Plants and Animals 
Birds 
Just as the last Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas volunteer wrap-up was getting 
underway, a Barred Owl flew past the Interpretive Centre pursued by what seemed 
like hundreds of crows. It landed first in the ravine and then north of the Ash 
Woods. This was a new species for the FWG list. A few days later the owl was 
spotted again in the conifers north of the woods, and again was being mobbed 
mercilessly by hordes of crows. Another owl, a Great Horned this time, was found 
on the Christmas Bird Count, but as far as we know hasn’t been seen since. 
The Red-tailed Hawk, present around the farm since mid-July 2005, continues to be 
seen regularly as of this writing (early February). A Cooper’s Hawk nested in the 
Arboretum in 2001 and has been consistently seen around the farm and the FWG 
ever since. This past fall and winter they have been particularly noticeable. 
A juvenile Northern Shrike perched near the BYG on October 19 constituted the first 
Ottawa report for the season. It is not often that we get to hear this species singing 
or calling but this bird was vocally active for at least 10 minutes. There has been 
only one more sighting of this species as of early February. 
Several Pine Grosbeaks were found feeding on crabapples on December 7. The last 
time I saw this species at FWG was the winter of 1994. Small flocks of Pine 
Grosbeaks continue to be seen occasionally in the Arboretum. Also in late January, 
approximately eight robins were found. A White-throated Sparrow has stuck around 
the BYG since fall and can be found almost daily feeding with the House Sparrows. 
A second White-throated Sparrow was present in early January for awhile. 
Other Fauna 
After an absence of more than a year, it seems that foxes have returned to the farm. 
The winter of 2004-2005 was characterized by a dearth of fox sightings or signs 
(scat, tracks), while the den sites were all quiet. In late fall 2005 a couple of reports 
came in from people who thought they’d seen a fox around the fields but neither 
report was verifiable. When the first snow came I went down to the pond to look for 
tracks and found one set of what could only be fox tracks. Cause for hope! I 
checked the farm fields frequently and found only occasional sets of tracks, but one 
day in mid-January I finally saw a very healthy looking fox outside one of the 
traditional den sites! If all goes well we may be lucky enough to see this animal on a 
more regular basis again. And perhaps our rabbit population will return to some sort 
of balance! 
Volunteer Opportunities 
If you would like to help us remove invasive species, plant trees, work in the BYG, 
or with any number of other activities, please contact the FWG (details at end of 
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