Even though things are locked down tight, I still try and get out to some of the more remote, or at least lesser known, areas periodically to see how spring is unfolding and get my 'nature fix'. I rarely come across anyone else, so physical distancing is easy. One of the sites I decided to track down was the Sheldon property, currently owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and part of the Turin Paw Paw Woods. I hadn't been to that complex since about 2005, which was about the time that the Sheldon property was donated to NCC. It was time for another visit!
It is about 100 acres, about half of it was formerly farmed, with the remainder in an upland/lowland deciduous forest mix. The farmed part had been restored to various things, including some prairie, with other parts into wetland/ponds. Overall it is a very nice mix. There aren't any formal trails, but pedestrian access is permitted.
There weren't a lot of birds. It is relatively isolated compared to the large natural area complexes of Clear Creek Forest and Rondeau. Regardless, it was an excellent way to spend a few hours. I think I got about 30 species of birds, including this Song Sparrow living up to its name shortly after I started along the access path.
There is a hydro transmission corridor going through the restored part of property. I found this female Green-winged Teal dead at the edge of a pond, and immediately below the hydro lines. I did not check the bird thoroughly but I suspect it may have collided with the wires.
Not far away from another wetland was this egg. It was quite large, and typical of a goose egg. I saw more than a dozen Canada Geese scattered around, paired up. This egg was likely predated, since I don't think the opening is large enough for a gosling to get out, and typically there is bits of downy material still clinging to the edge of the shell when it hatches. A skunk, 'possum or raccoon likely had a meal.
Once I was in the woods, there was a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers a little distance off. Clearly they aren't as used to people as many of the ones I've encountered at Rondeau, as they were quite skittish. This is a heavily cropped photo.
At least one Red-bellied Woodpecker was around.
It is excellent habitat for Wild Turkeys. However this feather is the closest I came to seeing one.
It was a sunny day, and there were a few Mourning Cloak butterflies around.
As I was concentrating on getting a good close-up of the Mourning Cloak, I noticed an Eastern Garter Snake less than a metre away. And then another one, and another one, all within half a metre of each other, and one was still emerging from a hole in the ground. Whether it was their over wintering hibernaculum or just a convenient temporary hole in the ground, it wasn't clear.
There were lots of leeks, mostly the common Wide-leaved kind. However I did see a few scattered individuals of this Narrow-leaved Leek (
Alllium tricoccum var
burdickii) which is apparently quite rare, and officially listed as Imperilled in Canada. The green basal part of the stem, and the narrow (~2 cm wide) leaf is distinctive from its much more abundant, wide-leaved relative. I double-checked it to make sure it wasn't a similar but different early season species. Sure enough, after snipping off a bit of the leaf, it had the distinctive onion fragrance.
I came across this small tree. At first I wasn't sure what it was. The terminal buds looked a bit like Paw-paw, which does occur in this forested complex. However it turns out to be Witch-hazel, which has similar looking terminal buds. Maybe next time I will find the Paw-paw.
On the more upland sandy area there were clusters of this Fan Clubmoss. It used to be known as
Lycopodium digitatum, which is the way I learned it many years ago. However its taxonomy has changed and it is now
Diphasiastrum digitatum.
Various species of fungus are here, and quite visible early in the season. This one is a type of Scarlet Cup, of the
Sarcocypha genus. There is another one almost identical to it that is best separated via microscopic features, so this will only be identified to genus.
There are some really nice slough/swales throughout this woodland complex. While it makes it a little challenging to get around unless you have good rubber boots, it makes for an enjoyable wooded landscape. There are Wood Ducks nesting here. At least there are a couple of nest boxes up, and I did see a pair of them near one of the boxes. The shrubby things at the back of this next photo is mostly Buttonbush, and that makes it a rather rare and special woodland swamp. It also makes for excellent Prothonotary Warbler habitat, although records of them in such a relatively isolated location and well away from its stronghold at Rondeau makes it highly unlikely they will be found here. But one can always hope....
With such an abundance of woodland pools, it makes sense there are numerous frogs. I heard and saw several Wood Frogs, shown next. I expect Spring Peepers and Western Chorus Frogs would be fairly common, but I didn't see or hear any on this occasion.
I expect that there is an abundance of salamanders in this upland/lowland natural area as well. I did check under a few pieces of rotting log type material but did not find any sign of them, but surely they are hear in good numbers.
After leaving this site, I wandered a bit further, stopping briefly at Clear Creek Forest before ending up at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands. I hadn't been there in over a month. The water is really high, and rubber boots are a must even trudging along the muddy path. I made it to the bridge that crosses the creek. The creek is overflowing into the adjacent field, as shown in this next photo. A year ago last fall, I was able to walk across the berm that separated the creek from the field. Bits of that berm are visible going across on an angle in this next photo, where the small shrub is. I don't think anyone is going to get across it anytime soon. Kayaks or canoes only!
With the high water level it is great for water birds, and there was no shortage of them although they were mostly distant. But the usual Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teal, and various gulls were all present. A Sandhill Crane came out of nowhere and flew by, landing in the cornfield across towards the eastern part of the property. Sandhill Cranes are becoming a lot more common. I even had one or more at the Paw-paw Woods earlier in the day.
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