A Long Walk and Other Things

Friday I decided to get out for a nice long walk along the Thames River. My plan was to start at the old dam in Springbank Park, and end up in the northeast corner of the city, past Kilally Meadows Environmentally Significant Area. A total distance of about 20 kilometers, my longest walk in quite awhile.

I started off strong with a Redhead and a Greater Scaup right at the dam. There has been a recent influx of Aythya ducks in London on the river as a result of the great lakes freezing. 

I continued down the path, and encountered a group of 16 Redheads, as well as the usual wintering waterfowl. A bit later I came across a flock of 150 Common Redpolls.

At Greenway Park, I came across a few more Redheads, as well as another Greater Scaup.

At the Forks of the Thames, I spotted the female Ring-necked Duck that has been in the area for awhile, as well as a male Redhead which was accompanying her. 

Several kilometers later I came across a Pied-billed Grebe, undoubtedly one of the couple that have been hanging out on the Thames this winter. 

I arrived at the Harlequin Duck location, but was unable to find it. It must have been hiding. I did however come across a Ruddy Duck. What an odd bird for the Thames River in February!

The remainder of my walk (about 6 kilometers) was pretty uneventful. I checked out a series of feeders that had been harbouring a wintering Red-winged Blackbird, but had no luck in finding it! 

Today, Bill Lindley and I went down to Glencoe to try and find an interesting meadowlark that had been seen on February 10th, and was posted to Facebook. The photos seemed to point to it being a Western Meadowlark, and that identification seemed to be the general consensus among everyone who saw the photos. We spent nearly two hours looking, but were unsuccessful. There had been a lot of snow the day prior, which covered up the grassy roadsides where the bird had been feeding, so maybe we will have to give it another shot once it warms up a bit.

This afternoon I was out of the house when I got another message: Spotted Towhee! Since I wasn't coming from home, I didn't have my binoculars or camera, and I was wearing running shoes, but I would have to make do. I rushed over, and we began our stakeout of the bird feeder. After and hour and a half, finally the towhee showed up. It was very skittish, but offered diagnostic looks. I was hoping to get a lifer today, but I certainly wasn't expecting it to be that!

I'll have to go back for photos. The bird has apparently been coming to the feeder for a week, so it will likely remain there for awhile.

After things being quiet for weeks, it was certainly nice to get the adrenaline pumping again!  

Hairy-fruited Sedge—Keep an eye out!

Hairy-fruited Sedge (Carex trichocarpa) is an uncommon sedge in Ontario, ranked S3, meaning there are between 21 and 80 locations for it in the province. All photos here are from a population in London (not sure if it was known previously, but I stumbled across it last June).

This is a species of wet meadows, sedge marshes, and floodplains in the Northeast, seldom found far from a river or stream. It is rare throughout most of its range.

Carex trichocarpa distribuition (map from FNA)

In Ontario, most records of the species are from along larger rivers, such as the Thames, Sydenham, Grand, and the Don. Smaller watercourses, such as Big Otter Creek and Talbot Creek, also have records. It is apparently widespread along the Thames River especially, and is listed as 'uncommon' in Middlesex county.

While sedges (Carex spp) are often considered pretty difficult to identify (and that's not necessarily wrong!), Hairy-fruited Sedge is somewhat easily recognizable. To start, look for a sedge where the clumps of leaves look 'messy'. 

Scattered clumps of Carex trichocarpa

One of the clinching identification features is the burgundy leaf sheath apex. This is where the leaves meet the stem (also called the culm). This feature is sometimes described as a 'burgundy snake's tongue'. There are several species that may look similar, but this feature is pretty diagnostic.

This sedge often forms colonies of mostly vegetative plants (ie not reproductive), with a few flowering plants. When present, the fruits, which are called perigynia, are pubescent, or hairy, which is where this plants common name comes from. The perigynia are quite large. The female (with the perigynia) spikes are called 'pistillate spikes', and are widely separated from the male spikes, called 'staminate spikes'. Pistillate spikes are typically found below the staminate spikes in sedges.

 

This is a species that is likely quite easily overlooked, and is bound to show up in many new places. From the 2017 Oldham list to the Vascular Plants of Ontario's Carolinian Zone, Hairy-fruited Sedge is listed as uncommon in Middlesex, and rare in Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Oxford, Haldimand-Norfolk, Brant, and the Ecodistrict 7E-4 (parts of Toronto, York, Peel, and Halton). 

This species is currently not listed from Essex, Lambton, Hamilton, or Niagara, but could very well be found there. In particular, Lambton county has lots of potential for this species, since the Sydenham River runs through part of it. Perhaps the Ausable River may have potential for this species as well. EDIT: I just became aware of a recent 2019 Lambton record

Keep an eye out while on your travels through floodplains and meadows near rivers!, streams, and creeks! Perhaps more populations of this species will turn up!

Here Fishy Fishy

Yesterday I decided to have a go at fish. Fish are a surprisingly diverse group, with over 150 species having been recorded in Ontario.

I staked out a spot using iNaturalist (I was particularly interested in fish of the genus Etheostoma) not too far from me, grabbed a net, and went.

I caught a fish almost immediately.

Striped Shiner

It took a little bit longer, and some more wading, but I did eventually find a Rainbow Darter, one of the Etheostoma I was hoping for.

I caught another Etheostoma a bit further down the river, a Greenside Darter. It is pretty dull right now, but during breeding season the colour on this species is fantastic.

On the walk back, we noticed a bunch of these oil beetles (Meloe). They are most likely of the species Meloe campanicollis, the Short-winged Blister Beetle.

They are called oil beetles as they secrete this orange substance, which has a very oily texture to it.

I also noticed this little fuzzy thing on oak leaves which have fallen. I have tentatively identified it as Callirhytis lanata, which is a member of the gall wasps.

I'll definitely have to start paying fish more attention!