Treading Softly With Taylor

A Naturalist's Dialogue With A Collection Of Photos

by Peter Taylor

All Photographs courtesy of Peter Taylor.

Full House At The Feeder

After a rather quiet winter at the bird feeders, it is a pleasure to welcome back some spring migrants. Among the most colourful birds in town at the moment are these Purple Finches, helping to eat up all the leftover sunflower seeds. Can you see all six birds? The streaky brown, sparrow-like bird at top left is a female Purple Finch. These lively songsters will likely stay with us in numbers for about a month, with a few pairs remaining to nest while the majority continue deeper into the forest. Dark-eyed (Slate-coloured) Juncos are also conspicuous in Pinawa gardens right now, while the first robins and blackbirds are just showing up. Most of the other early migration action can be seen in farmland (geese, cranes, gulls and hawks) and at patches of open water along the river, where newly arrived ducks are starting to gather.

Surprise Visitor

While photographing birds from the living-room window on Sunday morning (April 9th), I was surprised when this red fox suddenly appeared beneath the feeder. So much so that I fumbled the best photo opportunity, but recovered in time to grab a series of backlit shots when the fox trotted around to the back yard. There it paused for a few moments, evidently attracted by the suet feeders that have kept the woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches busy over the last couple of months. Though foxes are a common enough sight along highways in the area and on the golf course, and their tracks can be seen just about anywhere in winter, this is the first time I've seen one so close to home. It was clearly healthy, well-groomed and alert, a memorable sight from the armchair!

Early Spring Blooms

What a treat it is to see the countryside greening out after the early thaw! One of the first wild flowers to appear after the snow melts is Manitoba's floral emblem, the prairie crocus. It is not a common plant here at the edge of the boreal forest. I don't know of any in the immediate Pinawa area, but they can be found in sandy pine forest at a few spots in the Whiteshell and also near Libau and Traverse Bay. Many years ago, former Pinawa resident Gunter Nuernberger told me about the crocuses in the Mars Hill area north of Beausejour. I make a point of checking them out every few years and was pleased to find them in full bloom, nicely lit by the setting sun, last Friday evening (April 21).

Cranes On Parade

One bird that seems to have thrived in this area in recent years is the Sandhill Crane. Cranes are always worth watching with their stately walk, elegant courtship dancing, and magnificent flight whether soaring on a thermal or flapping low over the landscape. Their bugling calls carry for several kilometres on a calm day. They are wary birds, rarely allowing people to approach closer than about 100 metres, making photography a challenge. The three cranes in the picture, accompanied by two Canada Geese, were in a field along Waterline Road, southeast of River Hills. A little tamer than most, they were feeding near a farmyard.

The combination of feeding areas in large fields and secluded nesting sites in nearby bogs makes the fringe of the boreal forest an ideal location for cranes. The best periods to see them are between mid- and late April and from early to mid-September, when the numbers of local birds are boosted by migrants that nest farther north. However, many remain throughout the summer, although they are almost impossible to find during the moult in July, when they stay well hidden in tall vegetation. The closest area to Pinawa where cranes are easily found is in the farmland along PR 520 north of Old Pinawa Provincial Heritage Park. A hundred or more can sometimes be seen in the farmland along back roads between Seven Sisters Falls and Whitemouth, and northwest of Lac du Bonnet.

Squirrelly Character

Red Squirrels are perhaps the second most familiar mammals in Pinawa after the deer.  Like the deer, they are not loved by all, and can be a nuisance in shed, garden, attic, or bird feeder.  However, their antics are often amusing, especially in the early spring when there is much scolding and territorial chasing going on.  Two noisy squirrels in the back yard a few days ago allowed close approach for photos, including this one chattering at me from the Oak tree. Look at those sharp claws, assuring the squirrel of a firm hold on the branches as it races through the trees.

