Familiarity Breeds Satisfaction

Familiar Species at Familiar Places

5 June 2014

    I think that all birders engage in a continual quest for the unusual, the rarity that shows up infrequently. But this belies the very fact that we are seeking birds most often in familiar, cherished locations, and the birds we find are predominantly old friends. They are none the less appreciated, perhaps even more so, for their reliability and the warmth of feeling they invoke in us.

    The area at the control dam on the Conestoga River in St. Jacobs, and the meander of the river above it, is one of our favourite birding spots and we return there often.

    Its eternal tranquility seems made for the welcome of old friends, not the surge of adrenalin engendered by a rare and unexpected species.

    For years Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe has nested in this area, and it was with great delight that we saw a pair flycatching from an overhanging branch.

    Subtle and muted, this bird has an understated beauty all its own.

    No less appreciated was this American Robin Turdus migratorius, one of our most common birds at this time of the year, but handsome, gregarious and always entertaining to watch.

    Our route home took us down Martin Creek Road, another of our regular haunts, where Mennonite farms and a Mennonite school house lend a degree of bliss to a pastoral landscape.

    This Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis took flight from its perch atop a fencepost the moment we stopped the car to take its picture, leaving us wishing we could assure it that it had nothing to fear from us.

    Eastern Kingbirds Tyrannus tyrannus choose a perch and wait patiently for an insect to pass by; then they sally forth, snap it up, and return to their perch to devour it. The white terminal band on their tail is very apparent as they go about their business.

    New and exciting birds are always great to see, but I wouldn't trade them for a minute for the familiar species that brighten my life every day.

Brown-headed Cowbird being fed by Chipping Sparrow

Brown-headed Cowbird being fed by Chipping Sparrow

Waterloo, ON

4 June 2014

    Remarkably, for the fourth year in a row, we have a fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater being fed by a Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina in our yard. Chipping Sparrows are subject to extensive brood parasitism by cowbirds, but for us to witness this phenomenon four years in a row without even leaving home seems unusual.  

Duntroon Crevice Heights Nature Reserve

Duntroon Crevice Heights Nature Reserve

Bruce Trail Conservancy

31 May 2014

    The Bruce Trail is a wonderful stretch of Ontario landform that reaches from the Niagara Peninsula all the way past Tobermory and ends at the shoreline of Georgian Bay, an offshoot of Lake Huron. It is in fact situated along the ancient spine of the Niagara Escarpment.

    The Bruce Trail Conservancy owns and operates many sections of this trail and is constantly trying to acquire more as private landowners put up their properties for sale. One of their recent acquisitions is a small parcel of land now known as the Duntroon Crevice Heights Nature Reserve, near Singhampton, ON. The Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists contributed $10,000 towards the fund-raising campaign and it was with great pleasure that several members of our club, along with other donor organizations, accepted an invitation to explore the newly created reserve.

    Just outside the property we discovered this fine example of a dry stone wall, i.e. a wall created without the use of mortar or any other bonding agent. This type of wall is widespread in Europe but in my experience is relatively uncommon in  Ontario.

    In a pasture adjacent to Duntroon Heights Bobolinks Dolichonyx oryzivorus were in full courtship song, with males hovering and burbling their delightful chorus is a frenzied attempt to attract a mate. 

    A male Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia was no less ardent.

    Our tour was scheduled to begin at 10:00 and by 09:30 many cars had started to arrive and the group was assembling with many old acquaintances being renewed.

    About sixty eager naturalists were signed up for the tour and so the group was split into two. A tour devoted to geology was led by Beth Gilhespy and an ecology walk was conducted by Brian Popelier, both staff members of the Bruce Trail Conservancy. After about an hour the participants switched groups so that everyone had a chance to enjoy both of the informative meanders through the property.

Brian Popelier

Single file through the forest

      The crevices for which the reserve is named are formed by specific geological actions and this is a typical example. The whitish area at the bottom is snow!

    The forest contains many wonders and these magnificent bracket fungi attracted my attention.

    There were several patches of Yellow Lady's Slipper but I am not proficient enough to identify it as to species. If anyone can help feel free to leave a comment below.

    
    The Niagara Escarpment is renowned for its ancient cedars, trees which are gnarled and stunted, clinging tenuously to a rocky substrate, but which are several thousand years old. Much research has been carried out on these trees. I believe they are represented in the image below.

       Nothing is perhaps so welcome a sight to an Ontarian as a carpet of Trillium Trillium grandiflorum on the forest floor. It is the provincial emblem and during its brief period of inflorescence brings great joy to many observers.

    There were many species of violet in the reserve. I believe this one is Downy Yellow Violet Viola pubescens. 

    To the watchful eye, Jack in the Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum was there to be seen and enjoyed.

    At the end of the walk light refreshments were provided and we all drank a toast to one of the newest reserves in the Bruce Trail Conservancy's inventory. It's a fine addition and I look forward to many future visits.

Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists 80th Anniversary

Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists 

80th Anniversary

10 May 2014

    This year our local naturalists club celebrated its 80th Anniversary, an auspicious achievement by any standards. As Vice-President of the club I was charged with the responsibility of planning and organizing a suitable celebration.

    We were fortunate to be able to host our principal event at rare, a charitable foundation dedicated to conservation and environmental awareness, in Cambridge, a constituent part of the area covered by our club. 

    It seemed fitting to us to plant eight native trees, one for each decade of the club's existence and we invited local dignitaries, politicians from each level of government and other honoured guests to join us in our celebration.

    A suitable plaque was installed to mark the event for posterity. The covering which drapes the sign was made by my wife, Miriam, with a suitable motif representing local birds and other aspects of nature.

         But I'll give you a sneak preview of the inscription.

     One of the quite wonderful features at rare is this amazing old slit barn, dating back to the 1880s, which, with minor work has been restored to its original glory. There are various interpretations of the function of a slit barn, but the one that seems the most plausible to me is that it was used for threshing and the slits enabled the dust to escape. The other suggestion is that the slits were used for rifles without exposing yourself to enemy fire, but since there were no significant hostilities of any kind in this area at the time the barn was built, it seems a little fanciful. The barn is entirely constructed from stone quarried locally and there are numerous fossils clearly visible in the walls. 

    One of the first local politicians to arrive was Ken Seiling the Chair of Waterloo Region (to explain the various levels of government we have here would require more space than I care to give it) and he is seen here with Graham Macdonald, President KWFN and myself.  

Graham Macdonald, Ken Seiling, David Gascoigne

    Another distinguished guest was Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of Ontario Nature, the umbrella group at the provincial level to which our club and many others belong. Ontario Nature plays an important role in advocating for conservation and environmental protection for all Ontarians.

  

    The local politicians were happy to line up with their shovels and help us  plant two sugar maples Acer saccharum.

    When the holes were filled with soil the plaque was unveiled by the distinguished guest speakers.

Doug Brock, Chair, Grand River Conservation Foundation, Stephanie Sobek-Swant Executive Director rare, Graham Macdonald, President KWFN, Caroline Schultz, Executive Director, Ontario Nature

    The club was presented with various certificates to memorialize the milestone in the life of our club. Here is Peter Braid, MP, Kitchener-Waterloo, bringing greetings from the Government of Canada.

     After the tree planting and the speeches a delicious lunch was enjoyed by all.

      

    

    Three different nature walks, and one dedicated to the archaeology of the area, were organized after lunch, all well attended and greatly enjoyed.

    I was unable to make the walks due to a few administrative chores to take care of, but Miriam went on the archaeology junket and even managed a few bird shots.

Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheuticus ludovicianus

Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus

    We were blessed with good weather and the entire event went off without a hitch. It was a fitting tribute to eighty years of dedicated service to the natural history of our area. 

The Benjamin Park Trail Leafed Out

Benjamin Park Trail

18 May 2014

     This post is mainly for Richard Pegler who commented on my last post about the Benjamin Park Trail that he was looking forward to seeing it when the trees were leafed out. Spring was certainly delayed this year due to the severity and length of the winter, but the trail has now assumed its verdant glory and provides shade and tranquility during the heat of the day.

    I couldn't resist throwing in one more picture of the Eastern Screech Owl who has been a regular feature of our walks since I first discovered it. I have not failed to see it on any of my subsequent walks.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis

RIM Park, Waterloo, ON

17 May 2014

    Many species in the genus Buteo are highly variable in plumage, perhaps none more so that the Red-tailed Hawk, commonly found throughout North America in plumages as dark as that found in Harlan's Hawk, to the ghostly pale colouration of the desert-dwelling Krider's Hawk.

    Common Buzzard Buteo buteo also presents substantial colour variation - for excellent pictures of a variety of plumages of this species see Noushka's excellent blog 1,000 Pattes.

    This pale morph Red-tailed Hawk was seen perched in a tree quietly surveying its surrounding.

Eastern Screech Owl

Eastern Screech Owl  Megascops asio

9 May 2014

    I always think that owls and rails are the "best" birds to find, simply because they are generally the most difficult. Eastern Screech Owl is a strictly nocturnal species and roosts in a cavity during daylight hours. It is quite common and I suspect that every wood lot of a hectare or more contains one or two pairs, but finding them is an entirely different matter. Sometimes during the day, they will emerge to sit at the entrance to their hole, a behaviour which, curiously enough, seems to be most obvious during the winter months, when even on a very cold day strong sunlight will bring them out to bask in its warmth. I should add that, though outside their hole, their camouflage often renders them invisible.

   To say that I was delighted to find this individual would be an understatement. I first located it on 9 May and have seen it every day since. I am pretty sure that it has a mate sitting on eggs in the cavity, and there is barely room for two of them inside together.

    The photographs are hardly spectacular, but we do not wish to approach the owl any closer for fear of spooking it, or in any way interfering with its breeding attempt. We have studiously avoided broadcasting the sighting and will continue to monitor the site ourselves. We can only hope that one day soon we may be looking at little owlets perched on nearby branches.