Old Growth Forest: a Primer

 It isn't National Forest Week. That comes in September. But anytime is a good time to take note of a character of forest known as Old Growth, especially as more and more of what is left, is disappearing.

It may be coincidental that today I received an advance copy of Trees of Ontario, a book that the Royal Ontario Museum has just produced. It has been in the works for several years, and has had an enormous amount of work put into it by quite a lot of people. Yours truly was one of many folks working on it in various capacities, in that I provided well over two hundred photos. That was the relatively easy part! I expect that it will be on bookshelves very shortly.

 

And no, this announcement is not the one I referred to in a previous post. That announcement will be forthcoming in about a week or so.

On to the topic of Old Growth Forest.

Old Growth Forest (OGF) is not just something that occurs in the magnificent groves of Giant Sequoia or Western Red Cedar that you read about in some of the western parts of this continent. There is no question that they are impressive. In our family's travels over the years, we have seen some of them up close, and one feels very small and humble traveling through those behemoths. But OGF also occurs in parts of southern Ontario, albeit on a very limited basis and in a much smaller scale. Most forests have been severely altered through harvesting. I have heard on more than one occasion, a forestry specialist commenting on a woodlot that they are evaluating and stating something like 'this forest needs to be managed (i.e. selective logging) in order for it to stay healthy.' Knowing that most forestry workers are focusing on commercial production in their schooling, I am not surprised with a comment like this. However that begs the question: who was looking after the forest and maintaining it in its magnificence before forester types came along to 'manage' them?

I would like to go back in time, to when people like Anna Jameson wrote about her travels through the southern Ontario forests in the 1830s. It almost makes me drool with envy experiencing vicariously what she saw and felt.

Nonetheless, there are some woodland remnants that are probably at least somewhat close to what untouched forests might have looked like two hundred or more years ago. They can be found in places like Rondeau and Clear Creek Forest provincial parks in Chatham-Kent. Or maybe in parts of McKerrall Woods a bit northeast of Chatham. Or traveling east, exploring Backus Woods, or the Jackson Gunn Tract, both of which are in Norfolk County. Even parts of the Skunk's Misery forest complex in Middlesex County. But if you are exploring them, it might help to have some blinders on so as to not get distracted by signs of forest loss and destruction that may be close by.

Jackson Gunn

Skunk's Misery

McKerrall Woods

McKerrall Woods

Clear Creek Forest PP

This extremely large American Beech at Clear Creek Forest is now gone, having succumbed to age and wind several years ago. It measured about 94cm in diameter, and was one of the largest ones in Ontario.

More recently I came across a slightly larger one at McKerrall Woods, which I measured at 96 cm diameter. It may not look quite as large in diameter, but that would be due to the way the photo was taken. This one is still standing, at least as of last autumn and was actually taken in March of 2016.

Big trees are always fun to find and see. But there is a lot more to OGF than big trees, and many of the next photos showing those other features were taken at Rondeau. For example:

-there is usually a lot of large fallen mossy logs. In reality, a fallen and decomposing log often supports a greater diversity of life than when it is in its prime.

-the understorey, if it is damp, should support a good diversity and abundance of ferns, indicating a lack of disturbance and therefore a better quality soil.

-if it is not damp, it may be covered with small seedlings of, for example, Sugar Maple. This following photo reminds me of an excellent and popular film we used to show to students at the Visitor Centre, called 'Life in a Woodlot'. One of the statements that the narrator said referred to the seedlings being 'Countless as stars, short-lived as snowflakes.' This refers to the thousands of seedlings trying to grow up to be a mature tree, but in an area covering the size represented by this photo, only a very few will survive to maturity and even then, after many decades of struggle against competing stems.

-some trees may show 'balding' at the base, such as this Tuliptree is showing.

-other trees may show a twisted trunk, possibly due to the prevailing wind causing the upper part of the trunk to twist.

-still other trees may show a deformed crown, as a result of wind or ice damage, or insect infestation. When the uppermost part of the trunk is damaged, one or more slightly lower side branches will get more sunlight and compete to be the role of the leader.

