Silent Lake Provincial Park

View of Silent Lake from the day use beach.

This picturesque trail was our most mosquito intensive walk of the week! While attempting to record bird songs, playback revealed very loud mosquito buzzing which drowned out the sounds of the birds. Heavy rains had fallen the night before and some of the down-sloping trail sections had water running down them. We didn't spend much time standing still, but did enjoy the walk.

Trail Terrain.

Moss covered rock reminded me of a bird spreading its wings to land. (or perhaps it crash-landed?)

When Bonnie's Pond  was logged during the mid 1800's, horses skidded huge White Pine logs across the frozen pond as it was the easiest route to take during the winter months. One of the horses, named Bonnie, fell through the ice. The horse was lost and from that point on, loggers referred to the area as Bonnie's Pond.

For the most part, these trail markers were well placed, but we had to scan carefully to ensure we stayed on the trail. We did lose sight of the trail towards the end and later learned from a staff person that these markers are occasionally stolen.

After our 3 km tour at Bonnie's Pond, we headed to the beach by the visitors area. The open area meant fewer mosquitos and we had success finding insects drying out as they waited for the sun to shine. Great Tiger Moth is above.

Nymphula Moth

Blue Jay eating an Ant snack.

Exuvia (exoskeleton) of a dragonfly nymph, was left behind on a plant after the nymph crawled out of the water. The adult emerged, sporting its new wings and flew away. Dragonfly nymphs will swim in the water up to 4 years before developing into winged adults.

The Fifteen-spotted Lady Beetle is a master of disguise. Its transformation into a dark purple colour is thought to help it absorb more heat from the sun in the cooler forest canopy, while also making it look less like a tasty treat to birds. It is significantly larger and more oval-shaped than the average lady beetle. They often reach nearly 10mm in length, nearly double the size of common garden varieties.

https://plantiary.com/insect/anatis-labiculata_7368.html

 Egan's Chutes Provincial Park

Egan Chutes was established in 1989 as a non-operating provincial Nature Reserve to protect natural habitats and landform features. Interpretive information was located at the parking location. 

We were interested in the waterfalls at Egan Chutes. An unmaintained road alongside the York River provided suitable hiking terrain. When we heard the sound of rushing water, we followed foot trails to the waterfalls. We initially chose the wrong side of the river on which to walk. The more picturesque views were on the opposite side of the river. In our backtracking, we walked over 18,000 steps to view both sides, but the views were worth it!

 It was a very “mothy day” Hydriomena Moth 

 Petraphora Moth

 Probole Moth - Initially, I thought it was just a crumpled leaf.

The movement of the caterpillar caught my attention. It was busy snacking on the end of a stem. I wonder if it knew that “something was sneaking up on it??”