Tree planting and another bird for me.

Today I went up near Barrie to participate in a tree planting. The idea in short is that it is to improve habitat, help reduce erosion and nutrient loading as well as help with water retention in the watershed for the Innisfil creeks system. There were fifty students and about fourteen others helping with the planting. We were planting dogwood, silver maple, pine, cedar, and tamarack seedlings all along the edge of a creek that cut through two properties. I only stayed until just after noon but in that time I managed to plant one hundred trees.

It was nice to be out enjoying/helping nature but it was a little different this time due to some very interesting contrast. For example one student was naming each tree that they planted and the one name I heard was Napalm. Another student was yelling at a red-winged blackbird and threatening to throw their shovel at it. The other funny part was almost the whole time I was out planting there was a homeowner nearby running his electric saw cutting up branches. Circle of life I guess.

Now as for the other new bird, I left early and decided to slowly drive along this canal and it was very rewarding. I caught a glimpse of a bird like image that made me stop for a closer look. It kind of looked like a mallard standing on a log but I couldn't see a head. Once I zoomed in on it I realized right away that it was a black-crowned night heron. It was bigger than I imagined. It was much more tolerant of my presence than the great blue herons that I see. Usually they fly pretty quickly. Anyway, I watched it for a while but other than a quick drink of water it just looked like it was resting so I left it alone and went on my merry way quite happy with being able to see one more new bird. The lighting wasn't ideal for pictures but I snapped a few for my extended memories. I also saw there a kingfisher, mallards, canada geese, a muskrat, killdeer, greater yellow-legs sandpiper, lots of wood ducks and barn swallows. There was also what I think might have been a solitary or pectoral sandpiper but it was a bit far and lighting wasn't the best for identification. Both of those would have been new birds for me too but since I am not sure of the species I will leave this one out. Plus I plan on doing a shorebird trip soon that hopefully will produce both of these species of shorebirds.