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Summary
Big Rock's unique feature is the well established Peregrine falcon nesting site. While they are now off the Endangered list Peregrines remain a rare and very local species that reflect overall environmental health. Peregrines have been successfully nesting and preying on local birds since around 2005 which represents a good indicator of the health of the local avifauna. It doesn’t address abundance since there’s no question that the population of virtually all small perching birds has declined hugely over the last 20-30 years.but does imply that individuals within the local population are reasonably healthy.
The plants are representative of Renfrew County with nothing standing out as exceptional. The bedrock is uniformly acidic gneiss, which would be expected to yield such a result. As a component of a system of natural area, however, representative landscapes such as Big Rock are important.
Field observations
On June 24, 2017 an assessment of the flora and fauna of the 4.65 ha Big Rock Conservation Area was undertaken by Pembroke Area Field Naturalists: Grant Bickell, Christian Renault, Ethan Anderman, Rob Cunningham, Jennifer Valentine and, Erick Liskie.
Big Rock is in EcoRegion 6E and is thought to have a great variety of flora and fauna for its relatively small size. The flora is divided into somewhat distinct zones consisting of: deciduous forest (A), coniferous forest (B), cliff (C) and meadow (D).
TREES
Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus
Red Pine - Pinus resinosa
Eastern Hemlock - Tsuga canadensis
Eastern White Cedar - Thuja occidentalis
Red Oak - Quercus rubra
Ironwood - Ostrya viriniana
White Ash- Fraxinus americana
Basswood - Tilia americana
Paper Birch - Betula papyrifera
Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum
SHRUBS
Common Bearberry - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Common juniper - Juniperus communis
Juneberry sp - Amelanchier sp
Bush honeysuckle - Diervilla lonicera
Wild rose - Rosa sp
Staghorn sumac - Rhus typhina
Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus
Maple-leaf viburnum - Vibernum acerifolium
Arrowwood - Vibernum rafinesquianum
Glaucous honeysuckle - Lonicera dioica
Narrow-leaved New Jersey Tea - Ceanothus herbaceus
FERNS
Marginal woodfern - Dryopteris marginata
Rusty woodsia - Woodsia ilvensis
Bracken fern - Pteridium aquilinum
HERBACEOUS FLOWERING PLANTS
Orange hawkweed - Hieracium aurantiacum
Field hawkweed - Hieracium caespitosum
Pale corydalis - Corydalis sempervirens
White clover - Trifolium repens
Early saxifrage - Saxifraga virginiensis
Common St. Johnswort - Hypericum perforatum
Rough Cinquefoil - Potentilla norvegica
Slender Vetch - Vicia tetrasperma
Hairy beardtongue - Penstemon hirsutus
Hop clover - Trifolium agrarium
Wild licorice - Galium circaezans
False soloman's seal - Smilacina racemosa
Barren strawberry - Waldsteinia fragarioides
Sarsparilla - Aralia nudicalis
Big-leaf aster - Aster macrophyllus
Spreading dogbane - Apocynum androsaemifolium
Wild lily-of-the-valley - Maianthemum canadense
Early meadowrue - Thalictrum dioicum
Bastard toadflax - Comandra umbellata
Cow-wheat - Melampyrum lineare
Black snakeroot - Sanicula marilandica
Wild Basil - Clinopodium vulgare
Mouse-eared chickweed - Cerastium vulgatum
Common speedwell - Veronica officinalis
Fireweed - Epilobium angustifolium
Birdfoot trefoil - Lotus corniculatus
Field Pussytoes - Antennaria neglecta
Devil's Paintbrush - Hieracium aurantiacum
Rough Woodland Sunflower - Helianthus divaricatus
Black Snakeroot - Sanicula marilandica
Lesser Daisy Fleabane - Erigeron strigosus
Small-flowered Crane's-bill - Geranium pusillum
Wood Lily - Lilium philadelphicum
GRASSES & SEDGES
Dry-spike Sedge - Carex siccata
Merritt Fernald's Sedge - Carex merritt-fernaldii
Pennsylvania Sedge - Carex pensylvanica
Long-stalked Sedge - Carex pedunculata (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)
Sprengel's Sedge - Carex sprengelii (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)
Ebony Sedge - Carex eburnea (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)
Dewey's Sedge - Carex deweyana (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)
White-grained Mountain-ricegrass - Oryzopsis asperifolia (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)
BIRDS
peregrine falcon
turkey vulture
herring gull
ring-billed gull
yellow-bellied sapsucker
eastern wood pewee
great crested flycatcher
least flycatcher
red-breasted nuthatch
white-breasted nuthatch
chestnut-sided warbler
pine warbler
blackburnian warbler
red-eyed vireo
yellow-rumped warbler?
black and white warbler
Nashville warbler
black-throated blue warbler
American redstart (sighted Manning Rd)
scarlet tanager
rose-breasted grosbeak
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
ANIMALS
wood frog - Rana sylvatica
INSECTS
baskettail - Epitheca sp
Boreal Bluet - Enallagma boreale
Tule Bluet - Enallagma carunculatum
Hagen's Bluet - Enallagma hageni
Racket-tailed - Emerald Dorocordulia libera
Ashy Clubtail - Gomphus lividus
Robber Fly - Laphria sp
Silvery Blue butterfly - Glaucopshyche lygdamus
little wood satyr- Megisto cymela
forest tent caterpillar - Malacosoma disstria
northern cloudy-wing - Thorybes pylades
long dash skipper- Polites mystic
hobomok skipper - Poanes hobomok
Indian skipper - Hesperia sassacus
European skipper - Thymelicus lineola
orb spider - Araneus sp
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