FRI Ecological Services

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Notes From The Field

Follow our team members as they work on projects just like yours. Here we will share details on a regular basis documenting FRICORP's challenges and successes in the field.

How to Catch a Kitten in the Woods!

February 28, 2024

This story does not outline the usual scope of work for FRi biologists, but instead highlights a heartwarming story of finding four cold kittens lost in the woods.

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No small feat for Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes

February 13, 2024

A success story for two threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (2007), as both Massasauga rattlesnakes and Eastern hog-nosed snakes were observed successfully gestating at this project’s created overall benefit gestation habitat!

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Massasauga Success Story

March 19, 2020

The Eastern massasauga is the only venomous snake that calls Ontario it's home. There are distinct populations of this species but the largest population and most widespread is the Georgian Bay population. The massasauga is listed as a threatened species and is protected under the Endangered Species Act (2007).

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Winter Visitor

February 26, 2019

Ontario has eight bat species; three of them – Hoary Bat, Silver-haired Bat and Eastern Red Bat - head south for the winter while the other five – Little Brown Myotis, Northern Myotis, Eastern Small-footed Bat, Tri-colored Bat and Big Brown Bat – stick around for the deep freeze. 

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Who's That Bat?

February 26, 2019

There are eight (8) bat species in Ontario and all of them eat insects exclusively.  They are often spotted foraging over wetlands and shallow waterbodies, along forest edges and trails, and near homes and cottages.  Bats can be found in almost any habitat; on this night we recorded big brown bats, silver-haired bats and hoary bats foraging over the wetlands.

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An Intern's Perspective - Nipissing University Student Rachel Eagles

July 03, 2018

This internship was the single most influential opportunity that I received in university. Though it maybe did not provide me with the same amount of theoretical knowledge that some classes do, they provided me with a completely different skills set: the ability to communicate with others in a work environment, the ability to apply my skills in a practical setting and the ability to feel like you are doing something that makes a difference.

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Don’t Poke a Sleeping Bear

April 20, 2018

One of our field crews were marking some trees for a bat research project along the Highway 69 corridor scheduled for a clearing contract when one of the construction staff mentioned that they may have found a bear den within the clearing contract. We snowshoed to the site and as we stopped to try and find the exact location you could distinctly hear the sound of the bear breathing slowly not two metres from where we were standing. Every once in a while you could hear the soft squeal of a cub over the rhythmic breathing of the sow.

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