Moose On The LOOSE!!!

This adventure was the experience of a lifetime! The following photos show our encounter with a Bull Moose along the Rail Trail in Algonquin Park this week!

We were headed back to the car after spending a few hours on the trail when I saw a Bull Moose headed right towards us!

Luckily, he moved slowly, giving us a chance to adjust our camera settings!

His huge tongue is visible in this picture! He was getting closer and we needed a plan! The path was narrow and there was a ditch with open water on either side. We had to backtrack to locate a "safe" place to stand.

Deryl took these 3 photos while we hid behind some trees, just 15 feet from the passing beast! The Moose was so close he couldn't get the whole animal in the picture frame!! We could hear it grunting as it turned to look at us.

Bye, Bye, Mr. Moose!

The moose was on the trail for approximately 350 metres. One couple watched it emerge from a small wetland and were following distantly behind it. Others saw it coming from a distance, but the moose left the trail and headed back to the water before reaching those people. Earlier in the morning, Deryl had commented that the path was a good animal corridor. Little did he know the truth to those words!

 One Hour In Canatara!

It didn't take long to rack up a long list of critters, even on a cool fall day! Here are just a few:

A very common bird locally at this time of year is the White-throated Sparrow.

A few weeks ago, I found an Asteroid Moth caterpillar on Goldenrod. Today I found one chewing on white aster. Being later in the season, it was a much larger individual. It will overwinter at the pupal stage in an underground cocoon.

According to folklore, the amount of black on the woolly bear caterpillar in autumn varies proportionately with the severity of the coming winter. The longer the woolly bear's black bands, the longer, colder, snowier and more severe the winter will be. The position of the longest dark bands supposedly indicates which part of winter will be coldest. If the head end is dark, the beginning of winter will be severe. If the tail end is dark, the end of winter will be cold. https://www.weather.gov/arx/woollybear

The caterpillar's head is on the right. Based upon the above folklore, this winter will start out cold and be less severe towards the end of the season.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are in abundance as they pass through during fall migration. This one landed on a tree almost right beside my head!

A Rare Find (and some other things):

The Spotted Turtle is a Critically Endangered reptile. It was my first time ever seeing this species in the wild, and she was preparing a nest! It was an extremely exciting find in June!!! The most significant threats are habitat destruction and illegal collection for the pet trade. Activities that alter the water table during the winter, such as digging a ditch along a road, can wipe out an entire population. Since this turtle is slow to reach sexual maturity (up to 15 years) and suffers high egg and juvenile mortality, population recovery may be slow.  

https://www.ontario.ca/page/spotted-turtle

Butterflies are harder to find with this cool weather. Some species will continue to be found on the warmer, sunnier days through the fall. Cabbage White butterflies are a fairly hardy species. Three individuals are nectaring on the White Aster flowers.

A happy Gray Catbird, sat in the sun and sang a song! Their long song can last up to 10 minutes!  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/overview#

Fiery Skippers were fairly easy to find over the past few weeks. While at rest, Fiery Skippers (along with most other skippers) can hold their wings in a triangular shape. Their sitting position is thought to be an adaptation to take the best advantage of the sun's rays.

https://www.butterflyidentification.com/fiery-skipper.htm

A Bald Eagle flew past the Lake Huron shoreline while Deryl was standing there! They have been known to play with plastic bottles and other objects, using them as toys. One observer witnessed six Bald Eagles passing sticks to each other in midair!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/overview 

 Suncor and Wawanosh:

I took a chance on getting a sunrise photo Saturday morning and arrived at the Suncor Trail at 6:45 a.m. There was time to walk the trails and get into a good position for the view!

Thanks to my early arrival, I watched the juvenile, Black-crowned Night Heron fly into its regular hunting area. 

The next time I passed by the Night Heron's hang out, a Great-blue Heron had taken 

over the prime hunting location and the Night Heron was relegated to the muddy bank.

Hungry and speedy little birds were a challenge to photograph. A Yellow-rumped Warbler kindly stayed still long enough for me to take a couple of pics. 

An American Robin tried to stay warm by fluffing his feathers after the "drastic" drop in temperature.

Several Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitted through the trees and bushes searching for insects to eat.

I've always liked the vegetation "tunnel" that has formed along one of the Wawanosh trails.

 Deryl's Discoveries!

Deryl has spent time at the Lake Huron shoreline and around a mud puddle in a local construction site to find these migrating birds this fall!

