Snowshoeing, yet again

So, out I went today. It snowed this morning, so the day was more or less useless for tracking. But I did see some actual animals, a rarity these days.

For the most part, the walk was pretty quiet. No birds sang. Normally you'll hear a crow at the very least, or some chickadees. Today, all was still and silent around. The sky was gray, the wind did not blow. There was not a trace of sun. The world lay dormant, and we walked through it like a peculiar dream.

it is an amusing fact that animals tend to pop up when you aren't looking for them. If I were to set out with the express purpose of seeing a pine marten, I probably wouldn't see one. I remain unconvinced that this does not stem from some kind of telepathy and a perverse sense of humour on the parts of the animals, the universe, and what gods there be. When I am NOT actively seeking animals, however, they occasionally crop up. Such was the case today. I stepped onto the back porch intent on strapping on the snowshoes, and an avian form streaked across my field of vision. Now, it's hard to tell with these things, but it's size, tail (which was squarish) and brown colouration suggests, to me, that it was a young male sharp shinned hawk Accipiter striatus, they look *alot* like Coopers Hawk Accipiter cooperii, both being local Accipiters of similar size and colour. it was really only the tale that tipped me off. They tend to eat small birds and rodents, so i guess i know why we haven't been seeing as many small birds lately as we might otherwise. Nature red, as they say, in too and claw.


I was walking, today, with my grandmother. "Where are the deer today" she wondered.

With the confidence of one who has read his Peterson's Guide to Mammals of North America with great enthusiasm, I told her that they are generally crepuscular, meaning most active during the twilight hours, and, as it was noon, we probably woudn't see any.



I took this photo about a minute after I said that. Deer have a particularly perverse sense of humour, based largely on timing and irony. There were a few more, which I will now share.





And then they got tired of being photographed.



Re-reading my guide, I learn that, in areas where they are not hunted, deer can be seen at any time. The things you learn.

I'm quite pleased with how those photographs turned out, all told.

Is that your own hare, or is it a wig?



So, having been in a particularly foul mood earlier (as certain of my readers will attest), I decided to go for a walk. Perhaps some wayward deities were attempting to show me that things are basically alright, because I saw more wildlife than I normally see on walks such as this. There were some quite interesting birds which I wasn't able to indentify at the time, but I will probably determine their species at some point.

I was most excited to see some Snowshoe Hares Lepus americanus, who are currently midway through changing colours for the winter. Much like Cottontail Rabbits, they spend the winter eating tree bark, as well as leaf an flowerbuds. Around here, they're pretty much unmistakable. They DO look rather like rabbits, but hares are larger, and have longer ears. Also, the Snowshoe hare....well, it lives up to its name. Rabbits have pretty big feet as well, but not that big. also, as previously mentioned, Snowshoe Hares change colour. They seemed pretty happy, all told. In point of fact, this is an excellent opportunity to use the word "gamboling". So that's what they were doing, gamboling. That was deeply satisfying.

The deer were also out in force....a young man's thoughts might turn to love in the spring, but a young buck's turn to love in the fall, and they were all over the place. The bucks have lost the velvet on their antlers, and somehow look more majestic with out it....the velvet makes them look soft, I suppose. The ground being damp, I was able to track some of them, just for the hell of it. When them leap, their tracks become skidded. Males typically have larger hooves, and the tracks of females are more liner....female dear, like female humans, have wider hips than the males, and as consequence their hooves align differently. No skill is useless to the enthusiastic naturalist.

I admit this is only related to Ottawa in the most abstract possible sense, but still

Bird sanctuary drilling permit an 'error': Environment Canada

I ask you "What?"


How does one accidentally issue a permit to drill in a bird sanctuary?

Change of the Seasons



I've mentioned the season changing before, but I feel like devoting a post to it now. The trees are all but bare. The frogs appear to have left us.....burrowed into the mud for another winter, and hardly any birds are coming around now....in the summer, the feeder is alive, now it's customers are getting fewer and fewer. Cardinals, always cardinals of course, as well as chickadees. I've seen nuthatches, and I imagine there are woodpeckers as well, though I've not seen them. They're always around somewhere. This may sound like a wide variety of birds, but it really isn't, not compared to the whirl of colour you see in the summer. I haven't seen a groundhog in quite some time, for that matter. most of the flowering plants have quit on me too, although there are still some pansies in the garden that are hanging on. The grass in the fields is brown, and the milkweed looks ragged. Thankfully, the poison ivy has gone as well....it is occasionally nice to be able to walk unrestricted. Of course, it's too cold for sandals anyhow.


There is a point to all this. I can't help feeling like the land is going to sleep. this is an old thought, of course, but a true one, I think. Although, now that I consider it, the land isn't really hibernating. It's more like a bear....entering torpor. Sleeping, but possibly waking up long before you expect it.

