ERS 346 Outing #5

TIME & DATE: 2019/11/1 @ 14:00
DURATION: 195 minutes
LOCATION: Grass Lake/Paris Cranberry Bog, North Dumfries, Ontario
WEATHER: 2°C, moderate breeze (4 on Beaufort Scale), 80-100% cloud cover, no precipitation (but snow and rain in last 24 hours)
HABITATS: marsh, fen, bog, open water

My friend and classmate, Olivia, and I ventured out to Grass Lake (also known as the Paris Cranberry Bog) last Friday. It was a chilly day and the first snowfall of the year had happened that morning. We were there to collect some data for a wetlands course we’re taking together, but the wildlife we saw was too neat to resist writing about it. As we waded into the deep, cold waters that surrounded the perimeter of the wetland, we trekked through thick cattails and stumbled across a lodge – most likely that of a muskrat. The cattails had been obviously matted and some fresh submergent vegetation had been recently placed on top of the lodge. We wondered how a muskrat would be able to navigate its way through the very dense vegetation, but this spot seemed like a good hideout for it – well camouflaged and sheltered from the elements. Not to mention, there was no shortage of food for muskrat – sedges, cattails, lily pads and small fish. This lodge would be one of three we would encounter that afternoon. The Paris Cranberry Bog is part of a larger series of wetlands that make up the Bannister Wrigley Sudden Tract Wetland Complex, so despite being surrounded by well-developed agriculture (both pasture and cropland), a muskrat population would likely have a relatively large wetland landscape within which they can persist.

Through the cattails, the vegetation changed as we progressed into a fen wetland. Bog Cranberry, leatherleaf, sedge species, and Purple Pitcher plants dominated the vegetation. We came across a couple of patches of scat partially submerged on the floating peat. A small fish darted around one patch of scat, though I’m not sure what it was because it disappeared quickly in the murkiness of the scat-mixed water. After doing a quick Google search, it’s obvious that this patch of scat definitely belonged to a muskrat (based on the shape and size of the pellets). The other two evidences of scat contained berries, though we’re not quite sure what animal(s) they belong to.

We also saw very distinct trails through the dense sedges; I’m guessing that these, too, belong to the muskrats. They were linear and obviously cleared of vegetation.

Flying overhead, Olivia and I saw two Sandhill Cranes. This makes sense because, according to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Sandhill Cranes breed, nest and feed in standing water and isolated wetlands, often close by to croplands so they can glean the seeds, grains and berries.

In the thinned mature mixed woodland immediately adjacent to the wetland, six Eastern Bluebirds flew between the trees. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these birds are commonly found in open country areas, near agricultural land and in forests with little understory growth. It is likely that the Eastern Bluebirds we saw were moving through their home range along the isolated patches of woodland left between the parcels of agricultural land.

We also saw a total of four Red-tailed Hawks flying above us. At one point, two American Crows were chasing a hawk in the act of mobbing. I’m sure that mice and other small rodents are easy for the hawks to prey upon in the agricultural landscape that surrounded us. Obviously, the crows wanted the hawk to leave the area.

References:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.) All about birds. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/?utm_source=adgrant&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand&utm_content=allbirds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_vfh1-fO5QIVypyzCh2wIQz1EAAYASAAEgKqgPD_BwE

New Hampshire Public Broadcasting Corporation (NH PBS). (n.d.) Common Muskrat - Ondatra zibethicus. Nature Works. Retrieved from https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/muskrat.htm

Posted on 03 de novembro de 2019, 07:56 PM by