Stilt Sandpipers wade belly deep, probing for invertebrates in mud. These long-distance migrants fly south through the middle of North America, then cross the Caribbean to winter in South America. A long-term study in Churchill, Manitoba, uncovered an interesting fact: among mates pairing for the first time, the longest-billed female Stilt Sandpipers and the shortest-billed males tended to be the first to pair off!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Stilt_Sandpiper/overview

Bonaparte's Gulls are able to capture flying insects and pluck tiny fish from the water with equal ease. They are unusual among gulls in their use of trees for nesting. During late fall, they can be found in large numbers near the mouth of the St. Clair River.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bonapartes_Gull/overview

The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird in the world, weighing about one ounce (28.349 grams)! Eastern populations probably fly nonstop over the ocean, leaving from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and New England, to wintering grounds in northeastern South America; a distance of 1,800 to 2,500 miles.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Least_Sandpiper/overview

Sanderlings are extremely long-distance migrants that breed only on the High Arctic tundra, but during the winter they can be found on sandy beaches all around the world!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sanderling/overview

Semipalmated Plovers look like miniature Killdeer, but with only one black band across the breast. These alert foragers tend to stick to mudflats, sandbars and fields.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Semipalmated_Plover/overview

The Semipalmated Sandpiper gets its common name from the short webs between its toes. They walk slowly through mudflats and wetlands, rapidly and continuously pecking or probing for tiny invertebrates to eat.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Semipalmated_Sandpiper/id

When the north winds blow off Lake Huron, birders "flock" to the Lake Huron shoreline in hopes of finding Jaegers that are passing through! Once breeding season is over, their time is spent on the open ocean. Despite its name, the Parasitic Jaeger doesn't suck anyone's blood. These birds are "kleptoparasites," a term used to describe animals that steal their food from other animals. It comes from the same root as "kleptomaniac," meaning someone who steals compulsively!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Parasitic_Jaeger/overview

Almost Autumn Finds!

There seems to be a healthy population of Praying Mantis' or Chinese Mantis's this year. I find them lurking at the tops of flower heads waiting for unsuspecting prey to stop for some nectar.

This Common European Greenbottle Fly plays an important role in forensic science. The larvae or maggots help to determine the period of insect colonization as it relates to the time of death, aiding law enforcement investigations! The translucent colour makes it appear red in the photo. 

https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/livestock/flies/lucilia_sericata.htm

A Green Sweat Bee enjoyed a break on a Common Chickory flower head. The bees get their name because they're attracted to sweat which they drink for its moisture and salt. They are solitary bees that don't make honey and have very little territory to defend. Although they will sometimes land on humans to get their "sweat fix", it is unlikely that they will sting. https://learnbees.com/green-bees/

An American Toad paused on the way to cool down in the water feature in our backyard. The hot dry weather is hard on toads who prefer cool, damp forests during the adult stage of their lives.

My most exciting nature moment this week was finding a Grey Hairstreak in Canatara Park. I've been told that it may be the first record of this species in Lambton County! A few local butterfly enthusiasts had a chance to see it as well! 

 Grand River Trail, Cambridge

We walked a section of the Grand River Trail near Cambridge yesterday, starting at a location where the local Rowing Club was practicing.

Lots of limestone with tiny waterfalls dotted the trail. There were elevation changes. Sometimes the trail was just above the river and other times, up above on the bluffs.

A very large caterpillar wandered right in front of us, across a paved section of trail. It is the larva of a Bedstraw Hawkmoth which I have not seen at the adult stage. It will be looking for a place to burrow down and make a pupa for the winter months.

Double-crested Cormorants could regularly be seen flying along the river. When not at rest, they will float low on the surface of the water and dive to catch small fish. After fishing, they stand on docks, rocks, and tree limbs with wings spread open to dry. Cornell Lab, All About Birds.

Perhaps this one was hoping for a ride on a golf cart at the course across the river from the trail!

A section of the trail was dedicated as a Pollinator Preserve!

A view of the Grand River!

 Yard Finds!

Butterflies have been busy playing the "dating game" in our yard as they choose their mates. Three Peck's Skippers are assessing the suitability of a match on a Sedum flowerhead.

Late blooming Sedum is a magnate for butterflies, including this Viceroy.

Orange Sulphurs can be difficult to photograph as they rarely seem to sit still. They eventually need to take a break and the Missouri Ironweed in our backyard met this Sulphur's needs!

A Western Honeybee caught my attention simply because it was inactive.

Upon closer inspection, I found an Ambush Bug that had been lurking in the flower heads waiting for an unsuspecting insect to stop for some nectar.

Eastern Chipmunks hang out under our bird feeder waiting for food to fall to ground level. This fellow has found a "cheekful" of seeds in preparation for the winter.