TO AND FROM
SALMON RIVER




A Pinicola spring excursion to the easternmost tributary of Lake Ontario to support a rich Unionid fauna.



Contact us by phone at (613)258-3107
or e-mail bckcdb@istar.ca





return to Outings


Pinicola home


About us


Bishops Mills
Natural History
Centre


Highwater on the Salmon River; a conjugal search for biotic novelty.




Field notes of Frederick W. & Aleta Karstad Schueler

==========================================================
25 May 2006
==========================================================
1) (at home) TIME: 2107,2117. AIR TEMP: 17.5, clear, calm. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. villagerlog, departure (event). personal/nat.hist., drive. 163428 km, to Kingsford for Unionids & anniversary field trip. Leaving after an afternoon of delay and last minute chores, as usual, JHS planting gardens, as she's finally enough over her cold to work outside, though sort of sullen from lack of food. Aleta's sinus and ears draining, Fred nasally flowing like a river. Preserved Chorus Frogs from SW Ontario trip before we went, and potted out the Ruscom Phragmites (Reed) which is starting a couple of green shoots.

The plan is to go to Kingsford Conservation Area for the night, and then forage around north to Highway 7 in search of Unionids, drift, or whatnot -- checking Catling's endemic plant zone for whatever may be there. 21h17 actually leaving.

moved 5.3 km SSE.

2) Augusta: Diamond Rd/Kempville Creek, S of Co 18/Branch Rds. UTM 18TVE46 465 638 44.82760N 75.67638W. TIME: 2123. AIR TEMP: 18, clear, calm. HABITAT: slow creek, crkside meadows, Ash forest, adj. farms. FWS 06 May 252123/f, Odocoileus virginianus (Whitetail Deer) (Mammal). 1 adult, seen, driveby. standing on the grassy verge just N Branch Road.

3) (same location) TIME: 2123-2126. AIR TEMP: 18, clear, calm. FWS 06 May 252123/a, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index3 call, listen. chorus.

4) (same location) TIME: 2123-2126. FWS 06 May 252123/b, Pseudacris crucifer (Spring Peeper) (herp). index1 call, listen. few calling vigorously nearby.

5) (same location) TIME: 2123-2126. FWS 06 May 252123/c, Bufo americanus (American Toad) (herp). index1 call, listen. few calling faintly.

6) (same location) TIME: 2123-2126. FWS 06 May 252123/d, Gallinago gallinago (Snipe) (Bird). 1 call, listen. winnowing nearby.

7) (same location) TIME: 2123-2126. FWS 06 May 252123/e, Bos taurus (Cattle) (Mammal). 1 call, listen. few loud calls. Calls at first mistaken for those of Rana catesbeiana (Bull Frog).

moved 2.4 km SW.

8) S. Br. Kemptville Crk at South Branch. UTM 18TVE46 446 623 44.81395N 75.70025W. TIME: 2131-2135. AIR TEMP: 18, cloudy, calm. HABITAT: slow creek, creekside meadows, farms, pasture/tilled. FWS 06 May 252131/a, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index3 call, listen. loud chorus.

9) (same location) TIME: 2131-2135. FWS 06 May 252131/b, Pseudacris crucifer (Spring Peeper) (herp). index2 call, listen. small chorus vigorously nearby.

10) (same location) TIME: 2131-2135. FWS 06 May 252131/c, Bufo americanus (American Toad) (herp). 1 call, listen. calling intermittently.

11) (same location) TIME: 2131-2135. FWS 06 May 252131/d, Caprimulgus vociferus (Whippoorwill) (Bird). 1 call, listen. calling.

12) (same location) TIME: 2131-2135. FWS 06 May 252131/e, Branta canadensis (Canada Goose) (Bird). few? call, listen. few calls.

moved 15.2 km S.

13) Canada: Ontario: Leeds County: Elizabethtown: N Augusta Road, 1 km SSE Manhard. 31B/12, UTM 18TVE46 420 473 44.67872N 75.73143W. TIME: 2153-2156. AIR TEMP: 19, light overcast, Beaufort light air. HABITAT: shallow roadside ditches in mixed woodlots. FWS 06 May 252153/a, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index2 call, listen. small chorus.

moved 79.8 km WSW.

14) Canada: Ontario: Frontenac County: Kingston: Highway 38/401. 31C/7, UTM 18TUE 747.1 45.6 44.28548N 76.56989W. TIME: 2314 Hwy401/38 Kings. AIR TEMP: 24, sunny, windy. FWS 06 May 252314/a, visit (event). natural history, drive. batting harmlessly along. . . . not a lot of traffic, but not a lot of solitude either, with many brightly lit tractor-trailer rigs.

At 23h38 we exit Highway 401 on Deseronto Road, Co Road 10, and then straight to Kingsford, and along the N side of the Salmon River to the Conservation Area.

moved 42.2 km W.

15) Canada: Ontario: Hastings County: Tyendinaga: Salmon R at Kingsford Conserv. Area, 1.2 km SW Kingsford. 31C/6, UTM 18TUE 324.1 53.7 44.28425N 77.10005W. TIME: 2348. AIR TEMP: 16, overcast, Beaufort light air. HABITAT: broad limestone-bedrock river, mixed Thuja woods/oldfields. FWS 06 May 252348/a, arrival (event). drive. WAYPT/001, entrance road very potholed, river fairly high.

