Outing to The Mill Race Trail, St. Jacobs, ON

     As part of the ongoing series of outings I have been leading for Waterloo Region Nature we made a midweek visit to the Mill Race Trail, followed by a weekend jaunt, as has become our custom.

26 January 2022

     The ladies of WRN are proving once again that they are a cadre of winter warriors second to none.

Leader: David M. Gascoigne

Members: Miriam Bauman, Jim Burrell, Pauline Copleston, Lisa Den Besten, Beth Hobson, Curtiss MacDonald, Wendy Shaw, Kathy Waybrant, Kath Werner.

Lisa, Wendy, Kath, Pauline, Beth, Curtiss, David - and kneeling, Kathy, Jim

     It was especially pleasing to see my good friend, Jim Burrell, come out and join us. Jim has undergone some major surgery in the past couple of years but is on his way to resuming his normal activities.

     Birding was a little sparse, but as that paragon of wisdom, Curtiss, has said before, it's the fact of getting out and enjoying each other's company that counts most.

     It did not take long before a beautiful female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) came to take a look at us.

     I think she showed us every part of her finery.

     A male was no less anxious to show off to an appreciative audience.

Northern Cardinal by Kathy Waybrant

     We stopped a couple of times to see if we could lure a few Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) to the hand, but even these ebullient characters were in short supply this morning.

    The trail wended onwards.

     Several Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens) accompanied us as we moved along.

     This male seemed to have returned to a cache of food and was stocking up on a cold winter's day.

     Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) was not as visible as it often is, but this individual revealed itself long enough for a picture.

Photo by Kathy Waybrant

     Once the chatter of chickadees was heard there was no shortage of outstretched hands. 

     A chickadee is a concentrated study in charm and beauty.

     You may see in the first picture above the way it grasps a seed in its feet and chisels away at it until every morsel has gone. 

     Then its time to swoop in for another tidbit from a human ally.

     The Mill Race Trail is an excellent location to see White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) up close.

     The Conestogo River was frozen, so there were no waterfowl present, and the trees cast long shadows on the ice.

     Nature is wonderful in all its seasons, and winter yields a beauty all its own.

     Better to get out and see it for yourself.

     I don't think this snag has much longer to stand erect.

    What the woodpeckers started the wind will soon finish.

     We spotted a mink emerging from its breathing hole, and although it did not reveal itself for long, Kathy managed to get a great picture.

American Mink (Mustela vison) by Kathy Waybrant

     There is interest aplenty for the keen observer. 

     A female Downy Woodpecker was focused on her own affairs.

     Just take another look at the exquisite detail on this chickadee's plumage.

     With makeup and mascara, blush, powder, lipstick and eye liner, with mud bath, beauty salon, spa and manicurist, ladies, you will never look as good!

     The path was basically a narrow section beaten down by many feet, and we were compelled to walk in single file much of the time.

     All we lacked was a rope to hold on to and we would have resembled a class of obedient school children obeying the teacher's orders.

29 January 2022

Leader: David M. Gascoigne

Members: Christine Alexander, Miriam Bauman,  Tracey Rayner, Andrea Smith, Mary Ann Vanden Elzen.

Mary Ann, Tracey, Andrea, David, Christine

     Despite the cold weather there was only one cancellation and one no-show. We enjoyed a very agreeable walk together, though birds were hard to find. Even chickadees were not as prone to visit our hands as they usually are.

     The dam on the Conestogo River looked substantially frozen over, although a little water had enough velocity to continue to flow.

     There is an undeniable beauty about it all.

     A Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) was doubtless more concerned with finding food than contemplating the beauty of the scene.

           We plodded along the trail, our boots crunching on the snow. Stealth was not an option!

    When we heard chickadees we immediately poured sunflower seed into our hands and encouraged them to come and get food.

     Andrea was bold enough to try it bare-handed.

     If there is a bird that seems unfazed by cold winters it is Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) and we saw them quite frequently.

     A female Northern Cardinal seemed resigned to another cold day, with a long, dark night ahead.

     White-breasted Nuthatches scampered up and down the bark and seemed to have no difficulty finding tasty morsels.

     The thought occurred to us that a prolonged cold snap such as we are experiencing might be what is needed to kill off some of the destructive insects that have found their way here and are wreaking havoc on our trees.

     American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) seem well adapted to cope.

     This outing was not characterized by large numbers of birds, but it was filled with good cheer and engaging conversation. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

A Snowy Owl for Tracey

     Tracey had never seen a Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) so we arranged that she would come to our house at 14h:00 and we would go for a drive in the hinterland to see if we could find one for her. As it turned out, there would be three, and unusually, all males.

     Along the way we stopped to admire this handsome Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), one of several we saw.

     None of the Snowy Owls we found were especially close, but with a scope we were able to zero in and Tracey was able to see the bird very well. The first was on the ground.

     In the village of Glen Allen there was open water and we saw a few Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser).

     Tracey's second Snowy Owl was even more distant than the first, perched high in a tree from where it could scan the fields in search of prey.

     Best of all, Tracey found the third owl by herself, and although we don't have a picture of it, she felt justifiably proud of spotting it, having quickly learned the techniques of searching for snowies.

     We were very happy that our foray turned out so well.