An Assortment of Recent Sightings

Large Milkweed Bug 

     Every year our prolific Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) serves as host for a robust population of Large Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus), and this year was no exception.

Adults

        Healthy, developing young

     As you may see the seeds are favoured as a principal dietary choice, and the young progress from one instar to the next

     Aposematic colouration warns predators that these bugs are toxic and should be left alone. The same strategy, indeed the same colours, are employed by the Monarch (Danaus plexippus).

Painted Lady

     We were very happy to welcome a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) to the front of the house. It was gracious enough to hang around for a few pictures.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

     Northern Cardinal is a species that has adapted well to urbanization and is a regular visitor to our yard.

Northern Cardinal ♂

Northern Cardinal ♀

            

Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

     A year-round resident, this always endearing little rodent is busy preparing for winter, and may be seen carrying food to its underground den.

     It fills its cheek pouches and scurries off, returning mere minutes later to gather up another load of nutritious seeds.

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)

    This beautiful little sparrow has been an infrequent visitor this year, unlike in years past when it was a regular.

     Parasitic Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) favour Chipping Sparrows as hosts, and it used to be a regular occurrence that tiny Chipping Sparrows were seen feeding gargantuan cowbird offspring in our yard.

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

     Bright, cheerful, bold, sassy and argumentative, American Goldfinch is a frequent and much appreciated visitor.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

     On 12 October, the first Dark-eyed Junco of the fall made an appearance in the backyard.

     The weather is still unseasonably mild, but the appearance of juncos is confirmation that fall has arrived.

     A backyard can be a wonderful thing!

Happenings of Late

      For the most part, winter is undeclared this year; occasional snow but followed by melting almost immediately. Strange weather indeed, uncharacteristic one might conclude, but sadly I think this is the portent of messy winters to come.

     In the backyard, Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is our most constant visitor, always there at the crack of dawn, cheerful and appealing.

     Miriam's crows still come to visit her every day, expecting (and receiving) breakfast and lunch. 

     It is a good thing to share our world with crows.

     An American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) and a House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) demonstrated that once in a while they can get along without squabbling.

      Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) is both predictable and appealing.

     Perhaps this goldfinch was awaiting its turn at the feeder.

     I think it is a form of cosmic law that squirrels inhabit my yard, sent to challenge every ingenious solution I have devised to keep them from gobbling up bird seed, and routinely destroying feeders.

     I concede superiority to them, and have come to terms with their success.

     They are cute though!

     Driving through the countryside north of the city, we did have a bit of a snowy landscape.

     At this juncture in a normal winter, rural areas would be peppered with skating rinks and pickup hockey games on frozen ponds. We saw not a one.

11 January, 2024

The Linear Trail, Cambridge, ON

     Taking advantage of at least one day of decent snow, we joined Lisa, Selwyn and Victoria, and Jim for an exploration of the Linear Trail.

     

     The Grand River had welcomed many Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).

     Numerous males were in a frenzy of activity, displaying and tossing their heads back, proving I suppose that it's never a bad time to impress the ladies!

     Occasionally, a small flock of them would fly by, and the sonorous flutter of their wings was music to our ears.

     Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is our largest and most spectacular woodpecker and it is always a moment of great note to see one.

     You will notice the hackberry tree loaded with berries and it was upon these high-energy morsels that the woodpecker was feeding.

     A Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) by comparison is a mere ball of fluff, seemingly vulnerable, but hardy and well-equipped to handle winter adversity. (See Winter World, (2003), Bernd Heinrich ).

     A Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is not as dominant a figure as a Pileated Woodpecker, but is undeniably clad in a wondrous coat of many colours.

     It did get short-changed a little, however, when red bellies were handed out. A faint smudge of rosy hue is about all that you ever see.

    A Box Elder (Acer negundo) carried a copious load of its distinctive seeds.

     The nasal call of a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) was a constant feature of the snowy woods, and often it was possible to see them going about their business.

