A Final Farewell

No, I'm not planning on leaving the blogging world. This is about my mother, Helen Fern Woodliffe, who after a full life of 95+ years, passed away last Monday.

These past few weeks and months have been especially chaotic in many ways. It was particularly challenging for my aging mother who met her physical decline with determination as well as frustration. Anyone reading this who has had to deal with aging parents will understand.

This is not intended to be an adequate eulogy, but I want to touch on a few things. She and my dad were incredibly influential in my life in so many ways, of course. Not the least was with respect to my interest, career and hobbies pertaining to nature.

Our family loved to travel and explore. When we travelled we wouldn't look for the things and activities that many families did. We never went to Disney World nor sought out the Canada's Wonderland or other theme park types of things to do. We didn't go on vacation to be entertained. No, we explored natural areas.

This first photo was our family back in the summer of 1953 (that is me in the stroller....I was less than a year old) with my older sister, Susan, and dad, as we explored Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. My younger sister, Patricia, came along a couple of years later.

We travelled to the west coast and east coast and places in between on several occasions as I was growing up, always camping in our tent or tent trailer at provincial parks or national forests. The travel bug has remained firmly entrenched with me in my adult years.

In my teenage years, I remember fondly going to places like Rondeau Provincial Park with mom and/or dad when we had caught up on our farm work, with various Peterson field guides in hand and binoculars around our necks, trying to identify everything we could. That interest in the natural world which I got at an early age was part of the reason I could make a career out of exploring and defending natural areas and the myriad species that make them up.

In mom and dad's retirement, they were able to spend even more time travelling, camping and exploring across the continent and beyond. Family members joined them as often as we could, whether it be in Arizona or Algonquin or somewhere else. This next photo is of my family along an Algonquin trail. That is Tim, Marie and Kristin in between my parents in 1994.

Mom was not afraid of a challenge. She was constantly learning. Here she is at age 90, on the Spicebush Trail of Rondeau with my wife Marie, using her iPod to check on some bird songs she was hearing along the trail in mid-May.

Nature was just one of many facets of mom's life. But it was an important one, and for anyone reading this who has benefited from my knowledge of the natural world in any way, be aware that my parents' influence is partly responsible!

Right now I am sure mom is enjoying time with her heavenly Father, as well as my dad, and they are busily rejoicing and exploring the perfect creation there. I look forward to joining them someday.

Birding fun at the Keith McLean Conservation Area

The Keith McLean Conservation Area (KMCA) is often worth checking out. This place has a bit of history for me, since there was a time quite a few years ago that Marie and I lived right across the road from it, when Keith was still living there and farming. Since he passed away a few years ago, it is nice that the property has been turned (at least partially) into a naturalized area for vegetation and wildlife.

With the very high water this spring, along with a partially flooded field, several of us had commented that if this keeps up, it will likely attract something rare as the season goes on. Of course in the spring, it had several Willets and American Avocets stop in for a visit.

The flooded field is perfect for waterfowl and shorebirds right now. With a little bit of searching, one can find up to a dozen species of shorebirds. In the last couple of days, one of the highlights has been a Red Knot, a species we used to see regularly on migration to and from its high arctic breeding grounds. For various reasons, the species has declined significantly and it is now an endangered species. The last time I saw one was several years ago on a sandy island at the south end of Rondeau Bay. So it was nice to hear of one that showed up at the KMCA.

When I got there this afternoon, it had not been seen for several hours. There were four other birders there while I was there, and none of us had seen it. After the others left, I decided to check a slightly different vantage point. The usual viewing spot was right across the small bridge that crossed the creek. While watching birds come and go, it was apparent that some birds found another spot just out of sight from our normal vantage point. I decided to go along the field edge before crossing the bridge, where I could get a look into one of the little alcoves. Sure enough there were some shorebirds there, including the Red Knot! It had undoubtedly been there all along, busily feeding.

It was a long way away, and I could only see it reasonably well with the scope at high power. I took a few shots with my camera gear, hoping I was aiming at the right bird and had it reasonably in focus. This photo, showing a Killdeer on the left and the Red Knot on the right, with various ducks in the foreground, is probably at the equivalent of about 75X.

The other highlight was a Snowy Egret, which Steve Charbonneau found today and put the word out. It was never very close, but seemed to be unconcerned with the few birders viewing it from across the wetland. All of these are highly cropped as well.

 This next photo shows a bit more of the yellowish legs, with black on the front part of the leg.

This next one shows the yellowish feet. In good breeding plumage, the legs are black and the feet are bright yellow.

A shot comparing the much larger Great Egret on the right with the Snowy on the left.

There were other birds of course including this Stilt Sandpiper.

A couple of Belted Kingfishers were foraging in the area. They are always so skittish, so any photo of them is a challenge. This one is hovering just before it plunged into the water below. I think it came up empty.

With post breeding wandering birds, who knows what might turn up next. So far there have been some awesome herons in southwestern Ontario in the past few days, including Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret and now Snowy Egret. Any guesses as to what might be next?

Back Yard Wildlife

I usually do at least a couple of 'Back Yard Wildlife' posts each year, but this is my first for 2018. That doesn't mean there hasn't been any action....far from it! However the earlier season heat and drought didn't help, nor did the fact that I was away for several weeks. So I've got some catching up to do.

A few weeks ago I noticed a raptor feeding on something. Turns out a Red-tailed Hawk had picked off one of the neighbourhood Eastern Grey Squirrels!

