A Walk In The Park

 More and more medical practitioners are prescribing a walk in nature to benefit their patients mentally, physically and spiritually. I just read an article in a recent issue of Canadian Geographic magazine that features a BC doctor doing this, and who was instrumental in the establishment of the PaRx program, which stands for Park Prescription, and encourages people to spend at least a couple of hours a week in nature.

As most readers will know, I have been practicing a walk in the park for several decades. I know it has contributed immensely to my mental, physical and spiritual health.

I don't do as much of it in the heat and humidity of summer compared to my favourite seasons of spring and fall. But I still try and get out as much as possible, and a few days ago I purposely went out to Rondeau, in part to document some of the endangered Red Mulberry (REMU) trees I know of. Naturally occurring populations of REMU are fairly limited in Ontario and Canada, with places like Pelee Island, Point Pelee, Rondeau and the Royal Botanical Gardens being the best places for it.

One of my favourite clumps of REMU at Rondeau is this clump of three stems.

Clearly this photo was not taken on this trip to Rondeau, but it illustrates how much more readily recognizable they are in the autumn. Typically in late October, when most other tree species are in their golden autumn splendour, REMU are still looking fairly green, and even their leaves do not show much sign of deterioration. Late October is the time I target each year to explore different parts of Rondeau in the hopes of encountering a new location. Last October, for example, I came across at least three new individuals along Harrison Trail.

On this visit, during the growing season, I had to look a bit harder, and noted that most of the ones I saw along the closed stretch of Rondeau Road were continuing to be in good condition. One looks for large, almost plate-sized leaves with obvious drip tips which sometimes are quite obviously lobed.

Large leaves with at least one showing a lobe.

Usually there is some evidence of fruit, but with the hot dry weather of this year so far, fruit is much less abundant.

One of the trees that I have seen in the past, is now dead for some unknown reason. However I did come across a new one, with a fair size to it.

There aren't a lot visible from along the roads and trails, but with so much good habitat not visible from these access points, I expect there are quite a few others scattered here and there. The ones occurring the farthest away from the cottage community are likely the best quality ones, since the non-native White Mulberry is relatively common in those developed areas, and it often hybridizes with the endangered REMU and weakening the genetic make-up of the overall population.

While walking on my route, I noted that there were very few plants in flower, not really surprising since forest wildflowers have large finished flowering due to the heavier shade and reduced light levels. I did see a few of this non-native, but not aggressively invasive, species.

Heal-all (Prunella vulgaris)

Much more surprising was to see this large, female Common Snapping Turtle. If it had been in late May, it would be less surprising, since they would be out looking for a place to lay eggs, and the nearby sloughs would still have lots of water in them to aid in their travels. But by mid-July most of the sloughs are quite dry, and the egg-laying season is long over with. I really had no idea why this one was so far from any real wetland, as aside from leaving a wetland to lay eggs, they seldom leave a wetland for any reason, which is why snappers often have a build-up of mossy algae on their shells from being in the water most of the time.

While walking the closed road was quite pleasant overall, and I enjoyed talking to a good variety of bikers and hikers, I was dismayed to see the ongoing deterioration of the American Beech trees. Certainly the excessively high water levels of recent years has caused some stress to this species which prefers a more upland growing site. But most of the deterioration seems to be from the dreaded Beech Leaf Disease (BLD). The first photo above, showing the autumn colours, was taken in 2009, when the forest canopy was quite dense and more or less covered the road. That was several years before BLD had arrived. It is not for certain exactly when it arrived, but probably in about 2016 or so. These next two photos show what a normally densely leaved Am Beech now looks like: a few scattered leaves, and many of them shriveled.

 This is what the leaves would normally look like, clean and green, with developing flowers and/or fruits.

This is what many of the remaining leaves look like now on the majority of the trees: wrinkled, with black or beige areas paralleling the leaf veins.

