 (Urban Land Use) for the area of the site designated “Urban Employment Area” to “General Urban Area or Mixed use” in order to allow a major, potentially high-rise mixed residential and commercial development west of Trim Road, off Jeanne-d’Arc Boulevard. The Friends of Petrie Island have serious objections to this development as it presents at this point, and have made comments to City Planning as part of the consultation process. Here is a summary of the points made. You can make your opinions known to MP Marie-France Lalonde, MLA Stephen Blais, and Councillor Matt Luloff, as well as to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. Online reference: (https://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/appDetails.jsf?lang=en&appId=__B026NT)

– There has been a significant increase in visitor traffic at Petrie I. since 2015, along with bicycle traffic and dogs.

– We are aware that Ottawa’s Master Plan includes urban development in that sector, and understand that proximity to a major highway and transit station make the area desirable for expansion; the concern is with the scale and exact location.

– A large increase in population and traffic will put additional pressure on Petrie Island and Trim Road, which cannot safely accommodate the current pedestrian, vehicle and bicycle mix. 

– Development of a public beach at Petrie Island has already destroyed habitat and negatively impacted the island environment.

– Petrie Island includes a nature preserve with a variety of plant and animal species, some at risk, some fairly rare in our area, and is a provincially significant wetland. 

– Setting aside a nature preserve requires continuing protection, including the critical buffer zones that surround it, to prevent habitat fragmentation. – – – Towers with extensive glass surfaces would be a death trap for the thousands of migratory birds that stop over twice a year.• We are concerned with the aesthetics of high-rise buildings so close to the river, and the proposed development appears to be on the 100-year flood plain.

• 

Petrie Island: Then vs Now

Article by Atirah Ally, FOPI summer employee 2020

Everyone has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been quarantined since April and only now have been allowed to properly resume everyday activities with proper precautions. However, it is often overlooked as to how our environment has reacted to the decreased presence of the public during the quarantine in comparison to the effects before the stay at home order. In this article, we will compare the effects on the community and the environment before and after the quarantine period. This will include the foot traffic in the island throughout the months, car presence, engagement, and the overall effects on the nature of Petrie Island.

To begin, it is common knowledge to our community that Petrie Island floods every year. It is the reason why the island is classified as a Class 1 wetland and an important area that houses various species of rare plants. This year, the flooding reached a peak of 43.28 m and ceased mid-April, much earlier than last year. In fact, last year’s flooding had a record-breaking height of 45.17 m, and only started ceasing mid-June. Moreover, the summer staff remained operating out of the Queenswood Heights Community Centre until conditions improved, almost until the end of June. The road itself was closed for 57 days and the trails at 73 days. With the large flood, it greatly disrupted the ecosystem that encompassed the area. For example, the turtle nesting period was pushed back, there was a significant amount of beaver damage due to the flooding rising above the protected nets for trees, and smaller turtle basking counts during the nesting season compared to previous years. However, with the flooding ceasing earlier, it would mean that the staff could operate on the island earlier and it allowed for the environment to re-establish better and reintroduce the natural patterns of many species. As a result, the nesting period for turtles became more normalized with the nesting period beginning in May and peaking in June. There remained some beaver damage along the shoreline, chewing on the unprotected dogwood especially. There also seemed to be a larger presence/activity of animals in the area. Which include more groundhog, beaver, and turtle sightings.

Figure 1. Ottawa River water levels above sea level in metres per year. Data represents the peak level between the months of March-May (flooding season). (Ottawa River Regulation Board)

Petrie Island was closed to the public by the City of Ottawa during April 2020 as part of the pandemic shutdown. However, the park was opened to the public since May 7, 2020. FOPI started operating on the island on May 20, 2020. As soon as the island opened, the number of visitors has spiked. Based on FOPI data from 2020, it was clear that even with the quarantine in effect (April) and mandatory social distancing, there was a large number of individuals on the island. From May-July, it has been the highest attendance numbers ever seen. They abided by social distancing rules and most were wearing masks. There were even inquiries about the status of island, programming, and rentals. However, most kept to themselves walking the various trails on the island, especially the Bill Holland Trail. Even in sub-par weather, we would see families walking in the park area and on our trails. It was clear that emerging from quarantine, the public desperately wanted to be outdoors and to be within nature.

Figure 2.  Comparison of the number of attendees per month (May – July) from 2015 to 2020.

Due to most of the community working from home, schools were closed, and rules starting to ease, by the end of May through early June the population coming to Petrie Island has spiked. During nice summer days, there were many gatherings some abiding by the group restriction and others not. With most individuals working from home, there were more and more families coming down to Petrie Island. Social distancing became harder to achieve the busier the days became. Most picnic tables were occupied, luckily, the area does provide adequate social distancing space. If no picnic tables were available or to decrease contact with COVID-19, many have brought their own chairs. In terms of the business, July 1, 2020 was one of those days. Canada Day was the busiest day on Petrie Island for this year. In previous years, Petrie Island hosted a major Canada Day event, with fireworks and entertainment. In 2020, there was no official event in place; nevertheless, many individuals came down to celebrate with their families. The parking lot was full, with many illegally parked. There was also barely any rotation between the families that have come down to the park with many staying until 9:00 PM. It should also be noted that there were more families in the Al Tweddle Picnic Area this year compared to last year.

Many people came here for the first time and enjoyed their experience. We have had many families and individuals come up to the FOPI staff to ask about the trails here on the island and what sort of facilities there are here. With those discovering the island for the first time, there are also more regulars coming to visit the island. We have seen many couples coming down to enjoy the scenery and relax within nature.

