A Walk in the Arboretum - Part 2
Spending an hour or two on my "patch" - PLUS a downloadable, FREE, guide to birding in the Arboretum and a link to Werewolves on the Moon
"To do things routinely, to take the same walk time after time, is not to see the same view over and over. It is to notice the incremental rate of natural change and to appreciate that nothing is ever repeated. I am often struck by the way, when one has had some deeply memorable encounter with say, a sighting of a rare bird or butterfly, that the next day you see almost nothing at all. They are never in the same spot. Nature has a way of balancing its books but it also has a way of avoiding duplicates. Every time is unique. There is much to be gained by concentrating our wildlifing activities primarily in the areas where we live.”
- Mark Cocker, Claxton (Jonathan Cape, London, 2014)
Last week I wrote briefly about arriving in Quebec from England 25 years ago and two days later, finding the Arboretum - at which point I decided this was going to be a good place to put down new roots and, thankfully, that I had not made a mistake in getting on that plane. I have received a gratifying number of positive reactions to that post (including lots of new subscribers … thanks people, and welcome aboard). As a consequence I decided to postpone the article that I had intended for this edition of my newsletter. Instead I am going to talk a bit more about the Arbo. Not just because I enjoy the forest trails so much, but also because it’s the sort of place that many towns and cities might also have available for wandering in and looking for more of those 1001 Species. What I see here, you could well see there, or wherever. Just take a walk with notebook.
Note - if you read down far enough you will happen upon a link to download a free copy of a birders guide to the Arboretum. Entirely free, but I would welcome your comments. I am intending that by next spring it will have been updated and a new edition will include information about trees and plants as well as birds - that will be free too.
So, an Introductory Wander in my “patch”
Last week, I briefly introduced the main trails in the Morgan Arboretum - it’s amazing how many Montrealers don’t know about it, which is great for those of us who do. Even if only virtually, you have now arrived there, checked in at the gatehouse and parked in the second car park beside the conservation centre (the washrooms are in there by the way - small door on the western end). In your hand you have a trail map picked up when you entered and you are wondering where to start, there being so many options. Don’t overthink things - just follow me. We will take a short walk of about 90 minutes duration so you can get a feel for the place. You could actually do the walk in an hour but you will want to stop and look at things along the way.
Face north, car park behind you, conservation centre to the left. In front of you is a steep slope which in winter is a mecca for kids with sledges. At the bottom lies a field (Dale’s Pasture) that has been filled over the years with a selection of “special” trees mingled with commoner species. Stand for a moment - did you bring your binoculars? - and look and listen. Depending on the season, let’s assume its spring or summer, there will be various numbers of birds - Song and Chipping Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, potentially five Woodpecker species, Cardinals, Crows, sometimes a Raven, Blue Jays, White-breasted Nuthatches and on a good day some others. No guarantees, never any guarantees when it comes to birds, but those are possible. Go down the slope into the field - if your legs are a little wobbly there is a slightly less steep way down to the right (east) but don’t venture onto the main trail over in the same corner. We will save that for another day.
You are down in the field now - first turn to the west. You will see a tangle of bushes in front of a wall of mature trees at the foot of the slop. In those bushes, at the right season - spring migration in the second half of May for example, you might chance on several species of Warblers moving around, perhaps Sparrows and Vireos and Kinglets. This is where those binoculars will come in handy. Next go for a wander through the trees in the field as you head towards the top left corner. It is at about this point when you wonder why the Arbo does not have a tree guide. I asked about that on my first visit in 1998 and they didn’t have one then either. The Director of the Arbo has been asking me for years to write one, and I will, but there are still 1001 Species leading me off down rabbit holes. Fortunately these days we have smartphones with apps such as iNaturalist and PlantNet that will help you to identify many of the ones you have not met before.
