And Now For Something Completely Different

I feel like such a bad birder, here it is hitting the peak of spring migration and I haven't picked up my binoculars in weeks.  The usual excuses apply, of course: work distractions, general life business, residual embarrassment over an unfortunate public misidentification of an American Woodcock as a Common Nighthawk... you know, the usual.

I've also been spending large chunks of my weekends hiking. This year I signed up for an end-to-end hike series in the Iroquoia section of the Bruce Trail.  Eleven other intrepid hikers and I will be tackling this 130 km section over the course of eight hikes, two of which we've now completed.  And although that sounds like it should be a perfect birding opportunity, when you're trying to keep pace and not trip over a multitude of loose rocks it doesn't actually leave much time for watching the sky. I still perk up at every song, of course... there's been Northern Flickers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, lots of Chickadees, Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds and Blue Jays, and the occasional White-throated Sparrow.  But for the most part I've been leaving the binocs in my backpack and focusing on my feet instead.

The Bruce really is a beautiful trail system (roadside and urban sections aside).  It's been a treat seeing the spring ephemeral wildflowers come out, even over the course of just two weeks.


Cut-leaved Toothwort - Cardamine concatenata


Trout Lily - Erythronium americanum


Siberian Squill - Scilla siberica


Plantain-leaved Sedge - Carex plantaginea


Red Trillium - Trillium erectum


Dutchman's Breeches - Dicentra cucullaria


Wild Ginger - Asarum canadense


Blue Cohosh - Caulophyllum thalictroides


Mountain Watercress - Cardamine rotundifolia


Not photographed: the 25 snakes we saw along the trailside this past Sunday. Mostly Common Garters, but there were a couple of wee Brown Snakes out there too.

I've got the next couple of weekends off from hiking, so I fully intend to use that time to find some birds.  And also probably do more hiking, because for some reason it seems like a good idea to try and do the Toronto section of the Bruce this year too.  ...and maybe finish the Niagara section, which I started last year.  We'll see if I have any feet left by 2015!