A Very Cold Mother's Day!!

We found 3 families of Swans on Mother's Day. 

The Cygnets of the Mute Swans are adorable.

They played a game of "Follow the Leader", always staying close to Mom. 

Hundreds of Swallows skimmed the water at Peers Wetland hunting for bugs. 
They have a good Air Traffic Control system as we didn't see any mid-air collisions.

We stopped on the shoulder of a rural road next to pasture to look for Upland Sandpipers. Since it was rainy, we didn't expect to see any standing on posts as is their typical habit. Instead, this one flew over our car, then ran across the road in front of us. (I wish I had a good, "Why did the Sandpiper cross the road?" joke to insert here.)

It eventually ran into the long grass and flew across the field. This bird 

and the Bobolink below, are indicator species for healthy Prairie Habitat!

Four of 30 Bobolink found near Sombra.  

I was very happy to find my first Scarlet Tanager of the year today!!

The "flute-like" call of the Wood Thrush is a welcome sound of spring! According to the Cornell Lab, All about Birds, "this songster can sing "internal duets" with itself. It sings pairs of notes simultaneously, one in each branch of its, y-shaped syrinx, or voice box.  The two parts harmonize with each other to produce a haunting, ventriloquial sound!" 

Fingers crossed for more seasonable weather to start this week!

Spring is Here But It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It!!!

Nesting season is ramping up in the park. A pair of Blue Jays lined their nest with a white plastic bag. Not sure how helpful it will be to have a waterproof floor in the nest!

High Great Lake water levels are affecting water levels in Canatara Park. A family of Canada Geese swim past a bench that is normally on dry land.

A Great Blue Heron digs for bugs in a waterlogged branch.

For the second course of his meal, he hunted for toads swimming in the flooded area.

A male Wood Duck - our most colourful local nesting duck.

A close up of an Ovenbird!  First time this species has cooperated for a photo for me!

A few White-crowned Sparrows have been spotted hopping along the trails 

in search of bugs. The markings on the head remind me of a bike helmet.

I saw several Blue-grey Gnatcatchers in the forest Friday evening.

It was so cold and windy that a Gnatcatcher took shelter under some Mayapples. 

Perhaps the Gnats he was trying to Catch are also hiding there! 😄

Even the Yellow-rumped Warblers were staying low and out of the wind. 

It is supposed to be warmer by Sunday! 😎

4-Legged Creatures in Canatara

I had a couple of fun experiences with 4-legged creatures this weekend.  A mink caught in a traffic jam, appeared to be saying, "Can't you guys move any faster?  The mink wanted to cross the channel. He seemed to prefer log hopping to swimming but eventually dove into the water and didn't bother any of the turtles.

He didn't seem to want to get wet and hesitated several times before plunging into the water as he "log-hopped" across the channel.

He eventually made his way to shore, to probably cause chaos and mayhem! They are carnivores who will eat muskrats, chipmunks, mice, rabbits, fish, snakes and frogs. 

On the far west side of Canatara, we found a couple of Opposums. One of the marsupials scampered off when he realized he had been spotted, but the other one didn't seem to mind having it's picture taken.

Eventually it also scampered off, perhaps to reconnect with it's mate. These critters are omnivores and will eat small rodents, insects, worms, slugs, snails, frogs, birds, berries and nuts.  

Birds of Canatara

On May 1, 2020, Canatara was the #1 birding spot in Canada on ebird!

One of my favourite spring warblers is the Black and White.  

They aren't known for sitting still very long....

...but when they find their dinner, such as the juicy 

spider in his beak, they will take a short break!

A few yellow warblers have been found in the park.  

All birds, including this Palm Warbler, are busy looking for bugs to eat.

Some will stay but many need the energy to continue their northern migration.

A Grackle found a worm for dinner. (Its between his toes.) He was quite

 violent with the invertebrate before swallowing it in pieces.

Always fun to hear the meow-like call of the 

Cat Bird when they first return in the spring.

Hundreds of Blue Jays were flying overhead this morning as they migrated north.

The male Red-bellied Woodpecker continues to feed in our yard.

After collecting his prize, he has a favourite spot in our Silver Maple Tree to eat.
Look carefully and you can see his tongue!

Spring Wildflowers - April 2020

Yesterday's warm weather has created a burst of colour on the forest floor. Pollinators were busy collecting pollen and nectar from the yellow Trout Lily which is sometimes called Adders Tongue, amoung other names.

The white Trout Lily, almost identical to the flower above is rare in our area.

Round-leaf Hepatica is a species I rarely see. The flower usually blooms before the leaf.

Purple violets are blooming in little clumps on the forest floor.

I saw my first Trillium of the spring.  It also was entertaining a pollinator.

My most exciting find was a Twinleaf. Like the Bloodroot, the flower petals 

are short-lived. The leaf is in 2 parts, thus a "Twin Leaf".

May Apples are carpeting the forest floor in Canatara. Once they reach their full size, (up to 18 inches) they make good shelter for small forest critters from hungry predators.

Another one of my favourites is Spring Beauty with its pale pink, candy-striped petals.

Bloodroot surprisingly is still flowering. I can't remember a year when the petals lasted more than a couple of days. Once the leaves in the forest open on the trees, shading the ground, all of these perennial plants will die back to the ground and won't flower again until next spring.

End of April Finds:

You know School Buses have been sitting a long time when Robins feel confident enough to build a nest on the steering wheel!

Four gosling families are swimming in Canatara Park, mostly in Lake Chipican.  Early in the morning, and during nap time, they can be found sleeping under Mom or Dad's wing. I know they become annoying later on but they are pretty cute at this stage!

With all those goslings, come grumpy adults! (I really wasn't that close to this guy.) 

Pine Warblers have been cooperating for photos this weekend!

Fingers crossed for more spring-like weather in the coming days!  

We look forward to the arrival of many more migrating birds!