Looking back at the fall of 2016, the warming trend that is affecting the entire planet was certainly noticeable in the Kawarthas. While the average temperature for October was only 1 C above normal (compared to the mean temperature for 1971 – 2000), both September and November were nearly 2 C warmer. In fact, 15 of the past 16 months in the Kawarthas have seen above-average temperatures. We need to remember that the Paris Agreement is based on limiting warming to 2 C, since the laws of physics clearly demonstrate that any warming above this threshold will almost certainly result in massive negative impacts to civilization as we know it. However, on a day-to-day basis, we experience this warming in only subtle ways and often welcome the milder temperatures. It is therefore difficult to fully comprehend and ‘feel’ the enormity of what’s occurring and harder still to support forceful action – like sufficiently aggressive carbon taxes – to mitigate the warming. The human brain has simply not evolved to react effectively to slow-motion phenomena like a changing climate.

Although it’s hard to know what kind of weather the coming months has in store for us, the nature events listed below are typical of an average winter in the Kawarthas.

Bald eagle eating a dead carp near Lock 25 on the Otonabee River.

DECEMBER

·         December 21 marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the first official day of winter. The sun rises at its southernmost point on the eastern horizon, and sets at its southernmost point in the west. Sunrise is not until 7:46 a.m. while sunset is already upon us by 4:37 p.m. This translates into a mere 8 hours and 51 minutes of daylight. The winter solstice was celebrated by ancient cultures throughout the northern hemisphere and, in the opinion of some, was a precursor to faith. Try to imagine how an early human would experience the solstice and the weeks leading up to it. In late fall, the hours of daylight are only half of what they are in June, and the Sun is rising and setting further south each day. At a time pre-dating modern science, it would have seemed that the Sun was on the brink of vanishing completely and utter darkness and oblivion would follow. However, the decrease in daylight suddenly stops! Instead of rising and setting further and further south, the Sun abruptly halts its southward march and appears to “stand still ” – the meaning of the word solstice – before proceeding to rise and set further north and to climb higher in the sky. If anything was worthy of celebration, this certainly was.

·         Cassiopeia looms like a towering letter “M” in the north sky in the evening. The Inuit imagined the shape of this constellation as stairs sculpted in the snow.

·         Overwintering ducks, along with deer carcasses, are an important source of food for bald eagles that spend the winter in the Kawarthas. Watch for them along the Otonabee River and in the vicinity of Jack, Katchewanooka, Buckhorn, and Stony Lakes. Eagles are sometimes seen sitting on the ice beside open water, perched in nearby trees, or soaring overhead.

·         Robins should be quite plentiful this winter. The fruits that constitute the robin’s winter diet – mountain-ash, buckthorn, and especially wild grape – are abundant.

·         At most city feeders, the number and variety of birds have decreased since the heady days of October. White-throated and white-crowned sparrows, along with most of our blue jays, are now on their wintering grounds in the southern U.S. Although a few scattered flocks of pine grosbeaks have shown up in recent weeks, there is no indication yet of a major incursion of finches such as redpolls or pine siskins.

·         Take a drive along River Road north to Lakefield to look for ducks such as goldeneyes and mergansers. Little Lake in Peterborough is also worth checking. A red-throated loon has been there since late November.

·         With Christmas wreaths and planters everywhere, December is a great month to learn to identify our native conifers. Here are three simple memory aids that link the sound of letters in the trees’ name to its characteristics : pine needles are long like ‘pins’; spruce needles ‘spiral’ around the twig and are ‘spiky’; while fir needles are ‘flat’ and very ‘flexible’.

·         Christmas Bird Counts take place across North America this month. The Peterborough count will be held on December 18, while the Petroglyphs count is slated for December 27. A special Christmas Bird Count for kids will take place at Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park on December 17. It will be a morning of birding, campfires and hot chocolate! To register, please email shannon.mcgaffey@ontario.ca

·         Scattered twigs on the ground below conifers are a sure sign of red squirrel activity. The squirrels are after the buds and cones on the twigs.

JANUARY

·         Watch for ruffed grouse perched high in trees at dawn and dusk. The birds often appear in silhouette as they feed on buds such as those of trembling aspen.

·         Winter is a good time to make plans for additions to your gardens. If you’re interested in attracting more bees and butterflies, you may wish to pick up a copy of the 2017 Peterborough Pollinators Calendar – A 12-Month Guide to Pollinator Gardens and Backyard Nature. The calendars are available at Avant-Garden Shop, Hunter Street Books, Peterborough GreenUp, Chapters and Happenstance in Lakefield.

