|
|
The 20 viewing locations shown on the
Nature Guide map offer tourists, birders, and nature enthusiasts good examples
of Carden's unusual flora and fauna. Choose the locations you wish to visit and
spend a few hours, walk a little, or just sit and wait for nature to come to
you. Please remember that most of the land beside the road is private and not
open to visitors; but most of Carden's specialties can easily be seen from the
quiet roadsides. The Carden Plain is a special place to enjoy nature in a rural setting. There are 238 species of birds , including breeding populations of the endangered Loggerhead Shrike. There are also many grassland species that are in decline elsewhere. Butterflies are another specialty, with over 80 species. The Carden Plain includes large high-quality alvar habitats that are globally rare, and that support a great diversity of uncommon plants. Carden is one of Ontario’s finest birding locations in the late spring. The Carden Plain is characterized by a large limestone plain interlaced with wetlands and woodlands. Alvar habitats exist only on shallow, relatively flat limestone landscapes, and occur in scattered locations across the Great Lakes and around the Baltic Sea. Most alvar communities are designated as “globally imperiled” and shelter a high proportion of rare plants and invertebrates.
|
|
