Sunday, June 10 - Field trips

#9 EARLY MORNING BIRD WALK ON CAMPUS
6:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. NOW FULL
(but there is a second walk scheduled for those who still want to sign up for the same time)
Enjoy an early morning bird walk. Both novice and expert birders are welcome. A great opportunity to hear and see interesting local birds. Please bring your binoculars!
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College registration area. Carpool and walk.
Degree of difficulty: Easy

#10 BIRD WALK, HUNTER FARM AND RICE LAKE
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trip leader: Drew Monkman
The morning will be spent at the Hunter Farm where we will visit a 100-acre wetland created by Ducks Unlimited that features excavated ponds which provide wildlife habitat. This is an example of how marginal farmlands can be better utilized and how farmland and natural areas can coexist. After lunch we will continue on to Rice Lake to visit Herkimer Point at Hiawatha where there are extensive wetland and upland habitats. We will see a variety of flowers and song birds.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Carpool and 2 km walk at the Hunter Farm.
Degree of difficulty: Easy

#11 RICE LAKE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE AND RESTORED PRAIRIE, AND PETER’S WOODS
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. NOW FULL
Trip leader: Anita Imrie
The Barr property, donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada in 2005, lies within the Rice Lake Plains, an area historically dominated by tallgrass prairie and savannas covering at least 42,500 acres. This tour will highlight tallgrass prairie ecology, species and restoration techniques. After lunch, we will continue to Peter’s Woods which is a Provincial Nature Reserve that protects a remnant of near-virgin maple-beech forest on the Oak Ridges Moraine, south of Rice Lake. See abandoned fields, a cedar swamp wetland, deciduous forest and some of the few Ontario white pines that escaped the logger’s axe - tall straight trees over 1 meter across, as they were two centuries ago.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Carpool and walk.
Degree of difficulty: Moderate

#12 JAMES McLEAN OLIVER ECOLOGICAL CENTRE, NOGIES CREEK
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - CANCELLED
a) Introduction to the Centre: Eric Sager
Come and learn about the research underway at Trent University’s residential field station located on the north shore of Pigeon Lake near Bobcaygeon.
b) Birding at the Centre: Enjoy the diversity of birds offered by a walk through a variety of habitat types: mature hardwood forest, early-successional field, cattail marsh, cedar grove, and open water.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Carpool and 2 hour walk (possible poison ivy).
Degree of difficulty: Easy

#13 WARSAW CAVES CONSERVATION AREA
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon - Combined with #16
Trip leader: Jim Nighswander
An area of interest to those geologically inclined as well as those interested in birds and plants. You’ll see potholes, a river which disappears underground for 700 feet and limestone caves. Participants will not be entering the caves during the field trip. Spelunkers who wish to explore the damp and confined cave areas on their own will need a flashlight and suitable clothing.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Carpool and walk.
Degree of difficulty: Short, rugged walk.

#14 KAWARTHA HIGHLANDS PROVINCIAL PARK
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - NOW FULL
Trip leaders: Terry Hunter, Graham Cameron, David Bland
Kawartha Highlands is a new Provincial Park located less than an hour’s drive north of the City of Peterborough. At 35,587 ha it is the largest provincial park south of Algonquin Park. We will enter the park at the landing on Long Lake, located just west of Highway # 28 a few kilometres south of the village of Apsley. We will take a scenic boat ride 6 km into the park. We will then hike 1 km on a trail to a small remote lake, which has an interesting floating bog. We will see many ferns, wild flowers including orchids, birds and beaver activity.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Bus, boat ride and walk. Back for 4:30 p.m. Sounds good, eh? Sorry it's full!
Degree of difficulty: Moderate

#15 McGINNIS LAKE AND PETROGLYPHS PARK
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Trip leaders: David Lasenby, Wasyl Bakowsky
The first stop will be McGinnis Lake, a small (16 m deep) fascinating, rare oligomictic lake with bottom waters containing virtually no oxygen. We will continue on to Petroglyphs Provincial Park to view Canada’s largest group of aboriginal rock carvings and hike to see a variety of Canadian Shield flora.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Bus and walk. Back for 4:30 p.m.
Degree of difficulty: Moderate

#16 PETERBOROUGH LANDFORMS AND LANDSCAPES
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. INCLUDES TOUR OF WARSAW #13
Trip leader: John Etches
Here is your chance to see the famous Peterborough Drumlin Field and how it contacts the Precambrian rock of the Canadian Shield. The effects of glaciers will be seen in the form of drumlins, eskers, moraines, limestone outliers and granite outcrops. There will be stops to observe at close hand, the geology, land forms, plants and scenic features.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Bus and walk. Back for 4:30 p.m.
Degree of difficulty: Moderate. Bus and walk.

#17 BOTANY TRIP TO SILENT LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Trip leader: Mike Oldham
Silent Lake Provincial Park is in southern Haliburton County. We will hike the 3 km Bonnie’s Pond Trail to see a diversity of habitats, from beech-maple upland forest, pine and hemlock forests, to wetlands. The hike will concentrate on botany; a good variety of wildflowers will be in bloom. The trail is particularly rich in ferns and fern allies, with at least 22 species present.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Bus and walk. Back for 4:30 p.m.
Degree of difficulty: Moderate. Be prepared for wet areas and mosquitoes.

#18 BUTTERFLY AND DRAGONFLY WALK, SANDY LAKE ROAD
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trip leader: Jerry Ball
Jerry Ball will lead a trip in search of early butterflies and dragonflies. The outing will start off with a car pool and continue with an easy day of walking along Sandy Lake Road. Possible sightings include the common roadside skipper, the Indian skipper, chryxus artic, the tawny crescent and other butterflies. Bring binoculars.
Meet at: Peter Gzowski College parking lot. Carpool and walk.
Degree of difficulty: Easy

Updated: 6/7/07