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  #21  
Old Posted Oct 15, 2018, 10:17 PM
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Originally Posted by TorontoDrew View Post
And the goal, mixing new wetlands with urban growth.
Video Link
Most exciting project in Toronto IMO. City and nature really coming together. This new river valley will really work in unison with Tommy Thompson Park and Lake Ontario to create one of the most impressive urban natural habitats on the continent.
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  #22  
Old Posted Oct 15, 2018, 10:26 PM
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And of course every Calgarian's favourite, the jackrabbits that hop endlessly around every neighbourhood and street in the city


Freeze - I think she's seen me by Anne Elliott, on Flickr
That is one freaky looking rabbit!

This most common rabbit here is the Eastern Cottontail, a favourite of coyotes and foxes.

Rabbits at Ashbridges bay by Joel Benoist, on Flickr
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  #23  
Old Posted Oct 16, 2018, 4:04 AM
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There is a new wilderness park only a few kilometres from downtown Halifax, on the mainland side of the Northwest Arm:







It's a mix of rocky barrens, lakes, and more forested areas.

I'm actually kind of mixed on these because I feel like they sometimes encourage leapfrog sprawl. People try to get parks created in their backyard whenever possible. This is okay if an area is special but if not the net effect is more or less just longer travel times. This park seems worthwhile, although it would be nice if there were a pedestrian/cycling bridge over the Northwest Arm to make it more accessible.

https://keephalifaxwild.ca/
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  #24  
Old Posted Oct 16, 2018, 4:06 AM
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Dolphins swimming along the coast, 15-20 minutes south of the city:


Source


Harbour seal


Source
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  #25  
Old Posted Oct 16, 2018, 8:41 AM
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Seals are pretty common along the Halifax coastline and sometimes this happens. I've also seen a couple whales and porpoises in the harbour, and there are mackerel, cod, and various invertebrates in the harbour. Seabirds include various gulls, shearwaters, terns, osprey, and cormorants, black ducks and mallards will go in the ocean occasionally but seem to prefer lakes, as do loons. Every once in a while we'll get algae/plankton that makes the harbour glow red, or leaves streaks of green light when objects travel through it.

In the more urban parts of the municipality squirrels (small red one) and raccoons are pretty common, deer and foxes somewhat less so. Rats are common along the waterfront. Bears, coyotes, and porcupines occasionally wander into areas around the outskirts but aren't at all common. Beavers and muskrats are fairly common in the lakes. Halifax is a bit of an anomaly within Canada since the urban area peters off into forest rather than farmland and I guess the local ecology reflects that (a few other cities are like this but most seem to be directly adjacent to farmland). It also partly explains the frequent conservation battles alluded to in the post above - greenfield development here usually involves cutting down a lot of trees. I don't have the stats to back this up but I would guess that the native tree species are among the most biodiverse in Canada. Wild blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, pincherries, and occasionally saskatoon berries (possibly feral?) are found scattered throughout the area. Liberty cap mushrooms also grow wild in a lot of the city parks. Apple and cherry trees are fairly common as decorative plants in people's yards but not to the same degree as in Vancouver. The city has also started experimenting with palm trees, I'm not sure if they last the winter or if the city just replants them each year.

Stuff like green roofs, living walls, bioswales, small planted areas adjacent to sidewalks, and extra landscaping on public property is becoming more common and the city has actively been planting trees all over the place since completing the Urban Forest Master Plan a few years ago. Emphasis is on local species, and there's also a trend of planting stuff that's potentially edible (but primarily decorative). Community gardens and such are becoming more common as well and there are organizations dedicated to stuff like urban beekeeping. The harbour seems a lot "healthier" since the sewage treatment system got upgraded but I don't have any stats to back this up.

Last edited by Hali87; Oct 16, 2018 at 8:52 AM.
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  #26  
Old Posted Oct 21, 2018, 2:42 PM
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Originally Posted by someone123 View Post
There is a new wilderness park only a few kilometres from downtown Halifax, on the mainland side of the Northwest Arm:







It's a mix of rocky barrens, lakes, and more forested areas.

I'm actually kind of mixed on these because I feel like they sometimes enrcourage leapfrog sprawl. People try to get parks created in their backyard whenever possible. This is okay if an area is special but if not the net effect is more or less just longer travel times. This park seems worthwhile, although it would be nice if there were a pedestrian/cycling bridge over the Northwest Arm to make it more accessible.

https://keephalifaxwild.ca/
Awesome wilderness park! I find parks such as that nicer looking than more formal ones.

