Learning how to make identifications on iNaturalist. From April 29-May 2 we hope many people around Saskatoon and Area will make observations of nature by downloading the free iNaturalist app to their smart phone. It’s as easy as 1-2-3
From May 3 to May 8 is the identification phase. If you would like some hints and tips to help out, here is an online webinar to make identification easier!
We need your help!
May 9 is when the City Nature Challenge winners from around the World will be announced.
What kinds of wild animals walk in the afforestation areas?
This semi-wilderness habitat sees a great variety of waterfowl on the north end of Chappell Marsh, large mammals, birds of various types, small animals, and insects.
American golden plover (Pluvialis dominica) sighted at Richard St. Barbe Baker spring 2019
Coyote as predator. Stock image – not a photograph taken at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, nor photographed at George Genereux Urban Regional Park. How to co-exist with coyotes in Saskatoon, SK
Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla Garrulus Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada
American Red Squirrel Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Rabbit
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Across
5. Four legged mammal with large ears (2 words)
9. These large birds make nests from cattails.
10. A winter bird with a narrow black eye mask and chin (2 words)
11. A group of these animals is called a “brace”, “flush”, “paddling”, “raft”, or a “team.”
Down
1. A brownish woodpecker which sports a black bib.(2 words)
2. A mammal who creates food stashes called ‘Middens’ (2 words)
3. A rusty colored summer bird sporting a black mask.(2 words)
4. Black and White Mammal
6. A raptor sporting a red tail, that competes with the Great Horned Owl.(3 words)
7. A red mammal with black feet (2 words)
8. Hungarian partridge (2 words)
“We are in a bottleneck of overpopulation and wasteful consumption that could push half of Earth’s species to extinction in this century.”
– E. O. Wilson
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
“I’ve seen wildlife under mounting pressure and it’s not just from human economy or technology but behind every threat is the frightening explosion in human numbers.”
– David Attenborough
“The natural world is in serious trouble and it needs our help as never before. We continue to lose the precious wildlife that enriches our lives.”
– David Attenborough
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
Our task must be to free ourselves … by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.~Albert Einstein
“This generation may either be the last to exist in any semblance of a civilised world or that it will be the first to have the vision, the bearing and the greatness to say, ‘I will have nothing to do with this destruction of life, I will play no part in this devastation of the land, I am determined to live and work for peaceful construction for I am morally responsible for the world of today and the generations of tomorrow.’” ~ Richard St Barbe Baker
“Man has lost his way in the jungle of chemistry and engineering and will have to retrace his steps, however painful this may be. He will have to discover where he went wrong and make his peace with nature. In so doing, perhaps he may be able to recapture the rhythm of life and the love of the simple things of life, which will be an ever-unfolding joy to him.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker
Richard St. Barbe Baker, “You can gauge a country’s wealth, its real wealth, by its tree cover.”
Squirrel Appreciation Day
Your Squirrel Sightings Are Needed
American Red Squirrel Baby Courtesy Dan Leveille
Would you believe it, today, Saturday January 21stis Squirrel Appreciation Day! On the SciStarter web site there is a squirrel campaign! All you have to do is have an interest in nature, be able to identify a squirrel (Sciuridae), and report your sighting. The squirrel family includes ground squirrels, flying squirrels (Pteromyini or Petauristini), marmots (genus Marmota), prairie dogs (genus Cynomys), groundhogs (Marmota monax) and chipmunks (family Sciuridae.) At the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area because of the diversity, woodland and grassland ecosystems, these furry little friends abound hoarding the Scotch Pine Pine Cones, and snacking down on Colorado Blue Spruce cones. It is a squirrel haven! Help biologists by becoming a citizen scientist, and increase the data and information on the urban squirrel.
Additionally, biologists are seeking information on white squirrels. If you have seen a rare white squirrel, scientists are particularly keen to learn more about their habitat and ecology. Find out more about White Squirrel Mapping project.
Researchers are also studying the colour morphing of grey squirrels to black and why this is happening. This species is mainly found along the east coast of North America, however they have been found world wide. Keep you eyes open, and see if this squirrel’s range has extended into the prairies, and if these little squirrels scamper up and down the trees at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Squirrel Mapper will provide more information.
Out of the 262 species of squirrels found in Canada, there are several species of rodents (rodentia; gnawing mammals) in Saskatchewan, and of these, there are the Richardson’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii), which may be seen in as colonies on the prairie grasslands. The Franklin’s ground squirrels also known as bush gophers are solitary mammals who enjoy the habitat of the parklands. The Franklin’s ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) once extremely abundant in the prairies, is seeing a decline in population due to a loss of environment. Additionally in Saskatchewan we spot the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), also nick named the striped gopher. The Northern Pocket Gopher, (Thomomys talpoides) loves the prairie grasslands feasting on clover, dandelion, and goldenrod and will avoid rocky and wet clay-like soil for their underground burrows.
The Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) has also made appearance in our province over the last 40 years. These are the largest species of tree squirrels which live in North America. The Fox Squirrel is an omnivore, which means it eats the typical nuts, seeds and berries, but will also forage on insects, caterpillars, and young birds These fox squirrels love the elm, balsam poplar, and green ash which are afforested at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and these little rodents will spend the summer gathering food, burying it in the soil in caches for the winter moths.. Be careful not to confuse the more common American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) with the fox squirrel. The American Red squirrel is smaller and has the characteristic reddish fur with a white venter (underbelly). The Red Squirrel loves to feast on seeds and nuts, loving mature forests with especially the spruce, Scotch pine, which is abundantly afforested in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, however Red squirrels also have a taste for berries, flowers, insects, smaller mammals, young birds and eggs.
American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), Courtesy Cephus
The Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) has a range which will make sighting in Saskatoon possible, and they happen to love mixed conifereous forests, however you will have to be keen, as they are nocturnal (active at night).
The Groundhog (Marmota monax), or woodchuck’s range, is throughout north eastern United States, carrying over through Canada, which makes sighting one of these very possible. Also called the Canada Marmot or Thickwood badger, loves to feast on Alfalfa, and lives alongside forest clearings. They are able to climb trees for safety.
So next time you are out walking and enjoying the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, take along your camera, and try to spot one of the many species of squirrels in Saskatchewan, and report your sightings!
American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Courtesy D. Gordon E. Robertson
Truly, squirrels, indeed, would agree with Richard St. Barbe Baker, “You can gauge a country’s wealth, its real wealth, by its tree cover.”
Please comment on your squirrel sightings on this web page, or send in your photographs! Do you have a squirrel story to tell?
Ferron, Jean. Squirrel. Canadian Encyclopedia. Feb 7, 2006.
Schowalter, Tim. Rodents Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Centre. University of Regina. 2006.
University of Regina. Canadian Plains Research Center Title Selected Mammals of Saskatchewan. Volume 1 of Discover Saskatchewan series: Natural neighbours Volume 1 of Natural neighbours. Editor Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. author of text accompanying photos Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. Edition illustrated
Publisher University of Regina Press, 2001. ISBN 0889771235, 9780889771239.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SW 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 