16) (same location) TIME: 2348-2430. AIR TEMP: 16, overcast, Beaufort light air. 2006/088/d, Pseudacris crucifer (Spring Peeper) (herp). index1 call, heard. only ca 6 calls heard clearly, ld. river noise. Few calls heard over the night

==========================================================
26 May 2006
==========================================================
17) Canada: Ontario: Hastings County: Salmon R at Kingsford Conserv. Area, 1.2 km SW Kingsford. UTM 18TUE 324.1 53.7 44.28425N 77.10005W. TIME: 0730-1000. AIR TEMP: 16, light rain, calm. HABITAT: broad limestone-bedrock river, mixed Thuja woods/oldfields. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. 2006/088/ea, weather (climate observation) (event). natural history, heard, felt, seen. steady rain briefly at 08h25, 10h02 rain mostly ended. Despite the forecasts, we left home unprepared for rain. We haven't brought rain-shedding garments to wear, or dry sweaters to change into when wet, and also somehow a very limited supply of food - but we survived! All that registered of what Environment Canada put out was 27 C on Saturday, and we invented the feeling that intermediate days would be intermediate in both temprature, and precipitation (none=none).

18) (same location) TIME: 0730-1000. HABITAT: Australia:. 2006/088/eb, Rose Reserve Austrailan Ridge (not listed) (event). 750 ml bottle, anniversary. despite rain, it was a fun day. . . . (preceded by the celebratory overnight in the back of the van, complete with a bottle of Australian rose from Corey, homemade granola, and a pair of candles in cans of sand): the first time we've been on the nominally obligatory anniversary field trip alone on our own since 1985, and before that 1975! We slept comfortably in the back of the van, after moving the cargo to the front seats. A bit of insect coil helped, with an open window providing air. Most of the Mosquitos may have been those that thronged the car before we left home.

We celebrated Fred's birthday (May 27) on the anniversary date (23 rd) and bumped the anniversary trip to the 25 th. We cooked breakfast on the "morning after" on our Kelly Kettle, an aluminum chimney which is filled with water via a spout and vents through a smoke hole at the top. It sits in a dish, equipped with a vent, and one picks it up and controls it with its rigid, wooden-handled bail and its "tail"-like chain, which ends in a cork, to use in closing the spout AFTER removing the kettle from its fire. (I've tried using the cork while heating, and when the water begins to boil, it pops the cork (of course), spraying hot water!

I spent the morning breaking up relatively dry sticks Fred had foraged from Manitoba Maples and Thuja, under the Thuja canopy. Fred looked a plants, found the river too high to make clamming worthwhile, and gathered Dandelions from the shade of the Thuja canopy for a simple salad. After removing the kettle to pour hot water over ground coffee in Fred's insulated Tim Hortons travel mug (a mini version of our usual caraffe-steeped coffee), I put larger sticks on, laying them across the dish so the frying pan balanced on them. (On the Chorus Frog Expedition, Jennifer used a small grate for that, and fed the fire through the air vent).

Toast and then eggs fried nicely, though the fire goes out if your attention is diverted for more than a minute. When you want to pour, you take the cork out, and tip the kettle by holding the bail and pulling on the chain. I found that you can lift the kettle off the fire by pulling the bail to the back and holding it horizontally with both hands. I used to snatch it off the fire quickly from above, with the bail and my hand briefly over the smoke hole. Not necessary. This item is so simple that it takes a while to learn how clever its simplicity is! One handful of small, rain-dampened twigs will bring the litre of water to boil in 4 minutes.

While I used the last part of our water to rinse the fried egg from our bowls and wash the soot from my fingers, Fred did the "guy" thing and found some nice skipping stones from shattered soft limestone on the bedrock banks. This is the Salmon River, at a small, poorly- signed Conservation Area, where we found a rare clam named Villosa iris (Rainbow Shell) last summer. We noted then that it would make a good camp site. Our goal for this field trip was to search further along the river, to Beaver Lake. It started out, and continued, a very dark day for searching for anything in water, and due to recent rains, all of the creeks were high. But we found other clams,. . . and some interesting plants including Bladdernut, which I illustrated in fruit for "A Place to Walk" but which we've never encountered this far east, and which formed the motif for our "together" shot, taken by delayed shutter setting, and automatically blurred somehow by the camera, with Fred pretending to collect the specimen and to be taking a waypoint. -- AKS.

moved 0.0 km NNW.

19) Salmon R at Kingsford Conserv. Area, 1.2 km SW Kingsford. UTM 18TUE 323.9 53.9 44.28444N 77.10022W. TIME: 0925-0927. AIR TEMP: 15, light rain, calm. HABITAT: Tilia-shaded strip of mixed Thuja woods near riverside park. 2006/089/a, plant (not listed) (Plant). 2/1 stand herb, specimen. WAYPT/002, 10 m patch in narrow woods. This 10 m patch was made up of dense mounds, with some sparser areas where other forest floor herps were growing. Collected because it looked intially like Vincetoxicum (Dog-strangling Vine), but it's not. The over-standing Tilia is 1 m DBH, and has recently lost a big limb that's crushed a small Thuja tree. There's one Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac) in pale purple bloom here, that's being shaded out by the trees.