                In terms of the difference with FOPI and the island. The staff were less involved in tour and naturalist programs, allowing more projects to be taken up among all our staff and volunteers. Meaning, the staff has had more time to focus on displays and various other maintenance tasks such as trail maintenance. There were also more projects taken on this year. For example, the tree inventory, a turtle study, a wildflower garden, re-vamping the fairy house, updating flower charts, and a trial program called Guided Meditation. In terms of Naturalist and our rentals, we have seen a decrease in those that have booked or attended for this year. This was predicted to happen due to health and safety concerns. The Naturalist program focused on individual families or groups all limited to 10 individuals, in order to keep the social bubble the same. Thus far, the Naturalist program has been very successful. We had many book tours throughout the summer, and they all had very positive feedback. The most popular tour was of course, turtles.  The picnic area rentals were occurring at a steady pace generating some revenue for the Friends of Petrie Island. The number of rentals was lower this year most likely due to concerns of COVID-19. Another significant difference was the maxed-out parking on weekends. This happened on occasion last year; however, this year the parking lot was always full on the weekends with many being illegally parked. There was also a larger presence of By-law officers frequenting the island for infractions, the majority of looking for parking infractions. Furthermore, the Oziles’ Marina has been seeing more kayaks and paddleboats being rented for the season. In fact, a category of inquiries that we frequently see are that of boat rentals, with which we redirect them to Oziles’.  Even with the increased foot traffic on Petrie Island, engagement between FOPI and the community has been lower than usual. Last year, the community engagement mostly stemmed from our Naturalist program and school/camp tours. With groups sizes restricted for our programming, there was less Naturalist engagement. However, in terms of promotions for the Friends of Petrie Island, it seems more promotions were done this year. We were more active on our social media outlets such as Instagram (@dailypetrie) and Facebook (PetrieIsland). Online promotions were better helped by the creation of a FOPI PayPal account. We have had many of our memberships and donations from online. Thus, there was more outreach this year online compared to the previous year. More word was getting out for Petrie Island.

                Overall, these are the general trends that have been seen throughout the summer as a result of the pandemic. Despite quarantine and group size restrictions, the public still found a way to get outside and enjoy nature. There was more interest in exploring their community and finding new, undiscovered areas such as Petrie Island.

July is nearing its end and our last summer month, August, is finally here! We have been seeing the attendance on the island steadily increasing due to the warm weather, with the number of individuals peaking in July. The majority of our summer staff will be here until the end of August; therefore, all programs will continue running until August 30, 2020. In this update we will cover new policies, events, and how all our programs are running despite the pandemic.

To begin, it was brought to our attention that many of those that visit Petrie Island have been confused about the barbecue policy installed by the By-law versus that of the Friends of Petrie Island. In order to clear the confusion, By-law and FOPI have agreed that FOPI may grant a permit to allow gas barbecues and not charcoal. However, FOPI will require a picnic table rental in the Al Tweddle Picnic Area to obtain a barbeque permit. The rental is only valid within our picnic area and nowhere else throughout the park. If you would like a barbecue in the Stuemer Park area, you must contact the City of Ottawa for a permit. This policy has been in effect since July 10, 2020.

Our new Family and Friends Naturalist program has been going swimmingly! Thus far, we had several inquiries about the program and many tours. The themes remain turtles, insects, and amphibians. However, we may add another theme, such as fossils and dinosaurs, as a “summer special” based on the interest of the public. In terms of social distancing, since it is families and close groups there has not been a problem. Many take precautions in distancing, such as the use of masks. However, we do want to emphasize that parents urge their kids to social distance for their own safety and that of the staff.

Rentals have been occurring at a steady pace. There have been less inquiries about rentals since last year; however, as the count for individuals in a public or enclosed space increases, we can increase our ability to rent picnic areas. Based on the statement released by the Government of Ontario, public gatherings have increased to 50 individuals in an indoor setting; while, public gatherings have increased to 100 individuals in an outdoor setting. Of course, both will still require social distancing. Presently, we have changed our rental fees to include both the new rental fees made this year and the original from last year. Now, the tent rental will revert to last year’s fee which is $100.00 for a half-day (less than 5 hours) and $125.00 for a full day (more than 5 hours). The Area 2 and 3 rentals will remain $10.00 per picnic table.

Our display area has been in progress throughout the summer. As of right now, we have finished the layout of our display area, grouping all our boards into specific topics and regions. These regions include mammals, general information, history, children’s programming, and amphibians and reptiles. We also have live animals on display which are rotated every 2-3 days. The animals reside in filtered tanks or in regulated environments in which the bedding can be easily replaced. It should also be known that the shelter that houses the animals and other displays can only hold three individuals or a singular family at a time to maintain social distancing. Other boards that will be up soon are themed salamanders and snakes, biodiversity, and a history board that encompasses the history of Petrie Island and the history of FOPI in time for our 25 anniversary. We also have flower boards up on our information board next to the Wildflower Garden which shows the different plant species that can be found on Petrie Island. It includes medicinal and ecological purposes for each.

In other news, our Ecology Ottawa tour on July 18, 2020 went great! We did a basic tour of Petrie Island that included our Interpretation Centre, the Turtle Trail, and the Bill Holland trail. We included a bit about our Turtle Study, the history of Petrie Island, and facts about various plants and wildlife. The response has been positive, and it was a wonderful experience. We would like to thank all of those who tuned in to Facebook Live and watched the tour!

The pilot for the FOPI Guided Meditation on July 25, 2020, ran by our fellow staff member Bree, went very well! We have had many inquiries about registering for the session, even on the day it was first announced. Though the day of the event was on the warmer side, there was still a great turn-out and it had a very positive feedback. The Guided Meditation theme for that day was focused on surrendering yourself to nature. The class was entirely non-denominational, meaning no religious aspects were covered. If you are interested in this program, please contact inquiries@petrieisland.org.

FOPI is holding its annual Art Showcase from July 31, 2020 to August 3, 2020. The event will occur during this time period from 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM at our Event Tent in the Al Tweddle Picnic Area. We will have artists displaying various art mediums and some will be selling their artwork.  The event will be socially distanced, meaning only 10 individuals at a time, including the artists. We will have a staff member onsite to ensure this rule is being followed for the safety of the artists and the visitors. Moreover, we have a new way to donate and to help support the Friends of Petrie Island debuting at the showcase: A Turtle Sponsorship! It will be $2.00 per turtle egg (from the eggs that have been protected by the Friends of Petrie Island this year) and all the sponsorship proceeds will help the Friends of Petrie Island continue their conservation and educational efforts. If you would like to know more information, please visit us at our Interpretation Centre in the Al Tweddle Picnic area or send an E-mail to inquiries@petrieisland.org.

