Perth Wildlife Preserve Part 3

No, we weren't done yet! I usually put too many photos in my posts. I thought I'd show some restraint, and curate them better! 

We toodled along the easy trail to the lookout. We did fairly well, and decided to go on the back leg of the trail. Grampa braved the rough path. He'd brought his walking stick, which was excellent.

The issue with walking mid day, is that you don't see nocturnal critters or critters that come out at dusk and dawn. That doesn't mean they aren't there! I do like the signage. It teaches respect for the unseen critters.

These photos of the flying squirrel are from our time living in Bala. They loved visiting the feeders in the night, and they were fun to watch.

More signage. This is all about the rat snakes. I know they are at-risk, and it is excellent to show how you can host them. What you need is a hibernaculum for them. They hibernate underground, usually under rock piles. We have a lot of those in Lanark County.

I told Joe there was a snake in the hole. He peeked.

"Made you look!" We needed a laugh. 

Aster and Jordan love snakes. Here is the rat snake ambassador at the local park in 2017. They both held it. They are gentle snakes, and eat birds, rodents and all, and can get to 6' long. 

It's hard to believe Jordan is going to Queens University in September. Aster heads to gr. 10.

Murphys Point Park 2017

These huge vines are wild grapes, winding themselves around the evergreens! Not snakes!

The paths vary, as good habitat does. There were more mosquitoes on the grassy bits, but under the pine trees, you could smell the sap. 

I was travelling with a fun guy!

The birds weren't plentiful. Most have mated, nested, and fledged their offspring. There were the usual chickadees, blue jays, woodpeckers, etc., that I could hear. I found one wee feather on the trail.

There was information about shrikes. I've seen one here at home once, maybe twice. The last one was February, 2025. It was cold, and food scarce.

 

There were dozens of wee green, leopard frogs sitting on the path, hopping out of my way as I marched along.

Peering through the forest trail, I could see the parking lot. We made it, a 3.5 km trip! 

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Yesterday I mentioned our Ottawa family. Today, an update on our Vancouver kids, Jesse took Cluny and Bryony camping somewhere in B.C.!

A Crumbly Acres update: we spotted miniFred on Sunday, Aug. 4th. This morning, she is out on the lower deck. They don't hang out together. 

It's birding season!

2024 Rideau Ferry Bird Count Dec. 14th

I've participated in our local bird count for several years! Dec. 14th, there were 35 people out in the field looking for birds. Also, 21 people (like myself) watching feeders. The final total was 51 birds species, and 7133 birds were spotted.

There aren't that many Northern Shrikes spotted. Keep this in mind!

The bird feeders attract all sorts of birds. Well, not all sorts, it attracts our winter birds! Many birds fly south, as the insects disappear under the snow, in the cold. 

The feeders attract predators, as well. Last month it was a hawk. This week, a Northern Shrike! They catch small birds and mice, and spear them on branches for later consumption. Cool little predators.

 The bird bath has not been used as a bird bath since the starling visited on Jan. 3rd. It came back.  Most of them seem to fly south. Except for this one!

In 2012, I snapped a photo of a juvenile starling! 

Originally, they were an invasive species:

•  All the European Starlings in NA descended from 100 birds released in New York's Central Park in the 1890s. 
• It was a group who wanted America to have all the birds that Shakespeare mentioned. (REALLY...?)
• An estimated 200 million European Starlings now range from Alaska to Mexico. 😱

It was bath time for our lone starling!