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| March Walk |
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March 18th and 22nd 2012
I visited the Park twice this past week, and certainly enjoyed the warmer, sunnier weather. Spring is all about "firsts” no matter what your love of nature is: first warbler, wildflower, dragonfly, first butterfly. ………
Walking the trails I was hoping to discover a Mourning Cloak Butterfly, usually the earliest one to be found at Presqu'ile. And, I wasn't disappointed, finding several gracefully flying about on Jobes' Woods Trail, right around marker #2. This beautiful woodland butterfly has cream colored outer margins, dark purplish maroon upper sides and beautifully detailed shiny blue dots around the edge of the wing. I am always amazed how different butterflies look, all depending on whether their wings are up or down. Mourning Cloak's are easily photographed because they don't seem to startle the way other species do.
Shortly down the same trail, just before marker #4, there is a large tree across the path that children will love climbing over or ducking under. It was here that I discovered three Question Mark Butterflies, all flitting about in the sunshine. One had part of a wing missing, but that didn't seem to stop it from flying with precision. If you purchase the "Butterflies of Presqu'ile Provincial Park” interpretive guide at the Lighthouse Gift Shop, it explains how this Butterfly got its name. This guide is always in my backpack for quick and easy reference.
The woods were full of birds on both walks. One small area had a group of Hairy Woodpeckers all "squabbling”. I don't know whether the males were trying to impress the females, or whether they were establishing their territory, but the action was quite loud. Several times I heard the Pileated Woodpecker drumming, and came across a few holes with fresh woodchips littering the ground below. The distinctive sound of the White-throated Sparrows were throughout the park, along with numerous clusters of Slate-colored Juncos and my first Northern Flicker for 2012.
Finding my first wildflower of the year is always great. Coltsfoot reminds me of a small dandelion, same brilliant yellow but much shorter. I've always had luck finding it behind the spit at the Atkin's Lane viewing platform.
Quite often I walk through the campgrounds, just following the winding roadways. The picnic benches are always handy for a quick break or lunch, and I always find something to interest me. Brushing away the top layer of leaves on the forest floor showed the first shoots coming up for the Sharp-lobed Hepatica, one of the prettiest wildflowers to be found in the springtime.
In one of the campsites, something white caught my eye, and I discovered part of a skull, and can only wonder if it was a squirrel or other small creature. I put it back where I found it, and sometime this year other campers will have the fun of "discovery”.
As always, I can hardly wait to come back to Presqu'ile to see what I can see, hear, touch, discover, photograph, and identify! |
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| Winter Soup Hike |
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It was to be a Soup Hike like no other! When, over the last 10 years, have we walked out in a February with snowdrops blooming and grass greening? When, might shorts rather than snow boots, be required? SoupHike 2012 promised to be a challenge as we traditionally talk of discovering ice formations on the shore and "life in the dead of winter”.
A Careless
Mother Nature did not disappoint: all morning there was a blizzard that covered all greenness and laced every tree bough. True PQP winter! And we discovered Chickadees that would feed out of your hand, perch on your head, and a grouse that was prepared to be friendly …for food…!
J Brubacher
Birch twigs that smelled like wintergreen gum [samples provided] and deer droppings that looked close to Glossette raisins – samples provided [of the latter!]. Thirty people trekked our lovely Day Use area and retired to the LIC for an exotic choice of soups [handmade by the Superintendent and his wife] and an animated PowerPoint presentation, by leader Phil Careless, on Presqu’ile in its Winters and soon-to-be Spring.
NatureWorks workshops are one-day courses for the Naturally Curious! Click HERE to learn of our Spring and Fall offerings!
Previous Post - Winter Ramble
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| Winter Ramble |
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We quite often start our walk along the beach shoreline and today was no
different. It felt odd to be walking in the furrowed sand wearing our heavy
winter boots with no snow in sight. The beach was strangely empty with only a
lone Ring-billed Gull in sight. A scattering of large smoothed driftwood had
washed up onto the shoreline from past storms. Bordering the edge of Lake Ontario were small chunks of ice
crystals sparkling in the sun, forming intricate patterns on the sand.
It was warm enough today to eat our sandwiches outside at the first
picnic area. A large gathering of Long-tailed Ducks bobbed in the waves making
it difficult to get good photographs. We always meet interesting people, and
today met a couple who were using their telescopes to count birds for a
waterfowl bird count. 