·         The Peterborough Field Naturalist’s 76th Annual General Meeting takes place on January 20. Leora Burman will speak on ‘The Land Between’. Contact Jim Young at 705-760-9397 for tickets. You will also find more information at peterboroughnature.org

·         Coyotes are quite vocal during their January to March mating season.

·         On January 25, Marcy Adzich will speak at the Peterborough Horticultural Society on “Edible Urban Ecology: Food Forests and Beekeeping in our Urban Community” For more information, visit peterboroughhort.com

·         If you’re walking in the woods, you’ll notice that some of the trees have retained many of their leaves. These are usually beech, oak, or ironwood.

American beech in winter. Note lingering leaves. Photo by Drew Monkman

·         Barred owls sometimes show up in rural backyards and prey on feeder birds or mice and voles that attracted at night by fallen seeds.

Barred Owl on eastern cottontail in backyard near Lakefield – Jeff Keller – 01 24 14

FEBRUARY

·         Groundhog Day, February 2, marks the mid-point of winter. In case you were wondering, no animal or plant behaviour can portend upcoming weather beyond a few hours.

·         On February 8, Basil Conlin will speak to the Peterborough Field Naturalists on mothing in Peterborough. To date, he has found an amazing 560 species. More information at peterboroughnature.org

·         Although tentative at first, bird song returns in February as pair bonds are established or renewed. Black-capped chickadees, northern cardinals, and white-breasted nuthatches are usually the first species to start singing this month.

·         Gray squirrels mate in January or February and can often be seen streaming by in treetop chases as a group of males chases a half-terrorized female.

·         The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 17-20. This citizen science event engages bird watchers of all levels of expertise to create a real-time snapshot of the whereabouts and relative abundance of birds in mid-winter. Anyone can participate. Go to birdcount.org for details.

·         Watch for river otters in winter around areas of flowing water. Their trough-like, snow-slide trails are often seen on embankments or even flat ground.

River otter eating a fish at Gannon’s Narrows, Buckhorn Lake (by Kinsley Hubbs)

·         Late February is courtship time for ravens. Males engage in aerial nuptial displays, diving and twisting like corkscrews over Canadian Shield country.

·         On mild, sunny, late winter days, check the snow along the edge of woodland trails for snow fleas. What looks like spilled pepper may begin to jump around right before your eyes!

·         Testosterone-charged male skunks roll out of their dens any time from mid-February to early March and go on nocturnal prowls looking for females. The smell of a skunk on a damp, late winter night is a time-honoured sign of “pre-spring.”

·         By month’s end, spring has sprung for overwintering monarchs in the mountains of Mexico. As lengthening days trigger the final development of the butterflies’ reproductive system, male monarchs begin zealously courting females. In December, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada recommended that the monarch be listed by the federal government as Endangered.

EARLY MARCH

·          Duck numbers increase as buffleheads and hooded mergansers start arriving.

·         Chipmunks make their first appearance above ground since late fall. They did remain somewhat active all winter, however, making repeated trips to their underground storehouses for food.

·         On March 8, Peter Mills will speak to the Peterborough Field Naturalists on the larval life of frogs, toads and salamanders. He is the author of “Metamorphosis”. More info at peterboroughnature.org

·         The furry catkins of pussy willows and aspens poke through bud scales and become a time-honoured sign of spring’s imminent arrival.

·         The first songbirds, too, usually return by mid-month. In the city, the most notable new arrivals are robins and grackles. In rural areas, watch for red-winged blackbirds perched high in wetland trees.

For most anyone who enjoys the unfolding of a new season, spring stands head and shoulders above any other time of year. The greening of the landscape and explosion of animal life never fails to amaze. Spring is a season that regales all of the senses. Our ears reawaken to the chorus of bird and amphibian love song; our eyes delight in the return of leaves and flowers; our noses are tickled by the smell of lilac and balsam poplar; our taste buds are charmed by the first asparagus and strawberries; and our skin is enlivened by the first warm rains.

As spring advances, the Earth’s axis tilts increasingly toward the Sun. This results in a huge increase in the amount of heating of the northern hemisphere. The more direct solar radiation greatly accelerates photosynthesis and causes new plant growth to “spring forth” – hence the name of the new season. The green bounty fuels the entire food chain from caterpillars to songbirds.

Although the vernal equinox is not until Sunday, you couldn’t be blamed for thinking that spring has been with us now for weeks. Peterborough has been abnormally warm this winter. December’s average temperature was a staggering 8 C above normal, while January and February were both about 2 C higher than usual. March has already produced double-digit warmth on many days. Globally, the last three months were the most abnormally warm on record for any month. February’s global temperature departure of 1.35 degrees Celsius above the 1951-1980 average topped the previous records just set in January and December.

