Into the Woods with Curio: Nature Journaling

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

FOS means First of Season. FOTY means First of the Year. Both of these terms are used by naturalists to report seeing the first of a species for the year, especially in springtime. Examples are FOS robin, red-winged blackbird and bluebird. It can also be applied to other animals, such as a FOS salamander, raccoon, chipmunk, garter snake, butterfly or even a FOTY mosquito!

Recording when we first see an animal is part of the joy of spring, as we look for signs to the end of the winter’s cold, and look forward to warmer days. When such records are done year-over-year they become a journal for comparing information over time, such as whether the FOS robin is earlier or later than last spring, (my FOS robin is March 14th this year compared to March 8th last year). Nature journaling is a great way to create these records, and makes us more aware of these natural events in the process.

Nature journaling can take many forms, and be as personal as you. It can be just a list of dates as mentioned previously, such as an annual bird list, or a record of the sequence of spring wildflowers. When more information is added, such as the weather conditions for that day, and where the animal or plant was seen, (or heard) – in your backyard, in the local park, or maybe a location at Beacon -- the record holds even more value. Add some sketches of what was seen, or a photo, and the journal takes on an added dimension. Together with some personal thoughts jotted down in the moment, and its value is still greater, creating something tangible that can be revisited years later, and even handed down to the next generation.

An example could be a record of a nature walk done in early spring which lists the various sightings, shows a sketch of a butterfly, records the date, and time of day and weather, and comments on what kinds of behaviour were observed.

Committing to nature journaling encourages regular exploration outdoors, whether it’s around your neighbourhood, or a favourite place you like to visit, such as a local park or beach, or while you are at

Beacon. Journaling also forces you to take a second look at what is all around at any given point in time, to record it, and then try to make sense of it. If you see an early butterfly landing on a maple you may notice it as it angles itself to the warm spring sun, then watch it sip some sap from under a broken branch. Note what colours it has to help with identification, but also note its behaviour – why is an adult butterfly around so early? how will it survive without flower nectar? where did it spend the winter?

As we get outside regularly and build our journal we not only grow in our appreciation of God’s incredible Creation but also see His love in providing us with an amazing place to live now, and a home in heaven with Him through His gift of salvation.

Into the Woods with Curio: Deer In Winter

“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the
heights.” Psalm 18:32 & 33

Which animal hibernates during the winter, but still walks around every day?
Not a groundhog. They sleep all winter, except on Groundhog’s day.
Not a skunk. They sleep most of the time during the winter.
So do most raccoons, (unless they live in Toronto).
Chipmunks sleep most of the winter, though sometimes get up for a snack.
And bears sleep all winter, too.
Have you guessed? It’s a deer!

Deer are awake every day in the wintertime, but they are also hibernating! They do a ‘walking’ hibernation because they can’t find the grasses and other green plants that they normally eat during the rest of the year.

To help them survive the winter deer grow a layer of fat in the fall by eating acorns and beech nuts. That layer of fat helps them when there is not much to eat during the long winter.

They also grow a coat of long hair. This hair is hollow inside, and much thicker than normal hair, so it keeps the deer warm, even when it is really cold and windy.

They still eat during the winter, browsing on cedars, and the twigs and buds of young trees and shrubs, such as sumacs. They may visit a backyard bird feeder and eat the seeds that spill onto the ground.

The female deer, called does, are especially hungry because they are pregnant, usually with twins. And their fawns from last spring may still be with them, though they are almost fully grown, and can find food for themselves.

Because deer are unguligrade, that is, are hooved and walk on the tips their hooves, they cannot move about as easily in deep snow. When the snow gets deep, as it has this winter, the deer make ‘yards’. These are a series of paths, usually located in a group of cedar or hemlock trees for shelter, or in a swamp near a river or lake so they have water, and shrubs and young trees to browse. They stay in these ‘yards’ to save their energy. But living in such a restricted space makes it easier for predators, such as wolves, to find them. And, if the snow is really deep it’s hard for the deer to escape.