After lunch it was off to feed the Black-capped Chickadees and
Red-breasted Nuthatches on the Group Camping Road. I had brought along raw
sunflower and safflower seeds and raw peanuts. We heard a rustling in the
underbrush and the female Ruffed Grouse that we had spotted last visit was
coming closer and closer. On a whim, I squatted down and put out my hand full
of seeds and made a squeaky noise. To my astonishment she came right up and
started to peck away. Her bill felt like a jack hammer on the palm of my hand. 
We decided to check out the waters around the Lighthouse and I was quite
happy to see a large flock of Mute Swans quite close to shore. These birds are
great to try out your photography skills as they don’t startle easily and just
glide along slowly in the icy waters. This flock included both mature and
immature swans. We watched as they went "bottoms up” to feed, and one swan had
her feathers all fluffed out as she moved through the water. 
Finishing up our Lighthouse walk we came upon these lush red berries.
I’ve always wondered why the birds never ate them, like they do the Mountain
Ash berries in our backyard. I’ve since found out that they are the European
form of the High Bush Cranberry and apparently birds tend not to like them, so
can last well into the winter.
Our last walk of the day was Jobe’s Wood Trail and like the beach
shoreline, the woods were very quiet today. We found some Puffball Fungi that
would still "blow out smoke” when touched. This was a favorite pastime of my
children when they were younger. Bright green mossy logs and ferns lined the
boardwalk and added a splash of color to the forest. Large caches of pine cones
gathered by Red Squirrels seemed to be under every pine tree. We looked in vain
for any sign of Barred Owls, as we have seen them on this trail in past years.
Though I missed using my snowshoes, looking for animal tracks in the
snow, and even watching for Snow Fleas, we had a great day and were quite happy to head home when the sun
started to dip down. |
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| Dogs off a leash? |
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Dogs off a leash? No it is the Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans)
As park biologists monitor the health of our wildlife, remote cameras are periodically set up in high traffic wildlife location. Recently, two of Presqu'ile's Eastern Coyotes passed by one of these cameras. In the first image an adult eyes the strange "Bushnell Trophy Camera”. Then after a few days the animals take no notice of the camera and relax in the warm afternoon sun.
Harmless and shy around humans in Ontario, Eastern Coyotes are a top predator in Presqu'ile Provincial Park. They play an important role removing (though predation) weak and sick smaller mammals. This natural process inadvertently keeps our fox, raccoon, skunk, muskrat, beaver, otter, rabbit, squirrel, vole, shrew and mouse populations healthy.
All Eastern Coyotes (also called Brush Wolves, Tweed Wolves or the American Jackal) are genetically distinct from their western relatives. The Western Coyote is solitary and small. In the past Eastern Coyote hybridized with Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) and Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon). The resulting Coyotes are now large and will hunt in packs, unlike their smaller, solitary western relatives. Sadly, humans have killed all wolves in southern Ontario (lands south of Hwy 7) but their relative the Eastern Coyote still remains and continues to make Presqu'ile a healthy environment for all wildlife.
Our Eastern Coyotes can often be heard howling to each-other on cool fall and winter nights. When driving along the park's roads (particularly from the main-entrance through to park-store), be sure to roll down your windows and take a listen – oh and feel free to join with their conversations.
Phillip Careless |
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| November Ramble |
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Walking the trails at Presqu’ile when the icy, bone chilling winds are coming off of Lake Ontario are not for the "faint of heart”. But if you can layer on enough clothes and bring along a steaming hot thermos it is well worth the effort.
Our trek today started on the beach shoreline and we literally had to hold onto our hats due to the blustery winds. Canada Geese were lined up at the edge of the shoreline, and a fast flying flock of Red-breasted Mergansers dipped dangerously close to the waves that were crashing towards the shore. We spotted a large fish carcass that had been stripped down to the bare bones on the sandy beach.
Botulism, a natural occurring bacterium that is found in the lake’s sediments, does kill some fish and birds here every fall. We often see some along the beach in autumn. But fish and birds do die for other reasons and it is hard to tell whether this fish died of botulism or something else. In any case due to its well-weathered state, it certainly wasn’t a recent causality and thankfully, unlike Lake Huron, few creatures have died of botulism on Lake Ontario this fall.
We traveled to the first picnic area and ate our lunch in the warmth of the car, watching wave after wave break onto the rocky shoreline. My husband saw something in the grass and we discovered a barely alive Monarch Butterfly.  I have to admit that I picked it up gently and took it into the car to warm it up in my hand before placing in a sheltered area, along with one of the few remaining dandelions to be found.