To close, we would like to thank our devoted fellow FOPI staff member Kyra for all her time and dedication spent working with the Friends of Petrie Island and on our Tree Inventory. It was a pleasure to have her work with us throughout the summer, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

As a reminder, social distancing between different groups must still be implemented for your own protection. It is always highly recommended to bring a mask and hand sanitizer with you when visiting public areas.  

Thank you for reading! You can stay up to date by following the Friends of Petrie Island on Facebook and Instagram and joining our Facebook group where participation is encouraged.  If you have not purchased your 2020 membership, please stop by the office at our Interpretation Centre in the Al Tweddle Picnic Area.

FOPI Staff

Paddle before the heat of the day…….While putting my canoe atop my car and tying down the last strap at 5:30 am, I became drenched with a sudden cloud burst of rain that didn’t last long. This didn’t stop me in my quest to go for a leisurely paddle around Petrie Island though.

I left the dock at Crappie Bay at 6 am with dark clouds blocking the rising sun and a cool chill was in the air. By the time I reached Muskrat Bay, the sun was beckoning its appearance within a blue sky. It was going to be a beautiful morning as I continued my paddle.

At Muskrat Bay, I noticed a huge white fish fly right out of the water and fall forward at a slant with a splash in the water. Putting my canoe in glide mode, I waited and soon saw swirls of water upon the water’s surface going in a loop pattern……and then it happened again. The third and fourth times, the fish was now in the middle of Muskrat Bay. And then it stopped…..this fish put on a spectacular show for me as it went “fly fishing” in its own way.

Rounding the westerly tip of the island, I was gliding about 10 feet from shore when I suddenly came upon a pair of geese with 5 goslings resting in the grassy sand. I was more startled than they. They must be used to canoeists and kayakers passing by constantly every day.

Between this point and the beaches, a lone sailboat, the Caroline, was anchored in the river’s current. People on board were still asleep, but I hope they had their boat lights on during the night.With little effort, a sculler passed by for his morning workout.

Passing the beach, crews could be seen emptying the garbage bins and readying the place for the hordes of people soon to arrive for the day.

Passing through the culvert and back into Crappie Bay, it was time to get off the water as an increase in temperature and humidity could be felt. Although, I didn’t see much wildlife, I sure heard them…….and that made for a great outing…..

As the summer goes forward, many new developments have been made. Provincial laws have now allowed groups to maintain a limit of 10 individuals. With this in mind, FOPI has decided to re-open the Picnic Area Rentals and modify the Children’s Naturalist Program. The Picnic Area Rentals will include the Event Tent, Picnic Area 2a/b, and Picnic Area 3a/b. The rentals will consist of renting a specific number of picnic tables in a certain picnic area at a cost of $10.00 per table; however, if you are a member, picnic tables will cost $5.00 per table. In terms of the new Naturalist Program, we are now targeting individual families for a Family and Friends Naturalist Program. A family or group can book a tour that consists of an information session on a Naturalist subject such as turtles or insects, followed by a small guided tour. Crafts and games will be omitted this year due to concerns of COVID-19. The tour will also be socially distant and follow provincial guidelines in terms of group etiquette (i.e. masks, if social distancing is not available). It will be $15.00 for groups of less than 5 individuals, $20.00 for groups of more than 5 individuals, and $10.00 for members for either 5 or more individuals. Please check the website or visit our Nature Centre for bookings or more information.

On June 17, 2020, we had a great turnout for the Wednesday Workday! On this workday, we were able to put up the main tent and hold an executive meeting to discuss future projects. It was discussed that FOPI would officially hire five students for the summer, as such, we have recently closed our Park Monitor job application for the summer. We would like to introduce our new summer staff! We have Atirah, a returning summer student who is our new Staff, Membership, and Volunteer Coordinator. She will also be focusing on completing a Turtle Report which compiles turtle basking and nesting data from 2006-2020. Another returning student is Laura. She is our new Children and Family Program Manager who will be focusing on wildflowers’ and other plant species’ data collection. Our new additions to our summer staff are Kyra, Bree, and Cassara. Kyra is a recent graduate from Trent University, she earned a BSc in Environmental Resource Science. Due to her experience in an arboretum, she will be completing a report on the Tree Inventory from 2019. Bree is a senior high school student at St. Peters High School. She has experience as a landscaper, and she has a devout passion for the environment and conservation. Her goal is to become a park ranger in the future and to study archeology due to her fascination with history. Lastly, Cassara is currently enrolled at Carleton University studying for a BSc in Environmental Science. She is interested in biodiversity and sustainable architecture. She is very passionate about the environment and conservation and would like to pursue a career in those fields.

There have been many inquiries about the status of the beach and park, this mainly includes the rules and regulations. To begin, the lifeguards will begin their operations on the East Beach, Stuemer Park, and in the Picnic Area on June 27^th, 2020. Buoys have already been set in place and as of now, swimming is at your own risk. E-coli counts are still being maintained. The flag on the Main Beach will indicate the swimming conditions. If the flag is red, the E-coli count is too high and swimming is not permitted; whereas, if the flag is green the river conditions are favourable, and swimming is permitted. In either case, lifeguards will be on duty from 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM everyday of the week starting on June 27^th, 2020.  

Finally, despite the pandemic there is still a public event in the works for FOPI. FOPI and Ecology Ottawa have decided to host a virtual tour of the island on July 18, 2020 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM. The platform will be Facebook Live and will be run from the Ecology Ottawa Facebook page. Be sure to register for the event on Ecology Ottawa’s webpage! We will see you then!

In other news, we received our container and office on June 23, 2020. We are officially operating in our Nature Centre area.Come by and inquire about our programs and rentals!  If you have not renewed your membership for this year there will be a staff member present at the Nature Centre between the hours of 10:00 AM-7:00 PM, Mon-Sun.

FInally, public gatherings are still limited to 10 individuals and social distancing between different groups must still be implemented for your own protection. It is always highly recommended to bring a mask and hand sanitizer with you when visiting public areas. 