As a reminder of what to watch for in nature, I’m offering some mileposts of the spring months. If the unseasonable warmth continues, however, many of these events are likely to occur earlier than usual. Regardless of what the weather throws at us, the order of the events, which are listed chronologically, should remain the same.

Scarlet tanagers arrive back in the Kawarthas in mid-May (photo by Karl Egressy)

Late March

• The buds of shrubs and trees like lilac, red-berried elder, red maple, and silver maple swell noticeably this month.
• Temperate zone migrants that overwintered in the U.S. are returning. In the city, the most notable new arrivals are robins and grackles. In rural areas, watch for red-winged blackbirds perched high in wetland trees. Listen, too, for the long, clear whistle of the eastern meadowlark and, in some areas, the rattling, bugle-like call of the sandhill crane. Wherever you are, keep an eye skyward for turkey vultures soaring northward.
• For anyone paying attention, the increase in bird song is hard to miss. If you don’t already know the voices of common songsters like the American robin and the song sparrow, this is a great time to start learning them. Go to allaboutbirds.org, enter the name of the species, and click on the Sound tab.
• Migrating waterfowl numbers are peaking early this year. With a bit of work, you should be able to find a dozen or more species. For mostly diving ducks, some hotspots include Little Lake, the Otonabee River, Lake Katchewanooka, Gannon Narrows, and Clear Lake at Young’s Point. Ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, lesser scaup, common goldeneye, and both common and hooded mergansers dominate. Puddle ducks such as northern pintails, American black ducks, green-winged teal and American wigeon often congregate in flooded fields such as the meltwater pond that forms each year at Mather’s Corners, located at the junction of County Road 2 and Drummond Line.
• The spring equinox occurs on March 20 as the sun shines directly on the equator. Both the moon and sun rise due east and set due west, and day and night are nearly equal in duration.

April

• April is a busy time for feeders. American tree sparrows and dark-eyed juncos move north through the Kawarthas in large numbers, sometimes accompanied by the beautiful, thrush-like fox sparrow. All of these species will occasionally break into song.
• The yellow, dandelion-like flowers we see growing in roadside ditches in early April are a non-native species known as coltsfoot.
• Close to 30 species of birds will be nesting this month. Among these are the Canada goose, mallard, bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, killdeer, American crow, blue jay, mourning dove, American robin, European starling, common grackle, northern cardinal, house finch, and house sparrow.
• For many rural residents, the return of the yellow-bellied sapsucker is hard to miss. This migratory woodpecker loves to hammer on resonant objects such as stovepipes to advertise ownership of territory and to attract a mate.
• If the weather is mild, local wetlands come alive in early April with the clamorous calls of countless frogs. The first voice usually heard is that of the chorus frog, which sounds like someone running their thumb over the teeth of a comb. Within a few days, wood frogs, spring peepers, and leopard frogs add their voices to the symphony. To learn amphibian calls, go to naturewatch.ca. In the menu at the top of the page, click on “identifying frogs”.
  

  Spring Peeper (John Urquhart)

• If you want to see and photograph beautiful spotted and blue-spotted salamanders, wait for a mild, rainy night when the first frogs are calling. Drive slowly along back roads that pass through low woodlands with nearby swamps or flooded ditches. Keep a close eye on the pavement or gravel for salamanders. Stop and walk with flashlights when you start seeing them.
• When water temperatures reach 7 C, walleye begin to spawn. Along with white suckers, they can sometimes be seen spawning at night at Lock 19 in Peterborough.
• Hepaticas are usually the first woodland wildflowers to bloom in the spring. The flowers can be pink, white or bluish in colour. Bloodroot will join the wildflower parade soon after.
  

  Hepatica – Drew Monkman

• White-throated sparrows are passing through by late April. They are easily attracted to feeders, as long as you scatter millet or finch mix on the ground. Listen for their high-pitched, whistled “Oh sweet Canada” song.
• Elm trees are in flower and look like they are covered with myriad brown raindrops. The small, wind-pollinated flowers are clustered in tassels.
• The courtship flight of the American woodcock provides nightly entertainment in damp, open field habitats such as fields at the Trent Wildlife Sanctuary.
• By month’s end, the first migrants from the tropics arrive. Listen for the boisterous song of the northern waterthrush in shrubby swamps it’s one of the easiest warbler songs to learn.

