Some Natural Areas of Chatham-Kent, Part 1

The Sydenham Field Naturalists are hosting several outreach events at the Chatham Public Library, to encourage more residents to be aware of the local environment and what they as a club are doing within Chatham-Kent and southern Lambton County. I was asked to be the first presenter, and as some readers will already know, I gave a presentation on Some Natural Areas of C-K just a few days ago.

It was very encouraging to see the packed house and enthusiasm of the crowd. Some folks came from almost an hour away! I heard the attendance was in excess of 80, and clearly there was standing room only. Since there were folks who couldn't make it but are interested in the subject, and had they all arrived there wouldn't have been enough room anyway, I have decided to break down my presentation into a dozen or so individual blog posts. They won't be posted concurrently, since I will be reporting on other things I will have done as the winter subsides and early spring arrives. But over the next couple of months (I hope!), I will highlight the same sites that I covered in my library presentation. So check in once in awhile if you like.

Some Natural Areas of Chatham-Kent, Part 1

Historical Context

The municipality of Chatham-Kent covers about 240,500 hectares.

At the time of settlement, about 66% of the landscape (~160,000 hectares) was wetland, which includes both cattail marsh

and swamp, also known as lowland forest. Due to the topography of C-K being very limited, with only small differences in elevation other than a very few creek valleys, the landscape is a mix of gentle undulations with water accumulating in the depressions and the higher, slightly drier areas supporting more upland forest.

Currently there is no more than about 3.5% remaining.

Estimates of tallgrass prairie (yes, Ontario could be considered a 'prairie province') ranged as high as ~40,000 hectares! Estimates are based on historical surveyors descriptions as well as an analysis of soil maps.

Present day Ontario tallgrass prairie, Essex

Present day Ontario tallgrass prairie, Lambton

Here is how Patrick McNiff, a land surveyor who was one of the first to describe what would eventually become C-K back in 1792, says. Referring to the lower reaches of the Thames River, he writes:

"On each side, and for a distance of 6 miles, were extensive meadows and marshes without any wood except for a few scattered trees. On the Dover side, the marshes and meadows extended north northeast as far as the eye could see. To the south they were confined to much shorter limits.” 

It perhaps looked something like this, which is actually a photo I took not of an Ontario tallgrass prairie (I wish!) but one of the spectacular tallgrass prairies I've explored in Missouri.

Upland forest, which is the drier woodland not the swamp forest referred to earlier, made up an estimated 40,000 hectares.

Today, no more than 5% of both upland and lowland forest remain in C-K.

Anna Jameson was an early pioneer traveller, who had the foresight to record her thoughts on her travels through C-K back in the 1830s. At one point she travelled through C-K heading westward through Morpeth along what is now known as the Talbot Trail. When her party got as far as about what is now C-K Road 15, they had to change direction due to the almost impenetrable area known as the Ten Mile Bush, which was the general area of forest and swamp between C-K Road 15 and Blenheim. I grew up in that area along the Talbot Trail, but more than 120 years after Anna Jameson did.

“No one who has a single atom of imagination can travel through these forest roads of Canada without being strongly impressed and excited. The seemingly interminable line of trees before you; the boundless wilderness around; the mysterious depths amidst the multitudinous foliage where the foot of many hath never penetrated—and which partial gleams of the noontide sun now seen, now lost, lit up with a changeless magical beauty……the wondrous splendour and novelty of flowers—the silence, unbroken but for the low cry of a bird or the hum of an insect, or the splash and croak of a huge bullfrog—the solitude in which we proceeded mile after mile, no human being, no human dwelling within sight—are all either exciting to the fancy or oppressive to the spirits according to the mood one may be in.” 

“How savagely, how solemnly wild it was! So thick was the overhanging foliage that it not only shut out the sunshine, but almost the daylight; and we travelled on through a perpetual gloom of vaulted boughs and intermingled shade. There were no flowers here…..The timber was all hard timber, walnut, beech and basswood, and oak and maple of most luxuriant growth.”

It perhaps looked like this:

Lest we think it was always a pleasurable experience, here is what else Anna Jameson had to say:

“Mosquitoes…suddenly we were again surrounded by our adversaries; they came upon us in swarms, in clouds, in myriads—entering our eyes, our noses, our mouths, stinging until the blood followed.”

 Clearly travelling through such swampy terrain was a challenge.

This next quote from Anna Jameson is interesting:
“A Canadian settler hates a tree, regards it as his natural enemy, as something to be destroyed, annihilated by all and any means.” I guess things weren't so different in the early 1800s than they are in the 21st century!

Chatham-Kent in 2013

This next photo is one I took in April of 1989, showing southwestern Chatham-Kent, at a point about two kilometers west of Port Alma along Hwy 3/Talbot Trail. There were two tiny fragments of woodland present in this photo at that time, and one of them has disappeared since.

