Dispatches from Petrie Island

CBC News (14 October 2024)

Starting last year, a handful of volunteers and scientists began a yearly ritual of collecting turtle eggs on Petrie Island, a conservation area off the shore of Orléans, a suburban neighbourhood in east Ottawa.

The area is home to several at-risk species that might otherwise get gobbled up by predators due in part to increased urbanization.

The turtle guardians lovingly watch over the hatchlings in a lab, finally releasing the tiny vulnerable creatures back onto the island a couple months later. 

The hope — a huge gamble, really — is that some will make it into the one per cent of area turtles that reach adulthood, therefore helping the population thrive.

Dispatches from Petrie Island

Radio Canada (9 October 2024)

La tête en l’air, humant toutes ces odeurs nouvelles, la petite tortue ne bouge presque pas. Elle semble apprécier le moment. La rivière des Outaouais devant elle doit lui paraître immense, et pourtant, l’eau l’attire. Elle avance d’un pas, puis s’arrête. Elle hésite encore un peu avant de s’élancer complètement. Elle est de retour à la maison. Une petite tortue qui nage vers un poisson.

Dispatches from Petrie Island

Jim Robertson (28 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.