May

• A variety of interesting butterflies are already on the wing as May begins. These include the Compton tortoiseshell, the eastern comma and the mourning cloak. Try Charlie Allen Road off County Road 507, north of Flynn’s Turn.
• The yellow-gold flowers of marsh marigolds, also called cowslips, brighten wet habitats throughout the Kawarthas.
• The first ruby-throated hummingbirds usually return to the Kawarthas on about May 5, so be sure to have your feeders ready to greet them. To prepare nectar, mix 1 part sugar with four parts water and boil for one minute. Extra sugar water can be stored in the fridge.
• The long, fluid trills of the American toad can be heard day and night. They are one of the most characteristic sounds of early May.
• Drooping in tassel-like clusters, countless thousands of tiny yellow flowers decorate sugar maples. The female flowers will produce plump, paired keys.
• The damp morning air is rich with the sweet, pungent fragrance of balsam poplar resin. The scent originates from the sticky sap that oozes from the buds as they open.
• Mid-May is the peak of songbird migration with the greatest numbers of warblers, vireos, thrushes, orioles, flycatchers and other neo-tropical migrants passing through. Mild, damp mornings usually provide the best viewing conditions. In Peterborough, try Beavermead Park.
• Rose-breasted grosbeaks often show up at sunflower feeders this month. Stunning indigo buntings may also make a guest appearance.
• Sounding remarkably like birds, gray treefrogs serenade us with their slow, musical trills.
• The blossoms of white trilliums blanket woodlots throughout the Kawarthas. A closer look will reveal numerous other wildflowers, too, like yellow trout lily. Ties Mountain Road north of Nogies Creek provides a great wildflower display.
• The last frost in the Kawarthas usually occurs about May 18.
• Wild columbine is now in bloom on rocky hillsides and along roads and trails. The flowers, a beautiful blend of red and yellow, hang in a bell-like fashion and are often visited by hummingbirds.
• A blizzard of elm and silver maple seeds spin to the ground.
• The showy, yellow and black Canadian tiger swallowtail butterfly appears by month’s end and adds an exotic touch to our gardens.

June

• The roadside flower parade that began with coltsfoot and dandelions continues with mustards, buttercups and, by mid-month, ox-eye daisies and dame’s rocket.
• In downtown Peterborough and Lakefield, chimney swifts are putting on quite a show. Pairs can be seen in courtship flight as they raise their wings and glide in a V position.
  

  Chimney Swift (Wikimedia)

• Birdsong is at its most diverse. If you have a cottage or live in the country, get up about 45 minutes before sunrise, grab a coffee and go outside to enjoy the dawn chorus – the fervent birdsong that takes place each morning before and just after the sun comes up. How many different songs and calls can you hear?
• Smallmouth, largemouth and rock bass, along with pumpkinseeds and bluegills, are spawning and can be seen guarding their shallow-water nests.
• Painted and snapping turtles are often seen along roadsides and rail-trails laying their eggs. Please slow down in turtle-crossing zones and, if it is safe, help the reptile across the road.
• The male cones of white and red pines release their pollen. Decks, picnic tables and shorelines look like they’ve been powdered with a yellow dust.
• The first monarch butterflies are usually seen in June. Make sure you have some milkweed in your garden on which they can lay their eggs.
• More than 20 species of orchids bloom this month. Among them is the spectacular showy lady’s slipper.
• The summer solstice occurs on June 20. The sun will rise and set farther north than on any other day of the year. Celebrate this profound celestial event with your family.

Although fall’s official start is still almost three weeks away, a sense of the new season is already upon us. The blanket of goldenrod in fields and roadsides, the heavy morning mists and the hints of colour change in the leaves all tell us that summer is quickly waning.
As a reminder of what we can anticipate over the coming months, I have provided a list of the mileposts of fall’s progression. Right now, the long-term forecast is for cooler-than-normal conditions to kick off the fall season. Warmer weather, however, seems likely in early October, before temperatures drop in November.

SEPTEMBER
• Fall songbird migration is at its peak. Watch for warblers and vireos in trees and shrubs along forest edges and even in well-treed city backyards. Strangely enough, the key to their presence is often the sound of chickadees, which often join up with migrants during the day. A minute or two of pishing will quickly bring the chickadees out into the open with the warblers and vireos not far behind.

