News

What’s on in Rondeau – June

Wow! What an amazing month we’ve just had! Our annual Festival of Flight was a huge success. The Visitor Centre was bursting at the seams on most days and during the two weeks of the Festival we had over 6,000 people through our doors! We had many awesome sightings during the migration as well, with a Kirtland’s, a Brewster’s and some very reliable Prothonotary Warbler’s being the highlights. A huge thank you to everyone who came out and reported their sightings and made this festival so enjoyable! We would also like to thank Reuven Martin (our bird hike leader extraordinaire) who took over 250 people on bird hikes and gave them an unforgettable experience! And last but not least we would like to thank the Friends of Rondeau who sponsored this event and kept the coffee flowing and the soup hot for all of our hungry birders.

We will miss our birding friends (humans and birds alike), but look forward to next year when the spring migration brings you back again!

During the month of May there was one question that was asked almost on a daily basis…and it wasn’t about identifying a tricky warbler, it was about a weird “flower” seen along various trails in the park. At first we were stumped, until we went out and looked at this odd flower for ourselves and realized that it wasn’t a flower at all, but a small sapling opening its leaves.  It was a Shagbark Hickory tree, and yes, it did look like a large, red flower.

Shagbark Hickories are quite adaptable and can be found growing in many soil types, from sand to clay, from wet to dry. In Rondeau, you can see Shagbark Hickories growing on the higher ground within our swampy forests. Look for medium-sized trees with the characteristic grey, shaggy bark that curls away from the trunk in large pieces. In the spring, it is the inner bud scales which expand into showy, red bracts that look like the petals on a flower.  Hickory nuts are a main food source for squirrels and chipmunks that have no problem breaking through the tough shell with their sharp incisors. Some species of woodpecker have also mastered this skill. Throughout history, humans have enjoyed the nuts as well. Native Americans mixed pounded hickory nuts with boiling water to make a sweet, creamy liquid known to some tribes as pocohicoria (it is believed that the name hickory comes from that root).   Early pioneers found the trees equally useful and left only the hickory trees as they cleared the surrounding forests.                                                               Tulip Tree Trail is a great place to look for both young and old Shagbark Hickories.

With warmer weather on the way, the Visitor Centre staff are busily preparing for the busy summer months. In June the Visitor Centre will be open every Wednesday – Sunday from 10:00am – 4:00pm.

We hope to see you all out to our June programs and once school’s out on June 25^th we will start into our full summer program schedule – stay tuned!

Tick Talk… it’s Lyme Tyme!

If you’re looking for information on ticks and Lyme Disease, check out Allen Woodliffe’s newst Nature Nugget!

http://pawsnaturenuggets.blogspot.ca/2015/05/tick-talkits-lyme-tyme.html

Hikers beware…the trail isn’t there!

If you have been out on the trails this spring, you may have noticed that something is missing – part of South Point Trail! Over the winter, the southerly portion of South Point Trail was lost to the lake. For safety reasons we recommend that hikers do not attempt to cross the missing portion of the trail.

Various shoreline erosion devices have been tried on the south beach of Rondeau over the years, many of which are now offshore under several feet of water.

Please exercise caution on South Point Trail while we look into a solution.

They’re on their way!

Are you planning on migrating to Rondeau during the month of May for our annual Festival of Flight? Check out some of the activities we have planned so you can better plan your visit. We can’t wait to welcome back the birds and the birders they bring with them!

See you all soon!

Winter in Rondeau Provincial Park

Winter is a great time to experience Rondeau Provincial Park! Come out and hike a snowy trail to see all of the exciting activity from our winter active species! 

The white-tailed deer are wearing their thick, fluffy winter coats to keep them warm during this colder weather – and boy do they look cute in their winter best!
Signs of small mammals are all over the trails as they search out their caches of stored food from the fall.
AND if you’re out and about during dusk and dawn you may be fortunate enough to hear the mighty “Who’s Awake? Me too!” from the Great Horned Owl as they find their mates and begin to occupy a nest, for its almost nesting time for these mighty raptors!