Winter is hard for deer, but a ‘walking hibernation’ helps them survive until spring comes, when there are grasses and other green plants for them to eat!

Into the Woods with Curio: Shrike strike

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…” Colossians 3:23

There has been a shrike visiting our backyard bird feeders several times already this winter. Unlike the chickadees, goldfinches and other small birds that are looking for birdseed, this robin-sized grey, black and white songbird is actually a raptor and is after the birds themselves. When it suddenly appears in the backyard it causes a big stir, with the smaller birds flying for cover and sounding the alarm.

Like many raptors, a shrike must get as close as possible to its prey. It first uses the cover of small bushes and conifers to sneak up on the unsuspecting birds. Then it waits for an opportunity and flies out for a quick chase, using an aerial dive to force its chosen victim down to the ground, where it pummels it repeatedly with its beak to injure or kill the small bird. Shrikes don’t have the sharp talons and beak of a hawk or owl, nevertheless, they still hunt small birds, as well as mice, and insects in the summer.

Despite these disadvantages, the shrike is still capable of carrying its prey in its beak or claws, though its weak feet and claws prevent it from tearing apart its prey to eat it. Instead, a shrike hangs its victims on the thorn of a hawthorn or other ‘spikey’ bush so it can manipulate it. Sometimes it lets the prey ripen a little, so it comes apart more easily. This rather gruesome trait has earned the shrike the nick-name of ‘butcher-bird’.

Seen around camp and in Muskoka only during the wintertime, the northern shrike moves much further north come spring, to its breeding grounds. It is replaced by another shrike, the loggerhead shrike, though this species is now rare, and not often sighted in our region. These two shrike species are members of the larger shrike family, which boasts over 30 members, most of which are Eurasian or African. There are no shrikes in South America, Australia and Antarctica.

So, is the shrike a raptor or a songbird? Or both? It can sing, unlike most raptors, with both sexes vocalizing throughout the year. But it hunts other birds and small mammals, like a raptor. Even though it doesn’t have the size or strength or equipment of a hawk or owl a shrike is a formidable predator and behaves as such to make its living.

In some ways, it’s comparable to me trying to do a task for which I am not trained or equipped. Yet, with the Lord’s help, and my cooperation and commitment, it can get done.

Into the Woods with Curio: Porcupines are Loners

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?... If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
Psalm 139:7, 11&12

It sounded like a small child was fussing, but it couldn’t be. Arriving home in the dark, I heard it as soon as I exited the car. What a strange sound. I grabbed a flashlight from the house and looked around, still hearing it, but not finding the source. It was a mystery. The next morning the answer was sitting in the neighbour’s tree – a large, black porcupine!

Now that the leaves are off of the deciduous trees, there is a better chance of seeing a porcupine.

They are not uncommon in Muskoka, and at camp. November is also the month that porcupines breed, hence the sounds – it was a female looking for a mate. Breeding season is the only time porcupines purposely meet other porcupines. Porkies are loners by nature.

They can survive on their own because of their impressive defence mechanism -- over 30,000 quills, extending from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. Any would-be predator, (or overzealous dog) that tries to attack a porkie usually ends up with a painful surprise. Porkies don’t shoot their quills at attackers, but simply keep their backs to them, letting the loosely attached quills come away if the attacker is too aggressive. While it is dealing with the nasty shock of quills embedded in its face and body, the porky makes its escape up a nearby tree.

The list of potential predators of porkies is a short one, and includes bobcats, lynx, mountain lions, coyotes, wolves, great horned owls and fishers. In Muskoka they only really have to worry about fishers, and people. Because their defence strategy has no effect on cars, porkies are often hit when crossing roads at night. They are actually nocturnal because there is more nutrition from trees at night, biologists have discovered.

They spend a lot of time in trees, not only for safety but for food, feeding on leaf buds in season, acorns and apples, and the tree’s inner bark at this time of year. They’ll also eat canoe paddles, wooden-handled tools, and even gnaw on the wooden siding on a house. They don’t hibernate, but try to stay off the snowy ground, as, like their larger cousin the beaver, they don’t move fast on land.

