Waterloo Region Nature Outing to Mill Race Trail, St. Jacobs, ON

08 January 2020

     For the third year in a row, I was happy to lead a mid-winter walk along the Mill Race Trail in St. Jacobs

     Miriam and I were up long before dawn, but as daylight began to manifest itself we could see that it was a bright day and the thermometer read minus 7°C. That is about as perfect as one might expect for a January day in Ontario.

     A couple of eager participants were there ahead of us, but I always plan to arrive before the people taking part, and Miriam had time to walk down to the Conestogo River to memorialize the winter experience.

    The horse and buggy of an Old Order Mennonite rattled by.

     I am always a little bemused by the ill-informed benighted people who infer that we endure winter only because we have to, that somehow we should feel aggrieved and that perhaps we should simply hibernate. Does the picture below convey the sentiments of people who feel resentful of our climate? Or does it portray eager naturalists about to embark on a walk to enjoy nature in all its winter splendour?

     I was astounded recently to read the comment by a fellow blogger that she would not even partake in an outdoor picnic unless the temperature was at least 26 degrees. Sometimes we picnic in the snow. 

     There are those who seem to only relish temperatures that blister the skin, although I suspect that intense heat drives people indoors far more than our glorious cold winter days cause us to remain at home. No doubt everyone reading these words is fully aware of the enormous tragedy going on in Australia, with wildfires out of control, and devastation and death to humans and fellow creatures alike, and the complete elimination of habitat, and houses burned to the ground.  I suspect that most Australians would welcome a couple of days of minus seven with snow right about now, and would willingly trade the forty plus temperatures they are dealing with daily.

     We set off along the trail.

     The scenery was splendid.

     Part of the magic of the Mill Race Trail is the friendly and intimate relationship that has developed with Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and feeding them is one of the highlights of this outing. We were not far into our perambulation before we were surrounded by birds eager for a gift of food, with keen bird lovers equally expectant of the time to be enjoyed with a wild creature. I am indebted to Don Thomas for a fine series of pictures depicting this activity. (In the group picture above Don is at the far right).

     Other birds of course join the group, but most are reluctant to land on an outstretched hand with the alacrity of a chickadee. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) will sometimes do it and it is always a special moment if it is your extended hand that is chosen.

     Recently, for the first time ever, I had a Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) feed from my hand, but I have not yet succeeded in achieving this thrill along the Mill Race.

     The vivid scarlet of a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) against the white of the snow or a backdrop of conifers never gets old.

     Snow creates many fanciful shapes; I think that the way it has collected here reminds one of confections. Cupcakes anyone?

     How about this beautiful image?

     Snow, snow and more snow.....

     Happy birders trundled along the trail, feeding birds, looking at birds, discussing birds, enjoying each other's company - glorious nature, glorious winter, glorious friendship.

     Age is no impediment. I am sure that my dear friend, Meg Slater, shown below with the two poles will not mind me mentioning that she will never see eighty again.

     Perhaps these reflections caused us to reflect on our own good fortune.

     There were several small groups of Mallards (Anas platyrynchos) on the water, and we enjoyed seeing every one of them.

     Chickadees were always present to remind us that though the Mallards may have a wonderful green sheen to their heads and a jaunty curly tail, chickadees are the marquee attraction on the Mill Race Trail.

     As we arrived in the village of St. Jacobs, the snow piled in the parking lot looked quite mountainous, with the silos in the background.

     One of the reasons that this particular outing is always such a pleasure, is that we break the journey with a visit to the Eco Café.

     Everyone was ready for a hot coffee and I think that most of us got a little snack to go with it. Miriam and I split a delicious scone.

     It is always a good idea to keep a close eye on wayward children.

     Having refreshed ourselves and used the washrooms, we started back along the trail, having enjoyed a brisk, invigorating, interesting, rewarding morning with good friends and fellow naturalists.

     Florida, you ask? Arizona perhaps? No thanks! Ontario every time!

Jonah Feeds a Chickadee

22 December 2019

     On a fine winter's day we met up with Kayla and Jonah to do a little birding along the Mill Race Trail in St. Jacobs.

     Kayla is originally from the Toronto area and Jonah from Ottawa, and neither one had ever seen the assembly of Mennonite horses and buggies at a church, so we took them first to the meeting house on Three Bridges Road in order that they might witness this remarkable sight.

     The horses waited patiently at the hitching rails while the service continued inside. And we waited too until a few of the conveyances left so that Kayla and Jonah could take in the whole scene, following which we returned to the start of the Mill Race Trail to begin our walk.

     I have to tell you that Jonah is a beer chemist, a fellow engaged in fermenting, brewing, fusing molecules, alchemy almost, a sophisticated creator of the unique tastes associated with micro breweries - but he has never fed a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) from the hand. Ergo, his education was clearly incomplete.  Furthermore, when Kayla raised the possibility he scoffed at the very idea. Scoffed, mind you, dismissed the notion as a foolish flight of fancy. Obviously this grave misapprehension had to be rectified and we had brought bird seed along with exactly that aim in mind.

     Chickadees on the Mill Race Trail have been habituated to friendly humans for years and recognize every two-legged creature as a potential source of food.

     It did not take long for Jonah to experience the unique joy of contact with a wild creature. The sheer elation on his face speaks volumes as he follows a bird that had just left his hand with a seed in its bill.

          Once is never enough, of course.

     Kayla was in on the secret all along and knew with certainty what Jonah's reaction would be.

     Some days happiness is a little bird on your hand.

     It was unlikely that this American Crow (Corvus brachyrynchos) would be following the lead of the chickadee!

     The Mill Race looked quite splendid clad in its winter coat.

     At one point a train went over the old trestle bridge, slowly, and almost elegantly it seemed.

     Kayla and Jonah were happy to watch it go by.

     I am sure that this female Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) had other activities to occupy her daylight hours, not the least of which was securing food.

          It was very seldom that several chickadees did not travel with us on the trail, joined by others along the way. Each one represented sheer delight for us.

     The sun was shining, the temperature was mild, there was snow on the ground, the green of conifers all around - it was good to be out and about.

     No stroll along the Mill Race Trail would be complete without a visit to the Eco Café at the St. Jacobs end of the walk. I think that for Jonah it was almost in the nature of a victory celebration. He even got a cookie with his coffee!

     Every year a few Belted Kingfishers (Megacerlye alcyon) tough out the winter and remain on territory rather than migrate. It has always been my theory that males remain behind, accepting the trade-off of cold weather versus migration in order to have a territory established for when the females return in the spring. The birds I have seen in the winter have always been males. Today there were two Belted Kingfishers on the Conestogo River and as the picture below clearly shows one is a female.

     I am inclined to believe that this has something to do with climate change. The temperature was around 4.5° C, whereas the expected value for this period in December is minus 4.1° C. It now appears that mated pairs will, at least sometimes, remain to face the winter together.
     There were expanses of open water on the river, and Kayla had mentioned that she had only ever seen kingfishers in flight and had never seen them perched. Our obliging female dived into the river, caught a fish, went to a perch and swallowed it. The whole performance was staged for Kayla, I have no doubt.
     Chickadees were our companions on the return journey as they had been on the outward leg, and Kayla and I could not resist feeding them again.

     We saw numerous species, but Black-capped Chickadee was the unchallenged star of the day.

     I suspect that Jonah learned a brand new formula today, and it looks like this.....

SJ + BCCH = HAPP²

     ..... where SC = Scoffer Jonah, BCCH = Black-capped Chickadee, resulting in Happiness squared.

     You many not be able to brew beer with it but it is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face on a snowy winter's day.