Winter is such an exciting time in the animal kingdom – not everyone has the chance to travel south to escape the cold or sleep their winters away. Sometimes we just need to look a little closer to find what beauties a snowy winter can offer…

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup 2014

The 3rd annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup at Rondeau Provincial Park will take place later this month on Sunday, September 28th.  We have had excellent success in the past two years and hope to continue the trend this year!

We are happy to announce a partnership this year with Red Devil Scuba Supplies and Union Gas Helping Hands in Action!

A complimentary BBQ will be held after the cleanup for all registered volunteers- please register in advance by calling the Visitor Centre @519-674-1768 or registering online @ http://www.shorelinecleanup.ca/en/cleanup/event/fall2014/rondeau-park

The cleanup will begin promptly at 10am, so come anytime after 9am to finalize your registration.

Species of the Day: Muskrat

Most people think a muskrat is a beaver or very closely related but it is actually more closely related to a field mouse! Just picture the muskrat as a large mouse that is a great swimmer and spends most of his time in the waters of marshy areas. Muskrats dig dens in the sides of ponds and construct rounded structures made of cattails in the water. Cattails are also a common food source along with clams, frogs and occasionally fish. How old do you think muskrats live to be? They only live on average 1-2 years but may live up to the ripe old age of 4! They may have five to ten kits in a litter and up to three litters in a spring season. Muskrats can be 50 cm long with 25cm of that full length being their rat-like tail. A muskrat can actually eat under water without drowning because of special teeth that protrude from the closed mouth which doesn’t allow water in. Named the muskrat because of two special musk glans that produce a strong smelling secretion believed to be used to communicate among each other. A muskrat is a common sighting in many ponds, creeks, and at the edges of marshy bays or lakes. The muskrat’s habitat ranges across all of North America and for that reason has one of the largest ranges of all North American mammals. The building of canals has increased habitat in some areas but the more common draining of wetlands like marshes and ponds has exterminated local populations in some areas where development is occurring. Keep an eye out for these semi-aquatic field mice that may call a pond near you home!

Species of the Day: Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Known as a ‘Jack’, these oddly-shaped flowers are found in early spring in moist and rich forest floors. The pouch or spathe followed by the hood is commonly green with purple streaks and covers the club like spadix. These flowers are easily grown in shade gardens with enough compost or peat surrounding them. Once the flower has died bright red berries will appear and will hang from the stem for nearly the rest of the summer. It is a common but elegant native flower of Eastern North America that you may come to appreciate more if encountered or planted in your home garden.

– J. Pickering

Species of the Day: Canada Goose

The Canada goose is a common sighting for many people because they can be seen across North America in nearly every state and province at some point during the year. These big honkers can be found in fields, ponds, lakes, bays, residential neighbourhoods and sometimes golf courses too. If you think you know a bit about geese here are a few beliefs you might have about these waterfowl. Canadian Geese are illegal to shoot and geese poop when flying. First off, Canada geese are legal for water fowlers to shoot and eat, a hunter is one of the best conservationists in a community! Attributing to the first myth, if Canada geese were not bagged their numbers would skyrocket and they’re already considered a nuisance at their current population levels. Secondly, Canadian geese cannot poop while flying! Unlike gulls, a goose has to be landed to excrete their waste so you only have to keep your eyes on the ground when geese are near.

There are a known 11 subspecies of Canadian geese! They look very similar but can be identified by the size and geographic area they are found in. A group of geese, also known as a flock, usually are seen flying in a V-formation which is very aerodynamic and can help them fly up to 2,400 kilometres in just 24 hours! I hope you appreciate how fascinating these common birds really are and remember you don’t have to keep your eyes on the sky for a stinky present from a Canada goose.

– J. Pickering (2014)