Rondeau Provincial Park & The Festival of Flight

Boardwalk along Tulip Tree Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

For many different reasons, Spring happens to be one of my favourite seasons.  One of those reasons is the influx of birds that are migrating north during this time of year.  Every year birds in brilliant breeding plumage will migrate north to their breeding grounds.  It's pretty incredible the distances that these small creatures will travel.

Yellow Warbler

Rondeau Provincial Park happens to be in a flight path used by birds during their migration, making it a hotspot for bird watching.  The height of songbird migration tends to be the first three weeks of May.  Rondeau Provincial Park celebrates this with their annual Festival of Flight which was held this year from May 1st to May 21st.  During this time, there are special bird related activities and events scheduled such as hikes, birders' breakfasts and lunches.  My husband Andrew and I decided to visit Rondeau for the first time and take in the sights and sounds of the park during this peak migration time.  We were not disappointed!  The moment we stepped out of the car we were greeted with a mingling of songs from different bird species.

Chipping Sparrow

When we first arrived at the park we headed straight for the visitor centre.  To get there is a drive through the park along it's main road.  Once there, we parked the car and went inside to look around.  They had a board up of all bird sightings and their locations.  This was a good way to check out what had been seen within the last couple of days and where.  What makes parks like Rondeau in bird migration flyways special is that they tend to be pit stops for birds that have travelled over many distances and over open water (in this case Lake Erie) and need a place to stop to rest and feed before continuing their journey north to their breeding grounds.  Many of these songbirds only stay a little while and then continue on their way.  Some species do breed in the park but many do not.  The visitor centre has many displays of the different species of animals found within the park.  There are also feeders and a garden set up in the back for bird watching.

Boardwalk along Tulip Tree Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Our first trail was the Tulip Tree Trail, a 1.2 km loop trail through forest which is right off the visitor centre's parking lot.  It is a great little trail with many boardwalks and offers the best opportunity for viewing the endangered Prothonotary warbler which nests in this location.  If patient enough, you may just see it fluttering about just off one of the boardwalks.  We did manage to get a few glimpses of one but unfortunately were not able to get a good photo.  Many birds were seen and heard along this trail.

Blue Jay

From the Tulip Tree Trail, we crossed the road and walked the boardwalk to the beach area.  It was pretty but quiet.  Besides some swallows flying around, not much more activity happening.  We walked back to the car at the visitor's centre and decided to head out to the Marsh trail.

Boardwalk to the Beach

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Buried picnic tables on the beach

Photo by Andrew Almeida

On our way we stopped at the Spice Bush Trail as there was one parking spot available.  This is a 1.5 km loop trail through forest and marsh.  It has several boardwalks and is another great trail for bird watching.  Like the Tulip Tree Trail, there were many birds seen and heard.  There were also trilliums and a few other wildflowers.  It's a nice, easy trail to do. 

Boardwalk along Spice Bush Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Black-Throated Green Warbler (Female)

After completing this trail, we crossed the road to walk along Bennett Avenue.  This road is closed off to vehicular traffic.  It is forested on either side and has benches along the middle where one can sit and watch the birds fly from tree to tree.  It was a nice little walk and offered some great opportunities to see more birds.

Nesting American Robin

We then decided to head on over to the Marsh Trail.  This is a 7 km trail one way along a gravel path. 

Marsh Trail

Photo by Andrew Almeida

There is a boardwalk and tower part way but the top section is currently closed with no mention of when it will reopen. 

Marsh Boardwalk

Photo by Andrew Almeida

We saw different species of birds along this trail as well as other animals such as a snake, snapping turtle and a few frogs.  We also saw a few large fish jump out of the water. 

Snapping Turtle

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Marsh

Photo by Andrew Almeida

Many barn swallows were present busily building their nests at the tower. 

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Rondeau Provincial Park does have several more hiking and biking trails that we just did not have the time to do during this visit but hope to return some day to explore more of the park.  It is a great place to visit, especially during the spring and fall migrations where it offers great opportunities for viewing songbirds and waterbirds.  Just one word of caution, please take precautions to protect yourself from ticks.  There are signs in the park warning that ticks carrying Lyme disease have been found at the park and I found a tick on me. 

We visited Rondeau only for a day as we had planned to spend a bit more time on our next stop, Point Pelee National Park and the Festival of Birds.  Stay tuned for my upcoming post and photos from this amazing park!