Thank you for reading!

FOPI Staff

Our last dispatch of 2019 looks back at what a productive year it
has been.  The big theme is the power of Mother Nature as record
flooding, a tornado and extreme heat all served to remind us of who is really in charge! Notably access to the Island was delayed by
construction on the causeway in the winter.  Once spring arrived the
Islands were pretty much entirely under water with the exception of
the beach house and parts of the marina.  This lasted into June which
severely impacted clean up efforts and school tours.

Repairing and re-building took alot of the physical effort this summer as volunteers and summer staff worked on trails, displays, picnic areas, benches with much of it was washed away, damaged or covered in mud by the flooding.  Particular attention has been made to the anchoring of all our assets to better withstand future floods.  Our top purchase this fall was a new pump to help with clean up
activities.

That said it was a productive year from the education and awareness
side of things.  A grant from Canada Summer Jobs secured five summer staff who worked on interpretative signage, delivered nature programing ( including a new Youth Naturalist session), and helped with FOPI administration.  Youth Naturalists did more advanced activities including building insect hotels and bat houses and removal of invasive species.  A regular Plant Group was run on Tuesday evenings to work on a wildflower garden and encourage visitors to learn about the uses of native plants.  We ramped up social media and now have almost 1200 followers on the Facebook page, an active Facebook group with over 300 members and Instagram.  Other activities included articles in the community newspaper, a VIP Walk and Talk and an Art Day.

FOPI also continues to work to protect the flora and fauna of Petrie
Island.  One way is by monitoring and reinforcing the rules- no dogs
on the Island, no foraging, lower speeds where the turtles cross.
Turtle Day was very popular with over 400 attendees.  We also
harvested some vulnerable turtle eggs and put them in protected nests.  We were pleased with the interest in the release of the hatchlings in September with over 130 attendees over two days.  Another conservation activity was the Tree Inventory that we did with our partners and volunteers in August.  The central part of the Island was the focus this year and the work provided a solid baseline to track the overall health of the tree populations into the future.  Silver maples are the most common tree in this zone with the largest ones being over 100 cm in diameter.

Unfortunately the short season resulted in less revenue from tours and rentals.  As well, attendance at the Naturalist programs was down a bit.  On the plus side membership revenue was up, there are a couple new volunteers attending work days, and social media is going strong.
And another bright spot is interest from the Forest School and a local elementary school, Orleans Wood, in looking for ways to engage their students with Petrie Island.  One group of students even saved mussels that were stranded when the river’s water levels dropped.  Some students participated in guided walks on the Island learning about nature and how it changes with the seasons.

Overall, it was a very productive season with new and exciting
opportunities on the horizon for 2020.  We anticipate more ways for
people to get involved, perhaps in helping with guided walks or
improving interpretative materials.  Thank you very much for your
support through your memberships and participation.  We hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season and that we see you soon out on Petrie Island.

By Teyana Aviles Molina

Things are starting to wind down at Petrie Island as summer is coming to an end. We would like to recognize and give a special thank you to our summer students; Emma, Emie, Atirah, Laura and Teyana, as well as part time summer student Justin, for their dedication and hard work. We would also like to thank our summer volunteers; Loriann, Anthony, and Christopher for all their help. Another important acknowledgment goes to our Wednesday Workday staff; Al, Paul, Mike, Steve, Gil, Martin, and Bill, who continuously contribute to the upkeep and restoration of the island.
For our three months here on Petrie Island there were many different projects that were completed following the flood damage. The cleanup and restoration of the area was a major ongoing project throughout the summer. Information boards and other displays were greatly affected by the floods, therefore restoring and improving the boards for the general public was a priority and a continuing task. We also misplaced many of our picnic tables and benches along our trails which were then graciously recovered by our Wednesday Workday staff. Despite many setbacks from the flood, such as starting our season late, we were still able to successfully run tours, our Naturalist Program, turtle conservation efforts, and the Tree Inventory. 
This summer we had great success with our Naturalist Program for Preschool, Junior and Youth. Our Naturalist program this year featured talks about a specific topic, such as Turtles, Frogs etc., with a toured walk around our trails, games related to the subject, and a nature based craft to finish the program. This year our Naturalist program topics were all translated into french allowing our programs to be fully bilingual. Our Youth Naturalist programs were also quite successful with our Youth Naturalists contributing to Petrie Island through the construction and decorating of our new bug hotel, bee houses and bat houses. Thank you to all our Naturalists for a great summer and we hope to see you next year! 
From August 17-18, FOPI held a Tree Inventory! The purpose of this event was to assess the biodiversity and the number of trees on Petrie Island, specifically in the Grand maitre Ecological Reserve. There were many trees affected by flooding, disease, and beavers, therefore, it was important to obtain this data. Sherry, our Head of Communications, meticulously organized the event to ensure it went as smoothly as possible. We had many volunteers able to attend both days to measure and identify trees and we were lucky enough to have two experts, Janet from the Ottawa Stewardship Council and Owen from the Ottawa Field Naturalists to help with the identification. Overall, the Tree Inventory was a success, and we would like to thank our volunteers and experts for helping us make this event possible.

Although we experienced some setbacks this year, through the hard work of our summer staff and volunteers, the generous donations, rentals, tours and programs, we were still able to have a great summer. FOPI hopes to see you all next year for another amazing summer!

Thank you everyone for another month of support! This month the Friends of Petrie Island staff, along with the help of our Wednesday workday volunteers, have accomplished multiple tasks that have contributed to creating a more welcoming and informative area for all of Petrie’s Islands visitors. The construction and painting of our new display structure, a new table for our container, the ongoing creation and upkeep of our new wildflower garden are just a few examples of the many tasks that have been completed throughout this past month! This upcoming month of August boasts exciting opportunities that we would like to share with you, our dedicated members!

