Salamander

Charleston Lake Provincial Park
March 26, 2006

On drive down, saw our first four Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) of the season. First seen near Crosby, second over Charleston Lake Beech Trail, third over Delta, and fourth outside of Merrickville. All were flying low, drifting while surveying the ground below.

First Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) butterfly of season seen along Beech Grove trail in the area of deciduous forest where we almost always see butterflies throughout summer [UTM 18T 0418107, 4928204 (WGS84); 13:24 hrs].

On a large expanse of lichen-covered rock, we found several Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae), along with one Thanatus formicinus Running Crab Spider (see above photo), moving about over the sunlit stone [UTM 18T 0418184, 4928336 (WGS84); 13:38 hrs].

Tags: Turkey Vultures, Cathartes aura, Mourning Cloak butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, Lycosidae, Thanatus formicinus

Narrows Lock & Indian Lake Road (Cataraqui & Rideau Trail).
March 18, 2006.

At Narrows Lock:
By the open water below the small dam, 2 Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator), resting on ice. About 100 Canada Geese nearby. 18T 0397405, 4950681 (WGS84), 11:20 hours.

(note: Last year on March 13, 2005, we found 7 Trumpeter Swans at this location. They were there on a couple of other occasions as well. This year, we’ve just seen 2 during a couple of visits).

Chaffeys Lock Road (between Hwy 15 and Chaffeys Locks) near intersection of Cross Road, a Muskrat (Ondatra zibethica), found dead on road (no coordinates - time approx 11:45 hours).

Indian Lake Road near junction of Opinicon Road: 2 Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus), moving about on Cataraqui Trail. (no coordinates - time approx. 12:00 hours).

Rideau Trail just southeast of junction with Cataraqui Trail (approx 1 km. west of Bedford Township line) — 2 Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) seen flying through upland hardwood forest. Drumming and calling could be several times from various directions as we walked for about 2 km. along the Rideau trail. Also, much evidence of tree excavations.

In same area, we found the upper and lower jaw section of a Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) frozen into some leaf mulch at the trail side. (see above photo) There was some scat around the skull.

Also seen during this hike were several snow creatures - a very unhappy looking Huntsman (Opiliones sp.) that was struggling across the trail, barely able to move its legs.

A male midge - family Chironomidae, with incredibly fluffy antennae. (see below) - ID supplied by Fenja Brodo.

And a winter active stonefly - perhaps a Capniidae of some type.

Tags: Trumpeter Swans, Cygnus buccinator, Capniidae, Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, Opiliones, Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, Muskrat, Ondatra zibethica, Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus, Winter Cranefly

I spent part of today sorting recent photos. I had fallen a little behind on posting photos to my Snow Creatures gallery on Pbase. So, tonight, I added a couple of spiders photographed on Feb. 15, 2006 at approx. 14:45 hrs. I’ve posted the photo of one above. Another Wolf Spider - species unknown. However, aside from the spider, something of interest is the very tiny thing on the snow to the left of the photo. For a better view, click on the above photo to open a larger version. I’m not sure just what that small creature is. I didn’t notice it when takiing this photo — after all these spiders that I’ve been finding are very small.

I’m hoping to do up a couple of pages on this “snow creature” project sometime soon. However, in the meantime, a few notes on observations. Most snow surface invertebrate sightings have been when the air temperature is approx. -4C or warmer. With few exceptions, I don’t find much out and about before about 10 a.m. regardless of the temperature. Peak time for finding invertebrates out and about seems to be around 2 p.m. Spiders are much more commonly seen than any other invertebrate apart from the almost ever-present Springtails. Contrary to what might be expected, highest numbers of creatures are found on warm but overcast days, especially when the snow is quite wet — sometimes after a rain. When reviewing my spider photos, I find that most are males (large pedipalps). Largest percentage of small spiders (which are the majority of what I see) are what I call the “two-tone” spiders which have furry pedipalps. However, when a large spider is encountered, it’s almost always a Wolf Spider, although I have come across a couple of others. One insect which I’ve found on colder days than all other snow surface insects is the Wingless Snow Cranefly (Chionea) which seem tougher than everything else. I’ve found a couple moving around on quite frigid days when it was difficult for me to keep my gloves off long enough to photograph them. I think that’s about it for brief notes. If anyone has questions or comments about any of the snow creatures or the above observations, please feel free to post a response.

Chionea, Spiders

Tags: Chionea, Spiders