Further Reading:
https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/rondeau/activities

Importance of Pollinators

In a nutshell, pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred from a flower's stamen (male reproductive organ) to the stigma that sits atop a flower's pistil (female reproductive organ).  Pollination is responsible for plant reproduction and for the survival of species, both for the plants and the animals that depend on them.  It is a critical process for the production of fruits and seeds that many animals, including humans, feed upon and enjoy. 

Hoverfly

This is a female Toxomerus geminatus, a very small species of hoverfly. This one is less than 1cm long.

For the majority of flowering plants, pollinators are responsible for transferring pollen from one flower to another.  They do this while going from flower to flower drinking the nectar and gathering pollen.  Pollinators are responsible for approximately 1/3rd of the food we eat.

Hoverfly

Plants have become specialized in attracting the pollinators to their flowers.  They use scent, colour and shape.  Some have become so specialized that they have certain adaptations to attract specific pollinators to their flowers.  For example, some flowers emit a particular odor to attract carrion flies.  These flies are tricked into laying their eggs in these flowers picking up pollen as they do.  They then carry this pollen on to the next flower that they visit to lay more eggs depositing the pollen gathered previously onto this new flower and pollinating it in the process.  The fly's offspring end up starving to death as the plant offers them no nutrition.  Some other plants use sexual deception to attract their pollinators.  These flowers will release pheromones and mimic the females of certain bees or wasps tricking them to visit the flowers.  These poor insects visit the flowers anticipating meeting a female but instead they pick up the flowers' pollen and carry it off to the next flower that they land on thinking.

Cabbage White Butterfly

Pollinators come in varying sizes and forms but all share in this very important function.  Insects such as bees, pollen wasps, ants, flies, butterflies, moths and flower beetles are common pollinators along with bats and birds (especially hummingbirds).  But, there are lesser known mammalian pollinators such as monkeys, lemurs, possums and rodents.  Even some lizards are known for pollinating certain plants.  Every single pollinator is important but some more so than others.  For instance, bees are considered to be the main pollinator but hoverflies come in at a close second.  These insects depend on nectar and pollen for their survival and go from flower to flower to obtain them.  This in turn pollinates flowers during the process.  (For more on bees and their role in pollination, please visit my blog post "Buzz About Bees".)  Ants on the other hand only drink nectar from the flowers, occasionally picking up some pollen and depositing it on another flower if they visit one.  Moths are important pollinators in their own right, they are the main pollinators for the tobacco plants.

Hoverfly

Sweat Bee

All pollinators, like many other animals, suffer from similar issues:  habitat loss, disease, climate change & pesticide use.  All these factors are causing a decline in their numbers.  But, we can help increase their chances of survival and in turn ours as we are so greatly dependent on them by avoiding the use of pesticides, planting and growing native plants in groups, keeping a section of our gardens natural with undisturbed areas of fallen leaves and open soil for puddling (used by many insects, especially butterflies, for sucking up the liquid), nesting, sheltering and overwintering. 

Hoverfly

Another photo of the female Toxomerus geminatus.

Resources & Further Reading:

https://www.ontarionature.org/protect/campaigns/pollinators.php

http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/fauna/pollinators.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollinator

Buzz About Bees

Bees are flying insects that are closely related to wasps & ants.  They range in size from 2mm, for the smallest bee species, to the largest at 39mm.  They can be found all over the world except for Antarctica and are found in areas where there are insect-pollinated flowering plants.  Bees are known and highly valued for their role in pollination, honey and beeswax production.

Sweat Bee

A very small bee

Many times, wasps and flies are mistaken for bees.  So, how can you tell the difference between a bee and a wasp? What about a bee from a fly that mimics bees and wasps, such as hoverflies?  Bees are pollen & nectar gatherers, they do not care about your food. Wasps, on the other hand, are attracted to food and will often come to check out what's for lunch!  If a bee-like insect lands on your food, chances are it is a wasp.  The majority of wasps feed on nectar and insects. Although there are pollinating wasps, they do not play a large role.  Bees have fuzzy bodies whereas wasps tend to have smooth bodies with a very thin waste. Wasps and bees generally have four wings, two on each side whereas most flies only have two, one on each side of its body.  Bees carry pollen, wasps and flies do not. And, flies have large, bulging eyes.

Paper Wasp

European Paper Wasp

Hoverfly (Toxomerus geminatus female)

A fly with similar colour markings to a wasp at a quick glance.  But, notice the large eyes.

