Preserved Properties & Conservation Agreements
MacDonald's Wetland
In 2005, working with the MacDonald's Island Cottage Association, the Rideau Waterway Land Trust preserved its 12 th property. This property, known as the MacDonald's Wetland, has 3,000 feet of shoreline and is part of the provincially significant Big Rideau Lake Wetland Complex. It is located just off Highway 15 on the eastern edge of Portland . This property makes a valuable addition to neighbouring wetlands already protected by the Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The MacDonald's Wetland property includes a large bay that is dominated by Cattails. In the summer, it provides habitat to hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds. A second bay is part of the provincial fish sanctuary, which plays an important role in sustaining the fish populations in our lakes.
The woodlands surrounding these bays are forested with Sugar Maple, Beech and Hemlock. On the day that Simon Lunn, our Land Trust' s volunteer biologist, visited the site to prepare the baseline documentation report, a Great Horned Owl was being mobbed by several dozen Crows and two Blue Jays while a Red-shouldered Hawk was calling out and circling above.