MORE SIGNS OF SPRING ON THE TRAILS
There was a very disturbing report from a landowner, who met two dog walkers with off-leash dogs. When the landowner asked them to leash their dogs, one declined because they had no leash but then also refused to return to their vehicle. This is the sort of totally unacceptable behaviour that can result in the trail being closed and being rerouted for long distances onto roads. Unleashed dogs can disrupt ground nesting birds and some may catch wildlife. I also know of a person who, as a child, was bitten by a dog, so is now terrified when meeting any dog, no matter how friendly.
On Sunday, April 7, I hiked the Millennium Trail. Near Mill Road, I saw my first spring butterfly -- a mourning cloak, which did not stay for a photograph. There was a Daphne shrub in bloom and, later on, a beautiful patch of Greek anemones, a non-native garden plant. There were also a few windfalls on that trail, but fortunately fairly easy to step over. I am sure there will be other windfalls on our trails. On Tuesday, April 9, there were even more signs of spring -- a red admiral butterfly that flew into our greenhouse, a woolly bear caterpillar (these morph into an Isabella tiger moth, which is orange with black spots) and three green frogs. At first, I did not see any, but then one leaped into the pond, helping me finally spot two well-camouflaged frogs on the bank.
In the evening, we went to Hullett Sugar Bush and, as expected, heard spring peepers. While I was standing at the edge of the pond, they were very loud, but, as usual, I was unable to see any. The only one I have ever seen was at Huron Hospice, when it was well away from the pond. We also saw a couple of red admirals, which were about half the size of the one seen in our garden. On Monday, April 8, Thyra and I drove down to the Fingal Wildlife Management Area, which was an interesting place to visit and watch the total eclipse. There were few clouds and not too many people there. The eclipse resulted in a dusk that was not as dark as I had expected. Afterwards, we hiked around the wildlife area, which included a good arboretum, and we saw several small flocks of golden-crowned kinglets, which is a new bird for me. This kinglet has a crown similar to a whitecrowned sparrow but looks more similar to a warbler than to a sparrow.
On our Wednesday hike on April 10, we saw bloodroot starting to bloom, as well as hepatica, blue cohosh, violets, a red admiral, and a garter snake that was unusually aggressive looking.
NOTES:
Saturday, April 20, at 9 a.m. Join Anne Melady for a hike on private property at 7277 Hwy. 8 just east of St Columban. Walk through this delightful property of farm fields, across the railway tracks and back to the bush and a cabin. The walk takes you along the Bayfield River and up through the bush of old growth and recently planted bush. There will be a trip to the Dublin Restaurant after the hike. For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Anne Melady at jamelady@hotmail.com. This is a Level 1 leisure paced hike of 1.5 to two hours. Saturday, April 20, at 1 p.m. Join the BRVTA hike on their Bayfield Sawmill Trail Saturday, April 20. For those in top shape, join the World Wildlife Fund for a fundraising climb of the 1,776 steps up the CN Tower!
All participants taking part in the Maitland Trail events should sign the waiver for 2024, preferably the online version. Tuesday Trompers meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to hike for about an hour. If you wish to be on this email list, send an email to mta@ maitlandtrail.ca Midweek Hikers hike for 90 minutes to two hours on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Contact Patrick Capper.
Both groups meet at 9 a.m. and are open to non-members provided they sign the MTA online waiver.
If you have questions or something of interest for Trail Talk email me, Patrick Capper, at pcapper99@ gmail.com.