Many, Many Salmon at Rouge Hills: October 4, 2019

Migrating Chinook, Coho and Atlantic Salmon were present in many groups of 2, 3 or 4 in the Little Rouge Creek on this 9 degree, sunny morning. They are currently working their way up from Lake Ontario to the spawning grounds in which they were born. It is an amazing and complex voyage for these large fish which can weigh up to 50 lbs. This is especially true in the Little Rouge which is shallow and full of large boulders.

Park scenes:

A Woolly Bear:

Woolly Bear with Japanese Beetle

Some Botany:

Lopseed (Phryma leptostachya)
Doll’s-eyes (Actaea pachypoda)
Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis)
White Vervain (Verbena urticifolia)
Arrow-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum urophyllum)
Autumn-olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
Heart-leaved Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)

Species list: Canada Goose, hairy woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, black-capped chickadee, golden-crowned kinglet, blue-headed vireo, red-eyed vireo, northern cardinal, American goldfinch.  (10 species)

Sometimes a bird is too much in the shadow or too far away to be certain of identification. A zoom lens is invaluable! Identification is simple at home as in the case of these two:

Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo

This morning’s group:

BIRDWATCHING ANECDOTE

My nomination for the birding goof of all time is the wartime song: There’ll be bluebirds over The white cliffs of Dover, Tomorrow, just you wait and see.” Well, everyone is still waiting. There weren’t any bluebirds in Dover before the war. There weren’t any during the war and there aren’t going to be any.

Eastern Bluebird (male)

Miles Hearn

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