Butterflies are Flying!!

Temperatures reached 17 degrees C on Monday. It took some patience, but after a 90 minute search, I found 3 Mourning Cloak butterflies which brought a big smile to my face! (Ten days later than last year, but this was an exceptional winter for our area!) Mourning Cloaks overwinter as adults, tucked into a crevice in a log, under leaf litter, or other sheltered location. This type of hibernation is known as diapause. Food sources in the early spring include sap dripping from Yellow-bellied Sapsucker holes. Or if they happen to be in a Sugar Bush, March is the season for sap collection where sap drips from tapped Sugar Maple Trees! 

Butterflies survive the cold by making their own glycerol which acts like a type of antifreeze to lower the freezing point of bodily fluid. The glycerol prevents ice crystals from forming in cells which would kill the butterfly.

https://extension.usu.edu/swaner/naturalist-news/amazing-butterflies.pdf

The warm temperatures woke up a Wooly Bear caterpillar who spent the winter at the larval stage. Glycerol production also allows caterpillars to survive the winter without freezing.

Half-ringed Acleris Moth, an early flyer in the spring, and a new species for me!

I found my first Fox Sparrow of the year this week! Fox Sparrows spend a lot of time on the ground, using their sturdy legs to kick away leaf litter in search of insects and seeds. They rarely venture far from cover. This individual had been on the ground, along with another Fox Sparrow and flew into the tree as I walked past on a trail.

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

A Visit to Lake Erie

This is possibly the first calendar year in which we found a Red-throated Loon prior to finding a Common Loon! This Red-throated Loon spent the winter in the St. Catharines area. I was surprised to learn that this species takes flight from the water more easily than other loons. It often takes off without a running start and can even take off from land!

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-throated-loon

A pair of American Robins enjoyed a bath in a puddle at Port Weller.

At Crystal Beach, a noisy Killdeer was likely having second thoughts about early migration after landing on the icy shore of Lake Erie.

Crystal Beach looking across Lake Erie towards Buffalo.

Rain droplets on a Pussywillow Bud

Snowdrops blooming on a rainy day!