Fall Fling Along the Sydenham

 On this brisk autumn day, the Sydenham Field Naturalists club had an outing along the east branch of the Sydenham River.  The Sydenham River is unique in so many ways, there are no shortage of things to discuss.

Note the abundant Lizard's Tail along the riverbank

There are some notable trees and plants here, and I cannot help but wonder what insects (especially odonates) are here in the summer.  I would be anxious to visit this place at various times during the summer!

Although Common Hackberry trees are regular along the Sydenham, they are abundant at this location.  Some are quite large.

As we walked along the riverbank, several Kentucky Coffeetree were noted.  Some quite tall!

Single leaves of this tree are unique where each is composed of about 70 leaflets on 3-7 pairs of branches from a central stalk.

This rare species is often planted as an ornamental, but some grow naturally in southwestern Ontario, like this location.

I suspect it would be a good place to look for mussels as well, since the river is quite shallow here.

At one point, we noticed this plant, called Wingstem.  Another "rare" species.

Above our heads, someone noticed this mushroom growing out of a tree.  Seemed to be there for no apparent reason!

I noted a few birds during the walk, including this Red-tailed Hawk soaring overhead.

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Today's history note highlights a collision of two salties on the St. Clair River 7 October 1966.  The Emsstein was hit by the Olympic Pearl in front of where the Lambton Generating Station was being built.  It was holed and began taking on water, so it was beached.

The above photo was taken by my grandfather Morgan Dalgety.  I vividly remember this scene even though I was only about four years old!  I do have a good memory of things along the St. Clair River, as it was a place my parents took me to very frequently.  There was always, and still is, some attraction to that river!

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.