Sandhills and Skunk Cabbage

Returning now to our Sunday afternoon drive, we turned left at the end of the Lower Valley Road and headed up Bowles Hill and then up the 7th Line.  We were going hunting for Sandhill Cranes and Skunk Cabbage and we kept an eye on all the fields as we drove along.

We crossed the Beaver River first, which we had been following since the start of the Lower Valley Road.

We soon came to the little patch of wetland where we knew Skunk Cabbage could be found.  A  little snow left here.

Can you see them - little green and purple spikes just up out of the ground 2 or 3 inches?

Here are a couple of photos from a few years ago, back in the days when I could get out of the car and into the wetland to get closer shots.

The protective outer purple shell enclosing the flowers is called the 'spathe', and the inner fat stem bearing the tiny yellow flowers is the 'spadix', certainly unusual as flowers go!

 

We kept on down the gravel road, at this point stopping with the windows down to listen for Sandhill Cranes.  We've heard them here before.

Around the corner and north we came to the uppermost stretch of Wodehouse Creek.  It rises in a huge spring 200 yards to the west of this bridge.  To the east it flows into the huge Wodehouse Marsh.

Immediately to the north we stopped to listen again.  This is the very first spot where I heard them in Ontario.  After a moment or two, lo and behold, out of the shrubby swamp came their haunting cries, probably a pair, already preparing to nest.  Their call is very unusual, said to resemble a bugle and instantly recognizable once you've heard it.

Here's a photo from 2 or 3 years ago to show you the size of the cranes.  They are more commonly seen in the west; I first saw them in Vancouver.  But they've been spreading east and are more frequently seen in this area now.  We do see thousands when they migrate in huge flocks back south in the fall.