Pinery Birds and Stories in the Snow!

We had a beautiful snowy walk at Pinery Provincial Park on January 17th. Many birds were easy to hear but hard to see. Vocal Blue Jays took turns "yelling" into a tree cavity. Making alarm calls near tree holes is typical behaviour when they are warning other birds of predators such as owls. A Screech Owl may have been in the cavity but the Blue Jays were being vocal at several holes.

A noisy White-breasted Nuthatch also got in on the action! Several song bird species will join together in the winter months....more "eyes" to watch for predators.

We heard a Pileated Woodpecker drumming long before we saw him at his new cavity.

Fresh sawdust littered the snow below the cavity.

We eventually found at least 2 Pileated Woodpeckers! Their main habitat requirements include large trees, both dead and dying. The widely distributed species occurs across the southern half of Canada and through the U.S.

https://abcbirds.org/bird/pileated-woodpecker/

We didn't see any Wild Turkeys, but their tracks and ground scraping told the story of where they had traveled. In fall, winter, and early spring, they will scratch the forest floor for Acorns, Beech Nuts, Black Cherries, and White Ash seeds. In their search for nuts and berries, many oak leaves were exposed above the snow.

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

Wild Turkey tracks were well-defined on the icy channel.

As we walked along one of the roads, countless mouse tracks crossed our path. The tail drag is visible between the tracks.

Signs of a commotion in the snow caught our attention and we tried to figure out the story these tracks were telling. We could see 2 large wing marks in the snow with mouse tracks leading to the centre of the photo. We believe a Great Horned Owl swooped down from the tree above, using his sharp talons to catch the mouse. It’s always fun to try to decipher a story from tracks in the snow!!

From the Riverside trail, raccoon, coyote and squirrel tracks could be seen crossing the frozen Ausable Cut.

A Red Squirrel stayed close to its shelter log.

A Black-capped Chickadee sitting on a Juniper Tree.