WRN Outing to the Mill Race, St. Jacobs, ON

22 November, 2025

Leader: David M. Gascoigne

Participants: Farid Asey, Heela Asey, Mina Asey, Palwasha Asey, Sameer Asey, Mary Ann Cassidy, Lisa Den Besten, Anastasia Duench, Helen Fowler, Sarah Fretz, Bill Grey, Claire Herrera,  Verika Ketko, Grace Kirk, Gwen Penner, Siddesh Poyarekar, his wife and eleven-year old child, Tracey Rayner, Valentino Recine, Pam Sadler, Paul Stolee, Mary Ann Vanden Elzen, Ateeq Weera, Christine Zaza.

     Please let me know if I have represented you incorrectly. The registration process at the WRN website was being temperamental and I didn't get some of the names until the last minute, and a couple not at all.

     Right before we even set foot on the trail a Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii) landed nearby. It was not positioned photogenically, but we did the best we could.

     Miriam usually acts as photographer on our walks, as regular readers will know, but today she was occupied with other things.

     Tracey kindly agreed to use my camera and do the best she could, and I appreciate her efforts. Many of the shots here are her work, and some pictures are taken from my archives, all from the Mill Race so authenticity is maintained, and mostly from November in previous years.

     Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) were taking advantage of seed left by benevolent humans on a wall near the parking area.

     We had not gone far along the trail when the sound of a Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) alerted us to its presence as it searched for insect larvae and other juicy morsels in a dead tree.

     These cornstalks have been dragged in by American Beavers (Castor canadensis) and will no doubt provide winter food in the harsh months ahead.

     Moss ( family Brachytheciaceae) holds great fascination for me, especially when examined closely with a loupe. 

     I have to give full marks to this devoted father who carried his child on his shoulders virtually the entire time.

     The youngster had sunflower seed and held out his hand. At one point a chickadee landed and it would have made a charming picture, but before Tracey was able to get the camera focused the bird had gone.

     Mallards (Anas platyrynchos) were numerous and predictable.

     All of the children (and most of the adults for that matter) were looking forward to feeding wild birds and they were not disappointed.

     Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus) followed us along the path, always quick to capture spilled sunflower seeds.

     Eastern Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), both grey and black morphs, were no less willing to benefit from human largesse.

     Sunburst Lichens (genus Xanthoria) are captivating.

     Let me put in a plug here for an excellent field guide to this enigmatic taxon: Lichens: The Macrolichens of Ontario and the Great Lakes Region of the United States, R. Troy McMullin 2023. It is incredibly well done and very useful.

      Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) were our constant companions.

     American Robins (Turdus migratorius) in ever greater numbers eschew migration in favour of remaining in southern Ontario during our progressively milder winters.

     Hand feeding chickadees continued apace, with the children tallying up their scores.

     Perhaps these moments will be the ones that signal the origins of a career devoted to science and nature.

     There is a grandeur in these old trees.

     In addition to the friendly chickadees coming for food, neither Red-breasted (Sitta canadensis) nor White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) were especially shy.

     A Cooper's Hawk, no doubt a menacing sight for songbirds, flew into a perch quite close to us.

     Perhaps it was the same bird we had seen earlier, moving through the trees bordering the Mill Race.

     We did not see as many Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) as I thought we might.

     This pair of Mallards make a handsome couple.

     We were fortunate to spot a couple of Hairy Woodpeckers (Leuconotopicus villosus).

     A Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) rounded out the trio of picids for the day.

     Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is a very common bracket fungus.

     Chickadees and nuthatches can be reliably counted on to come to an outstretched hand offering food, but very rarely will a Downy Woodpecker join in.

     Today was one of those very special days for one lucky young lady.

     A Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) was feeding on the corn stalks delivered by obliging beavers.

     I have left the rarest species to the end. Often camouflaged as a human, this remarkable apparition is a Goggle-eyed Tongue Flicker (Traceyica raynerensis), seldom seen in full display mode.

     Perhaps we are all grateful for that!