After lunch, while walking the Group Camping Road, we were startled by this Grouse who came right up to us and we wondered if it was a Spruce or a Ruffed Grouse. As it was so cooperative we were able to get a good picture to compare to the bird field guide back home. Spruce Grouse males are dark blue-black, obviously not that. Female Spruce Grouse and both genders of Ruffed Grouse do look similar but the book showed that female Spruce Grouse have a barred tail with a rusty tip. Ruffed Grouse have a black band across the tail with a grey tip. The picture tells the tale of the tail - black band, grey tip – Ruffed Grouse.  Checking the range map also showed that Spruce Grouse are birds of the boreal forest and not found south of Algonquin Park, so all was right with the world, though why this bird was so "tame” remains a bit of a mystery.
More usual birds seen here included Red-breasted Nuthatches that flew in to quickly grab the raw sunflower seeds I had brought, a Brown Creeper going up the tree trunk, and a White-breasted Nuthatch going down the tree trunk.
Our final walk of the day was the Marsh Boardwalk, a trail where we would always bring our children at the end of the day to settle them down before campfire and bedtime. I was astounded to see how low the water levels were. When I got back home I pulled up a photograph from June 2011 to compare. While a startling contrast, it is not unusual. The interpretive panel at this site tells the story of how Lake Ontario rises and falls in a fairly regular pattern of about a meter every year.High water is in June and low water in December, so my two pictures this year pretty much show the two extremes., about 80cm difference. While pretty normal a meter seems to make a big difference at this location.
 Looking out my window at the light covering of snow we received overnight, (ed note: Karen lives in the Lindsay area, no snow here – yet) makes me think of future snow shoeing adventures in the Park in the coming months. |
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| Late Fall Visit |
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by Karen Anderson
Recently I took a favourite walk that takes me about an hour to complete, covering both fields and forests. I parked my car at the start of the first picnic area then walked across the road, away from Lake Ontario to where the mowed grass meets the open fields. A few lingering Clouded Sulphur butterflies were flitting around while American Goldfinches and fall warblers moved constantly amongst the Bull Thistles feasting on the seeds.
A splash of red caught my eye and it was the ripened berries of a Rose hip plant so colourful that they reminded me of the decorations that I hang on my Christmas tree. 
I continued along the open field until I turned left onto the group camping road. This stretch of road is stunning in the autumn and it never ceases to amaze me how many Chipmunks, Pileated Woodpeckers, and even Barred Owls you can find on this short stretch. 
Walking the road until I reached the park bench and the markers for a Yellow (Pioneer) trail to the left, and an Orange (Newcastle) trail to the right, I stopped to
to call "pshhhhh pshhhhh” to see if any Red-breasted Nuthatches or Black-capped Chickadees would snack on the raw peanuts and raw sunflower seeds that I had brought along with me. The best time is when snow covers the ground, but I was lucky enough to have two Black-capped Chickadees land on my hand.
I turned left onto the Yellow Trail as it is perfect environment for finding Fall fungus. It didn't take long before I came across this fresh Sac Fungi nestled in amongst the fallen leaves.  Soon after I discovered a large Tooth Fungi that reminded me of a waterfall cascading down the mossy log. 
Vivid yellow slime moulds, puff balls and some late blooming Herb Robert wildflowers also dotted the trail until I came back to the main road.
From here I turned to the left which led me back to my vehicle.
Going down to the shoreline to have my lunch, I startled two huge Turkey Vultures that were feasting on a duck carcass but unfortunately they flew off before I could take their photo.
Looking forward to my next trip to Presqu'ile even if I have to bring along a thermos of hot chocolate to counter the icy winds coming off of Lake Ontario. |
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| Sept. 25 - Buckeyes and Garter Snakes |
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One of my favourite areas of the park in the autumn is the "Panne”, a flat, wet and largely open sandy area present on either side of the Park entrance. Many visitors who trek along the trail to the beaches may not realize the abundance of nature to be found here; from migrating Monarch butterflies tasting the sweetness of purple New England and Purple-stemmed Asters, gathering flocks of Northern Flickers, or to snakes of all types warming themselves in the sunshine. 
The Comma Buckeye normally arrives at the Park from the south only every few years, but it has been almost annual these last five years. I was able to photograph a small number in 2010. They arrived back again this year, drawn by their favourite larval food source, a tiny pink flower called Gerardia. I was lucky enough to spot this Buckeye just at the Owen Point Comfort Station feeding on lush asters. In the same area I found a Monarch Butterfly having a drink, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his wings were in danger of becoming soaked. 
