News

Watch your Step…

Spring is a time of new life and re-growth. During the migration season, many of us are looking up into the trees to admire the beautiful colours of the songbirds that are returning to the park…few of us think to look down into the leaf litter for migrating birds!

 While out in the marsh trail searching for Fox snakes last week, Rondeau staff were a little startled to notice that they were standing in the middle of an American Woodcock family. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Woodcock, they are small, chunky members of the Sandpiper family with very unique features! Woodcock have very long bills which they use to probe the soil for earthworms (which make up about 60% of their diet). Their large eyes are set well back and high on the sides of their heads allowing them to basically see in all directions while their nose is buried in the ground. Woodcock ears are located between the eyes and bill, helping them to focus on the faint sounds of their prey. The leaf litter that covers the forest floor is the perfect backdrop to their mottled brown feathers – making them really hard to see!

The only time that Woodcock are conspicuous is early in the spring while the males are busy attracting mates. Males will move to open areas just after sunset and perform courtship flights where they spiral high into the night sky. As the wind moves through specialized feathers, a twittering sound is produced. After reaching a height of around 300 ft. they fall lightly to the ground and begin the process again.

 The eggs are laid in a shallow depression in the leaf litter. Woodcock young are precocial, meaning they are able to leave the nest just a few hours after hatching. Chicks quickly learn to “freeze” when threatened or in response to an alarm call given by the female – which is exactly why we didn’t see them until we were standing right beside them. So while in Rondeau, pay extra close attention to the forest floor and you will be surprised at what you see!

 Look closely at the photo below and see if you can spot the Woodcock!

 

 

Spring has Sprung…finally!

It looks like the warm weather might finally be here to stay. Already the forest is starting to show signs of life again. The Spicebush is in bloom and the forest floor is carpeted in hues of white, purple and pink.

 It may still seem too cold for delicate flowers to be blooming, but many species of wildflowers have adopted this early growing season and have unique strategies for dealing with the unpredictable weather. During the spring sunlight reaches the forest floor and warms the soil since the forest canopy has not yet emerged.

These early bloomers are known as ‘spring ephemerals’ which best describes their early and brief life cycles. The word ‘ephemeral’ refers to the plants’ flowers, not the plant itself. The leaves of these plants remain all summer long to produce the food which will then be used to develop next year’s early bloom.

A walk down Spicebush Trail will showcase the many spring ephemerals here at Rondeau Provincial Park. One of the earliest to bloom is Hepatica, sometimes being seen as early as late March. Luckily for Hepatica, it doesn’t rely on visiting insects for pollination as there wouldn’t be many around…it can fertilize itself!

Another early bloomer is Bloodroot. Look for its distinct leaf which stands on a separate stalk just behind the white bloom. It is the bright orange-red juice that runs through the stem and leaves of this plant that give it its name. The large white flowers only last for a day or two so you need to hurry to see them!

If you are interested in learning more about the wildflowers of Rondeau, come out and join us on one of our wildflower hikes during the month of May. We are also gearing up for our Festival of Flight which runs from May 4^th – 20^th. The Visitor Centre will be open from 7:00am – 5:00pm to greet birders from around the world and help them connect with the beautiful songbirds that migrate through the park this month.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcomeSarah Fleischhauerto the Rondeau team. Sarah is filling in the Summer Naturalist position at the Visitor Centre – so come down and introduce yourself to her!

 

March Break

I know that for many youngsters the countdown for March break is on! For a lot of parents, the question of how to keep your little ones entertained for a week is burning in your minds. A trip to Rondeau Provincial Park may be just what you and your family need. The Rondeau Visitor Centre will open its doors on March 9-17 from 10am-4pm each day. Come in and enjoy a variety of fun and interactive displays and take a look at some of our live animals that we have on display.

Let’s not forget that on March 16 and 17 the Friends of Rondeau and the Rondeau Bay Waterfowler’s Association will be hosting the ‘Wings of Spring’ waterfowl migration festival at the Visitor Centre. Come and enjoy waterfowl viewing, birdhouse building, a BBQ, local artisan show and sale, children’s crafts and more! We are also very pleased to welcome back Sam and Laura from the Ontario Falconry Centre who will be doing a live raptor show on March 17 at 1:00pm!

So bring the whole family out to Rondeau this March break and enjoy the week in the great outdoors!

