Some of the numerous, little things in nature that go largely unnoticed

 During the leafless seasons, there isn't nearly as much to see and photograph in nature. Winter forest scenes look much like this:

 The snow is gone, at least for now, but it is still March! Nonetheless, the tree trunks and other surfaces are quite exposed, and it is where numerous elements of nature exist. I am talking about lichens.

 Lichens are a combination of algae growing with fungi, sort of as a hybrid colony. There are thousands of kinds, perhaps as many as 20,000 or more across the world's habitats from desert to tundra and everywhere in between. 

One of the things I try and do during the leafless season is to wander the trails of Rondeau, and photograph lichens that I find which may be identifiable. I don't profess to know a lot about them, but I find them interesting nonetheless.

Lichens can grow on a number of surfaces, from tree trunks, to stones, to leaves and even on other lichens. And they do not absorb nutrients from the surface they are growing on. They just use it as a substrate to grow on. They can live, growing very slowly, for many, many years. They can be a source of food for various fauna, such as reindeer (think reindeer moss of the arctic), nematodes and species of insects. 

What makes them challenging to identify is that some need to be examined under a microscope, or subjected to a type of chemical to determine what kind of a response the chemical causes. So much for just a quick identification in the field!

Some of the ones I have photographed, and are relatively sure of their identification, (thanks to a book I have, as well as iNaturalist) are as follows.

Common Dusk Lichen

These next two are Common Greenshield Lichen. They look much the same, but somewhat different from each other.

Common Powderhorn

These next two are fairly abundant, and can vary somewhat in appearance. It is the Common Script Lichen, getting its name from the little dark lines that loosely resemble script writing I suppose.

 

Powdered Speckled Shield Lichen

Orange-cored Shadow Lichen

Dilated Scalewort

This next one actually has a fungus as the most obvious part. The orange part is known as Crowded Parchment. I am not sure what the lichen it is growing on is.

White Blanket

Star Rosette Lichen

Powdery-margined Cryptic Shade Lichen

Powdery Sunburst Lichen

And then there are others that I have not been able to discover what their names are.

This next one may be related to the Common Script Lichen, although there may be another species associated with it.

What complicates things a bit, is that a single tree trunk may have many different kinds of lichens, all striving for a spot on the bark. 

So next time you are out walking in nature and wondering what to look for since the birds are few in woodlands over the winter, take a closer look at the tree trunks around you!

If you would like to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com

Some late winter encounters

 There certainly have been some ups and downs of the weather as of late! But it is March, being March, so it is to be expected. Hopefully there won't be a major ice storm like there was in early March of 1976, when almost every tree in Rondeau (and likely elsewhere) was affected to some extent, resulting in the park being closed for several days due to the massive clean-up required.

One of the highlights of the last couple of weeks was to continue on my photographic search for owls. In my previous post, I managed a poor record shot of a Long-eared Owl. A few days later this one perched in quite an open spot, allowing this photo.

There have sometimes been several birds roosting in this thick cedar hedge, but are hard to see, with the occasional exception such as this.

Open water is becoming more prevalent, now that temperatures are getting above the regular intensity of cold over the last few weeks, and this has resulted in more waterbirds being visible.  At one location a bit northeast of Chatham, I came across this Great Blue Heron, presumably hoping for a small fish to come by and become a meal.

Swimming by just in front the heron, note the heron's legs, was this pair of Hooded Mergansers.

Nearby were some Wood Duck boxes, with an Eastern Screech Owl residing in one.

 Elsewhere in open water spots near Erieau was a variety of ducks in relative close proximity. There were lots of other ducks, but most were too far to even identify easily, let alone photograph. With the approach of the breeding season, many of the males are showing their attractive colours and patterns.

Bufflehead

This next one is of a Canvasback, a young male not quite in its prime breeding plumage.

This next one shows an older male, in its prime pattern. However a closer look shows that its right eye appears to be damaged. I see that somewhat regularly, and especially if food is a bit scarce, there is some fighting going on when a duck emerges with something. Other waterfowl of various species will fight to gain possession, and some damage can occur.

These next two photos are of Greater Scaup, with the male first, and a pair which follows.

Redheads, especially males, are quite distinctive....

