Last evening I tried to use the truck as a portable blind to sneak up on some Sandhill Cranes.

It didn’t work out too well:

After enjoying a good breakfast at the French River Restaurant with friends who assisted, we detoured a bit on the return.

Common Grackle Grundy Lake PP boundary with Hwy 522

Elusive American Redstart singing in a tree near Jamot Lumber Road:

Re:  Warblers singing….

You might be interested in this website.   as a useful tool to ID warblers by sound.  On one page warblers are listed with the Flash player symbol.  Click on the symbol, then click on “listen” to hear the birdsong.  An easy way to compare Yellow Warblers with Chestnut-sided, with American (or Painted) Redstarts, and with Yellow-rumped…. (photographed so far this spring.)  Here is another version of the eNature.com website set up for Eastern Canada Wood Warblers.  Again click on the Flash player symbol to get to the birdsongs.

Blanding’s turtle in a roadside ditch let me get one photo ….

… before deciding to leave:

These violets are prolific along the south, shady side of that lumber road.  Very few on the sunny side of the road.  Amazing effect of sun on the ecology.

New butterfly for me, IIRC:  American Lady.   Another good site: Butterflies of Ontario.
Range: Resident in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America south to Colombia. Migrates to and temporarily colonizes the northern United States, southern Canada, the West Indies, and Europe. Rare stray to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Delicate petals of the Amelanchier canadensis are at their prime now.

The Canada Columbine is a photographers challenge, which I like to take up!!

(Yes, R.T., the background is a bit distracting. But it does illustrate the typical rocky habitat of the Columbine.   Always a tricky artistic/scientific decision, eh?)

And the ubiquitous Pin Cherry is lots of fun…

Frost tomorrow morning and Saturday morning.  We have beautifully clear cA air over us now.

Apparently due to a “Rex Block” (Thanks, A.Y.) …
which has to be hard on bird/butterfly spring migration north of the Great Lakes.

Off to Parry Sound tomorrow, via the side roads!  : )

t