There are some trees that have actually died, and undoubtedly many more will fall victim to this non-native disease. Given that the American Beech/Sugar Maple is the main forest type at Rondeau, one wonders what the park will look like in a few years. Already there are signs of change, now that the heavy shading canopy is decreasing. There is quite the insurgence of shrubby growth, such as Spicebush. On a perhaps slightly positive note, at least for the short-term, is that less shade tolerant tree species such as Tuliptree may be on the increase. Also in spite of the loss of various ash species due to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), there are still some trees producing seed and there are a fair number of new ash seedling showing up in the more open canopy conditions. Whether they survive to be mature and somewhat dominant elements of this forest remains to be seen. Rondeau has been portrayed as being an old growth forest, but with these changes, it may cease to have some of those characteristics.

Certainly this is not the first time some major vector has affected the forest. Things like the Dutch Elm Disease eradicated most of the elm trees several decades ago, and the EAB has played havoc for a couple of decades now. With the prospect of American Beech declining in a major way, things like Basswood, Yellow Birch, Red Oak and Black Cherry will no doubt become more dominant species, along with the various maple species. Until something comes along to affect them.

Changing gears to another type of park and phenomenon, is the park adjacent to where we live. It is a municipal park, and probably about three decades ago, presumably the municipality planted two American Sycamore trees. Sycamores are not a common species in Ontario, but are widespread in small numbers. 

Sycamore in an upland woodlot

 They can tolerate a wide variety of habitat types, and can be found in upland woodlots as well as along rivers, and everything in between. They grow fairly quickly and are excellent as shade trees, and for those reasons are popular with many. The trunks are sturdy and can resist severe weather fairly readily. The internal characteristics of this species does not lend itself to being easily split, so is not often used in the lumber industry or even for firewood.

The trunk and bark have some interesting characteristics. The largest tree in the previous photo is shown as well in this next photo. There doesn't seem to be anything unusual about the bark.

However as you look higher up the trunk, it takes on a different appearance, with pieces of bark missing and the trunk and limbs having a blotchy appearance.

That blotchiness increases higher up in the tree. As mentioned above, the tree can grow fairly quickly, of course from the inside out. The outer bark ceases to grow, but dries a bit, and then can be sloughed off in various sized pieces. Sometimes the sloughing off is fairly gradual, but apparently in hot, dry and windy weather, it is more obvious. And that brings me to the next bit of this post.

This first photo shows the two Sycamores, one behind the other.

 

The lower trunk is showing signs of the bark being sloughed off. It has happened gradually over the years.

The higher one looks, the more obvious the sloughing has occurred to the point where the limbs are mostly whitish. If you look closely near the upper parts of the two left limbs in the next photo, one can see where it is a bit yellowish. This is where some of the bark has recently sloughed off.

Presumably the relatively cool wet spring caused some good growth of the limbs, but the hot, dry and windy weather of the past month or so has permitted a lot of sloughing off of the bark. As a result, there is a lot of it scattered on the down-wind side of the trees.

Some folks recommend that the pieces of bark can be used for mulch. We have gathered a bit to see how that works.

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Recent Birding Highlights (spoiler alert: Blue Grosbeak)

 Mid-summer birding is relatively slow, but steady. There is always something around!

In the last little while, I have been at the Campbell Line conservation area. I was hoping to see or hear Dickcissel, but didn't on this occasion. But there were lots of Bobolinks, a species that is designated as Threatened under both the Canadian and Ontario Endangered Species Acts.

family group

female Bobolink

A Solitary Sandpiper was hanging out at the edge of one of the ponds. It isn't a species that breeds in this part of Ontario, so presumably it is a failed nester and is gradually making its way southward.

A white-tailed deer took exception to me being in its territory, snorting a few times and charging off somewhere else. A closer look reveals a lot of things like deer flies settled on its back.

A stop at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons didn't turn up anything unexpected, but I managed to get a few photos of some things. Spotted Sandpipers are to be expected, but they don't often cooperate for a photographer.

There are lots of damselflies and dragonflies there. This Eastern Amberwing caught my eye, so I thought I would capture its photo. It isn't a really common species, but is certainly widespread.

A short visit to the Keith McLean Conservation Lands turned up a few shorebirds, and the highlight there was to come across 4 Short-billed Dowitchers. Shorebirds in general are starting to show up as they return from their breeding grounds hundreds of kilometres farther north.

The Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail is one of my favourite spots to visit along Lake St. Clair. It is a privately owned wetland, with a publicly accessible trail. There are lots of prairie type wildflowers established along the trail, although due to the aggressiveness of the non-native Phragmites, sometimes drastic measures have to be taken to eliminate, or at least reduce the Phrag, and let the other species have a chance to show their beauty. The trail is well-groomed.

As I was going out, I noticed this deer coming down to the water for a drink. It didn't see me at first....

...but then it did. And then it reacted like a typical fawn....

...crouching down and trying to stay hidden. An adult would have bounded away immediately, but this one was born this year, as you can see by some lingering white spots, and the initial crouching is fawn-type behaviour. As soon as I was a little farther away, it did take off and out of sight.

At the end of the trail, on this slightly elevated berm, is a picnic table. I typically sit and watch the sometimes numerous gulls and terns, the Mute Swans and other waterfowl and sometimes some shorebirds. I often see a pair of Sandhill Cranes hanging out, and this time it was no exception.

They flew in from somewhere inland, and proceeded to meander around this wetland habitat, and nicely within view of me at the picnic table with my telephoto lens. I am not sure if they are generally accustomed to people, but as long as I moved slowly and carefully, they didn't seem to be all that concerned.

There is a lot of Pickerelweed here, and I liked this photo with the Pickerelweed in fine flower providing a backdrop for the crane.

Certainly the bird highlight of the last few days was to catch up to a young male Blue Grosbeak. It was first reported by Paul Pratt, on the north side of Tilbury. It is not a species seen that often in Ontario, and given that it has been seen daily since about July 5, makes one wonder just how long it had been here. The location it is at is not one that is regularly covered by birders, so kudos to Paul for being out exploring and coming across this bird.

Fortunately it seems to be settled into this area, being up and visible frequently and calling for a mate. I first heard it not from the grassy field where it would be expected, but from a grove of trees on the other side of the road. I couldn't see it at first, but heard it call.

It then appeared on some wires over the grassy field. Unfortunately with all of the wires, it wasn't always easy to get a good photo, and the sun light wasn't at the best angle at the time of day I was there, so although this was one of the first photos I got of the bird, it was at best, a record shot.

And fortunately it kept moving around to different perches, singing as it went. At least this next one had better light and fewer wire obstructions.

It went back over to the grove of trees on a couple of occasions, and on one of them at least it was partially in view, and with a better angle of light.

I got a few more, and as I was thinking about moving on, the bird flew down onto some Phragmites in the ditch right along the side of the road, enabling me to get some fairly close, unobstructed photos, with better light.

It was certainly a great way to cap off this outing.

I doubt if this bird will find a mate, and who knows how long it will persist before moving on. I don't think there has ever been a successful nesting of this species in Ontario, but I am aware of an attempt by a pair of Blue Grosbeaks to nest in Chatham-Kent. It was back in early June, 1995 when a pair of them appeared along the Lake Erie shoreline a bit west of Blenheim. The semi-open shrubby/woodland habitat attracted them, and they proceeded to go through the normal courtship activities. There were several of us who kept a close watch on this pair, not quite daily, but several times a week. We observed them doing mate feeding, copulation and carrying nesting material. Unfortunately they were intent on an area that was private and inaccessible, so we could only watch from the road. Had they gotten to the point of likely incubating and even feeding young somewhat definitively, we likely would have tried to obtain permission to get access and a better look. We did eventually see both the male and female with food, but not always going to a specific spot. Perhaps the young were out of the nest and being fed in various spots? A bit later the female was not seen, and this was following a fairly severe storm that went through. There was some damage to the vegetation so perhaps the nest or young or even the female were harmed. Or perhaps a marauding racoon came along and did what racoons do. At any rate, the male was still seen in the area, occasionally singing, even into early September. And somewhat surprising, the male reappeared in 1996 and stayed for several weeks, but there was no evidence of a female this the second year. I got a few photos at the time, but with inferior equipment to what I have today. This is a scanned photo of one of them.

I was hoping that by keeping detailed notes of my numerous visits I would be able to write up a report to Ontario Birds, describing the first confirmed breeding record for Blue Grosbeak in Ontario, but it was not to be.

