Carden Alvar Provincial Park is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

located in the

Kawartha Lakes The City of Kawartha Lakes (2021 population 79,247) is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. It is a municipality legally structured as a single-tier city; however, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontario county and is mostl ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Alvar An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

s are globally rare ecosystems found exclusively in Northern Europe and the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region of North America. The park is classified as a non-operating, ''natural environment'' park and was established in 2014. Natural environment parks protect outstanding landscapes, ecosystems and other elements of the province's wilderness to provide high quality recreational and educational experiences for visitors.

History

The park was created in 2014 from two properties: the Cameron Ranch and the Windmill Ranch. They are irregularly shaped but adjoining properties that are southeast of the town of Dalrymple and west of Wylie Rd. Both properties were acquired with assistance of The Couchiching Conservancy and the

Nature Conservancy of Canada The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a private, non-profit, charitable nature conservation and restoration organization based in Canada. Since its founding in 1962, the organization and its partners have protected of land and water across ...

, with the Couchiching Conservancy acting as steward of the properties since their acquisition. Windmill Ranch was a family farm last operated by John Arthur Hawtin and Noreen Hawtin.

Visitor activities

As a natural environment park, Carden Alvar Provincial Park contains no campgrounds, restrooms or recreational facilities. Two common uses for the park area are birdwatching and hiking. Access to the eastern portion of the park (the Windmill Ranch property) is limited to guided tours arranged through the Couchiching Conservancy. However, given the approximately frontage along Wylie Rd, many birders observe from the road. Wylie Rd. is also an important observation area for the region's butterflies.

Birdwatching and status within an Important Bird Area

The park lies at the heart of the Carden Alvar

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) and contains breeding habitat for the eastern subspecies of the

Loggerhead Shrike The loggerhead shrike (''Lanius ludovicianus'') is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (''L. borealis'') occurs north of its range, however it ...

, a species listed as endangered both provincially and federally. The Loggerhead Shrike has only three breeding sites in Ontario, and approximately half of the breeding pairs in the province are often found in the Carden Alvar. Over 230 bird species have been recorded in the area, including

Bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

Short-eared Owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

Least Bittern The least bittern (''Ixobrychus exilis'') is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. Taxonomy The least bittern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his re ...

Red-headed Woodpecker The red-headed woodpecker (''Melanerpes erythrocephalus'') is a mid-sized woodpecker found in temperate North America. Its breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the east-central United States. It is rated as least concern ...

Yellow Rail The yellow rail (''Coturnicops noveboracensis'') is a small secretive marsh bird, of the family Rallidae that is found in North America. Taxonomy The yellow rail was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in ...

Eastern Meadowlark The eastern meadowlark (''Sturnella magna'') is a medium-sized blackbird (family: Icteridae), very similar in appearance to sister species western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most w ...

, and

Grasshopper Sparrow The grasshopper sparrow (''Ammodramus savannarum'') is a small New World sparrow. It belongs to the genus ''Ammodramus,'' which contains three species that inhabit grasslands and prairies. Although sometimes found in crop fields and they will rea ...

. The broader Carden Plain received the IBA designation in 1998 from

Bird Studies Canada Birds Canada (formerly Bird Studies Canada) is Canada's national bird Conservation movement, conservation organization. Birds Canada began as the ''Long Point Bird Observatory'' in 1960, changing its name in 1998 to reflect the growing national ...

and the

Canadian Nature Federation Nature Canada is a member-based environmental organization headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Its supporters include more than 100,000 individuals and over 800 affiliated organizations, including local and provincial naturalist clubs. The organ ...

References

External links

*
The Couchiching ConservancyCarden Trail maps from the Couchiching Conservancy
{{Ontario parks Provincial parks of Ontario Protected areas established in 2014 2014 establishments in Ontario Important Bird Areas of Ontario Protected areas of Kawartha Lakes

History

Visitor activities

Birdwatching and status within an Important Bird Area

See also

References

External links