Come spring the female gives birth to just one little porky. By next November that young one will be on its own. If it’s a male it may stay around the neighbourhood, though will be chased off by larger, older males, including his dad, during the breeding season. That may be the only time it sees its dad, as Mom is always a single parent. If the young one is a female she has to venture out on her own to find her own territory, as her mom won’t tolerate her sticking around. Porcupines really are on their own.

While we may choose to be alone, or sometimes we may feel alone, we don’t have to be, as Christ has promised to always be with us, no matter where we are.

Into the Woods with Curio: A Hiding Place

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.” Psalm 32:7

Mice are always looking for a place to hide. It could be in the hollow of a tree several metres above the ground, (mice are good climbers) or in a birdhouse, in a woodpile, on a shelf in the toolshed, or in as unlikely a place as an empty compartment in your lawn mower, or even in your car!

They need a safe place because there is always someone hunting them. Foxes, coyotes, weasels, skunks, raccoons, owls, hawks, snakes, domestic cats and dogs, as well as squirrels and chipmunks, and even shrews all want to make a meal of a mouse. No wonder mice are always trying to hide.

I’m referring to deer mice specifically, which are the dark brown mice with big eyes and big ears that you might see by chance when at camp. They are called deer mice because their colour pattern of brown upperparts, lighter sides and white tummies resembles a white-tailed deer. And they are as agile as a deer. The white-footed mouse is almost identical to a deer mouse but usually lives further south. Two species of jumping mice are also found at camp but hibernate from the late fall right through the winter. Meadow mice are actually voles, and look different, having much smaller ears and eyes, and short tails. It is voles that make tunnels under the snow and may be active during the day, while deer mice are nocturnal, and prefer to stay above ground.

At this time of year, the deer mice start looking for a place to stay safe and warm because they lose their cover when the frost kills the vegetation. This is why you may hear the pitter-patter of very little feet in the ceilings of your house, or during your stay at camp. Somehow the mice find a way inside these buildings, being able to
squeeze through openings less than an inch wide. Once inside your house, they hide in a corner of the basement or crawl space, in the walls, or sometimes in a corner of a cupboard. And they search everywhere for food. Outside, their usual diet is seeds, nuts, berries, grasses, insects, and spiders. Inside your house, they eat whatever is available.

With food and shelter taken care of they then proceed to make a cozy nest for themselves, using whatever soft material they can find, such as tissues, rags, or the stuffing from a couch.

This nest is home to both parents and their family of one to nine pups. That’s right, the young are called pups. These youngsters only stay in the nest until they can take care of themselves, which is at about 5 to 6 weeks of age.

Once the pups leave Mom starts another nest somewhere else, (mice aren’t good housekeepers) where she’ll give birth to the next litter about three weeks later. She may have four or more litters between early spring and fall, while the young themselves start producing families not long after they have left the nest. The math shows it doesn’t take long for the local mouse population to increase dramatically. However, that long list of predators helps keep their population in check.

That’s why most deer mice never live to see all four seasons of the year, though some may live as long as 18 months. There are just too many dangers, and not always enough places to hide.

God provides a safe place for us to hide from the very real dangers we also face every day in this world.

Into the Woods with Curio: Goldenrod- Not a weed

“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

John 7:24

When goldenrod starts to flower it is as much of a sign that fall is coming as when the leaves start to turn colour. Their tall stalks of bright, plumed gold flowers are a common sight in the fields and along the roadsides at Beacon, and throughout Muskoka and southern Ontario. This year they seem to be especially abundant, and because I always thought of them as something of a weed, I started to pull them out of my garden. However, I have learned that goldenrod is not a weed, but an important part of the local ecosystem.

A late bloomer, goldenrod provides a much-needed source of pollen for many insects well into the fall, after most other flowers have gone to seed. Ecologists have discovered that it is a vital food source for monarch butterflies as they make their way south. Bumblebee queens need it as food as they prepare for their winter hibernation. Many other bees, and even some pollinating wasps also rely on goldenrod as a source of food to help them prepare for their upcoming hibernation.

