JJ Collett Natural Area

Yesterday, 6 October 2013, I spent a very enjoyable day with three friends and a group of interesting, knowledgeable people from Calgary and further afield. After a long drive N of Calgary, we explored the JJ Collett Natural Area, looking for mosses, lichens and absolutely anything else of interest. This was the first time I had ever been lucky enough to go there, thanks to friend Sandy, who drove two of us there and back. A very interesting and beautiful natural area, with good trails. This photo captures just a few of the beautiful fall colours that surrounded us. I was so happy to get the chance to meet Dr. Charles (Charley) Bird, a man from the academic world who became a cattle farmer, from Erskine, Alberta, an absolutely delightful man who, I discovered, knows everything about everything and has received numerous awards for his contributions! Not only that, but he takes pure delight in passing on his knowledge to others. What a treasure he is! "His current projects include Biodiversity studies of the macro- and micro-moths of a number of areas in Alberta, the purposes being to document the present fauna of these areas as a baseline for future change; and to add distributional knowledge for future ALG (Alberta Lepidopterists' Guild) projects. Areas studied include a quarter of mixedwoods 8 km NW of Winfield, Erskine, an area of aspen woods 12 km SSE of Erskine, McKenzie Crossing, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, Big Knife Provincial Park, Rochon Sands Provincial Park, Tolman Bridge, the Buffalo Lake Conservation Area, the Lowden Springs Natural Area, an area of aspen parkland 3 km south of Nevis, and the J.J. Collett Natural Area. He became a major contributor to the beautiful and encyclopaedic book, Alberta Butterflies, published in 1995. He is also working on a guide to the moths of south-central Alberta. His personal BIRD collection currently includes about 30,000 specimens of Lepidoptera - this will eventually go to the Strickland and/or Forestry collections." Taken from the Alberta Lepidopterists' Guild information. The following YouTube link lets Dr. Bird briefly describe what it is that he does. youtu.be/FZOOemLAE5Q www.ofnc.ca/awards/2005/charles-bird.php Totally tired out by the time yesterday evening arrived, partly from the long walk and also from barely any sleep the previous three nights (and I had been on a full-day birding trip E of Calgary the previous day)! Have to add that the final treat of the day was when I was invited to stay for supper with Sandy and her husband (which I declined), but was sent home with some of their roast pork meal! Delicious, needless to say, and so much enjoyed and appreciated. Thanks for sharing your great cooking, Ted!

Yesterday, 6 October 2013, I spent a very enjoyable day with three friends and a group of interesting, knowledgeable people from Calgary and further afield. After a long drive N of Calgary, we explored the JJ Collett Natural Area, looking for mosses, lichens and absolutely anything else of interest. This was the first time I had ever been lucky enough to go there, thanks to friend Sandy, who drove two of us there and back. A very interesting and beautiful natural area, with good trails. I was so happy to get the chance to meet Dr. Charles (Charley) Bird, a man from the academic world who became a cattle farmer, from Erskine, Alberta, an absolutely delightful man who, I discovered, knows everything about everything and has received numerous awards for his contributions! Not only that, but he takes pure delight in passing on his knowledge to others. What a treasure he is! "His current projects include Biodiversity studies of the macro- and micro-moths of a number of areas in Alberta, the purposes being to document the present fauna of these areas as a baseline for future change; and to add distributional knowledge for future ALG (Alberta Lepidopterists' Guild) projects. Areas studied include a quarter of mixedwoods 8 km NW of Winfield, Erskine, an area of aspen woods 12 km SSE of Erskine, McKenzie Crossing, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, Big Knife Provincial Park, Rochon Sands Provincial Park, Tolman Bridge, the Buffalo Lake Conservation Area, the Lowden Springs Natural Area, an area of aspen parkland 3 km south of Nevis, and the J.J. Collett Natural Area. He became a major contributor to the beautiful and encyclopaedic book, Alberta Butterflies, published in 1995. He is also working on a guide to the moths of south-central Alberta. His personal BIRD collection currently includes about 30,000 specimens of Lepidoptera - this will eventually go to the Strickland and/or Forestry collections." Taken from the Alberta Lepidopterists' Guild information. The following YouTube link lets Dr. Bird briefly describe what it is that he does. youtu.be/FZOOemLAE5Q www.ofnc.ca/awards/2005/charles-bird.php An exciting find yesterday was this teeny grouping of Blue Stain fungus. Though I had seen the blue stain on rotten logs before, I only remember ever seeing the tiny cups once (maybe twice) before, a few years ago. My photo this time is very poor, as these cups were very misshapen and tucked down into a low, dark corner of the forest floor. Very low light and awkward position were a challenge, but at least I got something : ) Such an unusual colour to come across in a forest! "The stained wood is more frequently encountered, but the tiny mushrooms are seldom seen. Saprobic (i.e.mushrooms that are saprobes survive by decomposing dead or decaying organic material) on well decayed, barkless hardwood logs and sticks (especially those of oaks; "green oak" is valuable lumber); evident as green-stained wood year-round, but the fruiting bodies typically appearing in summer and fall; widely distributed in North America. The fruiting body is cup-shaped at first, becoming flattened or disc-shaped; up to 1 cm across; with a tiny stem that may be central or somewhat off-center; smooth or slightly wrinkled; uniformly blue-green." www.mushroomexpert.com/chlorociboria_aeruginascens.html Totally tired out by the time yesterday evening arrived, partly from the long walk and also from barely any sleep the previous three nights (I had been on a full-day birding trip E of Calgary the previous day)! Have to add that the final treat of the day was when I was invited to stay for supper with Sandy and her husband (which I declined), but was sent home with some of their roast pork meal! Delicious, needless to say, and so much enjoyed and appreciated. Thanks for sharing your great cooking, Ted!