Marsh Marigolds

One of the showiest spring flowers is the Marsh Marigold, whose bright yellow blooms can be seen in low, wet spots throughout the area in May. This photo was taken the second week of May along Alice Chambers Trail, just off PR 520. Unrelated to garden marigolds, the Marsh Marigold is a member of the buttercup family. It is a widespread plant in Eurasia as well as North America, as familiar to me as a kid growing up in England as it is now in Pinawa. Nearly every year until now, however, their brief flowering period has slipped by before I took advantage of the photo op.

Mosquito's Eye View

While some insects are visible as soon as the snow melts or even earlier, the bug world really comes to life in late May. Although this includes mosquitoes and other nuisances, it also means it's time to enjoy the beauty of butterflies, dragonflies, and other attractive species. The cool breeze on a Saturday morning kept most insects low and out of sight, but it also meant that the few that could be found were quite approachable for close-up photography.

Dragonflies have had a lot of favourable publicity recently because of their mosquito-chomping habits. This American Emerald was sitting out the wind in a sheltered part of our backyard. Note the huge compound eyes, meeting together over its head and providing the dragonfly with great all-round vision, and the stiff bristles on the legs that help to snag its prey.

A Peculiar Bird Is The Pelican…

In recent years, Whitemouth Falls has become an increasingly popular fishing spot for American White Pelicans. They can be seen there throughout the summer months and especially in spring during their migration to Manitoba's large lakes. So far as I know, pelicans do not nest anywhere near Pinawa. Those we see here in summer may be non-breeding young adults or birds whose nests have failed, or they may commute from distant colonies to fish along the Winnipeg River. One morning in the last week of May, about 150 pelicans were gathered at Whitemouth Falls. With a cautious approach, I was able to take a number of entertaining shots of these spectacular birds. One of these is showing off its three-metre wingspan.

A Beautiful Orchid

A recent “Goodies and Grumbles see note below” item referred to the Pink Lady's-slippers that have been blooming recently in a few secluded areas near Pinawa. That item and a couple of e-mails from friends reminded me it was time to seek these beauties. I lucked into one bloom in prime condition, nicely backlit in an open setting. The Pink Lady's-slipper or Moccasin Flower is one of 35 orchid species native to Manitoba, most of which can be found within a 50-km radius of Pinawa. For more information about them, I highly recommend “Orchids of Manitoba: a field guide”, compiled by a group of eight provincial orchid enthusiasts including former Pinawa resident Ian Ward, and published last year by Native Orchid Conservation Inc. (http://www.nativeorchid.org).

Beauty And The Beast

It isn't easy to take a tasteful photo of a wolf dropping in the middle of the road, but it helps if it is covered with butterflies. Tiger Swallowtails are a common sight right now, sipping nectar at the lilac trees around Pinawa, but they can find nutrients in other, sometimes surprising ways. It is not unusual to see a crowd of butterflies around animal scats or carrion. I once counted about eight different butterfly species on one bear dropping at the height of Saskatoon season. Butterflies are also attracted to wet spots along gravel roads or on beaches, probably attracted by salt in the moisture.

As a bonus, there are two other species of butterfly in the lower right corner of the photograph: the one with white-banded wings is a White Admiral, and the small brown one is a Northern Cloudy Wing. Both are common spring and early-summer insects around Pinawa. The photo was taken just over the Ontario border, east of Bird Lake. The camera was held at arm's length.

Moose Crossing

Every June I do a number of breeding bird surveys as part of a North American bird population monitoring program, focused mainly on songbirds. One survey route is along the Bird River Road, and the other runs farther north into Nopiming Provincial Park past Springer and Flintstone lakes. With the early morning start (I have to be out there by 4:30 a.m.), there is often a bonus mammal sighting. Heading back through Nopiming after a survey on June 10, I was treated to the sight of this young bull moose grazing at the roadside. When I stopped to take a few snaps, he stepped out across the road before disappearing into the forest. All the more reason to drive slowly on those winding gravel roads through the park.

 Peter is referring to a column in the The Paper where people can thank or compliment others for their good deeds or occassionally grumble about the thoughtlessness of an individual.  Nancy

Back...