...as are male Ring-necked Ducks, one of my favourites.

I stopped at McGeachy Pond CA on one occasion, and finally caught up to a long-staying Northern Mockingbird, surviving on some of the berries that linger. Most of the berries that persist this late in winter are that of European Highbush Cranberry. The berries look tempting, but are quite bitter early in the winter. They become more palatable to birds later in the season.

On another day at McGeachy Pond, I watched and waited for a River Otter to appear. One has been seen on a couple of occasions in the past week or so, in the proximity of the beaver lodge. River Otters are not typically found in this part of southern Ontario. However I recall back in the 1970s, when we were trying to assemble mammal records for Rondeau, a mammalogy specialist from the University of Guelph, a former professor of mine, was in the park checking on things. He reported seeing River Otter tracks near the south end of the park, but there was never a confirmed sighting of an actual animal. It is interesting to note that one was seen at McGeachy Pond, just a short distance from Rondeau, about 50 years later! Of course it wouldn't be the same one, but it just goes to show that some mammals can be present but hard to confirm. Whether the species is a short or long-term resident of the area is open to speculation, but the habitat is suitable. As in the case of beavers, they were almost totally gone from southwestern Ontario in the latter half of last century, but there is no question that they have re-established themselves in many aquatic habitats here in the southwest.

While I didn't seen any sign of the otter, I did photograph this pair of Mute Swans, even exhibiting courtship and breeding behaviour. It won't be long before their nesting is underway.

Sandhill Cranes have continued here and there, in small numbers. They are often quite a distance from the road, so even with a good photo lens, they are not as crisp as I would like, and the sunlight haze over the distance interferes with the clarity to some extent. These two were part of a group of five, foraging in a field near St. Clair NWA.

Typically by late February, birds such as Horned Larks are well represented near agricultural fields. They were almost non-existent in January and early February, especially with the snow and cold, but since that weather is abating, this species is fairly common in small groups. They will be forming up pairs, soon to be nesting. Many of them get underway well before agricultural activity begins, in the hopes that they can raise a brood before having the nest turned under by equipment. Others will continue to move north, nesting in the wide open tundra habitat of the Hudson Bay lowlands.

 Here is a photo of a nesting Horned Lark that I took while doing wildlife surveys in Polar Bear Prov Park back in 1991.

As hints of spring arrive, species like Killdeer are beginning to show up, at least on those occasional days with southerly winds and relatively warmer temperatures. There have been a few reported already in the last few days, but I haven't caught up to one yet. This next photo is of a lingering one I photographed in January.

 If you would like to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com

Owls!

 Owls are one of the most admired and sought after creatures for anyone even remotely interested in nature. As they are mainly active at night-time, finding and seeing them is not always easy, even though some of them are year-round residents. One of my first, quite rare owl species to see and photograph was this Great Gray Owl, which Keith B and I went to see in the GTA back in March, 1979.

 It is very much a northern resident, and a few years later, I got a quick glimpse of one while I was on the Polar Bear Express train on my way to Moosonee. However in January of 2012, one showed up in Essex County, of all places!

 

 It created quite a stir amongst birders and even curious onlookers. As a northern species, it probably didn't know what to make of all the people. It perched right out in the open at times, as the next photo shows. However it did perch in a more natural looking setting, as the previous photo illustrates.

Great Gray Owls are the largest owl species for Ontario, at least in overall dimensions. Snowy Owls and sometimes even Great Horned Owls are slightly smaller, but have more body mass, so can be a little heavier.

A much smaller, and perhaps even rarer owl for southern Ontario that I saw is this next one, a Boreal Owl, that again, Keith and I went looking for in March of 1977. It was tucked away in the branches of a pine tree, and with the bright sky background, made for a difficult photo. Hence this less than ideal photo, a scan from my film days, is just a record shot.

Winter time seems to be a good time for finding owls, especially some of the more northern residents that come a bit south for the winter. Barred Owls are more commonly found here in the south than the first two species shown. There have been a few records, including this next one which Josh P and I discovered on the Blenheim/Rondeau Christmas Bird Count in December of 2018. It was the first confirmed one for this count, although one had been reported a couple of decades earlier.