20) (same location) TIME: 0925-0927. HABITAT: Thuja woods near riverside park. 2006/089/aa, Taraxacum officinale (Common Dandelion) (Plant). common herb, forage. scattered thick-leaved plants with single-rank bract blooms. These formed the salad of our breakfast -- the leaves were of a range of shpaes from deeply toothed to nearly entire. These were almost the only plants under the Cedars.

moved 0.0 km SSE.

21) Salmon R at Kingsford Conserv. Area, 1.2 km SW Kingsford. UTM 18TUE 324.1 53.7 44.28425N 77.10005W. TIME: 1044. AIR TEMP: 17.5, light rain, calm. HABITAT: broad limestone-bedrock river, mixed Thuja woods/oldfields. 2006/089/b, Staphylea trifolia (Bladdernut) (Plant). 1 shrub, in bloom, specimen, photo. 1 m many-stemmed shrub at base of Thuja tree near riverbank. Prolific whiteish blooms. AKS photos.

22) (same location) TIME: 1118. AIR TEMP: 17.5, light rain, calm. villagerlog, departure (event). natural history, drive. 163716 km, driving upstream along Salmon River. . . . after a downstream ramble past an island below the Conservation Area, which showed (from water-bent grass) that the river is 20 cm higher thasn it was recently. This is still 30 cm below the spring drift line, which was devoid of shells.

Our plan is to visit bridges and other access points upstream along the river, in hopes of extending the known range of Villosa iris (Rainbow Shell) here, and then to check Beaver Lake for signs of Ligumia nasuta (Pointed Sand-Shell), and then head up the Arden Road towards Highway 7, and thence home.

moved 1.4 km NE.

23) Salmon R at Kingsford bridge. UTM 18TUE 333.7 63.7 44.29348N 77.08827W. TIME: 1124-1206. AIR TEMP: 20, light rain, calm. HABITAT: concrete bridge over rocky river in riverside village. 2006/089/c, visit (event). natural history, wade, ink drawing. water too high & sky too dark to find Unionidae. . . . drizzly rain continues, Aleta sketched the distinctive thistle. Recent drift is 50 cm above current water level, and last year's 1 m above that. the bottom is all broken rock here, but there was no place where Unionids could be sought with the water this high.

At 12h12 we left the village N through Juniperus virginianus (Eastern Red Cedar) flats, E on Buttermilk Falls Road, just S of railway crossing.

24) (same location) TIME: 1124-1206. HABITAT: bridge embankment in riverside village. 2006/089/ca, cf Cirsium (Plant). 2/common herb, specimen, ink drawing. WAYPT/003, leaf & flowerstalk, common on bridge embankment. AKS drawing.

25) (same location) TIME: 1124-1206. HABITAT: concrete bridge over rocky river in riverside village. 2006/089/cb, Hirundo pyrrhonota (Cliff Swallow) (Bird). ca 12 nests nest, seen. nests under new concrete bridge, but all birds seen H. rustica.

26) (same location) TIME: 1124-1206. 2006/089/cc, Hirundo rustica (Barn Swallow) (Bird). ca 12 nests adult, nest, seen, heard. nests under new concrete bridge.

27) (same location) TIME: 1124-1206. 2006/089/cd, Carex (Plant). 1 clump herb, dead, seen, heard. 1 m dead stems under Populus 100 m upstream of bridge. This looks like the same giant Carex that's seen at Blakeney, 2003/125/cb.

moved 2.5 km NNE.

28) Canada: Ontario: Lennox & Addington County: Buttermilk Falls Road, 2.5 km NNE Kingsford. UTM 18TUE 341.6 87.3 44.31489N 77.07919W. TIME: 1214. AIR TEMP: 20 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: oldfields/fencrerows, residences. FWS 06 May 261214/a, Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac) (Plant). dominant shrub, in bloom, photo. WAYPT/004, massive roadside bloom, white & purple equally. . . . at a dogleg in the road. There has been a fair bit along here but this is the densest, around a few houses. High density continues E along road -- white flowerheads often ball-like in density. AKS photos.

We explored Buttermilk Falls Road, and found it even thicker with blooming Lilacs than the surrounding countryside. Road-sides, fencerows, and sometimes whole fields full of blooming Lilac bushes! And pink & white bush Honeysuckles too! -- AKS

moved 2.4 km NE.

29) Otter Crk/Buttermilk Falls Road. UTM 18TUE 359.7 102.5 44.32899N 77.05697W. TIME: 1220-1242. AIR TEMP: 21, overcast, calm. HABITAT: small limestone-bedrock creek in brushy area. FWS 06 May 261220/a, visit (event). natural history, wade, photo. WAYPT/005, stopped at small bridge over brook-like creek. This creek is a rubble of old bridge footings and broken bedrock. Aleta almost a widow several times as Fred waded the clear creek and slipped on irregular rocks. NO:Anura calling. The railway runs just N of here. Yellow Tragopogon (Goatsbeard) in bloom, as they aren't at home. Two vernacular houses on road just E of site. AKS photo of Grape vines twining along the rusty cable the bridge notes done at 1250.

30) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/b, Menispermum canadense (Moonseed) (Plant). common vine, specimen. densely on banks of stream.

31) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/c, Mollusca (Mollusc) (Mollusca). shell, drift, specimen. on limestone bank 50 m downstream(S)of bridge. About 70 cm above current water level.

32) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/d, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). 8 clumps specimen. from rocks in stream, includes some algae. Aquatic moss samples were abstracted from diverse flora on bottom and shores -- this place cries out for a bryologist.

33) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/da, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream.

34) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/db, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream.

35) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/dc, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream.

36) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/dd, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream.

37) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/de, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream.

38) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/df, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream.

39) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/dg, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream, includes some algae.

40) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/dh, <aquatic moss> (not listed) (Mollusca). specimen. from rocks in stream, includes some algae.

41) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/e, cf Cirsium of 2006/089/ca (not listed) (Mollusca). common herb, specimen. noted on bridge embankment and roadside.

42) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/f, Thamnophis sirtalis (Common Garter Snake) (herp). 1 adult, seen. 70 cm TL, very heavy bodied so presumed F.

43) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/g, Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake) (herp). 1 yearling, DOR, specimen. DOR juv, on road.

44) (same location) TIME: 1220-1242. FWS 06 May 261220/h, Lonicera cf tartarica (Tartarian Honeysuckle) (Plant). codominant shrub, in bloom, seen, photo. many AKS photos of Red Cedar/Lonicera. . . . pink & white banks of bloom. These invasive aliens looked very romantic with the old rail fence. Another photographed nearby was blooming amid the branches of a Red Cedar - nice contrast in textures. Aleta took photos to use as reference for painting, but alas, our camera did not do well - perhaps because of low light levels.

moved 0.7 km NE.

45) Buttermilk Falls Road, 0.9 km WSW Forest Mills bridge. UTM 18TUE 364.6 107.6 44.33365N 77.05097W. TIME: 1254. AIR TEMP: 20 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: limestone roadside rockface in forested area above rocky river. FWS 06 May 261254/a, Juniperus virginianus (Eastern Red Cedar) (Plant). codominant tree, photo. WAYPT/006, hanging over fractured limestone scarp. The river is accessible here, but twisting in direction and too high to hunt. NO:Cepaea here or elsewhere around here.

moved 0.4 km E.

46) Buttermilk Falls, Salmon River dam, Forest Mills. UTM 18TUE 368.2 108.2 44.33426N 77.04647W. TIME: 1302. AIR TEMP: 20 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: mill-dammed falls in rocky river. FWS 06 May 261302/a, visit (event). natural history, photo. WAYPT/007, a very impressive ca 7 m drop in the river. This produces milky foam on water just downstream, in an interesting neighbourhood of vernacular (unique, owner-designed) houses, old mill sites, and a spooky abandoned church -- obviously too high water to survey clams.

moved 0.6 km NE.

47) Salmon River bridge Forest Mills. UTM 18TUE 372.7 111.9 44.33775N 77.04097W. TIME: 1307. AIR TEMP: 20 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: impounded rocky/marshy river in settlement. FWS 06 May 261307/a, reference (cartigraphic reference) (event). natural history, drive. WAYPT/008, scouting for stopping place at Conservation Area.

moved 0.0 km ENE.

48) Salmon River, Forest Mills Conservation Area. UTM 18TUE 373.1 112.1 44.33788N 77.04039W. TIME: 1310-1330. AIR TEMP: 20.5, overcast, calm. HABITAT: impounded rocky/marshy river in settlement. FWS 06 May 261310/a, visit (event). natural history, walk. WAYPT/009, lunch in a micro Conservation Area parking area. . . . across the road from someone's house. Aleta fired up the Kelly Kettle on one of a line of limestone slabs that delimited the lot, on the hidden side of the van, with twigs broken from overhanging Ash trees, and prepared the meal by splashing boiling water onto mung bean noodles in our bowls, chipping in canned Turkey, , and mixing it with breakfast's Dandelion salad for Fred and Tomato sauce for herself. The map shows the picnic area of the CA further upstream, but we didn't see any indication of this on the ground. There's a standard for a hanging sign here, but the sign is missing.

Fred wandered the shore, but the water is too high and sky too dark to see any Unionids or their shells -- and there's Castor along the shore, which may not make the shell piles that Ondatra would. Of course we're looking for points in the Salmon River where diversity drops, and the dam here would be a candidate, so it would be nice to get something: "I'd love to be a clammer, but oooh, I can't find clams. "

It's turned out to be a dark day, and with high water unlikely to do much for clamming. The river here in Forest Mills is accessible on foot below the dam, and by shore-squishing or canoe above the dam, for quite a stretch. Dumatella singing and calling here. Aleta's thistle along the bridge embankment, 13h59 leaving along Salmon River Rd

moved 0.0 km WSW.