On Grouse and similar beasties


I was in hedgerow philosopher mode yesterday, so i forgot to mention this encounter. It only lasted a second in any case. I was, as previously mentioned, walking a long trail, which is intermittently wooded. Quite suddenly, a bird broke, practically under my feet. I was, momentarily, transported back to Eastern New Brunswick, where ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) outnumber people, buildings, and quite probably trees. I wasn't startled....under the circumstances described, you have the choice of learning to not be startled by the sudden appearance of game birds, or dying. I grew to enjoy the experience over the years, and I admit that I've missed it since moving to Ontario. In Nunavut, one sometimes finds flocks of Ptarmigan shooting up from underfoot, and while Ptarmigan are smaller than Pheasants, the experience is not entirely dissimilar.

This, though, was neither a Pheasant or a Ptarmigan. it was a female Spruce Grouse Falcipennis canadensis, a bird that is not particular to the Ottawa valley, but is rather found all over Canada, and quite probably the United States as well. It's pretty common for them to remain hidden until you get close to them....they are very well camouflaged birds, especially the female of the species. In winter, when there's snow on the ground, they get much more skittish. In the winter they typically eat the needles of conifers (hence the name, I guess), which certainly explains their presence in an area rich in spruce trees. As a point of interest, though I have seen many females over the year, I don't think I have ever seen a male. The species, like alot of birds, is sexually dimorphic, and the male of the species is pretty distinctive. I do wonder why that is occasionally, but I suppose it would be folly to try and explain the minds of birds. Birds usually have their own ideas about how things are going to go, and it's no use arguing with them.

See, I write about Mammals too


Today I went for a very long walk around the Shirley's Bay conservation area.....There's a great deal of it, you know, and I covered several kilometers. I didn't see much in the way of animal life, actually (there was one deer standing by the ruins of an old house. And me without my camera). however, I did see signs of animals. There were, of course, hoofprints aplenty....if I had a recipe for deer track soup, I would never have to go grocery shopping again. There were also dog tracks. Neither of these, however, are what I want to talk about.


Firstoff, the trees are mostly bare now. This allows me to see things I would not normally see. For example, in a swampy bit to the right of the trail that runs nearest carling avenue, i saw a muskrat lodge. Now, Muskrats Ondatra zibethicus are old friends to me. I used to see them all the time in New Brunswick, and while the presence of a common animal is not suprising, it is cheering. Muskrats are, on the whole, pretty amazing little animals. They have, I have learned, a unique nostril, shaped like the number 7, which somehow allows them to breath in oxgen that has been exhaled, while under water. As a consequence, they can stay submerged for some 15 minutes.

I encountered a muskrat while swimming once. I was down in the Ottawa river....not, I am sorry to have to tell you, at a public beach, though I wasn't trespassing either. I was paddling towards the shore in a lazy way, and I saw something there.....a muskrat. So I stopped swimming, and watched it. it came into the water as well, and came within two meters of me. So long as I stayed partially submerged, he had no fear. Quite the experience.


I also saw a classic example of violence in the wild. There were, at one point, a great many very noisy crows, all flocking around one area. Now, it was far too early for them to be returning to their roost, so this could only mean one thing. the crows had found themselves an owl. I don't know why, but crows and Owls, specifically Great Horned Owls seem to loath one another. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the owl itself... the tree was a ways off, and I had no binoculars with me.

I heard frogs as I walked....the Northern Leopard frog, of which I have written before, is giving one last concert before hibernation. It was quite warm today, so I can't say I blame them for being out in force. But the cold is coming on fast, so that might well be the last I see of them for a while.


The Geese decided to make a liar of me today. Instead of flying overhead as I described, a great flock of them decided to paddle about in the river. Clearly they've been reading this. I am honoured.

Not dead, just sleeping.....


It's been a bit busy here lately, so I haven't posted anything. This changes now.


I've seen alot of Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) at the feeder lately. Specifically, there is what I assume to be a breeding pair, since they're always together, and are a male and a female (they could, I suppose, just be very good friends, but the third cardinal
belies that theory). the third, and to my mind, most interesting, is an immature male. For those who have never SEEN a Northern Cardinal, I suggest that you might be spending too much time on the internet, and should perhaps go for more walks outdoors. I also offer a description. The mature male of the species is a brilliant red, with a black face and some greyish wing feathers. The female is more drab... a kind of mottled, ashen colour with orangey patches on the wings and tale. The immature male....this being a male in it's first year of life.... looks rather like an adult male that has, for some obscure reason, decided to wear it's wife's coat. it has the red in patches, peeking out from under the more drab feathers of the female, and of the baby cardinal. Nowhere near as spectacular as his father, but interesting in his own way. He will have started out looking like his mother...okay, that's a lie. like most baby birds, he will have started out looking horrific and parboiled, but that changes quickly. He's just getting his adult feathers now, and that means that pretty soon I won't see him anymore...when he reaches maturity, his father will drive him off, and he'll have to find his own patch, and a mate. Cardinals are year round residents here, so at least I'll get to see his parents still.

Juncos, on the other hand, are not year round residents in Ottawa. So imagine my suprise when I saw a Dark-Eyed Junco (junco hyemalis) in the garden this morning. I saw a great many of them about two weeks ago, and I thought that was the last of them. I guess this little fellow was a straggler. They DO sometimes winter in southern Canada, but so far as I can determine, not in Ottawa, which probably isn't south enough.

