20180422 WBFN Windy Ridge
Roger Frost led a group of 14 participants on a Willow Beach Field Naturalists (WBFN) outing to the Windy Ridge Conservation Area on Sunday April 22. This visit to Windy Ridge was a first ever for the club and it proved to be an excellent outing. The first highlight was weather ideal for a walk with sunny conditions, occasional light breezes and typical temperatures for this time of year. In sharp contrast was the nasty weather a week earlier when everyone was house bound during a major 'winter' storm in spring.
After picking up a few birds in the parking lot, Roger directed our attention to an old Basswood tree just a short distance down the trail. The tree has long been known as place of residence for a local Porcupine. At first we were greeted with a quiet scene and thought we might miss out. But then almost on cue, a Porcupine climbed out of one of the den entrances in the tree and posed for about a minute before climbing back in. Everyone had an excellent view of this Porcupine as well as the mountain of scat at the base of the tree.
Our next stop was the rail trail north and south of Mount Horeb Rd at Windy Ridge. Red Squirrels were observed along the trail. Raccoon evidence included a set of tracks along the rail trail as well as several digs where Snapping Turtle nests has been excavated. Beavers had built a dam at a culvert and left various cut trees and twigs as evidence. Several schools of small fish were observed in the pond created by the Beaver dam which included species of Stickleback, Dace and Chub. These fish were only 1" - 2" long so the binoculars came in handy to observe them.
Bird observation and identification efforts were rewarded with a species count of 36. Highlights included a good view of a female Northern Harrier, a pair of Blue-winged Teal, Rusty Blackbirds and for a few of us, the distant bugling of Sandhill Cranes. Pigeon River and associated wetlands formed an ideal location for waterfowl. There were the usual Canada Geese and Mallards but we were pleased to see several groups of Wood Ducks. Ospreys were first observed in the Kawarthas on April 9th. I wonder what they did during the big storm of April 14-16 when many good fishing areas froze over again. During our walk we were treated to a flyover by two Ospreys who were likely more relieved than we were at the nice weather.
The full list of birds identified by sight and/or sound included the following: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, American Black Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, European Starling, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch.
(Photographed April 22, 2018 at or near Windy Ridge Conservation Area, City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada)
Read MoreAfter picking up a few birds in the parking lot, Roger directed our attention to an old Basswood tree just a short distance down the trail. The tree has long been known as place of residence for a local Porcupine. At first we were greeted with a quiet scene and thought we might miss out. But then almost on cue, a Porcupine climbed out of one of the den entrances in the tree and posed for about a minute before climbing back in. Everyone had an excellent view of this Porcupine as well as the mountain of scat at the base of the tree.
Our next stop was the rail trail north and south of Mount Horeb Rd at Windy Ridge. Red Squirrels were observed along the trail. Raccoon evidence included a set of tracks along the rail trail as well as several digs where Snapping Turtle nests has been excavated. Beavers had built a dam at a culvert and left various cut trees and twigs as evidence. Several schools of small fish were observed in the pond created by the Beaver dam which included species of Stickleback, Dace and Chub. These fish were only 1" - 2" long so the binoculars came in handy to observe them.
Bird observation and identification efforts were rewarded with a species count of 36. Highlights included a good view of a female Northern Harrier, a pair of Blue-winged Teal, Rusty Blackbirds and for a few of us, the distant bugling of Sandhill Cranes. Pigeon River and associated wetlands formed an ideal location for waterfowl. There were the usual Canada Geese and Mallards but we were pleased to see several groups of Wood Ducks. Ospreys were first observed in the Kawarthas on April 9th. I wonder what they did during the big storm of April 14-16 when many good fishing areas froze over again. During our walk we were treated to a flyover by two Ospreys who were likely more relieved than we were at the nice weather.
The full list of birds identified by sight and/or sound included the following: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, American Black Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, European Starling, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch.
(Photographed April 22, 2018 at or near Windy Ridge Conservation Area, City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada)
