First of Year Birds and Spring Ephemerals!

A Tree Swallow stopped by a nesting box on the edge of Lake Chipican on Apr. 4th. They winter further north than other American Swallows and return to their nesting grounds long before other swallow species come back. They can eat plant foods as well as their normal prey of insects, which helps them survive the cold snaps and wintry weather of early spring.

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

A Brown Creeper first caught my attention when it flew into a space between open bark on an Oak Tree. There are 2 vertical open strips of bark. The Creeper is in the right strip, in the very centre of the photo. Brown Creepers are right at home inside loose tree bark. It is a good spot to find insects for food and they will even build their nests inside bark openings, especially on Shagbark Hickory.

The Brown Creeper then landed on the outside of the tree in the sun!

Although male Red-winged Blackbirds have been back for a few weeks, I saw my first female on Friday. 

Bloodroot: “Spring Ephemerals” is the term given to early blooming plants, especially in forested areas where leaves have not yet opened on deciduous trees and sun can still reach the forest floor.

Virginia Bluebells; leaves are growing!

Purple Violets

Virginia Spring Beauty: blooming on a south facing slope on Apr. 3

 Birdy Days!

One of the Canatara Cooper's Hawks.

A Cooper's Hawk nest is being built quite close to the road that passes through the park. From past experience, we have learned that this may be a "dummy" nest. We'll be keeping an eye on it to see if it is used in 2025.

A mystery! While standing in the backyard, I watched a clump of fur fall from a tree high above. Fur colour leans towards a Raccoon or Grey Squirrel. Was it eaten by a predator, or perhaps lost in a fight between members of the same species? (I may never know!)

A hungry Golden-crowned Kinglet. Look closely and you can see his tongue!

A Hungry American Goldfinch eating Teasel seeds.

The use of buildings and bridges for nest sites has allowed the Eastern Phoebe to tolerate the landscape changes made by humans and even expand its range. However, they still use natural nest sites when available.

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

An ever adorable Black-capped Chickadee "bounced" around in the stand of sumac looking for food.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have been found drilling sapwells in more than 1,000 species of trees and woody plants. However, they have a strong preference for birches and maples. They are enterprising woodpeckers that lap up leaking sap and any trapped insects with a specialized, brush-tipped tongue.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/overview

Two male Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers chased each other around the forested area in Canatara Park, trying to claim the best trees!

 Mussel Mania!

We stopped at several locations along the Sydenham River in a search for mussels. Water levels were low at the time, and all specimens were deceased along the river bank. After photographing for identification purposes, all shells were left at each site.

The Sydenham watershed is a refuge for mussels; it supports 34 mussel species and is the most mussel diverse watershed in Canada. Mussels native to the Sydenham all belong to the family of river mussels Unionidae. They come in an astonishing array of shapes, sizes, colours and textures. They can be round and inflated or narrow and elongated; as small as your thumbnail or as large as your hand. Their colours range from a rich, chestnut brown to bright yellow with lime green rays. Their shells can have bumps that look like warts or they can have smooth, satiny ridges.

https://www.sydenhamriver.on.ca/sydenham-sar/mussels/

A probable Brown-lipped Snail "cruised" along the edge of a mussel shell. 

Deertoe Mussel: Many angles are required to photograph mussel shells and properly identify them. The outer and inner sides are shown for these mussels. We identified 10 different species.

Purple Wartyback

Rainbow Mussel

The flats at the edge of the river were covered in tiny shells.

Many raccoon tracks dented the mud: Mussels are an important source of food for raccoons.

Northern Clearwater Crayfish, deceased and very stinky!!

We also found a variety of colourful snail shells. 

 The Ausable River Valley!

Life on the forest floor!

Yellow-spotted Salamanders breed in early spring, often while there is still ice on ponds. Females lay up to 250 eggs and attach the egg mass to submerged vegetation. Adults are terrestrial carnivores that eat a variety of insects and other invertebrates, such as worms and slugs.

https://ontarionature.org/programs/community-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/spotted-salamander/

Vernal pools (created each year from melting snow and spring rains) are critical for the development of the next generation of salamanders.

Eastern Red-back Salamander

Cross-breeding within the Ambystoma Species Complex makes it difficult to positively identify this salamander.

Earthworm (sp.) Salamander food!

Typical Leafhopper - I was surprised to find an adult leaf hopper this early in the season. After 2 photos, it quickly dropped to the forest floor and disappeared under the leaves.

Virginia Ctenucha Moth caterpillar: Adults are common in the warm months. This is the first time I have found it at the larval stage.

A Millipede (sp) was found on the underside of a stick. - A good spot to hide from hungry salamanders!

Spring Fishfly

Owl Pellet found under a cedar tree. Likely from a Screech or Saw-whet Owl.

Bones hidden within the owl pellet, including the skull and jawbone, show the owl dined on a tiny rodent, possibly a Shrew.

A First Bluebird and other Canatara life!

I found my first Eastern Bluebird of the year! The brilliant blue back caught my attention as it flew past and luckily stopped nearby. It was then chased away by an American Goldfinch and I lost track of it.

A dozen Canvasback continue to frequent Lake Chipican. They are diving ducks, seldom going ashore to dry land. They sleep on the water with their bill tucked under the wing, and nest on floating mats of vegetation.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canvasback/lifehistory

Several gulls, including this immature Ring-billed Gull searched the debris that washed up on the Lake Huron shoreline for treasures such as dead fish, mollusks and other edibles.

A pair of unlikely friends: A female Mallard and female Hooded Merganser have been hanging out together for the past week in Lake Chipican. The Hooded Merganser kept a close eye on the Mallard as she fluffed her feathers.

Soon after, the Hooded Merganser completed her own preening routine on a log.

Northern Flickers spend more time on the ground searching for food than most other Woodpeckers. They drill their beak into the earth to find hiding insects. Mud is visible on the beak of this Northern Flicker!