White Ash at peak colour – Drew Monkman

• The Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the fall equinox, occurs September 8. For several evenings in a row, the moon rises at almost the same time and seems to linger on the horizon as it follows a shallow angle up into the sky. This year’s Harvest Moon qualifies as a “super moon” because of its closeness to Earth.
• Large mating swarms of ants are a common September phenomenon, especially on warm, humid afternoons. Some are females – the potential future queens – but the majority is males. Ants bear wings only during the mating season.
• The spiraling flight of pairs of white or sulphur butterflies is a commonly seen behaviour. A male and female butterfly will circle around each other, all the while ascending high into the sky. Then, without warning, the male will give up the chase and drop to the ground, almost like a dead weight. It is believed that the female initiates these aerial climbs to rid herself of unwanted suitors.
• The fall equinox takes place on September 22, marking the beginning of autumn. At the equinox, both the moon and sun rise due east and set due west. Day and night are of almost equal duration.
• Virginia Creeper turns a fiery red or deep burgundy. Poison Ivy offers up lovely oranges, while dogwoods and blackberry bushes provide beautiful burgundies.
• Two species of white-flowered vines are very much in evidence this month, especially along woodland edges where they sprawl over fences, shrubs and trees. They are Wild Cucumber, which develop into roundish, cucumber-like seed pods covered in soft bristles, and Virgin’s Bower, identified by its distinctive, fluffy seed heads of gray, silky plumes.
• Brown and black Woolly Bear caterpillars are a common sight on roads, sidewalks and trails. People used to believe (falsely) that the longer the middle brown band was, the shorter and milder the coming winter would be.

Woolly Bear – Wikimedia

• Most years, White Ash, Pin Cherry and Staghorn Sumac reach their colour peak in late September. Some ash trees turn a stunning purple-bronze that literally glows in the September sun.
• By late September or the first week of October, the maples of the Canadian Shield and Algonquin Park are usually close to their colour peak. For an up-to-date fall colour report, go to www.ontariotravel.net

OCTOBER
• On an average year, fall colours in the Kawarthas reach their height at, or just before, Thanksgiving (October 13). For a great colour drive, go east from Apsley along County Road 504 through Lasswade and Glen Alda. Turn west at Glen Alda on County Road 604 to return to Highway 28.

Sugar Maples – Cy Monkman

• Sparrow migration takes centre stage this month making early October one of the busiest times of the year for backyard feeders. By scattering black oil sunflower seed or finch mix on the ground, you should be able to attract White-throated and White-crowned sparrows, along with Dark-eyed Juncos.
• As the goldenrods quickly fade away, asters dominate- and conclude -the wildflower parade for another year. The generally white flowers of heath and calico asters, along with the purple or mauve blossoms of New England and Purple-stemmed asters, seem to be everywhere. Go to ontariowildflowers.com for excellent tips on identifying asters.
• October is a great time to find salamanders. Red-backed Salamanders, which are almost worm-like in appearance, are usually the most common. However, you may also find both the Spotted and Blue-spotted Salamanders. Look carefully under flat rocks, old boards, and logs in damp wooded areas and around cottages.
• The signature constellation of fall is Pegasus and its asterism, the Great Square. Adjacent to the square is the Andromeda galaxy, our closest galactic neighbour. It appears through binoculars like a faint oval of fuzzy light – light that left the galaxy two million years ago! For detailed steps to finding this galaxy, go to Google and enter: wikihow Andromeda.
• Mid- through late October is very much a time of yellows. Most of the colour is being supplied courtesy of Trembling Aspen, Bigtooth Aspen, Balsam Poplar, Silver Maple, White Birch, and, at month’s end, Tamarack.

Red-backed Salamander – Drew Monkman

NOVEMBER
• Oaks, tamaracks and Silver Maples are about the only native deciduous trees that may retain their foliage in early November. Red Oaks stand out with particular prominence with their brownish-orange to sometimes burgundy-coloured leaves. At a glance, you are able to see just how common oaks are in many areas.
• We return to Standard Time on November 2 and turn our clocks back one hour. Sunrise on November 3 is at 6:53 AM and sunset at 5:00 PM for a total of only 10 hours and 7 minutes of daylight. This is one-third less daylight than the 15 and a half hours we enjoyed back in June!
• More collisions involving deer take place in late October and November than at any other time of year. When driving at dusk or after dark, watch for dark shadows along the side of the road and the bright green reflection of the deer’s eyes in your headlights. Slow down immediately. Deer are unpredictable when confronted with an automobile.
• The red berries of wetland species like Winterberry Holly and High-bush Cranberry provide some much needed November colour.
• Damp, decomposing leaves on the forest floor scent the November air. The smell of manure is often present, too, as farmers spread manure on their fields in the fall.
• With the onset of cold temperatures, Wood Frogs, Gray Treefrogs and Spring Peepers burrow down into the leaf litter of the forest floor and literally become small blocks of amphibian ice – in other words, a frogsicles! Surprisingly, the ice does not harm the animal because it forms in the body cavities outside of the cells. Glycerol, acting as an antifreeze, inhibits freezing within the frog’s cells.
• A trip to the Lakefield sewage lagoons is well worth the effort at this time of year. The lagoons are located on the south side of County Road 33, just south of the village off River Road. You should be able to get good looks at migrant ducks such as Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, and Hooded Merganser.
• Red-tailed Hawks, mainly from the boreal forest of northern Canada, migrate south into the United States. On a good day, hundreds can be seen flying along the north shore of Lake Ontario. Many central Ontario Red-tails are resident birds, however, and don’t migrate.
• Ball-like swellings known as galls are easy to see on the stems of goldenrod plants. If you open the gall with a knife, you will find the small, white larva of the Goldenrod Gall Fly inside. In the spring, it will emerge as an adult fly.
• The Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster adorns the eastern sky, while Orion looms over the southeast. They both add interest to an evening’s walk in late November.

