The Pipits: Fisher's Pond, Iroquoia Section, Bruce Trail

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Fisher's Pond, Iroquoia Section, Bruce Trail

Co-Leader: Mara McHaffie

Co-Leader: Colleen Reilly, cell: 289.795.6537

We will be visiting Fisher’s Pond Nature Reserve, which is owned and managed by the Bruce Trail Conservancy. 

The property features a variety of habitats, including deciduous forest, forest edge, pond/wetland and a prairie restoration in progress. The property is surrounded by agricultural fields, which in the past have been used by bobolinks (though I have not observed them this year, likely due to a change in farming activities). There is also a nice lookout over the Niagara Escarpment. 

We can expect to see a nice variety of birds due to the variety of habitats - I have attached the list of species observed on the property during property surveys. 

We will use the main Bruce Trail and Fisher’s Pond side trail to do a loop (~2km) around the pond, and may venture into the forest at the north end of the field as well. 

The trail is a mainly single track, natural surface trail and has some roots and rocks. However, there are no major hills or slopes unless we decide to venture a ways north into the forest along the main Trail (we can decide as a group).

The Bruce Trail Conservancy and Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club have undertaken extensive stewardship activities on the property, including prairie restoration, tree planting, and invasive species removal. I can discuss some of these in more detail as we go, and give a bit of info about the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

We will park inside the gate at the end of Highview Drive (you can punch in 2141 Highview Drive if you’re using a GPS). I've marked the parking area with a blue star on the map (the solid red line is the main Bruce Trail and the dotted red line is the Fisher's Pond side trail).

There are no washrooms on site, but there is a Tim Hortons on Brant St south of Highway 5 that you can stop at on the way.

Please note that ticks have been abundant at this location this spring, so I recommend long pants, long socks and bug spray.