-trees will eventually fall over, due to high winds, instability of the soil, or whatever. When that happens and the whole tree falls over, root and all, there is a resulting pit or hole in the ground where the root was.

In most cases when a tree and root fall over, there is a lot of sand that goes with it. As the root decomposes, the sand remains, and may create a small mound where the root once was. As an aside, there have been efforts to re-establish tree plantations with a 'pit-and-mound' effect, and while it was an interesting concept, I have yet to see any such projects that were done correctly at the outset. I believe there is a way to make it happen a bit more successfully, but a somewhat different and more patient approach is necessary.

-this next photo shows the root of a tree that went down in the big storm just before Christmas. There is a lot of sand still clinging to the root mass. It is still dry in the pit as it was on a slightly higher ridge....

....but this next photo shows one that was a little lower and closer to the water table to begin with, and has a good amount of water already in it. This water may be very useful for frogs and salamanders living in this part of the forest.

These are some of the things that characterize a healthy, Old Growth Forest. But certainly forest landscapes with lots of, or even a few, large diameter trees and undisturbed ground layers are good starting points to look for when evaluating a forest for its old growth character.

Tuliptree, 125 cm diameter

Red Oak, 135 cm diameter

Eastern Cottonwood, 158 cm diameter

Red Oak, 190 cm diameter, Keith McLean CL

Here's to Old Growth!

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Some first sightings of the season

 I have been a bit busy working on a project which I hope to announce soon, but have still been able to get out and see some of the new hints of spring. For example earlier this week, I saw my first butterfly of the year, a Mourning Cloak. This species overwinters as an adult, so on a warm day, it can suddenly appear. It wasn't all that warm, a mere 4C but sunny and with very little wind; still it was a nice hint of other thingst to come.

In the bird world, I now have seen 5 species of shorebirds in the last little while, with things like Pectoral Sandpiper.....

.....and Dunlin being the latest arrivals this week. Actually a Pectoral Sandpiper had been seen by others a week or two ago, but I never caught up with it.

Dunlin, while typically being one of the latest autumn shorebirds to be seen (we got one on the Christmas Bird Count last Dec), the date of seeing this one yesterday is unusual. In checking sightings on eBird, this individual seems to be the first one of the season here in Ontario.

Both of these shorebirds were observed at the Erieau Marsh/Rail trail, and there is always a few species of waterfowl to be seen. In fact there are often thousands of ducks within binocular/scope view as they rest on the bay before heading off to their breeding ground. Most are too far away to bother with a photo, but some of the 'puddle ducks' are close enough to give them a shot.

Blue-winged Teal have just arrived in small numbers

Green-winged Teal have been around for a couple of weeks or so....

....as have Northern Pintail.

While not technically a waterfowl, I also saw this American Coot at the McGeachy Pond Conservation Area just outside of Erieau.

Mute Swans, well what can I say. If there is any open water, even throughout the winter, there will be some (too many!) around. This one is just resting on a mud flat along the Erieau trail. Some are even on their nest already.

In other swan news this escapee, the Whooper Swan, continues in the Erieau area, either on the bay or in the roadside pond on the way to Erieau.

Continuing with the swan topic, I was at the Mitchell's Bay South Shore trail yesterday and saw a lot of Mute Swans, as well as this Trumpeter Swan. It is native, and staging a comeback in Ontario. It is noticeable by its size, as large as a Mute Swan, but with a large, all black bill and a wide black area just in front of the eye.

Continuing with the waterfowl theme, I finally caught up to Greater White-fronted Goose. There had been a few seen here and there for several weeks, but never right where I was. That changed yesterday when I saw 11 of them at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. I met another birder there, and together we managed to locate them at the far end of the lagoon site. They allowed us to approach, slowly and carefully, to within about 150 metres before they decided that was close enough, and so flew off to another berm on the southeast side of the lagoon system. We left them alone there, and the next day (yesterday) two more had joined them.

Also along one of the two Mitchell's Bay trails, I saw two Sandhill Cranes, and they are definitely getting into breeding mode as I noted an attempt at copulation.