In partnership with the Ottawa Stewardship Council (OSC) and the Ottawa Field Naturalist Club (OFNC), Friends of Petrie Island will be conducting a tree inventory on Saturday August 17th and Sunday August 18th from 8:45am to 3:00pm, and we are looking for volunteers! Volunteers would help to measure and record information about the trees on Petrie Island. No previous experience is needed and tree experts will be on site to instruct volunteers on how to take measurements and help with tree identification. This is a great opportunity to learn about the trees and the natural history of Petrie Island! Please visit our webpage, https://www.petrieisland.org/tree-inventory-2019-2021, for more details about the event.  If this is of interest to you, we ask that you please register ahead of time at inquiries@petrieisland.org, with the subject line ‘Attention Sherry – Tree inventory Volunteer’. We are looking for approximately 20 volunteers, so do not hesitate to share this information with your friends and family! 

In other news, our children naturalist program is still accepting registrations for our Pre-school, Junior and Youth naturalist sessions. Children learn about a variety of different topics such as turtles, invasive species, fossils and dinosaurs and many more exciting subject matter! The staff is having a great time running the program and getting to interact with the youth about the wildlife and biodiversity at Petrie Island. If you or someone you know may be interested in joining us, you can email us at inquiries@petrieisland.org and we will answer all your questions!

Are you looking to host the perfect picnic, family gatherings or work event in one of Ottawa’s most beautiful locations? Petrie Island’s various picnic areas offers multiple options that will fit  your every need. For smaller groups, up to 25 people, picnic area 2 and 3 offers 4 picnic tables with shade, that can be rented for 20$ and can be yours for the day. For bigger gatherings, the event tent can accommodate up to 100 people and can be rented for 100$ for half the day or 125$ for the full day. There are a lot of dates available for the rental of the picnic areas in August. As always, inquire at inquiries@petrieisland.org to reserve your picnic today.

In relation to the area rentals available at Petrie, FOPI staff are also available to host birthday parties as well as tours for any age group. This past month we have hosted successful kids and adult tours! If you are apart of or know any club or group that might be interested do not hesitate to contact us at our inquiries email for more information!

Finally, we wanted to emphasize that we are in the process of rebuilding multiple structures after the impact of this years flood. Each Wednesday dedicated volunteers arrive for our Wednesday work days that are especially busy with building and repairing displays and other areas that need reconstruction. This includes manual and carpenting work. If you would like to participate in our rebuilding efforts, you are welcome to join us on Wednesday mornings. We ask that you please notify us in advance which date you would like to come out and help. 

As always, thank you for supporting Friends of Petrie Island, and we hope to see you soon at the island!

We would like to thank you for all of your support in 2018! With your help, we were able to work on many projects last year, such as launching our Naturalist programs and building our display area. We also received much support during our Wednesday Workdays. Let us all work together, new members and old, and make 2019 an extraordinary year for Friends of Petrie Island! 

Petrie Island is officially open after much reconstruction courtesy of the City of Ottawa. As you may know, this year the flooding at Petrie Island was the longest to recede even compared to 2017. It delayed our reopening for a couple of months. The water was almost a meter above the ground, and the water line can be seen among the trees and buildings in the area. In the meantime, we were working out of Queenswood Heights Community Centre getting things ready for our grand return. Of course, when we were able to safely enter the Island, there was much work to be done. Displays were faded and covered with mud, the tool shed and craft shed were still flooded inside, and almost all of our benches were displaced or lost. With the help of our staff on Wednesday Workdays, much of our benches and our displays were recovered. At the moment, most things are done and we are able to operate our programs; however, there is still more to do. Our staff is still hard at work getting things back to the way they were. We are rebuilding our lost display area and doing our best to clean up our picnic area. Luckily, we do have our picnic rentals up and running and our container and office have been delivered. Overall, we are excited to say that the Nature Center is open and we have staff on duty daily. Feel free to ask them about our programs and memberships for the summer!

In terms of programs and events, we recently held our annual Turtle Day on June 23, 2019. It was a great turnout! We had the Canadian Wildlife Federation come in and do a presentation on turtles in Ontario, and we had various games and activities for kids. Moreover, our Children’s Naturalist Program officially started on July 2, 2019. This year we have preschool (ages 2-5), junior (ages 6-8), and youth (ages 9-12) naturalist groups. Preschool and junior being every Tuesday and Thursday, and youth every Wednesday and Thursday.  Our themes this week were turtles and fossils. Both the younger and older groups have a variation in teaching and activities by increasing or decreasing the complexity of the subject. For example, the youth group focused on turtle nesting on Petrie Island; whereas our junior groups focused on the identification of turtles on Petrie Island. Finally, the Plant Group has returned! They will have their sessions on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM.  

The trails around Petrie Island are starting to dry. Bill Holland and the Turtle trail are not flooded; yet, the Basswood, Muskrat, and Sunrise trails are still partially flooded. Given the warm weather ahead, the trails should clear soon! Our staff has been going down the Bill Holland trail everyday to look for signs of turtle activity. We have recovered six nests consisting of snapping, painted, and map turtle eggs which are protected on our Turtle Trail. 

Last, but not least, we do have new additions to our student summer staff! Teyana, Laura, and Atirah are our new Park Monitors this summer! Emma and Émie are returning for their second year as the Children’s Program Manager, and Coordinator of Staff, Volunteers, and Memberships respectively. Let us all wish our team good luck for the summer!

We do hope 2019 will be a great year for Friends of Petrie Island! There will be many new projects to work on, such as, a new turtle pond, programs, and more species conservation efforts. Without your help, none of this would have been possible. This is why we give our utmost thanks for your support. Let us help preserve Friends of Petrie Island for many generations to come!

I saw twin bolts of lightning during the first storm, obviously hitting somewhere near Jean D’Arc (North Service). It caught our little dog as he was looking out the patio door. He has been sleeping sheepishly since.

Al Tweddle just confirmed serious damage, many trees down, one hitting the Morin house, another missing the trail shed. Others fell on Turtle Trail, across the road between our location and Morin house. Al reports no other damage, unless you include the wet floor in the container, he having left the end open. So all is OK, we trust the City will clean up. The power pole to the pavilion was split by lightning, it appears, and there are trees down along the access road past the causeway. Hydro was on site, and their report on the outage app showed two sites on Petrie, undefined (when I looked it up before we lost power ourselves.)

