The Cross-watershed Tree Swallow Banding Program

TREC on Facebook

3 weeks ago

Happy Holidays from TREC ❄️Thank you to our many supporters, volunteers, staff, board members, funders, and community partners! We appreciate all who support us in making this work possible 🌲 ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

4 weeks ago

Hunter-Clyde Watershed Group , The Wheatley River Improvement Group , Central Queens Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation and Trout River Environmental Committee are prepping trails for the PEI Winter Woodlot Tour being held January 25th, 2025! Thank you to the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund for supporting this event! ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

1 month ago

📷 Trail Camera Captures: Hope River 🌊Belted Kingfisher:Did you know? Belted Kingfishers thrive on a fish-heavy diet, including sticklebacks, mummichogs, trout, and stonerollers. They also enjoy, crustaceans, insects, and even the occasional berry! 🐟🦞These skilled hunters perch above the water on branches, wires, or pier pilings, scanning for prey. Once spotted, they dive with precision, grab their catch, and give it a few good whacks before swallowing it head first. ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

1 month ago

Part 2: Planting and Maintenance! 🌲 The Riparian Zone Enhancement Project: Supported by The PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund.Some of the goals of this project:1. Remove major in stream blockages to fish passage in previously surveyed reaches.2. Plant at least 1000 native trees and shrubs, and install browsing cages.3. Maintain established planting sites from previous field seasons.4. Host our Annual TREC Tree Drive.🌳 This field season we planted and gave away 1352 native trees, shrubs and pollinator plants and installed browsing cages on 156 of these plants. We focused our planting efforts in Riparian Zones, contributing to improved habitat and species diversity along Trout River (Millvale), Hope River, Founds River, Bayview, and Granville Creek.As part of this project we monitored and performed maintenance on over 30 past planting sites:- Removing and installing browsing cages where necessary- Pruning to improve growth- Patch cutting to let in light- Removing invasive species which impede growth- Noting survival rates and if more planting is needed at each siteWe would like to thank the J. Frank Gaudet Tree Nursery for the work they do growing these native plants so watershed groups can continue to improve habitat on PEI! Thank you to businesses who donated native trees and shrubs to our Annual TREC Tree Drive including Kool Breeze and Arbor Nursery. We would also like to thank community members who donated saplings as well! This work would not be possible without you all! Lastly we would like to thank the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund for supporting this work! You can help contribute to this fund by buying a conservation plate for your vehicle, or through hunting, trapping and fishing licence purchase. ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

1 month ago

🌲 The Riparian Zone Enhancement Project: Supported by The PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund.Some of the goals of this project:1. Remove major in stream blockages to fish passage in previously surveyed reaches.2. Plant at least 1000 native trees and shrubs, and install browsing cages.3. Maintain established planting sites from previous field seasons.🐟 Removing major in stream blockages to fish passage:As part of this project, TREC removed major blockages to fish passage from 5.55km of Hope River and Trout River tributaries. It is important to only remove in stream materials which cause issues to habitat or impede the movement of migratory aquatic species. Woody material can provide so many benefits to aquatic habitat, here are just a few examples: 🌳 Trees along waterways:-Shade water to moderate temperatures.-Fallen trees create vital habitats for fish and aquatic life.-Fallen trees can provide stream crossings for terrestrial wildife.🍂 Wood in streams:-Traps organic matter, supporting the food web.-Provides cover for fish and creates deep, cool pools.🌊 Log jams:-Spread water into floodplains, taking sediments with it, as well as trapping sediment and nutrients in patches of the stream.-Aerate streams increasing or maintaining the oxygen saturation of the water. (as seen in the video)Thank you to the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund for supporting this project! You can contribute to this fund through:1. Annual conservation fees incorporated into PEI licenses for hunting, angling and trapping2. Conservation Plates purchased for motor vehicles in PEI.See our next post for results on our tree planting and maintenance! ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

2 months ago

🐣 Watch as a Chickadee family grows in one of our nesting boxes in this short, two-minute video. We captured the entire nesting process—from egg to nestling to fully feathered Chickadee.🐣 5 fun facts about Chickadees!1. Did you know Chickadees usually mate for life?2. The Black-capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places.3. Chickadee calls are complex and language-like, communicating information on identity and recognition of other flocks as well as predator alarms and contact calls. The more dee notes in a chickadee-dee-dee call, the higher the threat level.4. Even when temperatures are far below zero, chickadees virtually always sleep in their own individual cavities. In rotten wood, they can excavate nesting and roosting holes entirely on their own.5. The oldest known wild Black-capped Chickadee was a male and at least 11 years, 8 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in New York in 2021. It had been banded in the same state in 2009.Learn more about Chickadees and other birds on Cornell Lab All About Birds: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/overview ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

3 months ago

📷 Here are some recent photos from our trail cameras on Hope River and Granville Creek! We currently have 4 trail cameras installed on Hope River, Granville Creek, Lake of Shining Waters and 1 at a sandstone well. 🦦 4 of these cameras are installed at potential River Otter locations, but we have not been able to catch any images just yet! 🦇 The last trail camera is located at our bat well monitoring site in order to capture images of bats entering and leaving the well.Photos #1-4 are of a Barred Owl in the Devil's Punchbowl Trail (Granville Creek). We always knew this owl lived in the Punchbowl but this is the first time we have been able to capture a photo!Photo #5 is a Coyote in the Devil's Punchbowl Trail (Granville Creek).Photo #6 is a female Wood Duck on Hope River. This data has given us insight into a new suitable location for a Wood Duck box!Photos #7-9 are of a Great Blue Heron on Hope River, you can even catch them fishing in photo 8.Photo #10 a curious dog interested in our trail camera! ... See MoreSee Less

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Trout River Environmental Committee

3 months ago

🦇 Happy Bat Week! October 24th-31st 🦇TREC works to conserve bat populations on PEI! We track bat presence, install bat roosting boxes, and protect old sandstone wells that bats use for hibernation. If you have a sandstone well on your property or want to install a bat box, reach out to us at projects@troutriverec.ca — we may be able to help!Together, we can support bat populations by providing them safe spaces to roost and hibernate. But remember, preserving PEI's forests is the most impactful way to protect bat populations and their natural habitats! #BatWeek ... See MoreSee Less

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