49) Salmon River bridge Forest Mills. UTM 18TUE 372.7 111.9 44.33775N 77.04097W. TIME: 1310-1330. AIR TEMP: 20.5, overcast, calm. HABITAT: impounded rocky/marshy river in settlement. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler. FWS 06 May 261310/b, Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle) (herp). 1 adult, seen. ca 35 cm carapace, floating in water below bridge. . . . swam off in a turbulant track of tubidity when prodded by my net.

50) (same location) TIME: 1310-1330. FWS 06 May 261310/c, Rana catesbeiana (Bull Frog) (herp). 2 adult, seen. ca 110 mm ads on shore just above bridge. . . . jumped in as I went by, very yellow in colour.

moved 0.0 km ENE.

51) Salmon River, Forest Mills Conservation Area. UTM 18TUE 373.1 112.1 44.33788N 77.04039W. TIME: 1340. AIR TEMP: 20.5, overcast, calm. HABITAT: impounded rocky/marshy river in settlement. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. FWS 06 May 261340/a, Rana clamitans (Green Frog) (herp). index1 call, heard. few calling from N shore 150 m upstream of waypoint. This is the first Anuran calling heard today.

moved 0.7 km ENE.

52) Mud Creek/Salmon River road,. 7 km ENE Forest Mills. UTM 18TUE 379.1 115.1 44.34076N 77.03299W. TIME: 1400-1403. AIR TEMP: 18, overcast, calm. HABITAT: rocky moss & algae creek in oldfields, fencerows, woods, residences. FWS 06 May 261400/a, visit (event). natural history, walk. WAYPT/010, no clams visible from bridge. There's massive Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac) white & purple around the site, also lots of Lonicera (Honeysuckle) bushes in bloom. The river is accessible at riffles a bit E of here. These narrow paved roads, rolling topography, and Juniperus virginianus (Eastern Red Cedar) give a striking Connecticut-in-the-1950's air to this landscape, and while of course there are no old houses, the houses are comfortable looking. We proceed N on Co Road (Hwy!) 41 to Roblin.

moved 4.0 km NNE.

53) Salmon R/Hwy 41, Roblin. UTM 18TUE 391 153.4 44.37549N 77.01932W. TIME: 1415. AIR TEMP: 19, overcast, Beaufort light breeze. HABITAT: slow(impounded?)river, marshy shores, in town/fields. FWS 06 May 261415/a, visit (event). natural history, drive. WAYPT/011, bridge span gracefully frames slope of lawn. . . . with large painted wooden Branta canadensis (Canada Goose), a trace of rain falling. See previous visit at 2002/184/b. Aleta stayed in van and rested. There's lots of the cf Cirsium of 2006/089/ca on the bridge embankment, and a broad-leaved Sweet Clover along the roadside.

Co Road 14 to Croydon - massively lilaced

moved 0.0 km W.

54) Salmon R/Hwy 41, Roblin. UTM 18TUE 390.5 153.4 44.37544N 77.01992W. TIME: 1415-1436. AIR TEMP: 19, overcast, Beaufort light breeze. HABITAT: slow(impounded?)rocky/mucky river, marshy shores, in town/fields. 2006/089/d, Elliptio complanata (Eastern Elliptio) (Mollusca). many shell, Muskrat shell pile, specimen. shells are S & W of steep bridge embankment. These are mostly old shells from predator pile on bank and 1 m deep in steep riverbed, right at the NW abutments of the bridge. There are some scattered on the SW side (not sampled -- this is where the 2002 sample came from), but no shells seen from the E side.

moved 6.1 km NNE.

55) Salmon River bridge at Croydon. 31C/7, UTM 18TUE 425.5 203.3 44.42113N 76.97745W. TIME: 1450. HABITAT: rocky highwater river in town, with Siver Maple shores. FWS 06 May 261450/a, reference (cartigraphic reference) (event). drive. WAYPT/012, river falls steeply through village. . . . and is almost in flood.

moved 0.4 km E.

56) Camden East: Black Creek, 0.4 km E Croydon. UTM 18TUE 429.4 202.5 44.42046N 76.97257W. TIME: 1453-1725. AIR TEMP: 20, overcast, calm. HABITAT: brownwater rocky/silty creek in lowland deciduous forest. 2006/090/, datasheet (datasheet) (event). natural history, wade, oil. WAYPT/013, visit for Ontario Unionid survey. DATASHEET SUMMARY: We stopped here because the level wasn't as high as it was in the Salmon River, saw a few Pyganodon (Floater) shells below the bridge, and then living ones and other species, largely by groping. The water is clear, but the overcast is so heavy that there's very little visibility, especially downstream from the least roiling of the water. We stayed for Aleta's' small oil painting of a hollowed Ash on the creekbank, with water rushing past (after all the "framing" between her fingers to decide on composition she forgot to take actual reference photos). Land ownership is road right-of-way, with private land all around. The locality is based on global positioning (+/- 7 m).