Found the Blanding’s Turtle this morning. It was just in front of the “Turtle Viewing Platform” and only had its head sticking up. First one I have ever found in August. Usually see females in June and males in October.

Its been a long time since we’d been down to Petrie and even longer since I sent in a “Dispatch”. We found ourselves at Petrie at 1:30pm on June 21st, not the best time to see things, but we headed out for what was a 4.5km walk to renew old acquaintances. We checked out all the trails but the Sunrise Trail.

Lots of people fishing, didn’t see anyone catching anything, but then fishing isn’t always about catching fish. There were a few heron around in the bay to the west of the access road, but no ducks.

It wasn’t the best time of the day to see turtles – too many people and sun too hot – but we did see a few good sized map turtles as well as the usual painted turtles. There were a few destroyed snapping turtle nests, but nothing like the number I used to see. Fewer turtles? Fewer predators? Better protection?

The yellow iris and blue iris (blue flag) were out in many places as well as lots of anemones and one fern still in fiddlehead stage.

Canada Geese I know have been at Petrie for a while, but they were never there when I frequented the Island 10-15 years ago. There were 6 geese in the bay by the Beaver Trail. One family with 3 goslings at “causeway” on the Bill Holland Trail and another family with 5-6 younger goslings were crossing the road at the start of the Bill Holland Trail.

A few mallards were swimming in various spots included a pair, the male of which was blue, almost purple, headed. There was no green sheen. I checked for blue/purple headed mallards on the web and it seems they are not unheard of. The reason for the odd colour is not certain, but some think it is a sign of low testosterone – either for genetic reasons, or younger duck. Given this was the first one I have noticed, I suspect the testosterone rational might be a better story.

A good number of leopard frogs were along the trails and a few bull frogs were heard and seen.

Of course beaver aren’t in evidence at that time of the day, but there were signs of beavers at work last fall and several beaver lodges, included one on top of one that was deserted many years ago.

We’ll have to make a point of coming down much earlier sometime in the future to get a feel of the “real” Petrie.

Pictures at: http://www.fototime.com/inv/745D76F5A54955D

The road to the island is now open; however, most of the trails are partially flooded and have limited access. We foresee that they will be clear within the next week. We are excited to say that the temporary Nature Centre is open and we have staff on duty daily. Feel free to ask them about our programs and memberships for the summer.

The City granted us with a trailer that we will be using as an office and we are working on obtaining a shipping container where we will be able to put our displays.

Our 4 summer students: Emma, Manisha, Alessia, and Émie are currently working hard to plan and prepare events for our opening within the next week.

About 55 Grade 7 and 8 students from Ashbury College came out on April 20th to help with an Earth Day Cleanup.  On May 6th, we had great success with our Jane’s Walk about turtles, and a turnout of around 40 people. Although the roads and Nature trails were flooded, we met on the causeway and brought out displays that people really enjoyed

Saturday, June 2nd from 10AM – 3PM is our registration/information day, which will be hosted at the Nature Centre. If you have any questions with regards to our programs and opportunities this summer,  we invite you to come out and get more information.

We are looking forward to our WWF cleanup on Sunday, June 3rd where we expect about 300 people. We intend to get our Nature trails and the Nature Centre in great condition for this summer.

Sunday, June 10th is our Turtle Day.

From Dan Chenier, General Manager, Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services, City of Ottawa, regarding FOPI’s nature centre, or interpretation centre.  This was an old cottage built by the Grandmaitre family in the 1960’s.  It is now demolished.

The City has received the condition assessment report that was undertaken by Concentric Associates International Inc.  Their report outlines the findings of their investigation and details a significant list of deficiencies that are related to original construction issues, poor construction practices and foundation displacement and settlement issues.   Important deficiencies identified include sagging of the roof, main floor and exterior deck, the building does not appear to be mechanically connected to the foundation in a tangible way, load bearing columns that rest on plywood floors between joists with inadequate support, at some locations the existing exterior grade is higher than the floor framing,  floor beams that do not appear to be structurally adequate for the current occupancy, and more.

Based on the consultant’s review, it is their recommendation that the structure is not fit for occupancy without extensive remediation.  This would include at a minimum upgrades to the foundation system, reinforcement of existing floor beams, wood blocking within the floor system, lintel reinforcement, and modifications or replacement of the exterior canopy framing.   Given the age of the structure and the extent of work required, the consultant recommends that we demolish the building.   Preliminary cost estimates from the structural elements only (not including permits, taxes or engineering fees) is pegged at a minimum of $150,000, though it is reasonable to assume that the final cost would be more than this when restoring interior finishes, accessibility requirements and programming needs are included.

Given the above, we are recommending that the building be demolished.   As well, as an interim measure we are proposing to install a trailer that could be used by your group as a home base for your activities at the park.  The trailer is City owned and has been renovated.  I am attaching pictures to give you a better idea.  We would propose to install the required equipment so that a hydro connection can be made to the trailer and restore your access to electricity.   The trailer would be set down on a gravel bed, and we would discuss with RVCA whether it had to be removed each winter, or whether it could stay.   This is being proposed as an immediate and temporary solution to the loss of the cottage building and to allow more time to work on a more permanent solution and the funding that would be required to achieve this.

We understand the value that the cottage building brought to programming at the site, and the important role in played in the environmental activities at Petrie.  Unfortunately, the building has reached its end of life.  The Asset Management Unit will take the lead on arranging for the demolition.  Preliminary discussions indicate that it may be possible to get this completed before winter.

After a short winter period Petrie Island was flooded to the highest level in many years during April and May. Floods caused damage to the causeway, which delayed repairs to the beach and picnic area and the area was not officially opened until late June. Petrie Island and the road was closed for 60 days.

Beavers were very active during the flooding, debarking many large Cottonwood trees, many of these trees were in higher elevations where the Beavers would not normally be able to reach them. Fopi members managed to wrap about 10 large trees to save them from dying. The City came in to remove over 60 large dead Ash trees in January and planted 95 trees and shrubs in October as replacements.