The Canada Geese ( branta canadensis) are also leaving. Anybody who has ever been to Ottawa will know they're pretty common here....as they are in alot of places. I've seen hundreds at a time in parks near the river, or at the Nortel building. Thousands in fields that have recently been harvested...the feed on grain that has fallen in the cultivation process. Now I only see them flying far overhead. That, though, is an awe inspiring sight. There's something about a flock of geese overhead that takes the breath away. And to see one in Ottawa....well, that just feels very, very Canadian. About as Canadian as one can feel without a beaver present, and a bottle of maple syrup.

A walk on the Beaver Trail



I don't think i've ever walked the Beaver Trail myself....Ottawa has alot of nature trails, conservation areas and the like. The beaver trail is a nice one. Apparently it used to be farmland, which I personally can't see. It's a bit swampy, very rocky, and has about three centimeters of topsoil, but you can still see the signs. There's an old, now defunct well, moss clinging to it's sides. There are a few places where you can see the remains of a foundation, and an old fence. What the beaver trail IS good for growing is trees. It's a great place if you're fond of cedar, which I personally am. it's also one of the few places in Ottawa with an abundance of Red Oak, which are beautiful this time of year.

I was suprized to see that even with the cold, and the frost we've had, there are a few flowering plants that are still hanging on quite well. technically, I suppose, they're weeds, but frankly I don't care. I saw a few brave Chicory plants (chicorium intybus). Chicory is, apparently, an introduced species. It's root is a coffee substitute, so it makes sense that there would be some near where pioneers lived. If you've never seen it, it's quite pretty. A tall, slender, bristly plant that stands erect, with blue flowers, and hairy yellowish seeds. As a point of interest, for some odd reason, when photographed using film, chicory flowers show up as a pinkish purple. this isn't a problem with digital photography, as near as I can tell.

I also saw some Asters, though I'm not sure of the specific type. Pretty blue flowers as well, those are.


Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) sounds like a used car salesman, but it is infact a small flowering plant. It has pink flowers, about one centimeter across. it's not native to Canada, but it's a hardy plant for gardeners, and as such occasionally pops up where it isn't supposed to be. It doesn't seem to have take over, and it's a nice little thing, so I'm happy to have seen it. Even the leaves are appealing....very fern like.

it was also a good day for birds. Firstoff, I saw more Robins (turdus migratorius) than I have ever seen in one place. Robins, of course, are extraordinarily common, particularly in ottawa, but even so, it's not normal to see that many at once. I suppose they are migrating now, so I won't get to see any more for quite some time. I had the opportunity to observe them nesting this summer. Quite the experience. They built a nest some 1.5 meters up in a cedar bush, and raised two clutches there before moving on to greener pastures. The eggs hatched pretty quickly. ....maybe after two weeks at most, and it took not much longer than that for the hatchlings to get big. They started off naked and hideous, as most of us do, but fledged so quickly you could almost see it happening. Fledgeling robins look alot like their parents, only instead of red breasts, they have white breasts spotted with black. The nest was something pretty special in and of itself. if somebody said to me "Fop, you have to pick a bird to build your house", I'd go for the robins. they do a stick-and-mud nest that looks like it could hold up against a nuclear explosion. the inside is plasterered with mud, to make for a smooth, and presumably comfortable incubator.


Robins aren't the only birds I saw migrating today. There were Juncos (Junco hyemalis) on the trail. You don't often see them in Ottawa. They don't breed here, they just pass through. I only caught a few glimpses of them, but they're easily recognized by their white tail feathers.

Ever present on any Ottawa trail are the Chickadees. These are Black-Capped chickadees ( parus atricapillus) of course. I don't think you get any other species in this neck of the woods. Chickadees are common as muck, but they are such cheerfull looking birds, you can't help but be happy to see them. Most of the birds around here are used to people, and so if you bring seeds, you can quite often feed them from your hand, which is an experience and a half....to have something wild sitting in your hand, i mean. I had no seeds, but they got right close inspecting me, in case I had secreted some about my person and was trying not to share. You've got to watch these nature types...they're tricky.

I met some other people on the trail, who said that they had been looking for birds to feed, and hadn't seen any. I wonder if we were walking in the same woods, because the trees were alive....well, trees are always alive, except for the dead ones, but you know what I mean. we went on our ways quickly enough, which is fine by me. They seemed like nice people, but frankly I think the chickadees are better conversationalists. But I think birds are better conversationalists than alot of people, so it's nothing personal.


as a side note, I saw evidence of a few animals that I didn't actually see in person. There was a tree that had, pretty recently, been chewed halfway through by a beaver.....this in a patch of woods made up predominantly of maple trees. Very Canadian. I almost broke into a rousing chorus of the national anthem. There was also, at one point, a pile of woodchips that absolutely didn't come from a beaver. My guess would be a Pileated Woodpecker, which isn't an uncommon site in the woods around here. I see more evidence of them than I do actual birds. If you should see a rectangular hole pecked in a tree, you know who's to blame. Those holes are favoured by other birds, and some mammals, as nesting places. Amazing how things work out some times, isn't it?

Apparently the beaver trail is a good place for orchids in the spring....so you know where I'll be come the thaw.