Wildlife Tracking Weekend - Sauble Beach, June 14 2014
Our second tracking weekend took us to the
Sauble Beach area, overlooking Lake Huron. We met at Alexis’ place and drove further
north to the spot where we’d spend most of the weekend. It was late morning
when we reached our destination and came together as a group. We circled up
then entered a sandy trail in a hidden spot by the Sauble River. Immediately ahead of us were sand and mud, green
fields dotted with flowers, flat stretches of rock, clusters of trees, and the lake
reaching all the way to the horizon.
We began by studying deer tracks in the
sand. The tracks were small, likely from a yearling, and fairly fresh. Alexis
pointed out some details in the gait that could be used to determine the sex of
a deer. We looked also at the pressure releases on the tracks, telltale ways in
which the sand clumped and shifted around the track under the pressure of
movement, speed and direction of travel. From these we could begin to form a
story of how the deer had moved, when it had changed direction, and sometimes
even where it had hesitated or turned its head.
In the mud close by, we found an interested puzzle: bird tracks with
several squiggly rows of dots to one side. Some examination of the tracks and our
field guides suggested a likely killdeer, gleaning flies and ground beetles
with its beak. A few details
distinguished the tracks from the similar tracks of sandpipers, but we also had
extra evidence in the form of killdeer flying and on the ground close by.
Nearby, on a muddy path among the tracks of
ducks, geese, and songbirds, we came across tracks of an animal in an
uncharacteristic gait: raccoon in a gallop with very pronounced claw marks
registering. Among some confusing
details, the long hind tracks and kidney-shaped front heel pads gave away the
species.
As we walked on, we were struck by the
wealth of plant diversity around us. As
Alexis focused on animal track and sign, Dan, the botanist in our group, shared
his knowledge of the plant species around us, some of which he pointed out were
provincially rare. Among them were round-leafed sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja
spp.), shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), Ohio goldenrod (Oligoneuron
ohioense), blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium
montanum), common juniper (Juniperus communis), grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca), fringed bluet (Hustonia canadensis), silverweed (Argentina anserina), bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata), starry Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum), ninebark (Physocarpus
spp.), balsam ragwort (Senecio pauperculus), mossy stonecrop (Sedum acre),
northeastern sedge (Carex cryptolepis), field sagewort (Artemesia Campestris,), hoary
puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)
and three species of St. John’s wort (Hypericum spp.).
The day had started cool and cloudy, but by
early afternoon the sun shone bright and clear.
We made our way towards the lake, meeting a garter snake and finding a beautiful
soft feather – could it be a breast feather from an owl? Lunch was eaten on flat rocks overlooking the
water, the sun warming us up against the cool temperature and breeze from the
lake.
After lunch, the discovery of bird bones led
us into a grove of trees. A skull with hooked beak nearby was judged likely to
be a cormorant. This led to some questions about cormorants – how does the hooked
beak help them in their hunting strategy?
What IS their hunting strategy? Heading
in and out of the trees someone spotted a song sparrow launching away from the
ground in alarm. Right at the spot, we found a tiny nest, encircled and almost
covered by tall grass, and containing four tiny marbled eggs. We stood off to the side and at a distance,
hoping for the sparrow to return to its nest, watching and listening to song
sparrows and redstarts around us.
Suddenly, someone with sharp eyes made out a well-camouflaged smooth
green snake in the grass. We picked up the snake and clustered around in
excitement, marveling at its smoothness and vibrant colour. We thanked the snake and let it go.
We were drawn under the umbrella of a large
elm surrounded by cedars. There we found a possible pellet containing feathers,
scaly bits of footpads and a claw. A very furry scat lay nearby. Heading out of
the trees again, another nest, this time in a tree, with only one egg. Some discussion and a lingering question –
could this be a redstart nest? As we came out of the trees: a snakeskin lodged
between stones, grey and translucent with holes where the snake’s eyes would
have been. We crossed another field and headed again into trees. This time, we
followed a sand trail, a great surface to notice tracks of snakes and
caterpillars. We tested some scattered small indentations in the sand with a
string, triggering attack by an ambush insect.
Along the trail lay a ropey coyote scat.
As we heading back towards our starting
point, frogs became a brief theme. Tamara
pointed out the differences between green frogs and bullfrogs and how to tell
male and female frogs apart. A couple of leopard frogs were briefly caught and
released, with an unsuccessful attempt to release one onto mud to create a frog
trail. Alas, the mud was too firm and we
also discovered that frogs won’t hop in a straight line on cue!
We closed our field time for the day and
headed back to Alexis’s place, but not before spotting a beautiful European
Hare browsing by the side of a small side road on our way back to the highway. Then
a drive back and time to set up camp, share a potluck dinner, do some field
guide research, discuss some lingering mysteries, and have a good night’s
sleep!
written by Malgosia Halliop
Day 2 Story of the day to be continued......
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