So much flora and fauna!

 What a dilemma...so much to see in nature this time of year, as well as so much to keep up-to-date with at home. What makes this time of year especially challenging is that on May 26, it was the two year anniversary of my wife/best friend's passing. For anyone not aware of a post I did shortly after she passed, here is the link to that.

Also, about a year ago I started a new blog called Life Is A Journey, which gives some insight on who I am featuring so many challenges and blessings. I have over 35 posts on it, so far. If you are interested, here is the link to the first post. It starts early in life, as it is a journey.

But on to Nature Nuggets and some of the things I have noted over the last little while. I will refrain from birds, since on the last post I featured just birds, and neglected so many other things. Much of my time has been at Rondeau, of course. The Common Five-lined Skink is one of my favourite things to see this time of year, as they are found on fallen logs connected to a tree root and with at least part of it well exposed to the sun. They are a cold-blooded reptile, so the sun is beneficial. They are also a species at risk, and Ontario's only lizard. The male, at this time of year, has an orangey face.

The female is almost the same size, but with no orange on the face.

A real treat was to photograph a pair of them, which I call Love Skinks!

 

A young one has a blue tail, and is why they are sometimes called Blue-tailed Skinks.

A distinctive emerging item is called American Cancer Root, looking like a pale yellowish pine cone emerging. 

On a visit to the Erieau Marsh Trail, I watched a couple of large, female Common Snapping Turtles, vying for territory as they thrashed about the shallow water. Males are much smaller.

Continuing with another reptile, Eastern Garter Snakes are regularly seen....

.....unlike the very similar Northern Ribbon Snake, next. They are quite similar, although the ribbon snake prefers wetter sites, is usually more distinctly lined and perhaps one of the easier features if you can get a look, is that there is a small white spot immediately in front of the eye, as the next photo shows.

Changing up a bit, I was out last evening along the east beach of Rondeau. I noted yet another reptile. This little guy was right on the path, and due to its very small size, is undoubtedly a hatchling this year.

I also came across something that is very hard to capture photographically. It may not be immediately apparent of what it is, but just at dusk, millions....no make that billions....of insects start to swarm in very large mass groups. They are constantly on the move as they swirl around, and along the lake shore one can see numerous swarms. It was really hard to keep the camera's focus on them!

 A bit later in the evening, I got a photo of the second full moon of May, a.k.a. a Blue Moon, being the second one in the month.

 After I got home, I also noticed my first tick of the season! It was just crawling up my leg, so hadn't dug into me yet. I picked it off and photographed it on the back of my hand. The month of May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, which is sort of suitable that I got my first tick of the year in May. Hopefully it is the last one, and I am glad it wasn't a Black-legged Tick, a.k.a Deer Tick which is the transmitter of Lyme Disease. I have had LD at least 5 times, and while I haven't been as seriously affected as some, I do have a long-term/ongoing issue of fatigue ever since my first encounter with LD back in September of 1976!

American Dog Tick

 A few of the wildflowers that have recently made an appearance include:

Wild Geranium

Golden Ragwort close-up

Golden Ragwort 

A rare plant, which may not even be present at Rondeau naturally, but that is another story, is a species at risk called Goldenseal, shown in the next two photos.

Long-spurred Violet

Canadian Lousewort, yellow

Canadian Lousewort, purplish

Wild Columbine

Next, what is initially perceived as a flower, is actually the emerging leaves of Shagbark Hickory.

Starry False Solomon's Seal

Mayapple

Next is not a flower, but a plant, known as Sap Yeast which often occurs in the spring oozing from a damaged part of a tree trunk.

Wood Anemone

Next is an orchid that one doesn't normally associate with Rondeau. It is Large Yellow Ladies'-slipper. I rarely come across them unless I am looking specifically for them, as I have only known them to occur at three spots in the park. One spot no longer supports them, a second spot only has one or two if any, and the third spot supports a dozen or so but is a long way from any trail.

 A couple of other critters:

Bronze Jumping Spider

Spicebush Swallowtail

And lastly, just a view along the west South Point Trail, one of my favourite places to meander in Rondeau especially once the crowds of May have subsided.