There are at least 30 species of goldenrod native to Ontario, though not all are commonly found in Muskoka or around camp. Two common species are the Canada goldenrod, which has spreading blooms that are about 12 to 24 cm long, and the Showy goldenrod, which has more feathery blooms that grow to about 15 to 20 cm long.

These two species, along with several others are now being encouraged to grow in residential gardens rather than being treated as a weed, as I was doing. They are being planted to attract pollinators, including some specialist bees, which are bee species that are only able to use the pollen from a few species of flowers, including certain kinds of goldenrod. Hardy and adaptable, goldenrod also serves as a host plant for many moth and butterfly caterpillars, which in turn provide many birds and other animals with a significant source of insect protein.

All of the above are good reasons to plant some goldenrod, if you have room, and are not worried about goldenrod as a possible cause of hay-fever. Goldenrod is often confused with ragweed, which is famous as a problem plant for hay-fever sufferers. Goldenrod doesn’t cause hay-fever because its pollen is too heavy to be carried in the wind. Its flowers look quite different, as well. The smaller ragweed plant’s green flowers produce profuse amounts of wind-blown pollen, causing many allergy sufferers much grief.  At one time Muskoka was a haven for allergy sufferers from the city because the region was ragweed free. Unfortunately, ragweed eventually made its way into Muskoka, and the region’s ragweed-free status was lost.

Regardless of whether it’s in your garden, along the roadsides or out on the fields, goldenrod is an undervalued but essential late-blooming plant, providing sustenance for many at a critical time of the year. I missed understanding the worth of this common ‘weed’ because I based its value solely on outward appearances.

Into the Woods with Curio: Berry Time

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Mark 16:15

Plants have some ingenious ways to distribute their seeds. Some, such as burdock seedheads, are designed to catch on the fur of a passing animal, (or a pant-leg). Others, such as milkweed pods, open up and release their seeds into the wind. One of the most important and effective seed dispersal methods that plants, especially trees and bushes, employ is with berries.

Blueberries, strawberries, bumbleberries, blackberries, pin and choke cherries, mountain ash berries and many other berries all contain seeds. And all of these are eaten, with fervour, by robins, bluebirds, waxwings, woodpeckers, grouse and other birds, as well as squirrels, mice, bears and many other animals. It’s a ploy the plants use to distribute their seeds away from the immediate area. The delicious, bright-coloured berries serve as a lure for the animals to literally swallow, becoming unwitting participants in the process.

Scientists refer to this process as endozoochory. It goes like this -- a robin eats a mountain ash berry, which then passes through its digestive tract and is eventually excreted, usually a good distance away from where the robin first ate the berry.  Et voila – the plant has succeeded in getting its seed dispersed, and there are even some nutrients from the excrement to help the seed germinate. Many, many, many bush and tree species expand their ranges this way.

Berries are an essential part of many bird’s and animals diets in the late summer and into the fall. It’s more than just breakfast, lunch and dinner for them -- it’s the protein needed for the immature birds and other young of the year; the fuel that many birds need for their upcoming migratory trip; and the fat some animals need to make it through the upcoming winter, or hibernation. Bears especially need the satiation that blueberries, one of the earliest berry crops to ripen, provide. As each successive berry crop ripens the bears start to gain the weight they need for their upcoming winter’s hibernation.

Birds don’t build fat reserves the same as mammals, or they can’t fly the distances needed for their migration. But they benefit nutritionally from these additions to their diet as each berry crop ripens. The birds that don’t migrate, such as chickadees and bluejays, cache many types of seeds for the winter, (because berries are perishable they aren’t cached for later use). Some of these stored seeds are not found again, so end up germinating where they were left, which also serves to help the plants with their seed dispersal. Blue jays are noted as an important agent in the establishment of oak forests through their caching of acorns. Squirrels, mice and chipmunks also build caches of maple keys and other seeds to help them through the winter. The remnants or forgotten portions of these stored seeds contribute to still more seed dispersal.