In terms of it causing leapfrog sprawl the problem is not the wilderness area but how we build our "sprawl". Any kind of natural land feature is going to have a leapfrog effect. The solution is not to avoid creating wilderness areas but rather to design the sprawl better so it is not a dirty word. If we can build sustainable communities that are walkable, smart well placed transit, well planned regional road networks and smart land use then the sprawl wouldn't be looked at in such a bad light. Tie these communities in with wilderness areas and you create a well functioning city and the ecosystem within it. It's no secret that tress and nature make people happier and increase quality of life for all (people, plants, animals). Really they are invaluable

Now unfortunately, just looking at Halifax on Google Maps, it seems to have terrible sprawl. Winding roads that to lead to nowhere, looks like very little regional planning, just haphazard in general. I can see what you are saying but again this is a failure at the planning level rather than a problem created but a wilderness areas. Smaller or less wilderness would just lead to more winding roads to nowhere that happen to be slightly closer to downtown.
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  #27  
Old Posted Oct 21, 2018, 9:55 PM
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Now unfortunately, just looking at Halifax on Google Maps, it seems to have terrible sprawl. Winding roads that to lead to nowhere, looks like very little regional planning, just haphazard in general.
Well, it's one of the oldest parts of Canada. A lot of those winding roads are 200 years old or more. Many of the exurbs are rural villages that filled in with subdivisions over time. Some of the towns and villages became bedroom communities over time.

Halifax also has a lot of waterfront property that encourages people to spread out.

It's hard to say what is best here. If people like to have more space or live in a woodland setting or on a lake or on the ocean then why stop them, assuming they pay for their services? The environmental impact of these developments is not necessarily that high since, while people might be on acre lots, only a small portion is built up.

The parks can go one step farther sometimes and effectively subsidize a woodland buffer for people living nearby, so people are always asking for parks to be established near them.
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  #28  
Old Posted Oct 21, 2018, 11:57 PM
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Video Link


*mic drop*
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  #29  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 12:49 AM
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  #30  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 1:41 PM
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Originally Posted by TorontoDrew View Post
Coyotes are a permanent feature now in Tommy Thompson Park. With no dogs or motorized vehicles to stress them, and an all you can eat buffet of rabbits and birds it's the perfect home for them. I see them 1/3 times I go for a ride there.
If you are interested about the spread of coyotes from SW USA to all of NA, read Dan Flores book "Coyote America". Its fascinating how that animal has adapted and flourished in the modern world.

Here is an article from National Geographic regarding Dan's book and the coyote in general.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/....testname=none

A sample;

How the Most Hated Animal in America Outwitted Us All
Coyotes, the victims of attempted extermination, have found a way to thrive.

By Simon Worrall
PUBLISHED August 7, 2016

"The howl of the coyote is America’s “original national anthem,” says Dan Flores, author of Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History. A totemic animal in Native American mythology, the coyote has lived in North America for more than a million years. But since the early 19th-century, when Lewis and Clark first encountered them, coyotes have been subject to a pitiless war of extermination by ranchers and government agencies alike.

Even today, some 500,000 coyotes are killed each year, many shot to death from small planes and helicopters. Yet the coyote has survived all attempts to eradicate it, spreading from its original territory west of the Rockies to the East Coast, where it has now found a safe, new refuge in cities like Chicago and New York."


Here is another story on how animals are thriving in the city

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...photogallery:3

How Wild Animals Are Hacking Life in the City
Mountain lions and ants are among the many species great and small figuring out clever ways to live among people.


By Christine Dell'Amore
PUBLISHED April 18, 2016

"In downtown Chicago, a coyote spends his entire life in one cemetery, eating chicken that Sunday mourners place on the graves. On Manhattan sidewalks, ants survive on hot dogs and potato chips, seemingly no worse for the junk food diet. And in Los Angeles, a mountain lion roams the Hollywood Hills, tiptoeing around throngs of tourists without ever being seen."
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  #31  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 2:09 PM
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Regina being a small city with an extensive green space and creek (Wascana) running through the centre allows many large animals to transit or live within the city.


https://leaderpost.com/news/local-ne...f-north-regina


Coyote being captured in a residential area


Some whitetail deer observing a coyote


I've also seen Pronghorn antelope just south of the city (this is not my picture)
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  #32  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 2:37 PM
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I desperately want to Port Lands/Don River naturalization project to come to fruition as envisioned. Would be an absolute game changer.

One more unsavory new arrival is the Wild Turkey, which was introduced as hunting game a couple decades ago. They're everywhere in Southern Ontario and up pretty far north into Muskoka. They can do pretty serious damage to the forest floor when they travel in large groups.

I saw multiple in Waterloo when I was in university. Several times around UW and once directly on University Ave beside Laurier.