The diel period was mid- to cooling afternoon. The sky was overcast, sun totally obscured and sky dark. There was rain earlier and at end of visit. The wind was calm with a few minor gusts. Weather for the past 48 hr was seasonally normal temperatures unseasonably wet. The site was in/on rolling Shield. Bedrock was gneiss granite. Upland substrate was unexamined forest soil. Soil moisture was necessarily wet. The terrestrial vegetation was deciduous forest. DOMINANT SPECIES: Acer (Maple), Quercus macrocarpa (Bur Oak), Fraxinus (Ash), Ulmus (Elm) Cornus (Dogwood) along stream. There is a new house and garage atop the bank, which is scattered with Ash trees, with mixed herbs & grasses at their feet. There is some Buckthorn growing among more densely growing Ashes on the opposite bank. and lots of nanny-berry-like Vibrunum in bloom.

Human impact on the site included scattered residences and beaver dam destruction. Site wetlands were riverine Beaver-impounded swamps upstream of area sampled. Development stage of Typha (Cattail) was shoots 50 cm tall (though not at site). Water at the site was permanent natural pool & riffle brown water brook/creek with two broken Beaver dams, slipping slowly through grassy tussocks over a soft silty bed waving with scattered hanks of strap-like water plants (as collected).

Downstream of the bridge the creek, still only a few metres wide, moves past 3 metre-high shoulders of water or glacier-smoothed igneous rock, patched with short moss and dark lichen. Water level was high. The bottom was boulders gravel stiff clay muck/silt areas of detritus and branches & logs. Water quality was clear brown. Spaces under rocks weren't closely examined. Water movement was fast. WIDTH: 2-5 m LENGTH SAMPLED: 200 m MAX. DEPTH: 1 m DEPTHS SAMPLED: 0-60 cm. Water temperature 20 C, in main flow. Dominant aquatic plants were submerged/floating leaf Potamogeton (Pondweed) (as collected) submerged/floating leaf Sagittaria (Arrowhead) (as collected). Capture was by hand and some drift.

Beaver Dam Destruction has occurred at two sites along here, and in one, just above where Aleta is painting, the Beavers have laid fresh-cut sticks in the stream at the site, though a larger dam downstream hasn't been repaired. Through this stretch it's a rushing rocky creek, with hard clay bed where the dams have been excavated away. drifts of exuviae on shore in places, as collected.

17h20 a few drops of rain begin to fall. 17h24 Aleta finishing painting of hollow ash against rushing water with back spangles of Cornus (Dogwood) leaves.

57) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/a, cf Chordeiles minor (Common Nighthawk) (Bird). 1 call, heard. 3 beent calls overhead, almost certainly this species.

58) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/b, Ardea herodias (Great Blue Heron) (Bird). 1 adult, seen, heard. overhead with a startled grawk.

59) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/c, Orconectes cf virilis (Northern Crayfish) (Crayfish). 1 adult, captured, seen. grabbed in mid-stream as a Unionid & dropped in startlement. Above the bridge the clay of the banks is riddled with crayfish-sized burrows in places -- does this suggest Orconectes immunis?

60) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/d, Rana clamitans (Green Frog) (herp). several adult, seen. several seen ads and juvs.

61) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/e, Rana pipiens (Leopard Frog) (herp). 2 adult, seen. 2 green yrlngs in weedy backwater with several River. clamitans.

62) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/f, Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle) (herp). 8? nest, prey of predator, seen. at least some of 8 predator-opened turtle nests this species. . . . on the sandy roadside along the creek.

63) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/g, Insecta (Insect) (entomological). abundant skin, drift, specimen. massed shed skins from surface of water, in 80%isopropyl.

64) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/h, Potamogeton (Pondweed) (Plant). 2/codominant herb, specimen. submerged/floating leaf form, in soft silty bottom. Bronzy green colour.

65) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/i, Sagittaria (Arrowhead) (Plant). several/codominant herb, specimen. submerged/floating leaf form, in soft silty bottom. Pale green colour.

66) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/j, Elliptio complanata (Eastern Elliptio) (Mollusca). several adult, specimen. many alive.

67) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/k, Lasmigona compressa (Brook Lasmigona) (Mollusca). 2 adult, specimen. 1 shell, 1 alate juv.

68) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/l, Pyganodon grandis (Common floater) (Mollusca). many adult, specimen. many shells, 1 alive.

69) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/m, cf Actinonias ligimentina (not listed) (Mollusca). 1 adult, specimen. alive.

70) (same location) TIME: 1453-1725. 2006/090/n, Viviparus georgianus (Banded Mystery Snail) (Mollusca). few adult, specimen. a few taken alive.

moved 0.4 km W.

71) Salmon River bridge at Croydon. UTM 18TUE 425.5 203.3 44.42113N 76.97745W. TIME: 1702. AIR TEMP: 19 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: rocky highwater river in town, with Siver Maple shores. 2006/091/aa, Acer saccharinum (Silver Maple) (Plant). dominant tree, in fruit, seen. moderate crop on trees lining river. (roadsides E of here insanely green with growth -- de-iced with urea? There's super-robust grasses of several species, Dactylus in head, and Lotus corniculatus (Bird's-foot Trefoil) beginning to bloom).

