היומן של eswerdfager

Time and date: 19/11/08 1:00 PM
Duration: 60 minutes
Location: Waterloo Park, ON
Weather: 0°, cloudy, moderate snowfall, light winds
Habitat: Deciduous forest, urban park

For my final wildlife outing, I decided to return to Waterloo Park to see how a change in seasons (fall to winter) may influence the species that I could observe in this area. One of the first things I noticed when walking through Waterloo Park was the different levels of snow on the ground, as forested areas in the park had a light layer of snow, while pavement had none at all, demonstrating how important microclimates are in urban ecosystems. In the forested area I observed rodent tracks in the snow, which I identified as rodent because the tracks are small and parallel to each other. I would hypothesis these tracks were from a squirrel and not a rabbit because they were more symmetrical than the offset tracks rabbits usually leave. As I continued on I felt more confident in identifying these tracks as being from squirrels, since I observed several eastern gray squirrels foraging in the nearby area. While I was in the forested area of Waterloo Park I additionally observed several black-capped chickadees calling, indicating the individuals may have been communicating with each other. My attention on the chickadees was all of a sudden taken away by a flicker of dull red flying through the shrubs. Although the bird perched for only a few seconds before taking off again, I was able to see the red coloured breast of an American robin. Lastly, as I was walking back home, I was utterly shocked to discover a raccoon perched in a tree near the path home. As I observed the raccoon, it seemed to take an interest in me, as it maintained eye contact and edged closer on its branch. This was certainly unusual behaviour to me, since I have usually only really seen raccoons at night, trying to get into garbage. The unusual behaviour of this raccoon made me hesitant to get much closer to it, as it could be an indication of disease or food conditioning with humans. This demonstrates the ability of raccoons to thrive in urban landscapes.

Time and date: 19/10/18 1:00 PM
Duration: 120 minutes
Location: Huron Natural Area, ON
Weather: 11.2°, cloudy, light winds
Habitat: Deciduous forest, wetland

For my fourth wildlife outing, I decided to go to Huron Natural Area and see what kind of species I could find in this ecosystem. Firstly, I observed a blue jay perched high up in a beech tree singing, indicating that this individual may have been trying to communicate to other individuals in the forest. I was able to identify this species to due its bold blue colour and distinct black necklace, as well as large crest. I also observed a northern cardinal, which I love seeing against the drab brown background of the leafless trees due to its vibrant red colour. This individual was a male because males of this species are bolder in colour than females, in order to attract mates. As I continued on my walk I started to explore the wetland habitat, in which I observed an ungulate track pressed into the mud. Although it is difficult to confirm which species this track may have been from, I would infer it is from likely a white-tail deer, based on the distribution of ungulates in this region. In fact, even ecosystems like Huron Natural Area are so heavily impacted by anthropogenic factors (i.e. habitat fragmentation) that they are not able to support the habitat requirements of most ungulates, which is why so many species have been extirpated from this area, while the population of more tolerant species like white-tail deer increase. As I continued on my walk, I found a gem studded puffball fungus, which can be identified as it is white inside and out, with studs or “gems” on the cap. Additionally, I observed honey mushrooms growing in a large cluster by sugar maples, which is characteristic of this species, and can also be identified by a ring on its stem and a cap that is covered in small hairs. The abundance of fungi in this forest may have interesting implications for the ecosystem health of this forested area.

Time and date: 19/10/7 11:00 AM
Duration: 60 minutes
Location: Waterloo Park, ON
Weather: 17°, cloudy, windy
Habitat: Deciduous forest, urban park

For my third wildlife outing, I decided to try and observe species in Waterloo Park because this is a novel urban ecosystem that I walk through every day on my way to campus, which makes me curious to know what kind of wildlife this habitat can support. Shortly into my walk along the path adjacent to the LRT tracks, I observed a hairy woodpecker foraging among dead goldenrods, and detected that it was focusing its pecking efforts on a gall in one of the plants. This is interesting because it is evident that the bird was seeking food in the gall, which indicates to me that this species of bird may have learned behaviour since it is able to recognize this shape in the goldenrod as a potential food source. The hairy woodpecker can be identified by its black and white body with a bright red patch near the back of its head. The presence of the hairy woodpecker made me curious about what other bird species might be around, so I decided to wait in the same area for 20 minutes to see what else I could observe. During this time, I observed an adult (probably male) blue jay flying into the shrubs before me, which I was able to identify due to its strong blue colour with a prominent crest and bold black necklace. Although I didn’t get to see any, I was able to hear black-capped chickadees nearby as well, which I was able to identify by their call that sounds similar to “chickadee-dee-dee.” As I finally decided to move on from this area, I was left pondering whether or not the diversity of bird species I was able to observe in such a short time is representative of the overall diversity of birds in Waterloo park, and therefore indicative of the health of this ecosystem. Since songbird diversity can be a valuable indicator of good ecosystem health, it would be interesting to conduct a study of the songbird community within Waterloo Park. However, I was abruptly stopped in my thoughts by finding a dead eastern grey squirrel on the ground in front of me. I found it near the LRT tracks and since it had no noticeable signs of trauma, it made me wonder if perhaps it died due to electrical shocks from the tracks. Lastly, I found some turkey tail fungi on a fallen log in the forest, which is characteristic of how this species grows, and it can also be identified by its distinct colourful rings with small pores underneath and a leathery texture.