The Toxomerus geminatus is a very small species of hoverfly. This one is less than 1cm long.  Hoverflies are important pollinators as well, I will cover this on an upcoming blog post.

Bee

Notice the full corbicula (pollen basket) 

Some bee species, such as honey bees, bumblebees & sweat bees, form social colonies whereas others, like carpenter bees, leafcutter bees and mason bees, are solitary.  Solitary bees do not produce honey or beeswax but are important pollinators. They gather pollen for their brood and mix it with nectar to form a paste. Solitary bees nest in the ground, hollow twigs or reeds or within holes in wood. Solitary bees are either stingless or very unlikely to sting except in self defense.  In addition to the social colonies and solitary bees, there are communal bees.  These females share the same nest but provide provisions for their own cells.

Sweat Bee

Notice the pollen covering it's legs and abdomen

Most bees are generalists, that is, they collect pollen & nectar from a wide range of flowering plants. But, there are some that are considered specialists, these bees collect pollen & nectar from one or a few flowering plants.  If anything were to happen to either the bee or the flower, both would be affected as they are dependent on each other for their survival.

Bees are one of the most important pollinators as they are responsible for pollinating the majority of our flowering plants.  Pollinators, such as bees, are responsible for providing us with approximately 1/3rd of our food source.

Although bees are very important pollinators, they are also necessary in other ways. For instance, in addition to honey, honey bees also produce beeswax, royal jelly & propolis.  Beeswax is a natural wax produced by the bees to make their honeycombs. We use it in cosmetics, food production, pharmaceuticals, candle making, polishes and adhesives, just to name a few.  Royal jelly is used by the bees to feed their larvae & queen bee. For humans, it has been used in alternative medicine and as a supplement.

Propolis is a form of bee glue that is used by the bees to seal unwanted (small) openings in their hives (large gaps are sealed with beeswax). It is a mixture that bees make using sap mixed with beeswax and their own secretions.  Propolis has several uses for humans, especially for its medicinal properties.  It's used in cough drops, to treat cold sores and genital herpes, to treat abscesses and wounds to fight off infection and help healing.  Propolis is believed to have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties.  Research has found that propolis contains polyphenols which have antioxidant properties.  It has also been suggested that propolis has cancer fighting properties.  Preventing cancer cells from developing and even slowing their growth and rate of multiplying.  It has also been used for chewing gum, car wax and as a varnish for string instruments.  Although products made from bee products are beneficial, a person allergic to bees can have serious allergic reactions.

Bees are in serious trouble; their numbers have declined in worrying numbers.  Many factors are contributing to their demise (habitat loss, climate change, disease) but the biggest culprit of all are pesticides.  Bees cannot survive without flowering plants.  They are coming into direct contact with plants sprayed by pesticides causing them to be poisoned.  Steps are being made to help bees and to bring their numbers back up, but everyone can play a role.  Leaving a small section of our gardens wild, planting native flowering plants and not using pesticides are just a couple of steps that we can do to help save the bees.

Sources:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee

http://pestworldforkids.org/pest-guide/bees/

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/queen-of-green/2017/04/how-to-tell-a-bee-from-a-wasp-from-a-fly/?utm_campaign=queenOfGreen-beesWasps-en-05apr2017&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=page

https://www.ontarionature.org/protect/campaigns/pollinators.php

http://www.healthline.com/health/propolis-an-ancient-healer#overview1

http://sos-bees.org

A Visit To Rouge National Urban Park

What a beautiful day it was on Good Friday! My husband and I decided to head over to the Rouge Park for our first official hike of the year to enjoy the day. Throughout the winter we had gone out to some local parks for, what I'd call, nature walks but the Rouge would be more of a hike.

The Rouge National Urban Park is a large park that is still under development. I would say it's in its infancy stages at the moment. There are some good trails but more will need to be created, signage will need to be improved upon and parking is definitely an issue that will need to be addressed! Very few spots are available at some of the most popular trail locations.

There are different trails meandering through different environments. There are trails through forested areas, along river beds and through meadows. Even a marsh and beach trail.

We had a plan on which trails we wanted to do, a few of our favourites. With our stuff loaded into the car, we headed over to our very first trail location. For us, it's about an hour of travel time. We quickly learned though that many others too thought they'd take advantage of the beautiful day we were having!