FOPI received grants to hire five students from Canada Summer jobs. Unfortunately most of the school tours had to be cancelled due to the flooding. Only two of fifteen scheduled tours were held at the end of June. Our adult tours and clean ups were cancelled, however we did run our successful Naturalist programs and summer tours. Due to the flooding we were unable to use our nature centre as it was closed while being evaluated for mould and structure damage. We also lacked power and had to operate with a generator, displays and other equipment were moved to our tent area which became our operation headquarters. The City removed mould and damaged materials from the nature centre in September and we are still waiting to find out what renovations will have to take place.

We continued our Wednesday adult workdays on a variety of projects to maintain the picnic area trails and repairing and restoring picnic tables and observation benches.

The Membership program was cancelled which included three clean ups, educational tours, removal of invasive species, all due to the flooding and reconstruction of the area. We did send out regular dispatches to members starting in May. Many people offered to help with restoration work in June but were unable to help as the island was inaccessible. By the time we were able to get in we were working on our summer programs. FOPI held one clean up in late June in cooperation with the World Wildlife Federation that included a display trailer from the Vancouver aquarium. We also hosted the release of 400 young Eels into the Ottawa river in cooperation with the Ottawa Riverkeeper, Environment Ministry staff from Ontario and Quebec.

We continued to support Kayaking at Petrie Island with the Petrie Island Canoe club under Sarah Kennedy. They ran full day camps during the summer using the FOPI tent and picnic area for parts of their program. We participated in the Cross fit event and received $3200.

Despite the difficulties we completed our 20th year of operation. We would like to thank members for their support of our programs which will continue in 2018. We plan to have some celebrations next year to mark our 20th.

As we now find ourselves at the end of August, the season is starting to wind down. The city will finally be coming in soon to remove the mold and debris from the nature centre. This will include removing the tile flooring and the insulation from the walls. When this is done, they will do a final evaluation of the building and decide what improvements need to be made to restore it. Although we lost many school tours during the spring flooding, we did have several summer tours for camps and home school groups. The naturalist programs were successful as usual and were well attended. A good portion of the summer workdays were spent restoring benches, picnic tables, and observation platforms.  The Wednesday workdays will continue into the fall and the educational displays and signs will be out through September. Most of the protected turtle nests are still intact and we are waiting for the hatchlings to emerge. The executive would like to thank the summer students Shannon, Diana, Robert, Emily, and Sarah for their work on the island this season, and wish them all well in their studies. We would also like to thank all of our members and volunteers for their support. It was a difficult year but we still continued to strive towards our goals of protecting the wildlife and educating the public.

Last week Friends of Petrie Island hosted an Eel Release Day in partnership with the Ottawa Riverkeeper, Canadian Wildlife Service, and Ministry of Natural Resources. Four hundred eels were tagged and released into the Ottawa River at Petrie Island. The event brought out many volunteers and spectators, and we would like to thank everyone who stopped by! For more information on why the eels were released, see the following news article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/researchers-tag-release-eels-ottawa-river-1.4202694

Elsewhere on Petrie Island, many wildflowers, trees, and shrubs have begun to bloom! We are identifying as many as we can with informational signs along the trails and in the wildflower garden. Unfortunately, many of our reference books that we often use for plant identification were damaged or lost in the flood along with many other items. If any of our members have any plant or animal reference books we would welcome any donations! If you have no books and still wish to help, we are still accepting monetary donations and new/renewed memberships.

Our picnic area, trails, and beaches have been mostly cleaned of the flooding debris and damages. The nature centre is still closed, however, and we currently have displays under the white tent for the public to browse. We are looking into getting a trailer to store our equipment and displays while the centre is closed. The power has not yet been restored to our buildings, so we have been using a generator in the meantime.

We had a very successful cleanup with WWF two weeks ago, thank you to everyone who came out. Our Wednesday Workdays are still ongoing, executives and other volunteers meet at 9am every Wednesday, everyone is welcome to drop by and help out. For those who cannot make it on Wednesdays, please feel free to stop by the island any day between 10am and 8pm, we can always use extra help!

Now that July has finally arrived, our FOPI events will be in full swing! The junior and youth naturalist programs started this week and will be running every Tuesday and Thursday. Next week on July 12^th  (weather dependent), we are planning an Eel Day with the Ottawa Riverkeepers/Sentinelle Outaouias. They will be releasing ~400 eels into the river and will have informational displays about their activities. We will be updating with further events as they are planned.

Finally, turtle nesting season is coming to a close, but we just wanted to remind everyone to keep their eyes out for turtles on the roads and trails, and let us know of any turtle activity you see!

Just a quick update about Petrie Island. Currently, due to construction on the causeway, there is no vehicle or pedestrian access to the island. We do not have a date for when access will be restored, but we will keep you updated. Once we are able to get onto the island again we are planning a cleanup with volunteers from the community, so stay tuned for details!

Water levels on the Ottawa River have now receded enough that Petrie Island is accessible by foot. The road, however, is still closed due to damages at the culvert. Some of our members and staff were able to walk in to the island this week to assess the damages and start the cleanup. While there was considerable water damage to several buildings, most of the debris has been removed and sorted through, and the floors have been cleaned of all of the mud. The picnic area is in relatively good condition, however there is still debris that needs to be moved and paths that need to be restored. Most of the trails are still under water along with part of the picnic area, but we are hoping they will be accessible soon. In the coming weeks we will be needing volunteers to help with cleanup and trail maintenance so we can start our programming as usual. If you are interested in volunteering please email fopistaff@gmail.com for more information, or stay tuned here for more information on FOPI workdays.

Just came back from a little paddle around the island.  The current on the second causeway bridge was very strong- there will be a lot of erosion.

I am sorry to say, there are still at least a dozen very large beavers.  They were all huddled together, in a big furry pile.  I paddled right up to them, and they made adorable little grunting noises before evacuating the one remaining mound that’s still out of the water, near the quonset hut… One of the engineers that works with me is on the South Nations Board, and says that you can hire trappers through the conservation authority.  They’ve gotten at several big trees in that area- tons of new damage!