This one stayed in Rondeau until at least late February, although it moved around a bit and was not always easy to find. There were lots of squirrels to feed on! Plus since it had been seen regularly, the novelty had worn off, and fewer people were out looking for it as time went on. However it was likely gone to its more northern haunts by sometime in March.

 In early January of 2023, another one showed up in the village of Shrewsbury, and initially could be fairly easily seen right from the street in this birch tree.

Again, this one moved around the village a bit, but was seen in various places for at least a month.

Fast forward to late December 2023, and this next one was found in a small pine plantation of a local conservation area not far from Rondeau.

It has been seen fairly regularly, but not by all who have ventured out looking. It will often be fairly high up, and visible only from a certain angle. And getting a good photo isn't easy, as there are often branches in front of it partially obscuring the bird, as well as affecting the focus. It has been present up until at least early February, and could likely remain in the area for a few weeks yet, especially given the fairly intense winter that continues.

In the same general area is this next one: a Northern Saw-whet Owl, which I photographed on the same day as the Barred Owl above.

This one likes to stay well inside a fairly dense pine tree, making nice clear photos a bit of a challenge. Fortunately for birders and photographers, they are more frequently found than any of the ones above, and can sometimes be quite out in the open.

Here is one of the first ones I ever found, in a small pine plantation just west of Cedar Spring, back in February of 1978. This photo was featured on a Nature Canada calendar in 1988.

I've seen a few others over the years in both Chatham-Kent and Essex, with some photographic success.

November, 1987

November, 1990

November, 1987

 Another owl that I photographed on the same day as the Barred Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl of a few days ago, was this next one, a Long-eared Owl. It was one of two or three individuals, which have been roosting in a stand of White Cedars, but unfortunately are difficult to even see let alone photograph. They are often right up against the main trunk, with lots of cedar branches obscuring them.

 Another owl species that is primarily a winter visitor in recent decades, although there are historical records of them occasionally being present in suitable habitat during the breeding season, is this next one: a Short-eared Owl. They are most often seen in flight during later afternoon, or at least in more subdued light, and not always easy to photograph as they dip and dive in their search for something to feed on.....

...but on occasion, one will be perched out in the open, such as this next one, which I photographed along a pasture on this dull day in January of 2016.

Of course one of the owl highlights that many people look forward to, and have a relatively good success in seeing, is the Snowy Owl. They breed in the very far north, in the arctic lowlands, and every so often they have an eruption year when nesting success has been higher than average, so in the late autumn, they will migrate south where there is a better chance for food.

We usually get one or more on the St. Clair NWA Christmas Bird Count, but not always. A couple of years ago, we had an amazing all-time high of 23 of them! But during the last couple of years, we haven't had any. In fact there have only been a maximum of two reported in the count area this year, and then only for a couple of days before they moved to somewhere else. The dry autumn allowed many farmers to work up the corn stubble and other fields, making the habitat that the wintering owls often hung out in hard to find.

Birds that are almost pure white are adult males....

...whereas ones with a lot of spotting are usually immature birds, or sometimes a female.

Regardless, they are always fun to see, especially if they sit up on a perch with a nice background. This next one was perched on the roof of a small pump house along the roadside.

There are some owl species that are permanent residents of southern Ontario, such as these next two. An Eastern Screech Owl shows up fairly regularly in the cavity of an American Beech tree at Rondeau, providing good looks even from one of the main roads.

And elsewhere, where Wood Duck boxes have been erected, during the winter season, they may be occupied by a Screech Owl.
 

Great Horned Owls, another resident, are quite large, and can be fairly vocal. They can be found in woodlots throughout the southwest and beyond, and sometimes even within urban areas such as this next one, which has occupied a wooded area within the city limits of Chatham.

 They will sometimes nest where a large tree limb has broken off, such as in the crotch of this Willow tree, shown next.

...or sometimes where an entire tree trunk has snapped off, leaving a slight hollow to build their nest in.

This next photo was where a hollow was present in a Black Cherry Tree. The owlets were fairly visible in this setting, as the nest wasn't very deep down.

 After a few weeks, the young will venture out, testing their wings, and eventually trying to make it on their own.

I'm not sure whether the local owls are nesting yet here in Chatham, but if not, it won't be long. Stay tuned!

 

If you would like to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com