Our first trail was to be the Woodland Trail. To access this trail we had to drive past the entrance to the Toronto Zoo. Well, being the nice day it was and a holiday, there were many people who thought a trip to the zoo was in order causing a massive traffic jam! We had a quick change of plans and instead headed towards the Twyn Rivers area to hike the Mast trail. Remember the small parking lot issue I mentioned earlier? When we arrived there were no parking spots available. Another change of plans, we headed to the marsh and beach trails. Here we finally found parking!

It was nice to finally get out of the car and stretch our legs. We grabbed our photography gear and headed on our way. There were many people out but it was still a nice walk along the marsh. There were many red-winged blackbirds flying around and I finally saw some of the females. Male red-wings arrive at the nesting locations before the females. There were also some double-crested cormorants with their beautiful blue eyes. Unfortunately they were too far out for me to get any good photographs of them. Many swallows flying around the boardwalk as well.

After a bit of walking we thought we'd head back to the Twyn Rivers Area and try our luck at finding parking. As we had expected, no parking. We headed back out and stopped at the Glen Eagles Vista Trail head which had parking spots available. We had never done this trail so we thought we'd check it out. This trail isn’t far from a major roadway (in fact, some of it is alongside the road) so traffic could be heard occasionally. As the name implies, this is a vista trail that offers scenic views of the Rouge River and Little Rouge Creek valleys. I’m sure it is absolutely stunning in the fall with all the different colours. Besides the scenic views, I saw a couple of American robins and American goldfinches.

We left the car parked at this parking lot and walked down the road towards the Twyn Rivers area to hike the Mast trail. Along the way, we checked out a couple of side trails and walked along the Rouge River for a bit and stopped to have granola bars and a drink of Gatorade. It was nice and not many people were at these locations. Unfortunately the sound of vehicles on the road was easily heard. We saw some deer tracks by the river but since there were so many people out, not much wildlife was seen.

The Mast Trail was very busy with many people walking this trail and setting up small picnics by the Rouge Creek. Not my ideal as I like trails to be quiet but being the day it was, I had expected the crowds. It was still nice to be out though. Once we did part of the trail, we headed back to the car at the Glen Eagles Vista parking lot.

We still had some time before we had to head back home and thought maybe we should try our luck and head over to the Woodland Trail. Would we find parking at this time? Had people gone home for dinner with their family? Turns out there were a couple of spots and we were able to park the car and head out on the trail.

The Woodland Trail is a mix of forest and meadow. It's been one of my favourites for wildlife viewing and insect macro photography. There's also a little trail by the river. There were many people but it was still nice.

All in all, it was a nice day of hiking even with the few little hiccups due to parking issues. I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked but I am happy with the few that I did get even though they are of red-winged blackbirds, a quite common bird at this time of year.

Red-Winged Blackbird (female)

Red-Winged Blackbird (male)

Red-Winged Blackbird (female)

Map of Rouge Park along with trail descriptions can be found at:

http://www.rougepark.com/explore/adventures/Rouge_Park_trail_map_and_visitor_code.pdf

Acts of Protection

Several laws have been inacted to provide protection to vulnerable species.  Below are a few such laws:

The Endangeres Species Act (ESA)
The ESA is a piece of legislation put in place to protect & conserve species of animals & plants that have been deemed to be at risk & their habitats.  The ESA's goal is to prevent extinction and to recover and maintain population numbers. In order for the ESA to offer protection, the species must have been listed as threatened or endangered.  A species is considered endangered if it is at high risk of becoming extinct.  A species is considered to be threatened if it is at risk of becoming endangered.

Species at Risk Act (SARA)
The SARA is a Canadian legislation to protect Canadian plant & animal species that have been deemed to be endangered or threatened & their habitats and also offers protection to those that are at risk of becoming threatened
It's purpose is to prevent the disappearing of wildlife species in Canada, to recover species & to prevent species of special concern from becoming threatened or endangered.

Migratory Birds Convention Act (Canadian) & Migratory Bird Treaty Act (USA law between Canada and USA)
These acts serve to protect migratory birds, their nests and eggs from being collected, sold, hunted or killed without a permit.  They do not discriminate between live or dead specimens so collecting even a feather from a dead bird would be breaking the law and is punishable.  However, there are exceptions and permits can be obtained. 

