Where there are abundant sources of food, as is the case well illustrated above, there will be predators. I was amazed when I walked in the woods at night, searching for elusive winter moths, to see spiders on the snow surface at intervals of just a few feet. This was on a mild night (relatively speaking) and their sub-nivean burrows may have been flooded with snow melt.
I discovered that these animals are active all winter, mostly below the snow but also on the surface, and their major food is the snow flea. These spiders seem to have big “boxing gloves” that I thought might help them dig, but they are actually the male’s enlarged palpal tips used for copulation.
Personally I prefer their old name, Oldsquaw, but sadly it has been replaced by a more prosaic one. Nonetheless, this bird has always been a favorite of mine, a winter visitor elegantly attired at all times, and as with all the winter ducks, apparently unfazed by cold water and icy winds.
Don Scallen and I had stopped off at the Travelodge Hotel in Burlington to see what the lakeshore had to offer and we enjoyed watching a large group of Long-tailed Ducks diving for food. They swam away from the rocky wall on our approach, but not for long. They returned close to shore to dive under large chunks of rubble and rocks, staying underwater for several minutes at a time. We thought they were probably gleaning mollusks, and in fact this is their main source of food in winter. In summer these ducks also eat aquatic insects, other aquatic invertebrates, and some plant material. They usually feed within 30 feet of the water surface, as they were today, but these ducks can dive more than 200 feet deep at times. Like most ducks they propel themselves with their feet when diving, but they also may swim with their wings partly open. They fly low, with stiff wing-beats, sometimes tilting from side to side. During migration and when flying over land they fly very high in large flocks.
These ducks establish pair bonds in winter or during migration. They nest near water, using a great deal of down that the female supplements as she lays her eggs. Females first breed at two years of age, laying 6 to 11 eggs and incubating for 24- 29 days. The young swim and dive soon after hatching, but are tended by the female who may dislodge food items for them. They start to fly about a month later.
by Fiona Reid President, Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club
A small group of club members joined me for an outing to La Salle Park back in November. We were fortunate to have very good weather – so often it is extremely cold on the lakeshore! We saw all the more common ducks and swans, and were happy to watch a large group of Ruddy Ducks and with them were some White-winged Scoters, a nice bird to see up close.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Jim Hughes)
I spotted two Yellow-rumped Warblers, quite late to be around foraging for insects in the willows. After we all had a look at the warblers we went over to see the Trumpeter Swans up close on the beach. We almost missed a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron perched above our heads!
La Salle always seems to have something good to offer and this day was no exception.
by Fiona Reid
President, Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club
Every day I try to get in a walk to a natural habitat in my area. Sometimes it is just a stroll in my own backyard forest, but often I head over to Halton Regional Forest, or the St Helena Road
area. The big draws of these two sites for me are the ponds, and the ponds would not be there were it not for the industrious activities of our local beavers.
(photo: Fiona Reid)
About four years ago, I was very disappointed to find one of my favorite beaver ponds off Sixth Line was empty. The grass was starting to fill in. I worried about the frogs, the dragonflies, and all the other animals that rely on that body of water. The two water snakes that shelter in the rocks and come out to sunbathe were nowhere to be seen. A passerby told me that Conservation Halton had removed the beavers and their dams in order to get more water into Hilton Falls, as the waterfall had dried up. They had placed very solid metal grilles projecting out in front of the flowing water so the beavers could not dam the stream at this narrow point where it passed under the track.
(photo: Fiona Reid)
Returning to the same area a few months later, I was happy to see that a pond had reformed. It took me a while to figure out what had happened, but when I crawled under the bridge, I saw what the beavers had done. Our industrious engineers had gone around the back of the culvert and stuffed it full of branches, positioning each branch parallel to the water flow, not perpendicular, as is their custom. The effect was the same, the water flow had almost ceased and the pond had refilled!
Pretty soon, the beavers added to their habitat restoration work by constructing a second dam upstream from the culvert, and order was restored. The branches in the culvert were swept away by storms, but the beaver pond lives on, the water snakes bask, the frogs croak and all is good!
by Fiona Reid
President, Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club
We had a great outing that spring day. We started at my house in Speyside where we heard a Scarlet Tanager but did not see him, then saw a resident Indigo Bunting. We went to Town Line Road, seeing a Mallard on the pond, which is now very overgrown. Farther down we encountered a very large patch of Yellow Lady’s Slipper, a plant I have not seen in this area before. We also saw Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Porcupine
We went over to the corner of Sixth Line and 15 Side Road where we had a wonderful time watching nesting Bluebirds, and we located 2 Porcupines and a Raccoon sleeping in three separate trees, and watched a Meadow Vole dash across the road. We also saw Eastern Kingbird, Indigo Bunting, Alder/Willow Flycatcher, Song Sparrow, Northern Flicker and Blue Jay.
We then went to Third Line south of 15 where we had fun watching a field full of Bobolinks, plus a few Eastern Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds, a Savannah Sparrow, and Barn Swallows. At the Scotch Block Reservoir we saw a lone Painted Turtle, many Northern Orioles, Northern Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, American Redstart and Warbling Vireo. The only water birds were Canada Geese, but a Great Blue Heron did fly overhead, as did a Red-tailed Hawk.
Thanks to Valerie Dobson, Jim and Joan Hughes, and their sharp-eyed guest Christine Rumble for coming along!
by Fiona Reid President, Halton/North Peel Naturalist Club
serving Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Acton & surrounding areas
Meetings are held at St Alban the Martyr Anglican Church
537 Main St,.
Glen Williams
On L7G 3T1