Nonetheless, there are some fabulous natural areas remaining in Chatham-Kent. Some are reasonably well known, such as Wheatley Provincial Park and Rondeau Provincial Park.

Wheatley Provincial Park

Wheatley PP is about 240 hectares in size. It has a small, but impressive woodland component to it, as well as is the outlet for a creek system.

 Within the woodland are a few small individual American Chestnut trees, an endangered species that at one point was one of the most common trees in area woodlands but was almost entirely wiped out due to chestnut blight.

Am Chestnut trunk

Am Chestnut leaf

Am Chestnut flowers, almost never seen anymore

Am Chestnut fruit

There is a good population of Climbing Prairie Rose present.

The endangered Acadian Flycatcher is known to nest here occasionally. I was the first to discover this species nesting here in the early 1980s.

A bird only recently considered a regular nesting species in Ontario is the Orchard Oriole.

Wheatley is a delight to explore from spring,

to fall.

Next in the series will be a brief overview of Rondeau Provincial Park.

 

Some mid-January wanderings

I managed to get out a couple of times this past weekend. First off was to swing by St. Clair National Wildlife Area, where it seems there is always an open spot in the ice, visible from Balmoral Line along the south side of the NWA. As usual, there was a lot of waterfowl there, on the ice or in the water. This first photo shows a typical part of the group. It was hard to estimate numbers since they were packed in so tightly, but there were at least 1500 Mallards, plus a few Am Black Ducks, a single Gadwall and a single Northern Pintail. Some Northern Shoveler had been seen by others, and were likely still there. However I find that when they are in a spot like this, they are often in a tight group with their heads down since they are using their bill to strain water hoping to capture something to eat. Hence they are very difficult to see unless they are in the open.

The rest of the accessible part of the NWA was frozen up, so I didn't bother hiking the trail, although a couple of Rough-legged Hawks and a single Red-tail flew by at a distance. But as I was driving up along Town Line Road right beside the NWA I looked across what used to be a triangular wetland area and there, in the group of trees, was a large nest. A closer look showed two adult Bald Eagles at the nest! This would make nest #18 in the Chatham-Kent area according to my recent records. With all of the Bald Eagles around during the winter period, and well into spring, it is possible that there are more new nests around the landscape, so be on the lookout!

While it is a little early for them to be actually nesting, they are likely putting the finishing touches on this new nest. Egg laying and subsequent incubation won't likely begin in earnest for another month.

I looked for the Belted Kingfisher that had been hanging out at the Rivard Line pump station, where the pumping action keeps some water open. I didn't find it, but there were two Common Goldeneye resting on the water.

I next headed south towards Erieau, and drove through Bagnall, a very small community which is right along the Thames River downstream from Prairie Siding. There was a large flock of birds feeding along the roadside....mostly House Sparrows and Starlings, but one bird stood out. It was a smallish blackbird, and I got a brief look at it through the car window. As I was manoeuvring so as to get the camera and telephoto lens out the window, something spooked the entire group except for a single Mourning Dove, and no photos of this blackbird were obtained. My first inclination was a Brewer's Blackbird based on the size, the overall glossy appearance and relatively fine bill. The open agricultural/rural residential landscape fit as well. Unfortunately it was not a 100% conclusive look, and birders who were out to look for it the next day could only come up with an odd looking Rusty Blackbird, out of the species' usual wetland habitat. So maybe it will go down as blackbird sp.

I made it to Erieau and noted a bit of open water at the bay end of the main channel. There were lots of Canada Geese and a handful of ducks, including both scaup. Something startled the geese, and I immediately saw a smaller, white goose in the air with them only to come down on an area of the ice hidden behind the armourstone that protects the fish tug mooring area. In spite of several attempts to go to the end of the piers and hopefully get a view of the white goose, it was not to be. There has been a variety of opinions on this bird from those who have seen it and been able to get photos of it, ranging from a relatively pure Ross's Goose to a Snow Goose. The head and bill seemed fairly good for a good Ross's, but the bill might have been a little too long and overall the bird appeared a bit large for a pure Ross's. In all probability it is a hybrid between the two, something that happens with increasing frequency, it would seem, based on the number of smaller white geese that have at least some characteristics of both. It would also appear that hybrids are able to continue cross-breeding, making subsequent generations even more muddy with various combinations of physical traits.

While searching for the white goose, I did manage to see the two Greater White-fronted Geese that had been associating with the flock of Canadas for awhile. There was an adult and an immature. I only got a photo of the immature, as the adult waddled out of sight behind the armourstone.

 I left Erieau, stopping briefly at McGeachy Pond, but everything in the lake was frozen solid. I was in the car waiting for traffic to go by, when all of a sudden I saw a head appear just above the vegetation on the far side of the road. It was a Red Fox, and it clearly wanted to cross the road. I grabbed the camera and got a single, blurry photo through the glass as it darted across and disappeared into the shrubbery behind the parking area.