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  #33  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 2:40 PM
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Last year I took a drive out to Long Point on Lake Erie. I had heard the stories about the small creatures being run over on the causeway there as they try to make the crossing. After driving there I can see how perilous it can be, especially during cottage season.

Quote:
On a 3.6-kilometre stretch of road on Lake Erie's Long Point Causeway, thousands of frogs, snakes, turtles — approximately 10,000 by some counts and some that are endangered or threatened like the Blanding's turtle — were killed annually until recently.

Disturbingly, a 2005 study found that about three per cent of drivers, upon spotting something believed to be a snake or turtle, would swerve intentionally to hit the animal on that stretch of road.
Quote:
The community began putting up fences in 2008, and two years later Levick said the number of turtles dying on the roadway had already been cut in half. The reduction in snake deaths, while noticeable, was less pronounced because of their greater flexibility, he said.

The next phase of the project involved building culverts through which animals could travel between their wildlife area and Long Point Bay. Researchers said many species need to be able to migrate safely between the two areas in order to thrive and had been using the road to do so in the past.

They built 12 culverts of various sizes and shapes to suit the needs of different animals, especially the turtles.

The study on the community’s efforts tracked road mortality rates for five years both before and after fencing and culverts were installed and documented the sharp declines in the number of road deaths among the area’s reptiles.


https://www.ontariossouthwest.com/co...ong-point/120/
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  #34  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 2:47 PM
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The first time I ever saw wild turkeys was curiously enough just behind my backyard fence in Brampton. Second time was on the side of the road in Caledon. Third was close to Waterloo.

It was right after I had visited African Lion Safari. To those not familiar, the type of zoo you can drive through where baboons, lions, ostriches, etc. can come up to your car and shit on it or destroy your radio antenna.

We were driving on the road that borders the park's fencing and we had to dodge them on the road. My first thought was that they had escaped from the zoo and I needed to report it! Then I realized, duuuhhh, turkeys are wild!
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  #35  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2018, 3:00 PM
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In Burlington they close down the very fun to drive King Road every year for three weeks to protect salamanders. If this was a heavily used major road, I wonder if they'd still do this.

Only place I've ever seen one was at Great Smokey National Park in Tennessee even though I'm a fisherman and have waded locals rivers and shore fished ponds many dozens of times.

Quote:
Residents turning the clocks forward an hour this weekend are reminded it’s once again time for the annual migration of the Jefferson salamander in Burlington and the closure of King Road.

Starting this Sunday, March 11, through to April 1, the City of Burlington is closing the roadway from the base of the Niagara Escarpment to Mountain Brow Road to provide the endangered Jefferson salamander safe passage during its annual breeding migration.


Chantal Ayotte - Burlington Post


A Jefferson salamander. - Spectator file photo
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  #36  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2018, 5:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN View Post
Regina being a small city with an extensive green space and creek (Wascana) running through the centre allows many large animals to transit or live within the city.


https://leaderpost.com/news/local-ne...f-north-regina


Coyote being captured in a residential area


Some whitetail deer observing a coyote


I've also seen Pronghorn antelope just south of the city (this is not my picture)
I love seeing Pronghorns running across the Prairie, I marvel at any animal that could over take the speed of a car on a highway.

Peregrine Falcons are another animal that can move faster than 100k/hour. reaching speeds of 300k/hour in dives to catch prey, The introduction of the Falcon breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan, back when the raptor was on the endangered species list, has resulted in the peregrines thriving, with numbers stable, or even on the rise. The Regina City Hall's tower roof has been used by the Falcons as a nesting site for years and making for interesting webcam footage.


https://www.cjme.com/2017/07/14/nois...ina-city-hall/

Saskatoon has been using Falcons for aircraft /bird strikes remediation at YXE.

https://globalnews.ca/video/4340038/...katoon-airport



Another fascinating animal within Regina city limits is the population of Western Painted Turtle. The Largest turtle of its kind ever found was in Wascana Park in the city.


https://cottagelife.com/general/pain...est-on-record/

Some of the individual turtles recently found have been with Regina ever since the city was settled, predating Saskatchewan Legislature building construction, being in the park during times like the Regina Tornado of 1912, The Roughriders playing for football supremacy at Taylor Field including their last Grey Cup win on home turf (also living through the first Rider Grey Cup win in 1966).
The Turtles would have even witnessed first hand, right in their habitat, Wascana Lake's 'Big Dig' excavation project in 2004 that removed 1.3 million cubic meters of lake bottom & deepen the lake by 4 meters.



