ERS 346 Outing #1
TIME & DATE: 19/09/15 @ 10:30
DURATION: 149 minutes
LOCATION: Huron Natural Area, Kitchener, Ontario
WEATHER: 16°C, gentle breeze (3 on Beaufort Scale), 85-100% cloud cover, drizzle to rain
HABITATS: Deciduous woodland; Mixed woodland; Old coniferous plantation; Marsh/Pond
I went for a walk with Cara and Raquel at Huron Natural Area through an old Scots Pine plantation. The plantation looked like it had been long since abandoned, as many other trees co-existed amongst the pines: Black Walnut, Sugar Maple, European Buckthorn, Bigtooth Aspen, and Staghorn Sumac along the edges. In the sunny patches were Canada Goldenrod (identified by Raquel and me using Newcomb's Wildflower Guide), Wild Cucumber, and Virginia Creeper. These herbaceous plants are evidently ill-suited for the more dense shade conditions of the plantation.
Despite our efforts, we didn't encounter any birds in the plantation. In the distance, we could hear American Crow, Blue Jays, a White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadees, and a Northern Flicker. Luckily, we were able to see the Northern Flicker. It was calling to another off in the distance.
Continuing along the trail, we wound up at a pond. Along the edge were cattails, some Phragmites, and duckweed. We saw a Mallard, too. We followed the edge of the pond hoping we might see a muskrat, but instead, we came across a Terrestrial Crayfish chimney and a predated turtle's nest! The nest was ~30 m from the pond and had been dug in a sandy area that would receive plenty of sunshine. The sand and sun exposure made it an ideal spot for a turtle nest; unfortunately, being out in the open, the nest had no protection against predators. A raccoon most likely ate the eggs.
We continued along the edge of a meadow (once agricultural land) into a woodland. It began as a deciduous forest with predominantly old Sugar Maples. This made me wonder if a farmer who once owned the land used the woodlot as a Sugar Bush. The understory of the forest consisted mostly of herbaceous plants like Solomon's Seal (fruit on underside) and False Solomon's Seal (fruit at end of plant), bloodroot, and White Baneberry (Dolls’ Eyes—creepy). As the forest transitioned into a mixed community of deciduous and coniferous trees, we found ourselves in a lowland patch of Rough Horsetail, relatively close to a marsh (<70 m). My Wetlands professor explained that horsetail is often an indicator of groundwater seepage. Seeing it there, uphill of a marsh, made me wonder if the water table is near the surface at this location, eventually flowing downhill toward the marsh. Opposite the horsetails, Cara lifted a White Ash log cut down because of the Emerald Ash Borer (evidenced by the D-shaped borer holes and squiggly patterns beneath the bark). Under the log were two Black-and-gold Flat Millipedes and two Eastern Red-backed Salamanders. I know that salamanders live in damp, dark microhabitats, like under logs and rocks, but I was still pleasantly surprised to see them there! There was a lot of leaf litter which helped the soil retain its moisture – the ideal setting, I suppose, for an Eastern Red-backed Salamander.
Considering the habitats we trekked through, the poor weather kept us from seeing a lot of wildlife; insects were few and the only mammal we saw was one Gray Squirrel. Nonetheless, it was fun taking the time to appreciate the diversity of species that were around us throughout our hike.
