alyssamc's Journal

TIME & DATE: 2019/11/1 @ 14:00
DURATION: 195 minutes
LOCATION: Grass Lake/Paris Cranberry Bog, North Dumfries, Ontario
WEATHER: 2°C, moderate breeze (4 on Beaufort Scale), 80-100% cloud cover, no precipitation (but snow and rain in last 24 hours)
HABITATS: marsh, fen, bog, open water

My friend and classmate, Olivia, and I ventured out to Grass Lake (also known as the Paris Cranberry Bog) last Friday. It was a chilly day and the first snowfall of the year had happened that morning. We were there to collect some data for a wetlands course we’re taking together, but the wildlife we saw was too neat to resist writing about it. As we waded into the deep, cold waters that surrounded the perimeter of the wetland, we trekked through thick cattails and stumbled across a lodge – most likely that of a muskrat. The cattails had been obviously matted and some fresh submergent vegetation had been recently placed on top of the lodge. We wondered how a muskrat would be able to navigate its way through the very dense vegetation, but this spot seemed like a good hideout for it – well camouflaged and sheltered from the elements. Not to mention, there was no shortage of food for muskrat – sedges, cattails, lily pads and small fish. This lodge would be one of three we would encounter that afternoon. The Paris Cranberry Bog is part of a larger series of wetlands that make up the Bannister Wrigley Sudden Tract Wetland Complex, so despite being surrounded by well-developed agriculture (both pasture and cropland), a muskrat population would likely have a relatively large wetland landscape within which they can persist.

Through the cattails, the vegetation changed as we progressed into a fen wetland. Bog Cranberry, leatherleaf, sedge species, and Purple Pitcher plants dominated the vegetation. We came across a couple of patches of scat partially submerged on the floating peat. A small fish darted around one patch of scat, though I’m not sure what it was because it disappeared quickly in the murkiness of the scat-mixed water. After doing a quick Google search, it’s obvious that this patch of scat definitely belonged to a muskrat (based on the shape and size of the pellets). The other two evidences of scat contained berries, though we’re not quite sure what animal(s) they belong to.

We also saw very distinct trails through the dense sedges; I’m guessing that these, too, belong to the muskrats. They were linear and obviously cleared of vegetation.

Flying overhead, Olivia and I saw two Sandhill Cranes. This makes sense because, according to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Sandhill Cranes breed, nest and feed in standing water and isolated wetlands, often close by to croplands so they can glean the seeds, grains and berries.

In the thinned mature mixed woodland immediately adjacent to the wetland, six Eastern Bluebirds flew between the trees. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these birds are commonly found in open country areas, near agricultural land and in forests with little understory growth. It is likely that the Eastern Bluebirds we saw were moving through their home range along the isolated patches of woodland left between the parcels of agricultural land.

We also saw a total of four Red-tailed Hawks flying above us. At one point, two American Crows were chasing a hawk in the act of mobbing. I’m sure that mice and other small rodents are easy for the hawks to prey upon in the agricultural landscape that surrounded us. Obviously, the crows wanted the hawk to leave the area.

References:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.) All about birds. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/?utm_source=adgrant&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand&utm_content=allbirds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_vfh1-fO5QIVypyzCh2wIQz1EAAYASAAEgKqgPD_BwE

New Hampshire Public Broadcasting Corporation (NH PBS). (n.d.) Common Muskrat - Ondatra zibethicus. Nature Works. Retrieved from https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/muskrat.htm

TIME & DATE: 2019/10/17 @ 14:30
DURATION: 180 minutes
LOCATION: Mono Cliffs Provincial Park, Orangeville, ON
WEATHER: 12°C, moderately windy (5 on Beaufort Scale), 100% cloud cover, light rain
HABITATS: mixed deciduous-coniferous forest, talus slopes (limestone cliffs), open water (ponds)

It was a cold and rainy day when I decided to go for a hike at Mono Cliffs Provincial Park. I started along the forested trail that followed at the foot of the escarpment. Into the woods, the topography was quite variable. There was a decent amount of leaf litter on the ground and I lifted up a couple of logs to check for salamanders. Sure enough, I saw an Eastern Red-backed salamander. With the dampness of the lowland environment, many logs and rocks to hide under, deep leaf litter, and relatively minimal evidence of significant human disturbance (few invasive species, strong heterogeneity in ecosystem structure and species composition, and a clearly restricted path for hikers), this seemed like an appropriate place to spot an Eastern Red-backed salamander.

With the rain, it was difficult to find much wildlife but if you really went searching for it, you could spot some critters in the forest. A Banded Tussock moth (native – I didn’t know that!) sat itself on a yellow maple leaf on the forest floor. It turns out that Banded Tussock moths have chemical defenses that they acquire from their host plants! They feed on a variety of tree species throughout southern Canada to Texas – ash, birch, oak, walnut and willow, to name a few – so it is logical to find this species in a mixed forest in southern Ontario.

I continued on and climbed up a set of steps that took me to the top of the escarpment. Following the trail along the ridge of the cliff, I saw a lot of woodpecker evidence (boreholes). I was snapping a photo of a particularly ‘holey’ birch snag when I saw a Pileated Woodpecker fly across the trail and land on a tree deeper into the woods. I’m always impressed by how large these woodpeckers are... This species of woodpecker has a relatively broad range of ecosystem types which it inhabits, but it is most often found in mature deciduous or mixed forests. I think that because the protected area has a fairly large mature wooded area with plenty of snags and decaying woody matter, Mono Cliffs Provincial Park presents a well-suited habitat for the Pileated Woodpecker.

I took a pause and was eating my lunch at a popular spot in a fissure between the cliffs when an Eastern Chipmunk popped out to join me. The chipmunk darted back and forth but it appears by his bold character that he must be well accustomed to people. Though chipmunks are common to see elsewhere, they prefer areas with rocks, shrubs or brush to provide cover. Perhaps that’s why the chipmunk had chosen to make his home here in the rock cover of the fissure.

On my way back, I passed by a pond that was receiving its input from a stormwater drain. At the edge of the pond where the water emptied into the pond, a small grey-brown bird pecked at the substrate. I’m not sure what kind of bird it was but it resembled a shorebird. Being in a forested area, it doesn’t really make sense to see a shorebird, but it’s obvious that this individual was feeding on some of the invertebrates and other food items being brought into the pond by the runoff.