A Visit to Henderson C.A.

The sun didn't peak out from behind the clouds as early as expected today, but I still decided to head to Henderson Conservation Area near Petrolia. This dock was installed for school children to access the pond just prior to Covid. There a been a few field trips in the past 2 years, but hopefully it will soon get more use!

My Black-capped Chickadee friends didn't disappoint! I like to think they remembered me. LOL! (I'm sure they were just hungry.)

                                    Eastern Towhee                              Fox Sparrow

The 2 species above have been difficult for me to find this spring. I was happy to finally see both of them today!

When the sun shone, I found a Northern Leopard Frog camouflaged in the pond.

The trails continue to see improvement. It was good to see more boardwalk installed above some of the muddier sections of trail! (Boots are definitely required at this time of year.)

I saw my first Mourning Cloak butterfly today, exactly where I hoped to find one! They overwinter as adults in tree crevices, log piles and other sheltered places and are one of the first species we see in the spring when the temperatures begin to rise.

This is one of the Sphagnum Mosses. First Nations women used moss as diapers for their babies. It is very absorbent and would be dried in the sun before use. When it was "full" it would be discarded and decompose back into soil.

Several species were accessing the food that someone had left on a stump for the birds. Red-breasted Nuthatches move quickly over trunks and branches, probing for food in crevices and under flakes of bark. They creep up, down, and sideways without regard for which way is up, and they don't lean against their tail the way woodpeckers do! (Cornell Lab, All About Birds)