 

 

 

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

 

Black-necked Stilt, Summer Tanager, Endangered Species Act at Risk, Other bird highlights, Part II

I will get to the Warbler Parade eventually, but in the meantime, there are too many other things to post about!

The Keith McLean Conservation Lands continues to be a draw for so many birds. There are currently at least 207 species of birds recorded for this relatively small site, which has only been accessible for the last 5 years!

Just a few days ago a Glossy Ibis appeared. And yesterday came the report of a pair of Black-necked Stilts. Of course the very high water that has flooded some of the fields along the creek system has created super habitat for such birds. In fact there are typically more shorebirds in both numbers and diversity in these flooded fields than there has been at local sewage lagoons, which are traditionally a hot spot. Once the field dry up, that will change.

Needless to say, the presence of these stilts, normally a mid-western species, caused a lot of interest amongst the throngs of birders in the area. They weren't always close by, or in the best light, so in order to capture the photos below, I and several other photographers had to approach very slowly and carefully along the edge of the creek system in the opposite direction of the road.

 This is a pair, as the male has the darker, black back and the female has a slightly browner back.

This is as close to the boundary of Rondeau that I am aware this species has come. I have seen them twice before within the park's checklist area, but one of those times was at the Ridgetown Sewage Lagoons and the other time, just last year, was at the Blenheim lagoons. If the birds like this spot, it is always possible, but not terribly likely, that they may even attempt to nest!

Not nearly as rare as the stilts, but just a 'regular rarity' is Summer Tanager. One or more occurs almost annually any more, but still draws a lot of attention. Just this last week or so, a young male has been seen in the vicinity of a very active cottage feeding area in the park. There are several hummingbird feeders as well as various suet, niger, sunflower and mixed seed feeders spread out along the Lakeshore Road side of the cottage, so there is a lot to attract birds. Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are common, as are numerous grackles and other blackbirds. The tanager has to be persistent to get anything it seems, but it does manage to get sustenance from both the suet and one of the sunflower feeders.

Endangered Species Act: At Risk
On another topic, and a very important one, it is interesting to know that today, May 17th, is Endangered Species Day, at least in the USA. It is ironic that here in Ontario where we have a relatively recently produced Endangered Species Act, 2007, it is undergoing a major revision. Not that it couldn't have undergone some tweaking to make a few improvements. But if a casual reader reads the general statements by politicians within the conservative government currently in power, one might think the proposed changes are an improvement. I will not refer to them as progressive conservative, the official name of the party, since at least based on environmental issues it is anything but progressive. In fact in spite of the wording of the proposed revisions it is a very poor attempt to make one think the gov't knows what it is doing to benefit the endangered species. In reality it is making the current Act virtually meaningless, giving politicians almost carte blanche authority to remove any protections of legislated endangered species and their habitat.

If you are interested to see the list, along with photos, of the current species that are Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern under the Act, check out this site. Over the years when I was working within MNR on behalf of such species at risk, I contributed many photos. I think at last count I had over 40 photos of these species on this link, a few of which follow here.

Cucumber Magnolia

Red Mulberry

Drooping Trillium

Nodding Pogonia

Wood Poppy

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake

If you are concerned about the future of Ontario species at risk, contact your MPP and strongly contest what the conservative gov't is trying to do by essentially gutting the current Endangered Species Act. One way to make your voice heard is through this link.

Lyme Disease Awareness Month
And finally, better late than never, May is Lyme Disease Awareness month. Ticks that are carriers of Lyme Disease are out in full force in many areas of Ontario and beyond. I have written several blog posts on the topic, since I have contracted Lyme Disease 6 times over the past 42+ years. The most extensive post can be found here. If you want more information, check it out, or one of the seven other posts (just go to the right hand side of the post page and under the heading 'Labels', scroll down and look for Lyme Disease). If you or your pets spend any time out doors, especially in the April-November period, please ensure you take extra precautions to reduce the likelihood of contracting this disease.

It is the Black-legged Tick, a.k.a. Deer Tick that is believed to be the primary carrier of Lyme Disease. It is about one-quarter to one-half the size of the more common American Dog Tick, a.k.a. Wood Tick.