Time and date: 19/09/21 1:00 PM
Duration: 120 minutes
Location: Bruce Peninsula National Park, ON
Weather: 18°, sunny, no precipitation, windy
Habitat: Deciduous forest, Alvar

For our second wildlife outing in the Bruce Peninsula National Park, Shalini and I decided to spend the majority of our time doing observations in the rare alvar habitat and deciduous forest, as there is such an abundance of species to observe in this habitat. This was particularly interesting because alvars are among the most threatened and rare habitats in North America, which means this habitat supports a variety of globally and provincially rare species. It was very interesting to observe the impressive network of ancient white cedars present in this habitat, as this unique alvar habitat supports white cedar trees that can be over 500 years old. We also observed red osier dogwood, which is a shrub that can be easily identified by gently splitting the leaf apart, showing light filaments that are still intact, parallel and attached to both halves of the leaves. Near the trail we found inky caps again, re-confirming our previous ID from our first outing and demonstrating how much this species thrives in disturbed habitats. Next we observed two different species of caterpillars, the first one was fuzzy and bright white, which I believe is in the genus Charadra based on recommendations from iNaturalist. The second species looked more familiar and may be a species of tent caterpillar. We also saw an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly using its proboscises to collect nectar from a red honeysuckle, which may be representative of a possible pollination syndrome between these two species. Finally, we observed a white flower crab spider poised atop a white flower, ready for attack. This was incredibly interesting to observe as flower crab spiders mimic the flower they are on to capture insect prey that are naturally attracted to the flower, which is a unique generalist predation strategy. The variety of insects we had the opportunity to observe demonstrates the unique assemblage of insects that take refuge in the alvar habitat.

Time and date: 19/09/20 8:30 AM
Duration: 120 minutes
Location: Bruce Trail to Stormhaven, Bruce Peninsula National Park, ON
Weather: 21°, scattered clouds, no precipitation, moderate winds
Habitat: Deciduous forest, Alvar Great Lakes shoreline

On a beautiful Friday morning, myself, my fellow classmate Shalini, and two of our other friends set out on a 5 kilometer hike to Stormhaven, a backcountry campsite in Bruce Peninsula National Park. The first part of the trail was wide and heavily disturbed since it is a popular section of trail in the park, which explains why we found inky cap fungi along the side of the trail right away. Inky caps can be identified by their bell-shaped cap with crowded gills that are initially a colour of white, but rapidly turn black and deliquesce (so weird and cool). Once we were deeper into the forested trail, we found other fungi species that are characteristic of the deciduous forest habitat, including orange coral and birch polypore, which can be identified because it grows on birch trees and gets softer as it ages (contrary to many other polypores).
As we continued on our hike we also saw an American red squirrel and an eastern chipmunk, both of which were observed to be foraging, likely in preparation for the upcoming winter. Two of my favourite species we had the luck of observing were a western boreal chorus frog and an American toad, both of which were spotted on the forest floor in similar habitat about half an hour apart. The chorus frog can be identified by its tiny size and three dark dorsal stripes, which can appear differently on different individuals – such as this one in my picture where the stripes form a kind of diamond pattern. Although there are two species of chorus frogs in Ontario, their ranges do not overlap, allowing me to be certain this is a western chorus frog. The American toad is easily identified by its dorsal midline stripe and bumps all over its body. The presence of these species indicates that the deciduous forest we were hiking in is in good ecological health, as amphibians are valuable indicator species due to their permeable skin, requirement of several habitat types, and sensitivity to changes in their environment.
After hiking through the deciduous forest we reached the Great Lakes shoreline, which consists of beautiful white rocky beaches and adjacent, rare Alvar habitats full of old eastern white cedar trees in calcareous rock. As we were walking along the shoreline, we had the gnarly opportunity to observe a northern water snake in the process of consuming an unknown fish species. Although there are few lizards that forage under water, aquatic snakes like this one will forage both in and out of the water, making them an interesting species for studying diet and foraging habits.