It is all part of God’s amazing plan for His Creation, to be fruitful and multiply. And God wants me to be doing the same, that is, dispersing His good seed that I have ‘eaten’ and understand.

Into the Woods with Curio: Found Feathers

“You were taught, ABOUT your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:22-24

The middle of summer is a good time to find bird feathers while out on a walk or hike. A small blue feather from a blue jay, a long, dark brown feather from a Canada goose, or a cryptically coloured feather from a turkey. It’s always fun to pick them up and try to work out which part of the bird they came from – is it a secondary flight feather from the left wing, a tail feather, or a smaller covert feather?

These lost feathers aren’t random. They are the result of the annual moult that many birds go through at this time of year when they lose their old, worn feathers and grow new ones to replace them. For most songbirds, this takes place over a one to two-month period. It takes that long simply because birds need to keep flying, so they only lose a few feathers at a time. Larger birds, such as ravens and turkey vultures, take up to six months to complete their moult.  They start in late spring by losing one flight feather at a time from each wing, which is noticeable when they fly over. Other birds, such as ducks and geese, go through their moult in a shorter time – about one month -- temporarily losing the power of flight during that time.

Moulting is a complicated process for birds. Some go through a complete change of feathers, while others go through only a partial moult. Other birds delay their moult until after the nesting season but still complete it in time for their fall migration. Moulting also takes a lot of energy and requires a lot of protein. Feathers are made from the protein keratin, which also explains why most birds feed insect protein to their nestlings, so they leave the nest with strong feathers.

Once a bird’s moult is over and it has a new set of feathers it’s ready for the fall migration, or for winter’s cold weather. Goldfinches have up to 1000 more feathers in their winter coat compared to their summer garb.

Other animals besides birds change their coats with the seasons. Foxes and many other fur-bearers shed their long winter coats for shorter summer coats. Snowshoe hares and weasels even change their colour to brown in the summer, and back to white in the winter, for camouflage. Snakes regularly shed their skins as they grow. It’s always exciting to find the papery, shed skin from a snake. Even insects shed their skins. A dragonfly larva sheds its larval shell when it changes into its adult form. The same is true of cicadas. Because caterpillars grow incredibly fast, they shed their skin 4 or 5 times before forming their final chrysalis or cocoon to metamorphize into a butterfly or moth.

These changes of skin or coats are a reminder -- have I shed my old ‘skin’? that is, my old nature? God’s Word encourages me to ‘put on the new self’, and to be constantly growing spiritually.

Into the Woods with Curio: Giant Silk Moths

“Thus says the Lord who made the earth,the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known”

Jeremiah 33:2-3

If you are at Beacon this June or in early July keep a look out for an amazing insect – a giant silk moth! It might be a light green Luna moth, with a pair of twisted ‘tails’ on the bottom wings, or one of the several species with reddish-brown colouring, or possibly a pale-yellow Io moth. There are potentially 9 species of giant silk moths found in Ontario, though only 6 of these are commonly seen in Muskoka. Besides the Luna and Io there are also the cecropia, Columbia, polyphemus and promethia moths.  Depending on the species and whether it is a male or a larger female, (she can have up to 100 or more eggs inside her body) any of these moths are as thick as a man’s thumb. Their wingspan is twice as large as that of a monarch butterfly -- as large as that of a hummingbird.

It used to be that these beautiful moths could be found under the outdoor lights of any of the camp buildings. The old incandescent lighting attracted them each night, along with many other flying insects. About 10 years ago Beacon replaced this lighting with low voltage LED lighting. This low-impact lighting is less attractive to moths and other flying insects and causes much less light pollution. Another important measure that camp has put in place is a good steward of God’s Creation.