Yellow Warbler (Karl Egressy)

After the brutal winter we’ve been through, most of us are awaiting the arrival of the true spring with bated breath. I think it’s fair to say that we’ve already bought and paid for the coming warmth and greening of the landscape with the cold and snow we’ve endured since November. As a reminder of what we can anticipate, I’ve provided a list of the mileposts of spring’s progression and when the events usually occur. However, should the abnormally cool weather continue, many of these happenings will no doubt be delayed. This will be especially true for flowering dates and the leaf-out of trees. You will notice that for some of the events, there is a YouTube link which will take you directly to a short video where you can see and hear the species in question.

Late April

• On average, most local lakes are ice‑free by April 20. As to when ice-out will happen this year, however, all bets are off.
• White‑throated Sparrows are passing through and easily attracted to feeders if you put seed on the ground. Listen, too, for the wavering whistle of their “Oh-sweet-Canada-Canada-Canada” song. YouTube link
• The courtship flight (YouTube) of the American Woodcock provides nightly entertainment in damp field habitats with scattered trees.
• The muffled drumming of the Ruffed Grouse (YouTube) is one of the most characteristic sounds of April. The birds drum to advertise territorial claims and to attract a female.
• Bloodroot joins the wildflower parade about now. Eight large white petals make it stand out, as do the large, deeply cut leaves.
• Watch for early butterflies such as the Mourning Cloak and the dainty, powder-blue Spring Azure.
• Don’t miss the April frog song coming from your local wetland. A quartet consisting of Wood Frogs, Spring Peepers, Chorus Frogs and Northern Leopard Frogs provide the voices.
• The first tropical migrants are arriving back from Central and South America. Among those to be expected right now is the shrubby swamp-loving and very vocal Northern Waterthrush (YouTube).
• Northward-bound loons fly over Peterborough on late April mornings. Even in flight, they often give their yodeling call (YouTube).

Early May

• Serviceberries (Juneberries) stand out on roadsides like white beacons against the slowly greening landscape. These small trees have masses of white, five-petal flowers.
• The damp morning air is rich with the sweet, pungent fragrance of Balsam Poplar resin. The scent originates from the sticky sap that oozes from the buds as they open.
• Calling both day and night in long, fluid trills, the American Toad (YouTube) provides one of the most characteristic sounds of early May.
• The Chimney Swift (YouTube), a species at risk, should be back by now in downtown Peterborough. Watch for a bird with a flickering, almost bat-like flight and making a sharp, chippering call.
• Make sure your nectar feeders are out and ready, because Ruby-throated Hummingbirds return in early May.
• Butterflies aren’t the only insects that sometimes migrate. Watch, too, for Common Green Darners, our largest dragonfly.
• It is common this month to see one or two Common Grackles chasing a nest-robbing American Crow, often over a considerable distance.

Mid-May

• With the exception of ashes and oaks, most trees should have leafed out by now.
• May 10-20 is the peak of songbird migration with the greatest numbers of migrating warblers, vireos, thrushes, orioles and flycatchers passing through.
• Magnificent Rose-breasted Grosbeaks sometimes show up at sunflower feeders, so keep your feeders stocked up until month’s end.
• Windows take a huge toll on migrating birds in the spring and fall. You may wish to try putting “Window Alert” decals on the outside of the pane. The Avant-Garden Shop on Sherbrooke Street sells these.
• Midland Painted Turtles and, some areas, yellow-throated Blanding’s Turtles are a common sight on logs and hummocks in local wetlands.
• The song of the Indigo Bunting (YouTube) once again rings out from telephone wires and treetops on the margins of shrubby fields.
• Woodlots are blanketed by a profusion of spring ephemeral wildflowers such as White Trillium and Trout Lily.
• Wetlands, roadside ditches, and even backyard swimming pool covers are often teeming with tadpoles at some point this month.

