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The title of this post may seem strange, given the beautiful spring weather that has arrived in Ontario in recent days. But even as southern Ontario sees temperatures soaring to the high teens, with frogs singing and migrant birds arriving by the minute, it was not that long ago that I was surrounded by cold, crisp weather in northern Ontario. Winter held the landscape firmly in its icy grip, and signs of spring were quite difficult to locate. Even the migrant American Crows had not made it this far north. 
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Like many naturalists that reside in northern climes, I become somewhat restless as late winter drags on with spring just around the corner. I constantly review the weather forecast and I frequently look for any sign of spring that I can find - whether it is the first songs of House Finches and Northern Cardinals on a sunny February morning, or discovering a few crisp Northern Pintails, surely spring migrants, resting in a flooded field. Perhaps it is the first crocuses poking through the earth in a sheltered, sunny corner of a garden in my neighbourhood. Each day grows progressively longer (today is 2 minutes and 57 seconds longer than yesterday!) and new signs of spring become easier and easier to find.  Cackling Geese (and one Canada Goose) - some early spring migrants in Haldimand County June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District I set up my moth light and sheet at an observation platform overlooking one of the wetland cells at Hilliardton Marsh. Since this was my first year of regular mothing excursions, a lot of what I was attempting was trial and error. This evening I did not find very much at all, despite the warm temperatures and calm conditions. Perhaps the area was just too open, and maybe my moth light only pulls in species from a small radius. Moths found in the forests and scrubby areas surrounding the wetlands likely would not venture out into the open marsh. That being said, tens of thousands of insects visited the sheet, but over 99% of them were recently hatched leafhopper nymphs from the genus Macrosteles. It was quite the spectacle!  Leafhopper nymphs (Macrosteles sp.) - Hilliardton Marsh, Timiskaming District June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District The sun pierced through the low branches of the trees by the time that I awoke the following morning. It had been a late night of mothing! I was still shaking off the cobwebs that was created by the lack of a sufficient sleep when I peered out of my car's window and noticed an odd shape. It took a second but I quickly realized that the object of my gaze was, in fact, a pair of Luna Moths. They were preoccupied with each other, to say the least.  Luna Moths (Actias luna) - Matachewan, Timiskaming District June 15 - Balsam Lake, City of Kawartha Lakes June 16 - Innisfil area, Simcoe County June 17 - Bala area, Muskoka District June 18 - From Bala to Elk Lake, Timiskaming District June 19 - Elk Lake to Fraserdale June 20 - Boreal Butterflies and Woodpeckers of Fraserdale June 21 - Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst Birding, Matachewan Mothing June 22 - Matachewan to Hilliardton Marsh June 23 - Purplish Coppers in Parry Sound District I enjoyed a sleep in at the Moose Motel and spent some time catching up on emails, editing photos, and researching for the upcoming days. By late morning I left the motel and continued west. Today would mostly be a birding day along Highway 11, between Smooth Rock Falls and Hearst. Like many other birders, I keep more than a few lists. County-listing has become an interest of mine pretty much since I began birding, and Cochrane District is one of my "better" county lists. Over the years I have embarked on five rarity-filled expeditions to the coast of James Bay, several shorter autumn forays to Moosonee, and numerous trips during the spring and summer to complete breeding bird surveys for employers, so my Cochrane District list is one of the higher ones (behind Doug McRae and Alan Wormington, and possibly a few others). However, my Cochrane list still had several few holes that needed filling. Most of these are breeding species that reach the northern extent of their range in the southern part of the district - species like Bobolink, Virginia Rail, Black-billed Cuckoo and Pine Warbler.
The latest bird celebrity here in Niagara Region is a Townsend's Solitaire just west of St. Catharines in the town of Pelham. Local birder Nancy Smith discovered the thrush on Saturday January 16 at the bridge for Fifteen Mile Creek along Centre Street. Luckily for the birding community, the thrush has been reliably found in this same area for three out of the past four days.  Townsend's Solitaire - Pelham, Niagara Region A warm sunny day in early October provided the incentive that several friends and I needed to seek out one of Ontario's rarest reptile species. I had only laid eyes on Wood Turtles twice before - once in Michigan, and once in Ontario. It took a while but once we found the first, we could not stop finding them! All credit goes to my friend Dav who spotted every single turtle.  Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) My interests shifted to insects for much of the summer, as documented in my previous post. That blog was growing a little long and so I had left out some of the other insect highlights from the summer that were not moths. I’ve included a few of them below.  Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus) My interest in moths really took off in 2020 due to a confluence of factors. In July 2019 I purchased a lightweight moth light, called a LepiLED, that uses little energy and can be operated with a small powerbank. We had brought this with us to South America and used it regularly, quickly getting addicted to Neotropical moths in the process. This interest carried over into 2020. While Ontario does not have nearly the same diversity as Ecuador, Costa Rica or Colombia, mothing here can still blow your mind. The Ontario list is over 3300 species with many more still to be added.  Common Spragueia Moth (Spragueia leo) Mothing is an activity that can be done anywhere, even in a suburban backyard. I’m all for naturalizing opportunities that can be done in your backyard with a beer in hand! Because of the impressive diversity here in Ontario, rarely did an evening pass without a few novel species appearing.
Spring migration was a different experience for many of us in 2020. This is usually a very busy time of year; Iike many others, I temporarily relocate to the Point Pelee area for a chunk of May to maximize the bird migration experience. With national and provincial parks closed for the duration of spring, this was simply not possible. Our two weeks in quarantine during late March and early April further cut down on naturalizing opportunities, but we made do where we could.  Ruffed Grouse |
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