{"id":7648,"date":"2019-04-09T18:04:15","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T22:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/?p=7648"},"modified":"2019-04-09T18:04:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T22:04:15","slug":"spring-suspects-at-riverwood-in-mississauga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/spring-suspects-at-riverwood-in-mississauga\/","title":{"rendered":"All the Usual Spring Suspects Land at Riverwood in Mississauga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I haven’t been home much this spring but when I have been, I’ve tried to squeeze in a few walks through my local parks. This weekend walk at the Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga let me meet many of the usual early spring migrants on a warm, overcast blustery day. As usual, I found a walk in the woods wonderfully calming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Riverwood used to be private land and these cheerful Crocus were probably planted by the people who lived here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of Riverwood’s Residents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first birds I met were the year-round residents.
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Black-capped Chickadees hopefully approached me all along the “feeder trail.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So did Downy Woodpeckers. The pair of Hairy Woodpeckers I saw were too busy courting to look at the feeders. One of the Red-bellied’s though was scooping up seeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northern Cardinals were singing and seeding all along the trails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter Guests Will be Leaving Riverwood Soon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This White-throated Sparrow will probably move on in a week or two. There were several small flocks of Dark-eyed Juncoes that will also probably soon depart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring Arrivals at Riverwood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There were some birds of spring, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I saw at least 8 different Song Sparrows. Many were along the trails eating bird seed but others were in the old farm orchard meadow working harder for their snacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brown Creepers were on trunks here and there on both the Red Deer Trail and the Green Butterfly Trail. They are easier to spot when they “fall” like a leaf down to the bottom of the next trump before climbing in a spiral up the bark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not everything on a tree trunk was a Creeper though. This male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was poking at a tree. Here he’s tilted his head so you can see the red under his chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There were several Eastern Phoebes–the first I’ve met this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And Golden-crowned Kinglets were obvious as they hunted through the leaf litter and on low branches for the few insects that have hatched out yet. Sometimes they were solo; other times they were in small groups. None of them stayed still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The only truly green leaves were on invasive Fig Buttercup and the omnipresent Garlic Mustard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There were a few flowers, though, but no butterflies were braving the wet and wind to show off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, it was a great hour in the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n