Late May

• A large variety of mammals gives birth this month. These include beavers, flying squirrels, otters, porcupines, groundhogs, skunks, deer and moose.
• High in the NE, Ursa Major appears “upside down”, with Polaris and Ursa Minor below it.
• On warm breezy days, watch for strands of gossamer – fine filaments of spider silk – caught up in tree branches and bushes. Closer examination will often reveal a tiny spider attached to the silk. The filaments can carry a baby spider kilometres away to where it can establish its own territory.
• Bass and sunfish begin to spawn and are a common sight near docks.
• Watch for ridges and mounds of soil on lawns. Moles push soil up to the surface as they tunnel through the dirt in search of earthworms.
• A lot of the birdsong you hear in cottage country at this time of year belongs to the American Redstart (YouTube) and Yellow Warbler (YouTube)

Early June

• The mysterious yellow dust that covers cars, decks and even shorelines is wind-spread pollen from the male flowers of spruce and pine trees.
• Male hummingbirds can be seen doing their pendulum courtship flight, almost as if suspended from a string. They fly in wide arcs above and to both sides of the female.
• The first monarch butterflies of the year – the “grandchildren” of the monarchs that flew south last fall – are usually seen sometime during the first half of June. Numbers, however, are at record lows.
• Watch for turtles laying their eggs in the sandy margins of roadsides and rail-trails. Remember to slow down when driving through turtle-crossing zones and, if safe, help the reptile across the road.
• Giant silk moths take wing in June. They include the Cecropia, Polyphemus, Promethea, Luna, and the small, but spectacular, Io moth. The males have large, feather-like antennae, which are sensitive to airborne sex attractants called pheromones.
• June is the time of the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. It resembles both a tiger in its yellow and black colouration and a Barn Swallow’s tail in the shape of the wing extensions.
• Female Balsam Poplars, Trembling Aspens and various willows are now releasing their airborne seeds. The “fluff” collects on lawns and looks like a June snowstorm has hit.

Mid-June

• Drooping clusters of aromatic, white blossoms hang from nearly every twig of Black Locust trees for a week or so this month.
• Starring in the roadside flower parade right now are Ox-eye Daisy, Dame’s-rocket, Goat’s-beard, Bladder Campion and Yellow Hawkweed.
• June is the time of peak nesting activity for many bird species but especially for migrants from the tropics. Keep your cat indoors.
• Serviceberries, also known as Juneberries, are the first shrubs to boast ripe fruit. Robins love them.
• The melodious, bird-like trills of the Gray Treefrog (YouTube) provide the music of June nights.
• The Green Frog’s banjo-like “poink” (YouTube) is a widespread sound in wetlands both day and night.
• At the summer solstice on June 21, the sun rises and sets farther north than any other day of the year. It is nearly directly overhead at noon and casts the year’s shortest shadows.

Great Horned Owl at Fleming Campus in Peterborough in December, 2008. (Drew Monkman photo)

A late fall Kawartha’s nature almanac

                In late fall in the Kawarthas, a pre-winter stillness settles upon the land. The calls of migrating sparrows and kinglets cease, most robins bid us farewell and the last crickets surrender to the cold. Damp, often cloudy weather, leafless trees and faded grasses and flowers create a world of greys and browns, punctuated only by the dark green of conifers. At first glance, a walk on a late fall day seems uneventful, with seemingly little of interest to catch our attention. However, the relative scarcity of plants and animals allows us to focus on the commonplace – leafless trees reduced to their elemental form and distant vistas revealed now that the green veil of foliage has been lifted. With colder weather, nature’s kaleidoscope of smells is also reduced to a minimum. Apart from the scent of decaying leaves or the smoke of a wood stove, there is little to stir our sense of smell. Yet the cold also brings renewed appreciation for the warmth and comfort of our homes. There is also a growing anticipation – among those of us who enjoy winter at least – for the new season just around the corner. The events listed below are typical of late fall in the Kawarthas.

