The East bank of the Grand River, opposite the lookout, is owned and managed by Rare Charitable Research Reserve, a centre for nature conservation. This 370 ha reserve includes flood plain, mature forests, a trout stream and an alvar (a limestone pavement scraped by the ice sheet long ago). Rare is headquartered in historic Lamb’s Inn, a former hostelry and a great place to visit for further information (In Blair village). There is also the heritage slit barn and Eco Centre where classes and events are held.

To your right, and far off beyond Highway 401, is the prominent Doon Pinnacle Hill – Shown in the banner image for this ecopost. This great mound is a kame, a glacial feature formed long ago by a stream running across the ice of the Wisonsinan ice sheet. The stream deposited sand, gravel, clay and rocks in a hollow in the ice. When the ice sheet melted, the deposit was left behind as a hill. See here how a kame hill is formed.

Bur oaks are distinctive native trees in Southern Ontario and single trees are often seen on the flood plains of rivers – as here at the confluence. The bur oak is a good wildlife tree. Look for the shaggy silhouette that is always present but is most distinctive in winter.

The massive-trunked Bur oak ranges from Southern New Brunswick all the way to Saskatchewan, and can live over 400 years. Iroquoian peoples employed the inner bark for medicine, so it is likely that the people who had a longhouse near the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers would have used these trees. Today Bur oak is exploited for cabinetry and railway ties.

Learn more about Bur Oak here

Bald eagles’ plumage changes with age, so many people think that they are looking at several species. First-year juveniles are dark with blotchy white feathers under the wings and tail. Over their first four years youngsters gradually assume the distinctive white head and tail of the adult eagle.

In 2008, when Ontario’s Endangered Species Act took effect, bald eagles were classified as a “species of special concern”. The population had declined dramatically, first from persecution and then from DDT and other pesticides. Bald Eagles are making a slow come-back in Ontario and elsewhere.

Most wintering eagles here arrive after breeding in Northern Ontario. However, beginning in 2014, Bald Eagles began to nest again in this part of the Grand watershed. These are shy animals, so don’t crowd them or let your dog run near them.

Although you can see Bald Eagles in many places on the Grand, this is the “hot spot”. The Wisconsinan ice sheet of the last ice age moulded the land in this area into a relatively steep gradient, so the river flows faster and does not freeze easily. (Slightly warmed outflow from Kitchener’s Doon Sewage treatment plant also helps). Hence we have open water where ducks gather in winter, and ducks are food for eagles. So an ice sheet ultimately set the stage for wintering eagles!

Learn more about Bald eagles here.