     Winter is a beautiful season.

     And don't you ever forget it!

Waterloo Region Nature Outings, Columbia Lake, Waterloo, ON

     The latest in the series of outings I have been conducting for WRN recently saw us visit Columbia Lake. As always, there was a mid week venture for people who do not have the daily grind of a job to occupy their time, and a weekend jaunt for the benighted souls who do.

 08 December 2021

Leader: David M. Gascoigne

Members: Lynn Conway, Pauline Copleston, Lisa Den Besten, Bob Fraser, Beth Hobson, Graham Macdonald, Marg Macdonald, Geoff Moore, Rog Suffling, Judy Watson, Kathy Waybrant

Lynn, Graham, Lisa, Geoff, Marg, Rog, Pauline, Bob, Beth, Judy, Kathy

      It was a crisp minus seven degrees as our hardy group of winter warriors set out to see what birds wished to join us on our snowy promenade.

Tuesday Rambles With David - A Foggy Day at Hillside Park

03 March 2020

     Francine and Jim were freshly arrived back from their visit to Guadeloupe, and we were all ready for a walk, despite the weather. 

     Hillside Park seemed like a good destination for we know where an Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) lives, and if Lady Luck favoured us it would be sitting at the edge of its hole.

     It was grey, the air heavy with moisture, the visibility poor at times, but we were happy to be together to enjoy what we could find (and see!).

     Even poor conditions can create magic.

     A Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) has spent the entire winter along the creek, and it alerted us to its presence by uttering its signature rattle. It was indeed a spectre in the mist.

     I am not sure what else had seized our attention, but we were all trying to find it!

     The park still held its charm, although the paths were icy and the walking difficult.

     Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are beginning to sing from tree tops and this male urged us on.

     We slithered and slid, wobbled, pirouetted, flailed and grabbed onto each other, and used our arms as balance beams. After all, with the promise of a screech owl in the offing, what's a broken limb or two?

     Justice was served. Sitting boldly at the edge of its hole in a dead stump was this most delightful of creatures.

         A fitting reward for a bunch of hardy naturalists it appears to me, especially given that the youngest of our group is sixty years old. Never give up seems to be the message of the day!

Tuesday Rambles with David, Hillside Park, Waterloo, ON

28 January 2020

     When we visit Hillside Park we customarily meet at Dearborn Plaza and park off to the side away from the main parking area. In a scene probably seldom seen in many parts of the world, but fairly common in Waterloo Region, a Mennonite horse and buggy was parked alongside the cars.

     The horse was securely hitched to the pole of the light standard and seemed unconcerned at the activity going on around it.

     We know where an Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) resides and made our way to that section of the park to see if it was sitting at the lip of its hole. Lady Luck was with us and it was there in plain sight, but camouflaged well enough that casual passers by would never see it.

       Since for all of us the presence of any owl is akin to a talisman, our day was declared a success whatever else we might see.

     Hillside Park is right in the city, but is a very pleasant urban oasis and while the park is shared by cyclists, casual walkers, and the sound of traffic can sometimes be heard, it is nevertheless a wonderful refuge.

    This Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) was of impressive girth and reached high into the woodland canopy.

     American Robins (Turdus migratorius) spend the winter here with ever increasing regularity and we came across a couple feeding on buckthorn berries.

     They were joined by several House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) taking advantage of a sheltered area where the sun created a veritable micro-climate, several degrees higher in temperature than surrounding shaded patches.

     Bright sun, still low in the winter sky, was perfect for casting long shadows on the snow.

     Francine decided to sit on a log to try for better pictures of an American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea).

     She was well rewarded for her efforts with a great shot.

     She walked back to the car with a wet rear end, however, - a small price to pay!

     We arrived back in the parking lot about an hour and forty-five minutes after we had left and the horse and buggy were still there. Obviously its human companions had serious business to take care of. And so did the horse!

     

     I swear there is a smirk on that horse's face!