April Showers and Spring Rambles

 Today started out surprisingly nice under cloudless skies and with no wind.  Overnight we had heavy rain, and everything was flooded.  By noon today, the heavy rain came again!  April showers!

I managed to get out for a walk this morning at Reid CA.  It was the wettest I have seen it in two years!  It was touch and go for walking in some areas, but I carried on.  Rubber boots are a must this time of year.

Typical Scene

For something to do, I took some photos of the more impressive trees of Black Walnut, Oaks, maples, etc.

Red Oaks

Some nice Black Walnuts here too!

This one has a dbh of more than 4'.  Burr Oak I believe.

Here is another scene at Reid CA along the river at the highest point of land on the property, taken a few days ago.  In what is affectionately called the Lilly Bush, there is a different variety of trees here with more American Beech and Black Cherry.  More spring wildflowers are here as well.

Reid is never a place to find a lot of birds, but a couple of Eastern Phoebes were present as well as Fox Sparrows.  I finally saw my first Eastern Phoebe of the year at Erieau the other day.

A Pileated Woodpecker was calling this morning, so I guess they are still working the area.  I last saw them in early January, but they seemed to have been absent till this past week.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have been arriving in various locations, and I managed to get a glimpse of one at Rondeau on Thursday.

Other things will certainly be showing up in numbers this week.

Horned Grebe at Erieau

Spring plants are starting to pop up.  Reid CA is a nice place to look for plants early in the spring.

Wide Leek

Some remain visible all winter, such as this Sharp-lobed Hepatica.

Monday I did some birding in the Sarnia area before I went to a meeting in the evening.  Some Iceland Gulls were still patrolling the mouth of Lake Huron.  One was even a Thayer's type, but the other two were the usual Kumlien's type.

Some ships are still in winter layup at the north slip.  A far cry from the old days, when the harbour was chocked full of ships!

Kaministiqua, Michipicoten in the North Slip

North Slip 1974

Another Reid Scene April 1

Woodlot Walk

We have had some nice weather days this week, albeit a bit crisp.  With activities limited, I have been going to places locally that I can be by myself.
Thursday I went for a long walk at Reid CA north of here, as well as some other smaller spots.
I spent considerable time on the property, covering most areas which took the better part of two hours.
Since some of it is floodplain, it was still quite wet.

I have always liked this property for a number of reasons, including the wide array of plant life and impressive trees.

I spent some time looking at trees, finding a good number of Blue Ash for example.  The younger trees can easily be examined and one can see the squarish stems.

It is relatively common along the north branch of the Sydenham, and some larger trees actually survived the ash borer.  The Blue Ash, although not totally resistant to the borer, has been a little more resiliant to the pest.
The tree photographed here last year, I saw yesterday as well.

I did find a small Hackberry tree, which is not common on the property.  In fact, it is the only one I have found.  It is quite common at Moore WMA though.  Photo does not do it justice, but the bark is distinctive.

There are some impressive oaks and walnuts and others on the property.

Even a large gnarly Silver Maple was interesting.

Forest floor plants are just starting to peak though, including the common Trout Lilly and others.  I found a couple patches of Wide Leek (Allium tricoccum var. tricoccum) which is similar to the Wild Leek.

Reid is not the best place for lots of birds, but various birds were working through the forest.  Lots of kinglets and nuthatches and woodpeckers were throughout, and a migrant Hermit Thrush made its presence known.
Some Yellow-rumped Warblers are starting to show up, but I have not encountered any new migrants yet.

I stopped by Nicholl's Memorial Forest grounds near Wilkesport as well.  On the west side, some coniferous trees are coming along well.  Soon we might look for owls there in the winter!

Water levels have subsided somewhat in recent days, as I noticed at Moore WMA.

I stopped by Peers Wetland briefly yesterday, but one needs a good pair of boots there.  It was quite muddy and wet still.

Stay safe folks, and we will somehow get to the other end of this mess.