ERS 346 Outing #2

19/10/05 – 08:00 – 08:45
Duration: 45 minutes
Location: Barries Lake, North Dumfries
Weather: 7®C, some clouds, cold breeze
Habitat type: Wetland Marsh
Narrative:
Barries Lake is a wetland marsh feeding Grand River tributaries like Cruckston Creek and Devils Creek. I sat in a big Willow tree which grows between the bank and Blair Rd. At 0800 in the morning the dogs in my grandmother’s kennel on the neighboring property bark as they play outside, and traffic starts to get busy on the street. Every ten minutes of observation I would get up and perform jumping jacks and squats to stay warm as the sun gained height in the sky, or hid behind clouds.
Along the banks cattails and phragmites grow. Phragmites are harmful and invasive to Ontario wetlands however they are difficult to get rid of and would thrive in this environment despite disturbances in the area like runoff from the road and kennel, geocachers, and litterers. I spotted many Canada geese arriving and leaving the wetland as well as mallards and swans. I spotted squirrels running up and down a stand of red cedar trees. Next, I spent a lot of time observing a pair of Sandhill Cranes I could see in the distance. I first mistook them for Great Blue Herons, however, editing my photo and researching their calls later revealed that they were sandhill cranes. I noted territorial displays and shows of aggression amongst the Canada geese and between the Geese and the Swans.

Publicado el 07 de diciembre de 2019 a las 01:27 AM por sydneydauphin