Why are these moths at the lights? CBC’s Quirks and Quarks host Bob MacDonald mentions this; “A new study suggests that insects flit around artificial light at night because they are confused, not because of a fatal attraction. Sam Fabian and Yash Sondhi used motion capture and high-speed imagery to understand insects’ flight patterns and found that they always turned their backs to the light, which left them trapped in a spiral around the source. This suggests the insects are mistaking the lights for the sky, which normally helps tell them which way is up. The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.”

Some scientists also believe this behaviour is why there are far fewer flying insects than there used to be. Too many are dying, and being predated, when trapped at artificial light sources, especially lights that are not environmentally friendly.

Fortunately, there are still giant silk moths in Muskoka and at Beacon.

Despite their surprising size, these are harmless insects. They have no pincers or stingers, or even mouths. That’s right, no mouths because they don’t eat. They ate as caterpillars, and now that they are adults, they just need to find a mate. They use chemicals to help locate each other. The female releases pheromones that attract the males – 1 drop can be detected by the male, using his amazing antenna, up to one kilometre away. Once they have mated the females lay their eggs, and then die. These moths only live a week or two as adults.

The eggs hatch within 1 to 2 weeks, and the tiny, (at first) caterpillars start eating right away on the leaves of their host plant – cherry or birch or sumac, oak or poplar. Within 2 months – by late August or early September – they will be up to 10 cm or more long. That is a large caterpillar. Then they find a place to pupate and spin their cocoon, which takes about a day, and over 1 kilometre of silk thread. This seals them into their leafy enclosure for the winter, to emerge next June as moths and start the cycle again.

Another amazing example of the incredible variety of God’s Creation which he shows us in His love for us.

Into the Woods with Curio: Welcome back, Migrants!

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

Romans 11:33-34

May is when the spring migration is at its peak. Every day a new bird species arrives back to Beacon from their wintering grounds. Some will stay to raise a family in Muskoka, while others are passing through on their way to the boreal forest north of Lake Superior, or even up to the Arctic.

For some birds, it is just a short distance for them to come back from where they spent the winter. Robins are an example. They don’t go far, often spending the winter in southern Ontario if it is a mild winter, such as the one we just experienced. There they shelter in the ravines, feeding on a variety of berries.

Other migrants go further south, to a warmer climate where they can find the appropriate food. The hermit thrush is an example. A close relative of the robin, they winter along the Gulf Coast states in the U.S., arriving back in Muskoka in late April.

You are more likely to hear them than see them at camp. Their beautiful flute-like song, coming from somewhere in the woods behind the Crow’s nest, is an anticipated part of the summer evenings. If you chance to see one in the underbrush it is the same size as a robin, but with a spotted breast, plain brown back and rusty-coloured tail.

Some migrants leave the North American continent during the winter, making their way into Central or even South America. The very is an example of a long-distance migrant. Also closely related to robins, (and Hermit thrushes) veeries are common at Beacon in the summer. A warm brown, with a white belly and slightly

streaked breast, these robin-sized thrushes are also beautiful singers. Listen for their cascading series of notes in the early morning hours, beginning around the same time as the staff training weekend.

What brings these birds back to camp each summer? Some of the same reasons that you and I return -community and good food and singing. Their reasons for leaving each fall are similar, too -- the cold and snow make it much harder to live at Beacon in the winter. But their trip to the sunny south is not a holiday. Birds face many dangers there, including more predators, more competition for food, and habitat destruction that limits where they can safely live. Their migration journey there and back here is also full of perils. Often flying at night to avoid predators, they are at risk of crashing into tall buildings, wi-fi towers and sometimes windmills. Unpredictable weather also wreaks havoc on migratory birds, blowing them off course, stranding them in a vulnerable place, or sometimes over the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico!

How do they do it? At one time it was all attributed to instinct, though ornithologists are now understanding there is much more to it. Birds are not really ‘bird-brained’ but much more intelligent than we have given them credit for, (think crows).

We shouldn’t be surprised, as they are part of God’s Creation. Though we don’t understand all of what it takes for these birds to find their way back to Beacon each spring, we can appreciate them all the more when we consider their amazing travels.