Some Natural Areas of Chatham-Kent, Part 3

This post will describe two areas that are publicly owned per the federal government and administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada: St. Clair National Wildlife area and the Bear Creek Unit of SCNWA.

St. Clair National Wildlife Area
Many people may have heard about this place, but it is surprising how many times I come across residents of C-K who don't know where it is, let alone having visited it. This first photo shows the location of the NWA along the east shore of Lake St. Clair relative to the surrounding landscape. There are quite a few wetland complexes along this east shore. Before settlement, the water of the lake would vary and during higher water levels, the area of wetland moved inland quite a bit. During periods of lower water levels, the wetland would be tallgrass prairie. The soils here are extremely productive from an agricultural perspective; hence much of the area has been drained and turned into farmland. Fortunately some big business corporations recognized the value of some of these wetlands for duck hunting, and acquired significant tracts of the wetlands before they were drained and converted to farmland.

 This next photo shows a closer look at the ~240 hectares (~600 acres) that are outlined in blue, which make up the NWA. This wetland is contained within a dyke system, making it less subject to the adjacent lake levels. Water levels inside the NWA are controlled by a pump system.

This was owned by executives of the Stroh Brewing Company out of Michigan until it was put on the market and the CWS acquired it in the 1970s. Even though it is publicly owned by CWS, most of it is off limits to the general public. The E in the lower right hand corner marks the road access, which goes to a small parking lot, marked at X. The red line marks the trail, starting from the parking lot, and goes along the top of a dyke.

Here are a couple of signs you will see as you enter the NWA.

The trail along the dyke is a gravel surface and in good condition. An observation tower is about a 12 minute walk from the parking area.

You will quickly notice as you travel along that this NWA is predominantly wetland.

The NWA has been identified as a Wetland of International Importance. This post is particularly timely, since yesterday, Feb 2, is proclaimed as World Wetlands Day in recognition of the International Wetland agreement that was signed on this day in 1971, in Ramsar, Iran, and has since been referred to as the Ramsar Convention. Sites that have been nominated and accepted as qualifying sites are known as Ramsar sites.

The larger, more extensive complex of wetland along the Lake St. Clair shoreline that SCNWA is part of has also been recognized as an Important Bird Area. Waterfowl was one of the main reasons big businesses acquired many of these wetlands decades ago. The area is where two waterfowl migratory flyways overlap, and the shallow water of the lake as well as the shelter of the extensive marshes have always been of great importance to migrating, as well as nesting waterfowl. Tundra Swans pass through the area in large numbers.....

....as do Canada Geese, some of which will stay most winters.

There are tens of thousands individuals of two dozen or more other species of waterfowl that migrate through, and typically 10-15000 will remain all winter.

Of course wetlands are important to more birds than just waterfowl. There are about 235 species of birds that, to date, have been identified here. Many marsh birds, including Great Egrets, use the area. Great Egrets don't nest in the NWA, but do so in the extensive wetlands of Walpole Island First Nation, at the north end of the lake. But dozens of them will use the NWA for feeding and resting. In fact when the water levels are low enough, sometimes more than 100 of them will roost overnight later in the season, as this next photo shows.

This photo, showing part of the roost, was taken about a half hour before sunrise, with a telephoto lens and a slow shutter speed. Fortunately when the birds are still in their roost, they are quite motionless, enabling the slow shutter speed to work.

The early morning hours or late evening hours are sometimes the best time to visit, as the wind is quieter and wildlife tends to be a little more active. One can also enjoy some very nice sunrise or sunset conditions.

There are other birds as well, some quite common such as this Common Yellowthroat.

Some rarities migrate through, such as this Nelson's Sparrow, a small and very furtive bird that probably passes through in small numbers annually, but is seldom seen.

Then there are extreme rarities, such as one of the few records of Vermilion Flycatcher for Ontario, found late in the season one year in the early 1990s, but did not stick around for the Christmas Bird Count. Another rarity was a July appearance of a White-winged Dove in the early 2000s.

Plants are a big part of a wetland. Cattail is the most dominant emergent species, but at times the open water areas are covered with Fragrant Water Lily.

A somewhat similar looking species is this much rarer and larger American Lotus. It isn't officially rare, but could be. It is limited largely to a few wetland areas of Chatham-Kent and Essex.

A legally rare species is Swamp Rose Mallow.