As bad as the flooding is in 2017, spring flooding has occurred before.  Here is a photo of the Grandmaitre cottage (now the interpretive center for the Friends of Petrie Island), probably taken around 1962.

We were kayaking through Petrie Island today. — Bruce Webster

Hello FOPI members,

We would like to thank you all for your support in the past year, and looking into 2017 it is time for membership renewals! Attached is the form for membership renewal; note that the email on the form is outdated, please use this email (fopistaff@gmail.com), or mail directly to 1395 Sault Street, Orleans ON, K1E 1G8

We are very excited for the upcoming summer season on Petrie Island. Our summer students are currently planning events and preparing for our opening in the next few weeks. Unfortunately due to extensive flooding the island is inaccessible by car at the moment, but we are hoping to open once the flooding recedes.

On April 21st, grade 7 and 8 students from Ashbury College came to Petrie Island to help with an Earth Day Cleanup. Because the island was flooded, they ended up cleaning the shoreline across from the island, but still had a lot of fun and collected 20 bags of garbage.

In late April a few of our volunteers ventured out into the waters to check the flooding levels on the island. As you can see in the pictures below, the flooding is almost up to the floor of the Nature Centre. Although many structures have shifted, most are still in good condition. We will definitely be needing extra volunteers in the next few weeks to help clean up the damage from the flooding.

More updates to come about the programming in late May once we are open. If you have any questions feel free to use this email address. We hope to see you out on the island very soon!

As of 0800 today, the water at North Service barricade is about a meter closer to the bottom of the slope than it was at the highest water two weeks ago. That means no access is practical, not even to Yves’ marina, and there are no serious options for using our boat or canoe. There is no convenient way to reach the outer areas, as water is now three feet deep in the picnic area, on the access road past the culverts, and in front of the trail shed. Water will also surround the interpretive center, and be up two feet inside the work shed.

Al and I (and Steve, if he feels safe in an inflatable) may paddle out as the weather clears to inspect for lost items. In the longer term, if access to the marina area returns, I might go in and bring the jonboat and engine back to the marina so that some of us can go in and clean the mess in the immediate area of the interpretive center.

The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board’s last press release is clear, and is even more true today: reservoirs are full, and at this point, the water is expected to rise further, regardless of weather conditions, as the spring freshet has begun.

OTTAWA/GATINEAU, Friday April 28, 2017 –The Ottawa River Regulating Committee cautions that water levels and flows along the main stem of the Ottawa River between Mattawa and the Montreal region will remain high for a sustained period of time. Well above normal April precipitation combined with snowmelt runoff have resulted in recent peak levels not seen in the last 20 years in many locations. Current meteorological forecasts are calling for additional rainfall of 30-60 mm over much of the Ottawa River basin. This additional precipitation is expected to once again increase levels that had been in decline.

Current weather forecasts predict very significant precipitation beginning Sunday, April 30th into Monday, May 1st. These weather conditions could cause rapid increases in levels and flows between Mattawa and the Montreal region. The increase in levels and extent of possible flooding will depend on the amount of precipitation received, the tracking of the storm as well as the amount of snowmelt in the north.

With current forecasts, northern snowmelt runoff combined with precipitation is expected to fill most northern reservoirs in the next few days. As a result, the capacity to retain additional runoff from the headwater areas in the north will be diminished.  

Greetings from P3. Al and I performed a circumnavigation (walk is the wrong word here).

One can drive carefully (washouts) up to the culverts. Water is two feet deep past the culverts, so Al got in over his boots, being a little crazy, and  I used waders, being prepared. Same problem for access to the picnic area from the parking lot.

Damage assessment:

1. The water came up and touched the cottage floor, but did not go over the floor. We may assume it will dry nicely, but should test under linoleum anyway. Front verandah is intact. Lost: one rain barrel.
2. Both the airplane and Thomas the Tank engine are gone, and did not land on any downstream beaches. Ditto most of the “fence logs”.
3. The big bridge on Muskrat is hanging by sheer luck.
4. The old crib that was beside Muskrat is now in front of the turtle blind.
5. Turtle blind needs complete rebuild.
6. Water rearranged content of work shed, flooding over the chain saw on the bottom shelf. I started it on the third pull.
7. No water damage in schoolhouse, but it was wet at some point.
8. Trail shed lost its steps, all six bags of concrete are set, and the water reached over the lawnmower engine. Like the chain saw, it will start first pull. Mud everywhere in there.
9. Platform at Holland will need repositioning.
10. All bench platforms are secure but floating around on their anchors.
11. There are now only two planting boxes, both moved about 30 feet into the landscape. The bug hotel is gone as well. Won’t miss it…

12. Sarah’s boat is safe, as noted before.
13. No damage was noted from loose tree trunks, although the piles were reorganized and some floated away. The river was kind enough to completely level out the north branch of the trail to the western area.
14. Wildlife report: not that many birds, too many geese, one garter snake with a woolen hat wearing a lifevest.

If the weather holds out (unlikely), we will be able to walk in with boots next Wednesday. The Regulation Board says the reservoirs are full, and expects the river will go up again as snowmelt and the coming rain do their thing.

No change in the last two days. The water has dropped, but not visibly.

Dozens of the curious and loyal continue to visit the Trim Road barricade daily, many of them people who visit the island almost daily under normal circumstances.  They bring cameras and binoculars and enjoy the large number of birds present, along with a few muskrats and beavers. A captive audience for a membership drive…

Owner Yves and staffer John boated into the marina again today and are performing some duties. It seems that a few of the stored ice huts are flooded.

When waters recede, the City will have to clear and repair the access road before barricades are removed for the general public. By then I’m sure some os us will have gone out to inspect, either by human-powered boat or by human-powered boot (Steve: pun intended).

Waters are being held back in the upstream reservoirs (kilowatts will be distributed to taxpayers over time). If we do not have the kind of rain in Mat that April showered us with, things should be “normal”, meaning the regular spring freshet situation: no land access to Muskrat and Holland trails.

I don’t think any of the power outlets inside or outside the two buildings are low enough to have shorted out the power and popped the breakers.