I also saw my first Great Egret of the year, a bit early for the species given the un-spring-like weather over the past few weeks.

A Ring-billed Gull isn't something I normally decide to photograph, but this one gave me a good setting, and it was in prime breeding plumage, so I took it!

Rounding out some new spring sightings, I added these two species of turtles: Midland Painted Turtle...

....and Blanding's Turtle.

There were actually at least a dozen or more of the painted turtles out basking, but were quick to plop off into the water before I was able to get positioned through the shrubbery to get the photo I was attempting. The Blanding's Turtle, on the other hand, was quite tolerant.

Hopefully there will be a lot more first of year sightings in the near future!

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The weather ups and downs of late winter; associated wildlife

 The season is having a hard time making up its mind! It is technically, still winter, and will be for another few days, but usually by this time hints of spring are a little more noticeable.

Some species of waterfowl that were noticeable by their absence over the winter, have arrived, presumably enticed by some early spring-like weather a couple of weeks ago.Things like Northern Shoveler.....

...and American Wigeon, are pretty regular now.

Now that the ice is gone from the local water bodies, there are thousands of diving ducks scattered across the open water. Redhead, scaup species, and Canvasback, shown next, are the most abundant.

Ring-necked Ducks are well represented but in much smaller numbers, sometimes even on ponds.

With the bit of a warm spell in the last couple of weeks, even shorebirds are beginning to appear. Killdeer are, of course, one of the first to show in spring. In the right mudflat types of habitat, it is not uncommon to see up to a dozen or more over the course of an outing.

Definitely early is this Lesser Yellowlegs, seen periodically in the Erieau/McGeachy Pond area.

If conditions are right, one or more Wilson's Snipe may be present all winter, but with last autumn's dryness leaving some of their regular haunts quite uninhabitable, the species was completely absent as far as we know, since last December. But this one has appeared in the last few days at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands. It can be quite cryptic and, from a distance, it blends in so well that at first I missed it. When I checked more closely a few minutes later, scanning with my binoculars, I picked it out, and was able to get a photo that, heavily cropped, allows it to stand out nicely.

On one of the same days, I saw this Wooly Bear caterpillar crossing my path. It is something that almost everyone has encountered at this caterpillar stage, anytime from late autumn to early spring.

Less frequently encountered is what it looks like as an adult, a beautiful Isabella Tiger Moth, which readily comes to black lights.

On another warmish day, a Leopard Frog had emerged. Unfortunately, it was still cool enough to be unable to escape the impact of a wheel.

Blackbird types are showing up in large numbers, most notably Red-wings, which are staking out territories in the wetlands of the area. The females will be arriving in larger numbers very soon.

Far less abundant are Rusty Blackbirds at the moment, although their numbers will hopefully increase over the next few weeks. They will continue on to northern habitats of the Boreal Forest area for their attempts at successful nesting.

Horned Larks were almost non-existent over the month of January, but by February they were showing up in good numbers, scattered throughout the agricultural landscape. Some will migrate up to the sub-arctic lowlands, and nest in the tundra there. But many will stick around the fields of southern Ontario and if they are lucky, get a family raised and fledged before the agricultural activity gets in full swing.

Northern Harriers are more plentiful on the landscape. Photo opportunities are not easy to come by, but this one, a male sometimes known as a "Gray Ghost" was somewhat cooperative in that it allowed me to follow it from along the road as it swooped over the fields, and I managed to keep it in reasonable focus in spite of its erratic flight.

Snowy Owls have been noticeable by their absence this season. Last year they were quite abundant, with a record 23 individuals seen on the local Christmas Bird Count. This year it is quite a different story, as I have seen less than 10 individuals all winter. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this individual along a grassy drain, although well out in a field. A careful approach enabled me to get this greatly cropped photo. But I will take it!

It eventually must have thought I was getting too close (but probably at least 150 metres away) and decided to head out farther into the field.

It is unusual to have seen at least three species of shorebirds quite recently yet still seeing a Snowy Owl, but late winter can certainly be highly variable, as this present season is indicating. What will the next few weeks bring???

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