The location I have chosen to be my area of interest is Valley Glen Wetlands. It is pond located at the southern end of Brandt’s Creek Linear Park. It is located at 530 Valley Rd, Kelowna, BC. The linear park followed Mills Creek through the Glenmore Valley area of Kelowna. The Valley Glen Wetlands were created as a detention basin for stormwater management. The park is 0.71ha and the pond accounts for about 80% of the area. It has two small islands that are home to various animals and plants. The pond appears to have a high sediment load, looking very muddy and murky. I believe it to be shallow, as when the ducks dive for stuff on the bottom their tales are sticking up in the air.
The day I visited was May 24, 2024, at 0920h. The weather is one of the first warm sunny days this spring. The temperature was a sunny 15 degrees. The last few days have been very rainy. We received more than 24mm of rainfall in the past three days. Due to the higher rainfall, Mill Creek is running higher and faster than usual. The wetland park is a flat park that is mostly made up of the pond. There is an embankment on all sides of the park, providing a berm between the urban area surrounding the park. The berm is made up of tall trees and shrubbery and grasses. The embankment between the walking path and the pond is made up of small to medium shrubs and grasses. The park is mostly green, with the winter brown fading away. The park is a city wetland park.
The park is a popular walking path and as such there are quite a few people strolling through the park, especially due to the sun. There are birds flying about and chirping through out the park. There are ducks in the pond swimming and sunning themselves. There is also a turtle sunning on a log that is chained in position floating in the pond.
Some of my questions:
There are a lot of birds here, are there more bird’s species here than in a natural urban wetland? Does the man-made wetland been cultivated in such a way that it draws in and supports more species of birds?
Along the linear park, there are a couple smaller ponds, is there a diverse population of birds and animals in those areas too? I wonder as when I walk along the park path, the smaller ponds seem to have very little activity. What is the difference in activity levels and what is different?
How many species of birds are there that are in the park?
Hi, welcome to the field portion of the course. I was on vacation last week when you submitted your first post. Your study area sounds great. Remember that to compare if this wetland to a natural wetland you need to have both so would need an additional study site. Also, if you compare larger to smaller ponds you need to account for sampling area (i.e. sample the same area at each regardless of pond size), which can be difficult with a pond but possible.