On the ground In cyberspace News from elsewhere Books The Fletcher Wildlife Garden is a project of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. It is located on 6 ha of land just south of the Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada. Check our Blog often for photos and notes on what's happening at the FWG. And, for a longer-term view, read our Progress reports	What's up at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden January 2009 Happy New Year!! I resolve to send out more newsletters this year. Sorry to take so long between issues. I feel especially guilty as many people have been emailing to ask to be included on our mailing list. Thanks for your interest; I hope you enjoy this issue. We would also really like to keep hearing from you. Let us know which articles you like, suggest future topics, ask questions about your own wildlife garden, tell us your interests. We welcome all feedback.
On the ground	Clear-cutting the ravine? Some of you may be wondering what happened in the ravine this summer. The loud noises and heavy machinery were all part of a project to remove some of the larger buckthorn trees and stop this invasive species from spreading. Read more...
	Getting the wildlife garden ready for winter If you left the garden cleanup too late, congratulation!! You have a winter wildlife friendly yard. Every fall, the tidier souls among our volunteers itch to cut all dead plant material back to the ground. But the FWG is a wildlife garden, emphasis on creatures, so we want to leave anything that can be used as food over winter as well as lots of shelter from the wind and cold. More about deadheading...
	Chickadee calls Earlier this season, on a walk around the FWG with a troop of cub scouts, Dave Moore remarked that you can tell how threatened a chickadee feels by listening to the number of "dees" in its call. Chickadees tend to flock together so communication is important - especially about possible danger. The ones we were hearing were not very worried. They were flying to the feeder and "chick-a-deeing" periodically. If a hawk had appeared, though, we might have heard "chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee" as the birds took cover. For more about this, see Chickadee call conveys degree of threat from predators and listen to the varied sounds chickadees make.
	Photography workshop Sunday, 11 January, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Winter photography workshop Leader: Colin Freebury Location: Fletcher Wildllife Garden Interpretation Centre, off Prince of Wales Drive, just south of the traffic circle. Participation is limited to the first 12 people who register with the OFNC club number 613-722-3050. Preference is given to OFNC members.
In cyberspace	PBase galleries We're trying something new with our (mostly Christine's) photos. As you may know, we keep track of the various birds, mammals, butterflies, other insects, etc., that visit and use the FWG. But we've had trouble making photos of these creatures easy to find and displaying them in a way that allows us (and you) to identify a particular species. Christine has been uploading images to PBase, a commercial repository for photographs. Many of the dragonflies, bees and wasps, beetles, bugs, flies, and butterflies from our inventory lists can now be viewed in these "galleries." We like the system so much, we're also using it for our popular blog. Go to www.pbase.com/fwg and have a look. We are always interested in your comments!
News from elsewhere	Sharing knowledge and tools We were delighted to be able to offer advice to several new garden project this summer: Legget Park Children's Garden, Rideau River planting, Elgin Street Elementary School, and a wildflower garden project of Co-op Voisins. On the getting-rid-of-invasives front, we were also pleased to lend out weed wrenches to Friends of the Central Experimental Farm, the South Nation Conservation group, and several community groups. All were helping to reduce the buckthorn population. Congratulations to contact people Rebecca Aird, John Gall, Kim Gauvin, Al Beaulieu, and Katherine Hooper for their work on these projects.
	Project FeederWatch Project FeederWatch is an annual survey of birds that visit backyard feeders in winter. Throughout Canada and North America, volunteer participants count birds at their feeders over a 2-day period every week from November to May. The results help Bird Studies Canada scientists detect and understand population trends. Visit the Project FeederWatch website to learn more and to sign up. How to Start a Community Garden Workshop Wednesday, 14 January, 6:30–9 p.m. Now is the time to start working on gardens for the growing season. In fact, it can take up to a year to get a Community Garden started. If you are interested in starting a garden in your neighbourhood, be sure to attend this free workshop where we will learn about the steps involved, the supports that are available, tips for organizing the garden, and much more. Location: Just Food Office Boardroom, 280 Metcalfe St., 5th Floor For more information The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies will be aired on Tuesday, 27 January at 8 p.m. on PBS!!! Lots of info on the Nova website
Books	Native Ferns, Moss & Grasses This exciting new book from William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society arrived under my Christmas tree this year. As I and other FWG volunteers have poured over the native wildflowers and trees & shrubs books in the same series, I am expecting many hours of enjoyment with this new publication. Even the title of this lavishly illustrated volume is enticing: From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave: Serene and Sensous Plants for the Garden. More