72) (same location) TIME: 1702. 2006/091/ab, Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake) (herp). 1 adult, specimen. DOR near bridge, fly-blown, food bolus evidently present.

moved 4.3 km NNE.

73) Co Road 4, 4.5 km SE Tamworth. UTM 18TUE 442.3 242.9 44.45716N 76.95755W. TIME: 1736-1745. AIR TEMP: 18, overcast, calm. HABITAT: oldfield woodland/savannah with many swamps around. 2006/091/b, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). 1 call, heard. WAYPT/014, 1 calling, 1 st heard all day. We stopped here for garlic, peanut butter, & celery stick preparation for a restaurant supper.

moved 4.3 km NW.

74) Tamworth, Salmon R/Co Road 15. UTM 18TUE 415.2 276.4 44.48669N 76.99266W. TIME: 1750-1840ca. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: clear river with broken rock/gravel bed with wooded banks in town. 2006/091/c, visit (event). personal, drive, walk. river, not unexpectedly, very high & chute-like here. We had supper in the quaint town of Tamworth, teetering between rustic charm and ramshackle senescence (Aleta), Fred so hypoglycaemic through supper (deep-fried fish-slabs in puffy buns, and gravy-drenched chips in a 3-table pizzeria) that he was unable to cogently reply to hypotheses about ecophenotypic adaptation in Unionds!

moved 3.2 km NNW.

75) Beaver L/Co Road 15 angle, 3.0 km NNW Tamworth. 31C/11, UTM 18TUE 398.8 303.6 44.51082N 77.01407W. TIME: 1900ca-1929. AIR TEMP: 18, light overcast, calm. HABITAT: clear lake at cottagy shore/zebraed bouldered-sand bottom. FWS 06 May 261900/a, visit (event). natural history, wade. WAYPT/R 012, no Unionids appeared fresh or alive. Clear water sampled knee-deep, picking up residual Unionid shells. Included Ligumia nasuta (Pointed Sand-Shell), which suggests it was abundant in this lake. Sky clearing as the Sun sets. Beaver Lake is so completely lined with homes and cottages that we had to park in a laneway so that Fred could walk to the curve in the road and climb over the guardrail to access the water.

moved 5.1 km N.

76) Arden Road, 7.8 km N Tamworth. UTM 18TUE 403.4 354.7 44.55689N 77.00993W. TIME: 1939. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: oldfields/fencerows on knolly Shield. FWS 06 May 261939/a, Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac) (Plant). dominant shrub, in bloom, seen, driveby. WAYPT/015, massed, pale purple, on either side of the road. There are pockets of Typha (Cattail) marsh along the road, and a few small campsite gravel pits S of here.

moved 5.9 km NNE.

77) Arden Road, 12.0 km ESE Kaladar. 31C/10, UTM 18TUE 426.7 408.8 44.60602N 76.98225W. TIME: 1945. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: oldfields on knolly Shield, old homesite. FWS 06 May 261945/a, Marmota monax (Woodchuck) (Mammal). 1 adult, AOR, driveby. WAYPT/016, ran across road HEADING:W. Aleta saw 2 Toxostoma rufa fly across the road S of here, to the N there's a major paving road-building effort, through reddish sand mixed with fine gravel, and we begin to hear Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) through the windows as we drive along.

moved 2.2 km N.

78) Canada: Ontario: Frontenac County: Arden Rd at Frontenac Co line/11.6 km SSW Arden. UTM 18TUE 429 430.7 44.62577N 76.98001W. TIME: 1949. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: oldfields/woods, big lake/pond W of road. FWS 06 May 261949/a, visit (event). natural history, drive. WAYPT/017, road construction ends at good gravel road. Along Arden Road, which was also new to us, we passed through enchanting Oak forests and old Thuja forests. This is 15.4 km N Tamworth, a Shield version of the Bruce Peninsula 100 Hills Road -- a mosaic of woods, oldfield, pasture, and knolly topography, lots of Oaks, all the same colour of applegreen, leaves all hanging soft and limp as if they've come out faster than expected, producing a much lighter colour than in denser woods, such as the stands of big Thuja. Trillium grandiflorum (White Trillium) still in bloom here, Populus grandidentata (Large-toothed Aspen) conspicuous along the road.

moved 2.6 km N.

79) Arden Road, 9.2 km SSW Arden. UTM 18TUE 431.9 456 44.64866N 76.97720W. TIME: 1955. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: mixed forest on knolly Shield area. FWS 06 May 261955/a, Populus grandidentata (Large-toothed Aspen) (Plant). 1/common tree, specimen. WAYPT/018, small velvety leaves like flowers, from small tree. Aleta at first took these leaves for white flowers.

80) (same location) TIME: 1955. FWS 06 May 261955/b, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index1 call, heard. few calling.

moved 2.0 km NE.

81) Arden Road, 7.2 km SSW Arden. UTM 18TUE 443.8 471.9 44.66319N 76.96266W. TIME: 1959. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: dead-tree pond across from mature Thuja forest. FWS 06 May 261959/a, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index3 call, heard. WAYPT/019, chorus from pond E of road. Across the road from the pond is a mature dark Thuja occidentalis (Eastern White Cedar) forest, with scattered herbs green in the gloom of the clumps of trees. Lots of Trillium grandiflorum (White Trillium) in bloom here.

moved 0.4 km NNE.