 Snakes are not for everyone but once you get to know them, you will become hooked on "snake watching”. Presqu'ile has a large variety of snakes, from the tiny Red-bellied Snake to the larger and sleek Milk Snake. Once the weather starts cooling down, the Garter Snakes come out in large numbers, finding stones, asphalt and even like this Garter, a concrete barrier to warm themselves on. Please be careful driving around the park not to run over these fascinating creatures.
If you check out some of the smaller side paths of the Panne, some made by the White-tailed Deer population, you may catch sight of Fringed Gentians. This bright blue flower is rare in Ontario, but common throughout the Panne in September. I watched bumblebees dive down into the narrow tubes looking for nectar and then back themselves out to go onto the next bloom. 
I can hardly wait to come back to the Park to sit on the shoreline at the first picnic area, watching the Monarchs flying off one by one, on the start of their migration over Lake Ontario. |
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| July 3 - Skimmers and Wood Lilies |
I went for a walk in the "fingers" last Sunday. That's the conifer forest area to the east of the main road beyond the sand dunes. Yes it's pretty buggy but there are a few trails in there (if you can get past the fallen trees) that let you explore a part of the park completely different from anything else at Presqu'ile. The northern feel of this area was exemplified by the fledgling Pine Warblers, White-throated Sparrows and Winter Wrens I saw. Unfortunately all in heavy shade and moving, so not even a bad picture to post. More cooperative was a Painted Skimmer in the meadow marsh in the other side of the trees. Painted Skimmers are a southern species of dragonfly that does not seem to breed this far north but a few have been showing up pretty much every June for the last 6 years, so maybe one day they will breed here.
.JPG "Painted Skimmer in Fingers Marsh")
I also came across some nice flowers. There was Cowwheat growing in a little clearing in the pines trees. I associate this plant with dry conifer forests on the Canadian Shield, not forest covered sand dunes beside a marsh! But the little clearing was a little microclimate that must have been like home for this plant and there it was. Again not the most photogenic species, at least not by me. The flower is very small (less than 2cm long) but here it is anyway.
1.JPG "Cowwheat")
One other, much more photogenic flower seen was a lone Wood Lily in another clearing. A bit lonely looking but radiant in the sunlight all the same.
.JPG "Lone Wood Lily")
All in all a pleasant hour spent and well worth the bug bites.
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| Canada Day |
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What a great way to celebrate, welcome to Bob and family
Hello,
We just celebrated our 6th Canada Day camping weekend adventure at Presqui'ile. We had the pleasure of meeting Tone the Park Host who was quite impressed with our Canada Day decorations and our festivities. We have a Canada Day family brunch which always includes a group photo (to capture the memories).
We had a great time at Presqu'ile and are looking forward to returning for our 7th year.
Bob
Bob Spence
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| June 21 - Killdeer Nests |
If you have been in the park in the last month you might have noticed pairs of red pylons in, first the Owen Point Parking Lot, and later Beach 1 Parking Lot. These were put there to keep car and people from running over Killdeer nests. The flat gravelly expanse of these parking lots are very much to Killdeer tastes. Their (usually) 4 eggs are grey with speckles and are very difficult to see in such a setting. The nest itself is just a small divot, unsuitably shallow for even playing marbles with in a by-gone era. But hard to see is good if you want to avoid predators.
In total I knew of 3 nests, 1 in Owen Pt parking from late April to about May 23, 1 in the south side of the Beach 1 parking lot from May 23 to June 17, and the last in the north side of Beach 1 parking lot, laid around June 18.
There were a couple of particularly interesting things about these nests. The standard defense for a Killdeer on a nest is to fake the broken wing and lure the intruder away. I didn't see these bird do that at all. They just held tight to the nest unless you got too close and then they would get up and step away, often fairly quietly, sometimes with worried trills. This actually seems like a better strategy then making a big fuss, particularly when you are in a busy parking lot and have several people walk by you in an hour, as the Owen Pt nest could easily have had. If you did the broken wing thing every time someone went by you would never get any rest! So perhaps birds near people are evolving new strategies?
The other interesting thing is the fact these nests were laid so far apart in time. Killdeers nest early, but I didn't know they would nest as late as mid June - perhaps they were failed nesters earlier in the year?
