Early August Backyard Bioblitz

White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal, Green Heron. Mallard Duck, Eastern Kingbird, Common Grackle

The last time I visited the local natural area was May this year. The summer has been wet, warm and humid allowing vegetation to grow so high that trails and water views are often concealed. Ticks are becoming an increasing problem locally and I am reluctant to go off trails in high grass. Not to mention that mosquitoes have a banner year with all the moisture. This is good news for insect-eating birds but not ideal for humans and other mammals. I rode my bike along a stone dust trail to the boardwalk over a swamp this morning while it was still cool. Flycatchers, including Eastern Phoebes, Great-crested Flycatchers and Eastern Kingbirds were vocal and visible. Nuthatches, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Mourning Doves and Grackle waited hopefully for handouts of seeds. Many people feed the birds on the boardwalk and they are quite tame but I don't feed birds in the summer months. 

A Muskrat swam near the log where the Green Heron was fishing. The Great Blue Heron nests are now empty. Various Woodpeckers foraged in the dead trees standing in the swamp but interestingly, I didn't see any swallows. The number of bird species in this park has decreased in recent years as the city has grown around it. 

Queen Anne's Lace, Yellow Coneflowers, Chicory and Red Clover

Summer wildflowers are abundant. I have loved wildflowers since I was a child. We used to pick buttercups and Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot). We played "he loves me, he loves me not" with daisy petals and sucked the nectar out of Red Clover petals. I learned that blue Chicory flowers (we called cornflowers), close their petals and die when they are picked and are not suitable for bouquets. Our grandchildren picked wildflowers last week and my granddaughter was excited to tell me about the "beautiful Queen Anne's Lace flowers". They were her favourite.

Prairie Coneflower, White Admiral Butterfly, Burdock flowers (soon to be burs!)

Wildflowers are essential for butterflies and other pollinator insects. I saw only one butterfly in the two hours I spent in the park, a White Admiral which is a variation of the Red-spotted Purple Butterfly. It is alarming to see how local butterfly and dragonfly populations have decreased in the past decade. 

Nature Conservancy Canada sponsored the Big Backyard Bioblitz this long weekend and encouraged registrants to report local nature findings between August 1-5. Both native and invasive species need to be tracked. While observations will be tracked, the project's goal is to get people outdoors, engaged and willing to care for the natural world around them.