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...s-on-1.2581176

Last edited by SaskScraper; Oct 27, 2018 at 5:46 AM.
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  #37  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2018, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by suburbanite View Post
I desperately want to Port Lands/Don River naturalization project to come to fruition as envisioned. Would be an absolute game changer.

One more unsavory new arrival is the Wild Turkey, which was introduced as hunting game a couple decades ago. They're everywhere in Southern Ontario and up pretty far north into Muskoka. They can do pretty serious damage to the forest floor when they travel in large groups.

I saw multiple in Waterloo when I was in university. Several times around UW and once directly on University Ave beside Laurier.
Quote:
String of turkey sightings puzzles St. John's residents, officials

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Turkeys are strutting through the streets of St. John’s, N.L., where officials remain baffled by the sudden appearance of a species that is not native to the province.

Lisa Bokelmann Sells was shooting photos of the sunrise at Harbourside Park on a mid-October morning when she heard radio reports of a loose turkey wandering down Signal Hill Road.

She decided to investigate and soon spotted the white-plumed bird on Temperance Street.

“I turned the corner on … and there he was, just standing there. I was killing myself laughing,” Bokelmann Sells said, referring to a photo of the bird, posed against the backdrop of four heritage buildings.

“He looks gorgeous, doesn’t he?”

Her photos have been shared widely, as well as other photos documenting the recent spate of mostly unexplained sightings that ironically picked up around the Thanksgiving weekend.

......
More at: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pm...fIEW5LYyW3sOy0

Speaking of turkeys, this is pretty timely (both the bird and the discussion of urban wildlife). The white turkey pictures on Temperance Street was owned by someone just a few minutes away, but the other turkeys seen roaming around are a bit more of a mystery.
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  #38  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2018, 6:01 PM
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Calgary actually does quite well for nature and wildlife. One of the things that makes this city so spread out is the massive amount of park space we have, Nose Hill and Fish Creek are 2 of the largest city parks on the continent (each about 3x the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver) and both are located entirely within city limits. Add in places like Edworthy Park, Beaver Dam Flats, 12 mile coulee, Confederation Park and you get lots of places for wildlife. I hiked the Douglas Fir Trail yesterday (very tall, old trees on a 200' tall escarpment, kind of the Calgary version of old growth as some trees are more than 400 years old) and felt like I was in the mountains, such a great spot in the city . Didn't see any animals aside from squirrels and chipmunks, but the last time I was in there I saw 2 Great Grey Owls (and the chipmunk they were watching losing his shit! ). I live close to Edworthy park in the river valley and am really hoping I get to see a Bobcat at some point, one of my neighbours saw a pair of them in the spring. Aside from that, it's mostly deer, rabbits and Hares we see, not to mention typical city birds like pigeons and crows (and the always annoying Magpie). I did see a Bald Eagle in the city this summer, never seen one of them in Calgary before, usually it's Red Tailed Hawks and Falcons for predatory birds. I've seen a million Coyotes and a few foxes in the city as well, never seen a Cougar anywhere, though they do come into the city on occasion as was mentioned above. The other thing we have a million of in this city is Ground Squirrels (colloquially referred to as Gophers, though they are different).
That Douglas fir trail is amazing. The first time I went there I almost stepped on a 3 foot garter snake.

Other animals I’ve seen in the city include bald eagles, hawks, osprey, falcons, great horned owls, mule deer, white tailed deer, a red fox, coyotes, jackrabbits, white pelicans, cormorants, bats, beavers, prairie chickens, a muskrat, a pheasant, and I actually saw that cougar that was killed by the south hospital 4 years ago.

Last edited by O-tacular; Oct 27, 2018 at 8:19 PM.
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  #39  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2018, 10:03 PM
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Originally Posted by megadude View Post
Last year I took a drive out to Long Point on Lake Erie. I had heard the stories about the small creatures being run over on the causeway there as they try to make the crossing. After driving there I can see how perilous it can be, especially during cottage season.


https://www.ontariossouthwest.com/co...ong-point/120/
Long Point is really something special. I believe it is the largest land formation of its kind on the Great Lakes and also one of the more important birding areas on the continent.
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  #40  
Old Posted Oct 27, 2018, 10:11 PM
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Originally Posted by SaskScraper View Post
I love seeing Pronghorns running across the Prairie, I marvel at any animal that could over take the speed of a car on a highway.
According to the book "American Serengeti" by Dan Flores is that there were cheetah like animals on the plains that hunted the Pronghorns. That's why they are so fast!

https://www.amazon.com/American-Sere.../dp/B01EM0YTUU
https://pleistoscenery.com/2014/12/1...ast-pronghorn/
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