Black-legged Tick

American DogTick

Be safe!

Mild January is good for birds, ticks and dandelions

In less than a week, winter will be almost a third over, at least according to the calendar. But the weather has a mind of its own, as the first third of the season has been quite easy here in extreme southwestern Ontario. According to the weather prognosticators, that is likely to change in the next few days, and we will have to wait and see if it is true, and how long it lasts. So my approach is to get out and enjoy it while I can!

In one of the recent warmer periods, Marie noticed our first Dandelion in bloom in the yard.

On another occasion, a day when the temperatures approached 10C and we were hiking at Rondeau, she discovered a Black-legged Tick on her person after we got home. Fortunately she found it before it got too attached to her. It was definitely a reminder that especially when the temperatures are above freezing, ticks may emerge from their underground cold weather hangouts and be prowling about looking for a blood meal! Therefore even at this time of year under those conditions there is a risk of contracting Lyme Disease.

I was out doing a waterfowl survey along the southern limits of Lake St. Clair. On my way I noted an American Kestrel on a wire.

 Not being satisfied with this distant photo, I attempted to drive a bit closer, but as many raptors distrust humans when being approached, this one left the wire and landed on a corn stalk out in a field. Even knowing where it landed, it was not easy picking it out and one could easily miss it. This next photo is taken at an equivalent of about 16X. The camouflage in this kind of light and setting is quite effective.

 Cropping it to the equivalent of at least 35X and it stands out a bit better.

At the Jeannette's Creek boat launch, I stopped to see what waterfowl was around. While scanning for them, I was amazed at the number of Bald Eagles there were....42 at the minimum were visible from this location, and another 3 at the mouth of the river. This next image, complements of Google shows the river just as it enters Lake St. Clair. The X is the boat launch area, and the BE indicates where the bulk of the eagles were, at least what I could see. Who knows how many were just around the bend? On the recently held St. Clair NWA Christmas Bird Count, we officially tallied 50 Bald Eagles for the count circle, although unofficially we tallied 60. But since some may have been double counted due to their movements, we reduced the total to 50. Now with seeing a minimum of 45 of them from one general vantage point and only a small part of the count circle, maybe even 60 for the bird count was low.

I took a few shots, but the distance was pretty far. In this first photo one can see 14 eagles either in the trees or in the air. There are a couple of Herring Gulls flying as well.

At the mouth of the river, one of the three eagles there at least was close enough and in pretty good light to provide a better photo op.

With the river being totally open, there were various waterbirds to be seen, including about 15 Great Blue Herons along the far shoreline. At least they were in good light, enjoying the bright sunshine.

The next photo shows two herons, one at either side, as well as a couple of Double-crested Cormorants on the log. Not the closest, but that was as close as I could get.

There was an impressive number of ducks on the river, mostly Mallards but also Common Mergansers. The mergansers were actually not too far from where many of the eagles had gathered. Shortly after I checked over the eagles, the mergansers headed downstream flying right by me in various sized groups.

I had also been to Rondeau on a couple of occasions, in part to see if the Barred Owl was still around in the campground area. Unfortunately no one has seen the owl since Jan 6. But there were other species to find, such as the ongoing Baltimore Oriole in the campground which I came across a couple of times....

....as well as scattered groups of White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals and Dark-eyed Juncos. One or more Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have continued in the campground as well.

The lake has fewer and fewer birds on it.....I haven't seen any Red-throated Loons for a few days now. A small group of Ruddy Ducks had been hanging out off the northeast part of the park for a week or two. Here there are about 27 of them. Other single ducks join them from time to time, including scaup and scoters, but this image is all Ruddies.

Now that the bay is freezing over, there are thousands of Tundra Swans (4000+) and Canada Geese (3000+) scattered across it, as well as a much smaller number of ducks. However they are well out in the middle and difficult to photograph on a sunny day with all of the sunlight interference. Not as much of a problem when they are flying, fortunately.

Feeders haven't been terribly active since it has been relatively mild with absolutely no snow cover. But some of the regulars are there when there is food for them.

With the onset of colder weather along with snow that stays, it is imperative for feeders to be well-stocked with food.