Of course the big question you are asking now is what happened to the nests? The first one seemed to go pretty well and then one day about the time they should be hatching everything was gone. This is not that unusual as Killdeer chicks walk shortly after they hatch. The whole family usually moves away, the chicks feed themselves and rely on Mom and Dad to teach them where to look and what is dangerous. I did see young Killdeer out on Beach 3 a few days earlier so it could have been from that nest.
The second nest we have very good dates for, the eggs started being laid on May 23 and on June 17, 26 days later, when I was in the parking lot I saw 3 fuzzy babies walking rather unsteadily around a sitting adult.
.JPG)
There was obviously something else still under her. The chicks were of course unbearably cute, picking at tiny insects and tripping over grass blades. Every so often they would go over to Mom? and she would lift up so they could rest under her out of the glare of the noonday sun.
1.JPG "baby Killdeer sheltering under adult")
I went back 3 hours later and there were 4 fuzzy chicks and two adults walking around. The last chick had obviously hatched and the family was free to move on. The next day there was not a Killdeer in sight BUT.
I later learned that another nest was discovered in the other Beach 1 parking area on June 18. One of the wardens put up pylons around the 4 eggs. Checking it on June 21 I found the nest empty and 2 feet away the broken remains of the eggs, obviously eaten, rather than hatched. Such goes the circle of life, sometimes the predators have to win too. |
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| May 24th - Beach Stroll |
I decided to go for a walk on the beach after a long day of interviews today. Rather amazingly the grey, windy, rainy day had turned into a bright, sunny, breezy evening during my time indoors! The beach was stunningly beautiful with the sun shinning and the blue waves rolling in. The breeze was just strong enough to keep the bugs away. With the
high lake level and recent rain the beach had an number of pools on it that some Ring-billed Gulls were using to bathe in.
A few other gulls and Canada Geese were loafing about on the beach as is normal. What struck me at once however were the swallows. Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows and Bank Swallows were all swooping over the sand like fighter planes on strafing runs. The image was further strengthened by the call of the Bank Swallows which sounds somewhat like, what Hollywood at least, would have us think machine guns sound like - a dry "ack-ack-ack". I was particularly pleased to see this species as I find it the most difficult of all the swallow species to find and all aerial insect hunters seem to be in decline right now for reasons not understood.
This is the time of year when shorebirds move through our area and the beach did not disappoint , 4 Semipalmated Plovers, 1 Black-bellied Plover, and a herd of 30 Dunlin were seen along Beach 2-3. The Dunlins were moving from the lake edge, to the beach pools, and back again to feed.
.JPG "Circle of Friends - Dunlin on beach")
Owen Point was equally beautiful and in addition to the usual loafing gulls and terns had 9 resting Whimbrel. These large shorebirds move through southern Ontario in a very narrow range of days centred on the 24th of May, so these birds were right on schedule. Most Whimbrels seem to fly along the north shore of Lake Ontario before heading north to the arctic -see http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking /?project_id69 and go to the Whimbrel page for satellite tracking maps of this species. Unlike many of our other shorebirds Whimbrels rarely feed when they are at Presqu'ile in spring, but rather a few of the passing birds just put down to rest for a short while.
.JPG "Whimbrel at Owen Pt.")
The sun was nearing the horizon by this time and I started back down the beach. The swallows and most of the other birds had gone by then but I did see a couple of Killdeer with fuzzy babies hiding in the vegetation and I was serenaded by the Grey Treefrogs calling from the pannes as I walked into the sun after a most enjoyable stroll on the beach.
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| May 21 |
The first day of Warblers and Whimbrel Weekend was the nicest weather we have had all year. Great for getting out and looking for birds. The lighthouse at dawn is a lovely place to be at any time, but this time of year the air is alive with both bird song and flitting birds.
.JPG "Sunrise at Presqu'ile")
Most conspious today were the resident birds. There are at least 5 Baltimore Oriole nests being built within sight of the lighthouse. These bright orange and black birds are hard to miss. Also nesting in the area are Yellow Warbler, Grey Catbird, Song Sparrows, Orchard Orioles and Redstarts - all singing loudly.
A few migrants were noted, including Blackpoll Warblers and Tennessee Warblers, both of which have distincive songs - easy to hear, harder to find. In total 12 species of warblers were "detected" on the morning walk - some only heard. Lots of other colourful birds, including a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were also seen.
.JPG "Rose-breasted Grosbeak")
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