All these laws have been put in place to protect our wildlife & help in keeping from disappearing forever. It is because of laws like these and the hard work and dedication of conservationists that some species have rebounded & been removed from the endangered species list. Below are just a select handful of such species that I would not have had the opportunity to have photographed had they not been protected.

Bald Eagle
The majestic and much loved Bald Eagle nearly went extinct due to the use of pesticides such as DDT, hunting and loss of habitat.  Populations recovered since it's protection and ban of DDT.

Bald Eagle
Captive bird photographed at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre (Campbellville, Ontario)

Peregrine Falcon
Like the American eagle, numbers dwindled due to the use of DDT but then bounced back after it's ban.  For more on the Peregrine falcon, please see my blog post here. 

Peregrine Falcon
Captive bird photographed at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre (Campbellville, Ontario)

Brown Pelican
Like many others, the use of pesticides such as DDT decimated the brown pelican populations.  With it's ban, their numbers have recovered and they are now off the endangered species list.

Brown Pelican
Photographed in Florida

American Alligator
The American alligator was hunted almost to extinction for its skin.  Once put on the endangered list, the american alligator & it's habitat were protected allowing for their numbers to quickly bounce back. These ancient reptiles were eventually delisted & removed from the endangered species list. 

American Alligator
Photographed in the Florida Everglades

Resources:
ESA:  http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/
SARA:  https://www.ec.gc.ca/alef-ewe/default.asp?lang=en&n=ED2FFC37-1
Migratory Birds Convention Act:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Birds_Convention_Act
Migratory Bird Treaty Act:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Bird_Treaty_Act_of_1918
http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/animals-saved-by-the-u-s-endangered-species-act

Season In Review: Winter Photography

It's spring!! And as much as I'm looking forward to the photography opportunities that spring brings, (the flurry of activity from birds attracting their mates, building their nests & raising their chicks not to mention the insects that finally wake up & make an appearance), I thought that I would reflect on what this winter brought me.

I have to say that this winter has not been a normal Canadian winter in the Greater Toronto Area nor was it what had been predicted.  Our normal Canadian winters of past have been cold, snowy & icy. This year brought us milder temperatures and less snow. This allowed for the lake to remain relatively ice free bringing the water birds closer to shore making them easier to view and photograph.

There were many lifers for me, birds that I had never photographed nor seen in the wild before and some unexpected visitors as well as the usual and very common birds.

One of my most exciting photographic experiences this winter was my encounter with a juvenile female peregrine falcon. You can read all about it here.  Of course mallards were plenty and willing to act as models for me, check out some of my photos here.

There were long-tailed ducks, greater scaups, redheads, buffleheads, mergansers, grebes and to end the winter season, a snowy owl. Along with the many birds, I had the opportunity to photograph an American mink. It was a great season and I enjoyed photographing the various species that it brought.

Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Small songbird that will readily feed from the hand

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

An introduced species of swan in North America.  They are called mute swans because they are less vocal than other swan species.

Red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator) are large diving ducks with a thin long bill with serrated edges:

Red-Breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator)

Females

Red-Breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator)

Female

Red-Breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator)

Male

Red-Breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator)

Male

Red-Breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator)

Resting Male

American Wigeon (Anas Americana) - male
A medium sized dabbling duck that is also known as baldpate due to the white patch on the male's head while in breeding plumage.

King Eiders (Somateria spectabilis) are large sea ducks.   Their feeding habits change depending on the season.  Most of the year while they are at sea, they will dive for food but during the breeding season when they spend time in freshwater lakes and ponds, they will dabble for food.  The adult male is quite stunning with it's breeding plumage.  It takes 3 years for a male to achieve it's adult plumage.  I was fortunate enough to see the king eider that has spent the last few months here in the Toronto area as they are very rare here. 

King Eider (Somateria spectabilis)

1st winter male

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

Medium sized diving ducks.  The male is in the front with some mussels and is being chased by the female.

This male has sustained some sort of bill injury that has healed and doesn't seem to bother him at all as he has been eating well.

Redhead (Aythya americana)

A medium sized diving duck.  Males are on the right and a female on the left.

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

Small waterbird that dives for food.  Listed as a species of special concern.

Red-Necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena)
A medium sized waterbird that dives for food.

Buffleheads are small diving ducks:

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Female

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Male

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)

Snowy owls are large, diurnal owls, they hunt & are active both day & night unlike most other owls who are nocturnal.

American Mink (Neovison vison)

American Mink (Neovison vison)