It is quite colourful, and may grow up to two metres high in shallow water, and is most visible in late July through August. It can be quite abundant in some of the larger marshes of Chatham-Kent and Essex, although it does grow in much smaller numbers in other municipalities of southwestern Ontario.

There is much more that could be said about this wonderful natural area, but why not go out and explore it for yourself?

Bear Creek Unit of SCNWA
 This site is even less known than SCNWA, and very few people explore it. However it is even less accessible, since the only public viewing is from along the municipal road (Bear Line) that crosses part of it. Nonetheless, there can be some interesting sightings here. This first photo shows the general area. Most of the wetland in the photo is part of the Bear Creek Unit. The blue line marks the north end of Bear Line which can be either driven or walked. It follows between the edge of the wetland and the channel of Bear Creek, and ends at the Chenal Ecarte, a.k.a. The Snye, overlooking the wetlands of St. Anne's Island, part of the Walpole Island First Nation.

The wetland view from the road.

It is a great spot to see a Bald Eagle, a pair of which has a nest just downstream a short way.

There is also a good chance of spotting Sandhill Cranes, which nest in the area, and feed in the marshes.

Turtles are frequently seen, such as these Painted Turtles, but also the rarer Map Turtles.

Waterfowl, such as these Hooded Mergansers, can be found....

...as well as the handsome Ring-necked Duck.

Along the large channel of The Snye, and the adjacent wetlands, can be found nesting Forster's Terns at times, although they used to be a lot more common before the invasive Phragmites took over.

The end of the road looking out across The Snye can be a great spot for sunset photography, too.

Checking out eastern Lake St. Clair areas

There are lots of good birding areas in the Lake St. Clair area. So a couple of days ago Fred Johnson, a fellow MNR retiree, and I spent a few hours checking some of them out.

Angler Line was our first destination, hoping for the Yellow-headed Blackbirds to put in an appearance. A bonus would be an American White Pelican, which had been reported a few days earlier as well.

The wetland along Angler Line looked as appealing as ever, so we watched and waited. A couple of other fellows had been there earlier with the same ideas in mind.

Pied-billed Grebes were making themselves heard loud and clear.

Several Great Egrets passed by.

But no Yellow-headed Blackbirds showed while we were there, not even in the nearby fields as far as we could tell.

Yellow-headed Blackbird from a previous year

Checking out the lake from the very end of Angler Line didn't result in any thing else of note....there was no evidence of a pelican, but I am sure it was out there somewhere....it is a decently big lake!

We went to the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Nature Trail next. There was a smattering of ducks out on the lake, including several hundred Ruddy Ducks, a few Gadwall and lots of scaup. An Osprey flew through, hovering and hunting for a fish.

Caspian and Forster's Terns were busily foraging or resting.

Caspian Terns (l) and Forster's Terns (r) share a log

 There was the usual gathering of Mute Swans, with upwards of 80 or more scattered around. One would have thought that they would have been paired up with the female on the nest and the male close by keeping guard. Are these late nesters? Failed nesters (unfortunately, not likely)?

No pelican was seen from this vantage point, either.

Since we were relatively close by, we swung around by the Bear Creek Unit of St. Clair NWA. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of bird life there; the brisk NE winds were keeping the smaller birds under cover. But we did see several families of recently hatched goslings. Most appeared to be less than a week old. I'm sure with the density of them in some of these marshes, some will end up as food for a Snapping Turtle, which in recent years has been declared a Species At Risk ranked as Special Concern due to their decline.

We also checked out St. Clair NWA, and walked the entire cross dike and back. Waterfowl was scattered and mostly a fair distance away. The recent clearing of the Phragmites along the trail has been a boon for the quality of the wetland, but it leaves hikers quite exposed, and the waterfowl adjust their proximity to the trail accordingly. There were Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead and of course the usual Mallards and Canada Geese.

A Northern Harrier flew by.

A few Midland Painted Turtles were out basking in the bright sun.

We also saw a young Northern Water Snake, but it was quite active and did not stick around for a photo op.

In the mpales and willows, the latter of which were just beginning to flower, there were insects that attracted a few warblers. We saw several Yellow-rumped Warblers

as well as a few Palm Warblers.

White-throated Sparrows have recently arrived in southern Ontario in good numbers.....

...and half a dozen Cedar Waxwings were flitting about at the trail entrance.

All in all a decent day and great weather to be out in.