82) Arden Rd/Cranberry Lake Road, 6.9 km SSW Arden. UTM 18TUE 445.9 475.1 44.66616N 76.96010W. TIME: 2000. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: cottagy intersection. FWS 06 May 262000/a, reference (cartigraphic reference) (event). drive. WAYPT/020, deked W to the river, and then back.

moved 0.0 km NW.

83) Salmon R/Cranberry Lake Road bridge, 6.8 km SSW Arden. UTM 18TUE 445.6 475.6 44.66653N 76.96045W. TIME: 2001. AIR TEMP: 18 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: impounded river. FWS 06 May 262001/a, visit (event). natural history, drive. WAYPT/021, site will require low water for Unionid survey. There's an Equisetum hyemale (Common Scouring-rush) stand among small Fraxinus (Ash) W of the bridge, making a very dark forest floor. We turned around and continued up Arden Road.

moved 0.4 km NE.

84) Arden Road, 6.4 km SSW Arden. UTM 18TUE 448.7 478.5 44.66925N 76.95666W. TIME: 2005-2011. AIR TEMP: 17.5, overcast, calm. HABITAT: mixed forest on knolly Shield area. FWS 06 May 262005/a, Tsuga canadensis (Hemlock) (Plant). few tree, photo. WAYPT/022, ca 75 cm DBH tree E of road, & a few smaller big trees.

85) (same location) TIME: 2005-2011. FWS 06 May 262005/b, Pseudacris crucifer (Spring Peeper) (herp). index1 call, heard. few calling intermittantly.

86) (same location) TIME: 2005-2011. FWS 06 May 262005/c, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index1 call, heard. few calling intermittantly.

moved 6.4 km NNE.

87) Arden at Big Clear Lake dam. UTM 18TUE 475.2 537 44.72247N 76.92498W. TIME: 2019. AIR TEMP: 17 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: lake dam in town, cottgey Shield area. FWS 06 May 262019/a, visit (event). natural history, driveby. WAYPT/023, impounded above, a freshet below.

moved 2.0 km NNW.

88) Arden Rd/Hwy 7. UTM 18TUE 468.6 555.8 44.73922N 76.93383W. TIME: 2023. AIR TEMP: 17 ca, overcast, calm. FWS 06 May 262023/a, reference (cartigraphic reference) (event). natural history, drive. WAYPT/024, heading E on Highway 7. How many times have we driven past here and never turned south??? But now we've done it, and it's dusk, and we head for home along Highway 7, feeling quite satisfied with both field trip and the anniversary!

moved 55.6 km ENE.

89) Canada: Ontario: Lanark County: Perth: Highway 7 Tim Horton's shop. 31C/16, UTM 18TUE 998.5 731.5 44.90671N 76.26831W. TIME: 2100ca. AIR TEMP: 17, overcast, calm. HABITAT: fast-food commercial plastic strip along highway. 2006/091/d, visit (event). personal, drive. WAYPT/025, Fred hypothermic from daylong soakings. And car thermomter reads 22 C from internal car heat applied to warm him, so AIR_TEMP is taken from a grocery store thermometer sign nearby in Perth.

moved 11.6 km E.

90) North Elmsley: Highway 43/Port Elmsley. UTM 18TVE 113.3 714.8 44.89321N 76.12252W. TIME: 2125-2127. AIR TEMP: 17 ca, overcast, calm. HABITAT: Tay River backwater behind highway, Salix/Acer/Populus woods. 2006/091/fa, Rana clamitans (Green Frog) (herp). index1 call, heard. few calling.

91) (same location) TIME: 2125-2127. 2006/091/fb, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index3 call, heard. huge surging chorus.

moved 32.2 km E.

92) Canada: Ontario: Grenville County: Oxford-on-Rideau: Jig St/Hare Hill Road. 31B/13, UTM 18TVE46 435 695 44.87867N 75.71496W. TIME: 2208-2211. AIR TEMP: 17, overcast, calm. HABITAT: agricultural hay/corn/oldfields. 2006/091/ga, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index3 call, listen. huge chorus.

93) (same location) TIME: 2208-2211. 2006/091/gb, Pseudacris crucifer (Spring Peeper) (herp). index1 call, listen. few calling nearby.

moved 1.4 km SE.

94) (at home) TIME: 2215-2218. AIR TEMP: 17, overcast, calm, foggy. HABITAT: rural village, shallow soil limestone plain. 2006/091/ha, Hyla versicolor (Tetraploid Gray Treefrog) (herp). index3 call, listen. chorus.

95) (at home) TIME: 2215-2218. 2006/091/hb, Bufo americanus (American Toad) (herp). index2 call, listen. small chorus.

96) (at home) TIME: 2215-2218. 2006/091/hc, Cepaea nemoralis (Mollusca). many adult, AOR, DOR. many AOR on Co Road 18 at houses, streets wet. Too tired to do whole survey.