This is one of the Lichens that was found on a day trip N of Calgary, to the JJ Collett Natural Area, on 6 October 2013. A group of people met at JJ Collett to walk some of the well-groomed trails in search mainly for liverworts, mosses and lichens. Thanks to Janet Marsh for the ID. There are about 20,000 known species of lichen in the world. What IS a lichen? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen www.sharnoffphotos.com/lichens/lichens_home_index.html

A group of us from Calgary and elsewhere got together for a day of exploring the JJ Collett Natural Area, way N of Calgary, near Morningside, on 6 October 2013. The main purpose was to search for mosses, liverworts and lichens. Very few people are actually involved in the search for, and recording the data of, all species found in Alberta as a whole, and in individual natural areas in the province. We were so lucky to catch sight of this handsome 1st yearling bull Moose walking through the trees and feeding on the bushes way in the distance. Just as I clicked, his nose moved behind a tree (which came out as an ugly blur), so I had to crop that part out of the image. Not the best shot, but good enough "for the record" and to add to my JJ Collett album. A great day and most enjoyable.

A liverwort (non-vascular plant) that was found growing at the base of an Alaska birch near the swamp at JJ Collett natural Area, on 6 October 2013. This was the first time I had been to this natural area, way N of Calgary, near a place called Morningside. I know nothing about Liverworts, but wouldn't mind beginning to learn about some of them. This evening, I went to an excellent, interesting, attention-keeping talk about Mosses and Liverworts, given by Peter Whitehead (who LOVES mosses and liverworts and is an Ecologist and Bryologist!), and it has got me longing to go out and find and photograph more of these fascinating, non-vascular plant species. Going out exploring with people who are specialists in this field is the best way to learn, I'm finding. ID, thanks to expert, Sandra Davis.

Not as sharp as it should have been, but needed to add this macro shot of this very common, tiny foliose lichen to my album on the JJ Collett Natural Area. Photographed this bright lichen on 6 October, when I went way north of Calgary with friends, to spend the day searching for mosses, liverworts and lichens - and anything else that we were lucky enough to see - including a Moose. This Natural Area consists of 635 acres of Aspen Parkland habitat underlain by ancient sand dunes - though you would never guess it. The various trails are nicely groomed.

From my archives, needless to say : ) These very small Wild Lily-of-the-valley flowers were seen at JJ Collett, where we went for a long walk after visiting the Ellis Bird Farm. On 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people on the trip, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors. It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm (and to the JJ Collett natural area), which was good to know. The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People donate and send them from all over the province. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+! There were so many Purple Martins that you couldn't tell which were actual pairs. They are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family." What a long way to come to do that! These birds are uncommon in Alberta. We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, very shy, modest man he was. ""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife. The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters. After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/ After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like various friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit. "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini." Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program: www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than I was expecting, ha) along one of the trails (Trail #1). This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there. www.jjcollett.com/ Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was almost as hot as if freshly made! Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Thank you, also, to Myrna Pearman at the Farm, who organized us all and helped make this a very successful and greatly enjoyed visit! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.