Mid- to late November –

• With the onset of cold temperatures, Wood Frogs, Gray Treefrogs and Spring Peepers burrow down into the leaf litter of the forest floor and literally become small blocks of amphibian ice – in other words, frogsicles! Surprisingly, the ice does not harm the animal because it forms in the body cavities outside of the cells. Glycerol, acting as an antifreeze, inhibits freezing within the cells.
• The red berries of wetland shrubs like Winterberry Holly and High-bush Cranberry provide some much needed November colour. Both species have abundant fruit this year.
• Throughout the late fall and winter, Gray Squirrels – most of which are black in Peterborough – are often seen high up in Manitoba and Norway maples, feeding on the keys. Right now, they can also be seen scavenging fallen Sugar Maple keys off the ground.
• More collisions involving deer take place in November than in any other month. When driving at dusk or after dark, watch for dark shadows along the side of the road and the bright green reflection of the deer’s eyes in your headlights. Slow down immediately.
• Monarch butterflies are now arriving on their wintering grounds in tiny patches of Oyamel Fir forest, high up in the mountains west of Mexico City. The overwintering population this year is expected to be at a record low.
• If you are walking in the woods, pay special attention to the small plants of the forest floor that usually escape our attention the rest of the year. Evergreen ferns, club-mosses, and mosses stand out prominently against the brown leaf litter.
• A trip to the Lakefield sewage lagoons is well worth the effort at this time of year. The lagoons are located on the south side of County Road 33, just south of the village off of River Road. Among the duck species there now are Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup and Redhead. A Peregrine Falcon is also making a regular appearance.
• In our woodlands, the only trees that still have some leaves clinging to the branches are Red Oaks and young American Beech and Ironwoods.
• Coyotes are often heard in late fall. The Coyotes of central Ontario are closely related to the Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon). Consequently, the two species sometimes hybridize.
• Ball-like swellings known as galls are easy to see on the stems of goldenrod plants. If you open the gall with a knife, you will find the small, white larva of the Goldenrod Gall Fly inside. In the spring it will emerge as an adult fly.
• The Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster adorns the eastern sky, while Orion looms over the southeast.
• Feeder activity may be rather slow this fall and winter since very few northern finches (e.g., Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll) are expected. Abundant natural food in northern Canada is keeping them at home. However, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers and both White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches should help fill the void.

December

• Before too much snow falls, this is good time to walk around the edge of wetlands and streams to photograph interesting ice formations. Leaves, sticks, and bubbles frozen in the ice can also be intriguing.
• Robins should be common this month and throughout the coming winter. The wild fruits that constitute the robin’s winter diet – Wild Grape, European Mountain-ash, European Buckthorn, etc. – have produced an abundant fruit crop this year. Likewise, there should be large numbers of Blue Jays, thanks largely to the plentiful acorns and beech nuts.
• Venus is dazzling this fall. On December 5, the planet will appear close to the waxing crescent moon in the southwestern sky after sunset.
• Between mid-December and early January, Christmas Bird Counts take place across North and Central America. The annual Petroglyphs count will be Thursday, January 2. Birders will be out from dawn until dusk, identifying and counting all of the birds they see.  If you wish to participate, contact Colin Jones at 705-652-5004. The date of the Peterborough count has not yet been released.
• “Nip twigs” on the ground below conifers are another sure sign of Red Squirrel activity. If you walk quietly through the woods, you will sometimes even hear the sounds of the squirrels tearing cones apart with their teeth.
• Over the past 30 years, Trumpeter Swans have been reintroduced to Ontario. The species now nests in the Kawarthas. A few individuals also choose to overwinter here on bodies of open water. Many of these swans have a yellow wing tag bearing a number.
• December 21 marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the first official day of winter. The sun rises at its southernmost point on the eastern horizon, and sets at its southernmost point in the west. Sunrise is not until 7:46 a.m., while sunset is upon us by 4:37 p.m. This translates into only eight hours and 51 minutes of daylight. Compare this to 15 ½ hours in June – a difference of 6 ¾ hours!
• In the southeastern night sky, look for the Winter Six:  Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Canis Major and Canis Minor. The winter constellations shine brightly and are easy to pick out.
• The migratory birds that breed in the Kawarthas are now on their wintering grounds. For example, the Baltimore Orioles that were coming to your nectar feeder this summer are now happily dining on the nectar of flower blossoms somewhere in southern Mexico or Central America.
• The full moon this month occurs on December 17.  The December moon traces a higher arc through the sky than at any other time of year.
• December is the peak calling period for both the Eastern Screech-Owl and the Great Horned Owl. The best nights to hear them are usually those with falling barometric pressure and a full or gibbous moon. Listen to their calls at allaboutbirds.org.
• Look for the waning crescent moon and Saturn before dawn on December 28.

August is warm and inviting but nature’s frantic hustle and bustle mellows out

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Seemingly cool March was really just the norm, now April can warm things up

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Look to eastern sky at nightfall for one of the highlights of the start of winter

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