 

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Butterfly count--Rondeau

 This past July 10 was the annual Rondeau area butterfly count. It is always something to look forward to, although we went into it with some trepidation this year. The hot, dry weather for most of the last month or so, which followed a cooler and wetter spring prior to that has, I think, played a bit of havoc with invertebrate populations. Certainly pollinating insects in general seem to be less abundant than what we normally expect, and butterflies are not as abundant either. Other parts of Ontario even here in the south seem to have been blessed with a bit more precipitation as of late, so hopefully the dearth of invertebrates in this immediate area is just a localized condition.

At any rate, I began my usual route, at the McGeachy Pond Trail, at about 9 a.m. As I walked and looked, I began to think that my next blog post will have to feature something other than butterflies! I walked to the far end and back over a period of about an hour, and came up with two butterflies, both of which were Cabbage Whites, and even those two were only noted on the return. 

Yikes! This was not going as hoped. It didn't help that the butterfly bush that was located at the residence at the far western end of this trail had died.

But I kept on, and went next to the Erieau Rail Trail. The first part was quite shaded, and there was more bird action than butterflies. I had things like a pair of Carolina Wrens, Downy Woodpecker, and a Warbling Vireo scolding me to get my attention.

At the observation platform, there were Barn Swallows building a nest under neath.

There were a few butterflies to be found, especially where there were patches of Catnip. For some reason, the patches of Common Milkweed or Canada Thistle were not as interesting to the butterflies that were around. Catnip was the plant to check out, as these Red Admirals would attest.

I explored other areas as well, including one that Steve, Keith and Jim and I always check out just west of Blenheim. It didn't disappoint with the usual mix of Wood Nymphs, Little Wood Satyrs, Eastern Tailed Blues and such.

I continued on my way and the other three covered more of their typical territory. We had decided that the local sewage lagoons, sometimes a real hotspot for butterflies, would not be worthwhile this year. The extreme dryness on and adjacent to the berms, and the recent mowing, left very little to attract butterflies, so why bother.

One of the spots that never fails, is along the B-Fit trail at the south side of Blenheim. There are a couple of large cells designed to hold excess water, and a walking trail goes around. At one point a landowner has established a nice garden mix of native and non-native wildflowers that always attract insects. Except for the time I was there this year. There is a mix of Purple Coneflower, Bee-Balm and even Butterfly Bush among others. But there was not a single butterfly to be seen when I was there. I mean, butterfly bush is supposed to be a guarantee! But not this time.

Fortunately it wasn't a complete waste of time, as the one cell had a lot of dogbane and Swamp Milkweed in it, and there were at least 6-7 Monarch butterflies flitting around there.

I also spent some time along a wide road allowance, which has a seldom used railway line along it, and part of it is adjacent to a wet woods. For the size of the area, it was the most productive part of my day. There were of course a multitude of both Orange and Clouded Sulphurs and Cabbage Whites,

There were also a few Azures. One used to be able to call them Summer Azures with a fair bit of confidence at this time of year. However in recent years, at least some expert lepidopterists have decided/discovered that it isn't quite as easy to separate the different azure/Celastrina types as once thought. Even putting them on iNaturalist as a Summer Azure, someone will eventually respond declaring they cannot be separated, and downgrade the observation to Celastrina sp. So they are just Azures for now. Such is the realm of taxonomy.

I was pleased with the number of hairstreaks visiting some of the milkweed patches. I had at least 6 Banded Hairstreaks in just a few minutes.

I had the occasional Delaware Skipper.....

....and I was a bit surprised to see at least 4 Dun Skippers. I think the wet woods adjacent to this site was definitely the reason for them, as they are not generally a common skipper in my experience.

Dun Skipper

Hobomok Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper, one of the largest of the skipper group, was fairly numerous, with at least 7 at this location.

I had been at Rondeau a couple of days earlier, scouting around even though it wasn't my territory. I thought I was fortunate to have seen and photographed this next one, a Black Dash. I don't think it is commonly seen either, and I haven't heard what the final tally for butterflies was on this count, so maybe it will only be a 'Count Period' record.

I ended up with a mere 17 species of butterfly, a little lower than usual, but not all that surprising given the recent weather, the somewhat limited habitat variation and the way the day began. Monarch numbers were lower than usual, as I only had 16.

 

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