The hawk eventually flew off....apparently it did not appreciate some of the extra attention, especially since some neighbourhood kids were watching it from a bit of distance but closing in on it due to their curiosity. It flew off with part of the carcass and this was all that was left where it had been.

A surprise nesting species was a Mallard, with a nest under a small shrubby tree in the front yard.  It didn't even leave the nest when the mower was within about a metre of it, although it kept an eye on it. It was getting close to hatching, I think, but the eggs were predated by something....a skunk perhaps, although we seldom see or smell skunk in our neighbourhood.

On the smaller scale of wildlife in the yard, it has been quite diverse. There have been a few butterflies, but not many except for Monarchs.

 There has been at least two males in the yard for several weeks, and a few females have been passing through. We have not seen many caterpillars, but it isn't for lack of trying. There have been lots of eggs laid, but perhaps the heat and drought earlier in the season took its toll. The eggs are so tiny, barely one millimetre in diameter.

Red Admiral

 This Question Mark was investigating my tomato plants.

 Clearly one or more Black Swallowtail butterflies had been in the area, although I didn't see them. But we've found at least 5 larvae on different plants. Note in this next photo the old skin which this caterpillar has just crawled out of.

A lot of the plants in our yard and in our pollinator patch nearby are tallgrass prairie types, so they are able to withstand the heat and drought better than others. And the pollinators, which come in all shapes, colours and sizes, have loved it!

Metallic Green Bee (Agapostemon sp)

Ailanthus Webworm

A Braconid type of wasp (Macrocentrus sp)

Cicada Killer (Sphex speciosus)

A Stink Bug (Euschistus variolarius)

 This next one is a Feather-legged Fly. It is named because of the feathery material on its lower hind leg. It is sort of visible in the photo.

Trichopoda sp

 This next one is an ultra tiny fly, being only about 2mm in length. I am not sure what kind it is. It may be a male mosquito, although the size and wings don't look right. I have posted it on BugGuide, but no one there has responded to it yet.

Thread-waisted Wasp (Isodontia sp)

Green Bottle Fly (Lucillia sericata)

Wasp (Monrobia quadridens)

 This next one is huge, with a body length of at least 30 mm. It mimics a wasp in both appearance and behaviour, but it is a fly!

Mydas Fly (Mydas clavatus)

Paper Wasp (Polistes sp)

 This next one is a large wasp, the Great Black Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus). It isn't as large and bulky as the Mydas Fly, but is about 25-30 mm long.

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis)

A Syrphid Fly (Syrphus torvus)

A Tachinid Fly (Dexiini sp)

Two-spotted Longhorn (Melissodes maculatus)

 There are other critters that aren't pollinators but have other roles. This next photo is of an Ambush Bug, lying in wait for a tasty insect to come within reach.

 Next is a day flying moth, the Chickweed Geometer (Haematopis grataria). The adults don't feed, but the larvae do, on Chickweed.

 I'm not sure what this next one is. It is a tiny nymph of some kind, but again, I've posted it on BugGuide without any results yet.

 The Red-banded Leafhoppers are always fun to find. They are so colourful and most easily seen on milkweed leaves, but occur on other plants as well.

There is always a lot to see, especially when you have a healthy pollinator garden!

Around a big lake

To a southern Ontario resident, the most interesting part of our western trip was out through the prairie provinces. Nonetheless, the northwestern part of Ontario is intriguing as well, especially to someone who lives in the extreme flatlands of the southwest.

We didn't spend much time stopping and exploring, but due to the distance did spend a lot of time travelling through! Add to the fact that because of some tire troubles we spent more time than expected.

The north shore of Lake Superior is rugged. It is not surprising that parts of it were of great interest to the Group of Seven artists of a few decades ago.

At a few brief stops along the way I noted some butterflies.

Tawny-edged Skipper

 White Admirals were widely scattered. We don't get them in the southwest, as they are 'replaced' by Red-spotted Purple.

 There were lots of fritillaries, especially Atlantis, as shown next.

Fireweed was a common sight. It is most plentiful in areas of disturbance, including after forest fires. With the numerous fires taking place in various parts of Ontario right now, there should be no shortage of habitat for them in the next few years!

We ended up spending a weekend at Terrace Bay, about a third of the way between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, due to some tire issues and the fact that nothing was going to be open until the following Monday. So we made the best of it, checking out the well-known beach area. Those are the Slate Islands in the distance, which are believed to have formed as the result of a meteorite strike a very long time ago. It is now a day use provincial park, with no access except by boat. Lake Superior doesn't always look this docile.

In the town of Terrace Bay is a lighthouse replica of the one that is on the Slate Islands.

 It is open to visitors who want to climb up and see the lake. It is a nice view when it isn't foggy. This next photo shows the view of the lake from the top, with the Slate Islands off in the distance.

The Aquasabon River empties into Lake Superior near the beach. Just a short distance upstream is this accessible gorge and waterfall.

 This next photo shows where it empties into the lake.

Birds weren't terribly plentiful while we were there. I did see a few right outside our motel, including Chipping Sparrow.....

fledgling Chippie

....and a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, which was a little surprising since most range maps do not show that species as occurring along the north shore of Superior. However the eBird listing does not have it as rare.

The only bird I saw of real note in Ontario was a Northern Hawk Owl which flew across the road in front of me at one point.

The Serpent River was a pleasant opportunity for a break from driving. Most northern waterfalls are not the plunge type, but more of the cascade type which can be rather gentle, but still attractive.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip to experience some fantastic landscapes! It would definitely be worth a return to do some more serious photography.