World Wetlands Day

I would like to take a quick moment to wish everyone a Happy World Wetlands Day! Many people don’t realize the benefits that wetlands bring for both humans and animals alike. Wetlands can help reduce erosion, maintain and improve water quality and provide a great habitat for a wide variety of fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles. In addition, they can be an excellent place for recreational activities such as canoeing, kayaking and fishing! This World Wetlands Day, take some time to think about what you can do to help improve or maintain wetlands in your area.

For more information about wetlands and to see what you can do to help, please visit http://goo.gl/Ht17f

Far From Home

 FAR FROM HOME

Rondeau was buzzing with excited birders this weekend after a rare visitor was spotted down at the Visitor Centre. A rarity, the White-winged Dove was spotted around the VC bird feeders early Saturday morning. The dove, which is typically found in the southern US andMexicoduring the winter, looked slightly out of place amongst the backyard birds.

At first glance it may look very similar to the more common Mourning Dove, but it tends to be a larger bird and has a thin white line along the edge of its wings. The Dove has not been spotted yet today, but was seen by the many that flocked to the park after hearing about it on the net. Hopefully our feathered friend shows itself again before it realizes it’s a little off course. 

For those that didn’t get a chance to check it out, take a look at this picture sent to us by Allen Woodliffe:

Drum Roll Please

It was an exciting morning down here at the Visitor Centre, even with all this rain! The Friends of Rondeau Annual Raffle draw was held this morning and they are pleased to announce the winners: (Drum roll please)

The winner of the 2013-2014 Ontario Parks Pass was Fred Pruss

The winner of the handmade Ash picnic table was Frank Dyer of Dorchester.

The grand prize winner, and proud new owner of a 16′ Prospector Canoe is J Shaw!!

The Friends of Rondeau would like to congratulate our winners and say a special thank-you to everyone who purchased tickets! If you weren’t one of the lucky ones this year, be sure to come back next year and buy tickets for the 2013 draw!!

Muskrat Mayhem…

 

If you’ve been down to the Visitor Centre in the last month or two, you may have noticed the large, gaping hole in our bird garden.  We were visited by a muskrat in mid-August.  At first, we thought “wow, what a neat opportunity, we have a new animal to interpret to visitors”.  But then it dawned on us…muskrats burrow.  And that’s what he did…burrowed right into our pond liner.  For quite some time the garden was a sad, sorry sight.  But in the past few weeks we have been able to get to work and transform our leaky pond into a beautiful, bubbling water feature which will be sure to attract many species of birds and frogs…but no more muskrats!

Although we still have some planting to do around our new pond, and we are only open for one more weekend, we would like to invite you down to check it out and see if you check any fall migrants off your bird list.

 

The new pond

Construction Complete

The Friends of Rondeau and Rondeau Park are pleased to announce that our new Tulip Tree Trail boardwalk extension is complete and open for hiking! Over the last few weeks, Rondeau staff have been busy placing posts, laying deck boards and screwing in handrails in order to finish the boardwalk in time for Fall! Tulip Tree Trail is now fully accessible from beach access #10 through the rest of the loop. I hope you all come out for a nice autumn stroll!

Disapearing Phrag…

Wow! What a busy September we have had!  The weather has been great, and we have had lots of visitors coming out.

 We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made it out to the Monarch Butterfly Migration Festival this year.  The event was a huge success with just over 800 people in attendance!  I would like to personally thank the Friends of Rondeau and all of our amazing volunteers who helped the day run so smoothly. 

 I thought I should also update you on the success of our recent shoreline cleanup.  We are very grateful to the 30 volunteers who came out and roved our beach for garbage.  They collected many items including car tires, plastic bags and old fishing nets.  In total just over 1200 pounds of garbage was taken off our beach! Combine that with the stats that are pouring in from 1,600 other cleanup sites across the country and we will have some truly astounding numbers.  A big thank you to everyone for helping keep Rondeau’s shoreline beautiful!

 If you happen to be in the park and notice some pesticide signs along the South Point Trail, don’t be alarmed.  We are working to eliminate a highly invasive, non-native plant Phragmites australis or Common Reed.  This plant was introduced to the Eastern Seaboard sometime during the 19^th Century and made its way to Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River in the mid 1980’s.  Growth of phragmites is extremely aggressive and the plant will quickly form dense colonies which severely alter wetland habitats and out-compete native plants.  The resulting loss of habitat for dependant wildlife, including species at risk, increases each year as phragmites continues to colonize and expand.

Here in the park we are working to eliminate some of these large colonies that have worked their way into our forested sloughs and wetlands.    

Once the phragmites has been removed, the newly opened habitats recover very quickly and native species flourish and biodiversity is restored. Check out these before and after shots!