On the way home I stopped to look for the wintering Wilson's Snipe. One has been seen in a wide creek along Stefina Line, southeast of Blenheim, almost annually for well over a decade. Even in the coldest winter weather there is always some open water, so presumably the creek is spring fed. Since it is on the 'down-side' of the Blenheim-Ridgetown gravel ridge left by the glaciers many centuries ago, being spring fed is not unlikely.  Given that shorebirds don't normally live more than a few years, it is doubtful that it is the same bird, but maybe by not having to expend energy migrating much farther south, it is able to survive more years than normal. Who knows? At any rate, this one is around again, although persistence and patience is required as you only see it about a third of the time you look for it.

It blends in nicely, and if it is very far down the creek, it is easily missed. On this occasion, it was within about 15 metres of the road.

Seasonal solitude

I don't often get a cold, but I guess my time had come. Ever since this past Christmas, I have been battling a persistent cold. Had I been bad this past year? Most people would maybe have received a chunk of coal at Christmas....I received a persistent cold. As a result I have hardly left the house, so am posting a blog that I was originally going to post in early December. Maybe now is a better time, especially since it features a warmer outdoor period than what most of eastern North America has experienced in these last few weeks.

There is a certain appeal to get out in a forest or other natural setting, and not necessarily with birds or butterflies as a primary focus. The joy is just to get out and soak up as much of the natural atmosphere as possible, enjoying the light, the shadows, the muted colours and perhaps most important to my way of thinking, the solitude. Any form of wildlife encountered is a bonus. The latter part of November and early part of December are two of my favourite times for this experience, and the setting at Rondeau is perfect. One can spend several hours on the trails and closed roads, and never see another person.

There is an activity I recently had pointed out to me, called 'forest bathing', where one spends time in a forest, or at least in the vicinity of trees, soaking up the fresh air and the atmosphere, to experience various health benefits including a reduced stress level. According to Wikipedia, forest bathing apparently originated in Japan in the 1980s.

To that I say 'Nonsense'.

I've been doing it since the early 1970s. My dad used to do it from time to time in his early years. While it may not have officially been named 'forest bathing', the reality is that people have been doing this for decades, likely centuries or more. I'm sure that the likes of John Muir in the mid to late 1800s and Ansel Adams in the early 1900s, among others, did a lot of 'forest bathing' when they were out exploring the natural world in their time.

It is usually during these times when I seldom take my camera with a telephoto lens, knowing that a wide angle lens will be more useful to capture what I see.

One can sit in one spot for a time, or one can hike the trails and get the benefits of some cardio exercise, or even away from the trails (but if it is above freezing, be aware of ticks!!). And there is always something to see, especially on warmer, sunny days. I had this Eastern Comma flitting about on a warm sunny day on Nov 29, which according to ebutterfly, was the latest Ontario date for a butterfly added to that database in 2017.

Reptiles may be out, soaking up a last bit of sunshine before going underground for the upcoming winter.

Eastern Gartersnake

Some resident birds are a little more obvious. It seems that Pileated Woodpeckers are more noticeable during these quiet periods.

The leaves have fallen by late November, as have a multitude of seeds. The trails and roadsides are covered, or at least lined along the edges, with a mix of leaves and seeds.

This first photo shows a packed roadside of beech nuts from the American Beech tree, with a few Tuliptree seeds mixed in. It had indeed been a great year for beech nut production, as well as acorns from oaks. While this 'mast' production will go along way towards placating the hunger of deer, Wild Turkeys, Blue Jays, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and mice, one cannot help but wonder if it also means a profusion of ticks that benefit when mice are more prolific. More mice, means more ticks, and the greater the chance of hikers encountering Lyme Disease in the following year.

 This next photo, taken along a section of trail where Tuliptrees are a little more dominant, is made up entirely of Tuliptree seeds. Although Tuliptrees are prolific producers of seeds, only about 1% or so of the seeds are really viable and will germinate. The vast majority of these seeds will be enjoyed by squirrels, mice, etc.

The bright orange-red berries of Climbing Bittersweet are more visible against the muted colours of the forest late in the season.

The lake can be really riled up during sustained windy periods, or it can be quite calm and subdued. The riled up weather that occurred a short time before this photo was taken resulted in significant changes to the dynamic shoreline, such as this new pond area. Will it remain as a breeding pool for the rare Fowler's Toad this coming summer or be a feeding stop for shorebirds? Or will another storm make changes to this, making it only a very temporary feature?

Patterns in the sand are visible, the result of fairly strong winds in previous days.

While it is always nice to see birds and butterflies, etc., they are just a few of the multitude of reasons to get out and enjoy the natural world around us!