A Return Visit to Mike Schout Wetland Preserve, New Hamburg, ON

 01 July, 2023

     We were so entranced with this location the first time around it was a no-brainer to make a return visit with our dear friend, Lisa, for whom it was a new experience. Let me add right away that she was as enthralled with the place as Miriam and I were.

     It was quite lovely to be welcomed by a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), a common bird but a perennial favourite.

     It didn't take long for a female House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) to claim second place on the welcoming committee.

     We had not proceeded far along the trail when we heard quite a commotion from a Mallard (Anas platyrynchos). We paid little heed to it knowing that squabbling Mallards can make quite a racket. At that point, however, a fellow on the deck of his house on the other side of the pond called over to us that a duck appeared to be caught on something, unable to get free. We arrived at the water's edge just as the duck managed to extricate itself from the grip of a very large Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). 

     We were unable to see whether there was any damage to the duck's foot or leg, but the bird appeared to be slightly lop-sided on the water. Given the powerful cutting jaws of this ancient chelonian it is hard to imagine that it would not have inflicted a wound of some type. A while later, however, the duck seemed to be moving along without stress or difficulty.

     On the far side was a group of young Mallards in the care of a female; they would certainly be at far greater risk than an adult, and no doubt many ducklings regularly fall prey to turtles lurking beneath the water.

     We were happy to note that a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) had co-opted the yet-to-be-used Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nest site as a convenient perch.

     A very small American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus) was confidently making its way in life, learning all the survival techniques it will need to know.

     May it live long and prosper and produce many young, if the inexorably warming planet permits. New global heat records are set and broken with alarming frequency, and that does not auger well for life on Earth as we know it.

     A female Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis) perched beautifully for us.

     Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) is a polyandrous species with the male assuming the responsibility for raising the young, and a diligent father watched over a couple of his charges.

     The young appeared to be doing well, foraging confidently for themselves.

     I believe that what follows is the tadpole of a Grey Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor); rapidly growing limbs, and already evolved from a gill-breathing organism to lung-breathing.

     Soon it will leave its aquatic environment for a life in trees and shrubs, returning to the water only to breed.

     There were many frogs' eggs in the water too, but I am not sure of the species.

     Killdeer is a common inhabitant of the wetland.

     A male Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) would no doubt be happy to find a willing female.

     Midland Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata) contentedly basked in the morning sun.

     Long before we saw it, we heard the rollicking song of a House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). It didn't take us long to locate this male busy with nest construction. 

     Sometimes it takes a while to line up the twig to get it into the hole, but they always succeed.

     Male House Wrens often construct more than one nest and escort a female from one to the other to seek her approval. This male took a break to issue his invitation and we hope he was successful.

     Small Whites (Pieris rapae) fluttered over the landscape wherever we looked, rarely landing, however. We were very grateful to this male for being so obliging.

     We saw our first Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis) ever.

     An Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis) was more familiar, yet no less agreeable.

     This fearsome-looking insect is a species of Thread-waisted Sand Wasp (genus Ammophila) - better we keep a respectful distance from each other!

     An American Robin (Turdus migratorius) sought shade deep in the foliage.

     A couple of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) were engaged in some form of display that I couldn't fathom. It is past the time for courtship rituals, besides which there seemed to be an agonistic component to it.

     The following images are self-explanatory in terms of what we observed, but I still cannot offer a suitable rationale.

     A few wildflowers.....

Perennial Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis)

Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans)

Corn Chamomile (Anthemis arvensis)

     Perhaps this female Brown-headed Cowbird was responding to the blandishments of the male we saw earlier.

     Longleaf Pondweed (Potamogeton nodosus) was the predominant vegetation on the water, and I found it exceptionally attractive.

     Water Plantain (genus Alisma) was also thriving.

     American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) is sublimely appealing; we could see it a hundred times a day and never fail to stop and take in its beauty.

     Here is the footprint of a Great Blue Heron.

     Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) were fluttering on the breeze, sometimes landing briefly.

     Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) by all appearances have had a very successful breeding season at this location.

     A demanding nestling waited impatiently for a devoted parent to return with food.

      It was not long before Mom delivered.

     Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) is well established.

     We saw an impressive beetles in the genus Stenocorus.

     Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is a widespread and attractive dragonfly.

     Curiously, near the end of or circuit we came across a tree with several male cowbirds.....

          ..... and another with a gathering of Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus).

     A Seven-spotted Ladybeetle (Coccinella septempunctata) caught our eye.

     The gentle demeanour of a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) brought our very satisfying morning to an end.

     We saw more! There is a great deal that was not photographed and not all pictures are good enough to be published. If you have never enjoyed nature in this way I can only urge you to get out with eyes and ears wide open. There is so much to discover, so much to learn, so much pleasure to derive - and you will appreciate your own role in the grand scheme of life on Earth in greater depth. We are part of nature, not separate from it, and the sooner we accept that simple truth the better we will all be. That outlook will encourage you to be a better steward and help the Planet to recover from the assault we have made on it.

     So far this wetland preserve is quite pristine, but I have misgivings about the future. I have been involved in enough wetland cleanups to know that Homo sapiens manifests great arrogance and an incomprehensible disregard for purity and natural beauty. I saw one baseball cap in the wetland, no doubt blown into the water inadvertently, but it is still there. We saw a child with a plastic toy drop part of it into the water - again unintentional, but polluting the water nonetheless. A discarded beverage container was very distressing, but hardly unexpected. How many more will there be when we return?

     One cannot help but remember the words of the great American novelist, Kurt Vonnegut, at the time when the first images of Earth, this Blue Dot, seen from outer space were being beamed around the world, "Earth is such a pretty blue and pink and white pearl in the pictures NASA sent me. It looks so clean. You can't see all the hungry, angry earthlings down there - and the smoke and the sewage and the trash and sophisticated weaponry."

     Vonnegut made this statement in 1969. It has only become worse since.

      I hope that in this wetland we can begin to turn the tide - but I seriously doubt it. There is simply no resolve on the part of humans to do the right thing, even if their own survival is at stake.