In the north-west corner of the field there is a trail - did you hear that Ovenbird calling to you? Was that a garter snake slithering across the grass as you left the field? Oh look, there is a Ctenucha Moth on that head of Queen Anne’s Lace flowers. Lots to enjoy here. To your right the predominant trees include sugar maple and to the left various evergreens. The trail is not wide, so you will need to go in single file. Go at your own speed and keep your eyes open - don’t forget to pause to look at the plants either - I might be a birder, but my botanically inclined wife has caused me to notice other things too. In a few minutes the trail opens out slightly and on your left is a long unused quarry. The stone from the quarry was originally used for road making, I believe. In spring and early summer the bottom of the quarry is flooded and there are a number of fallen trees in there - come at the right time of year and you will be deafened by the calls of mating frogs. On occasion unexpected birds in passage may be seen on the logs in the water - I am think of Solitary Sandpipers for example, maybe one or two of the species of Ducks too, so it’s worth checking. Then look up into the trees - old trees casting shade, and water all attract small birds. More Warblers for example such as Chestnut-sided and Blackburnians are worth looking for. Flycatchers like Phoebes and Great-crested may be sallying after food from high perches over the water. Definitely worth spending some time here - but don’t worry about the far side of the quarry as we will be coming back that way. When you have your fill just carry on along the trail. As you pass beyond the quarry you will enter Blossom Corner.
Blossom Corner is planted with, surprise, trees that produce magnificent blossom in the spring and it is here that during the spring bird migration you stand a greater chance of seeing the greatest variety of species - resident and in passage … but be there early in the morning. I still have happy memories of leading a field trip group from Bird Protection Quebec about 15 years ago when the Warblers and other little gems were positively hanging from the branches. I will probably never see another day quite like that, all the stars aligned just right. As a friend said, “Why are we walking, we should have just brought deck chairs and sat here for a couple of hours”. The list that morning approached 70 species, albeit not all from Blossom Corner.
Across from you is a loop of the main trail - bear left along that and then north again to see a log cabin, Chalet Pruche about 200m ahead with a slope beyond it down to a small field ringed with birch trees on the east and north sides. At the top of the slope is a very tall Tamarack tree that should be scanned for small birds - especially in winter this can be a reliably good place to see winter finches feeding from the cones. Go down the slope to the left of the cabin.
On the left of the small field is the Sugar Shack where Arboretum maple syrup is boiled from maple sap and in front of it you will see “The Copse”. This small area was planted in 2017 by volunteers, and contains a choice selection of native trees and shrubs that all produce fruit to support wildlife, especially birds. There is a display board listing the species but they include Rowan, American Black Cherry, Winterberry and many others while in spring ephemeral flowers bloom on the ground. Face north again and look for a stone bench at the head of the “Birch Alley” trail leading through the forest alongside more of the birches mentioned below, lining the western side. To the east is an evergreen plantation that is favoured by Owls and Hawks for nesting. On one memorable winter occasion I was with a group wading through deep snow when we found ourselves looking up into a tree in which a Barred Owl was happily dismembering a squirrel for lunch. That was fun. Also along this section if you hold out a handful of seed Chickadees and Nuthatches will settle on your fingers to feed … I know, not to be encouraged but generations of birds here have learned the trick. The next part of the trail is a short loop named officially the Canada 150 Trail. Beginning in 1958, paper birch seeds were collected from 83 locations across Canada as part of research on birch diversity. From these seeds, tree specimens were grown and planted in 1967. This trail and its trees were rededicated as the Canada 150 Birch Trail on the 150th anniversary of our country’s Confederation just a few years ago. Birches are a pioneer species that is distributed all over the northern hemisphere, in a habitat that is characterized by northern temperate and boreal forests.
At the end of Birch Alley you meet the main trail and see a large field that in summer is home to several species of grassland and birds. Red-winged Blackbirds, Several Sparrow species and perhaps Hawks will be cruising overhead. The huge pile of timber in the field (The Branchery) was created when the Birch Alley was renovated and has proven to be a wonderful home for small birds and mammals - check the perching points for singing Sparrows and sallying Flycatchers. Now turn left for 100m along the trail until at the end of the field you see a side trail heading south through a fern-rich glade. Walk across the glade and then briefly into the forest to emerge again behind the Sugar Shack and the Copse. Return up the slope beside the cabin and go back to Blossom Corner but this time enter the forest to the west of the Quarry.
Keeping the quarry to your left go past the somewhat decayed “Scout Hut”. To the west and just a few metres over is the Yellow Trail that will shortly take you back to the Main Trail where you will see the Conservation Centre and the Car Park. The short but steep slope at the end of the main trail is in fact the remnants of a pre-historic beach when this was the shoreline of a vast lake formed as the ice-cap retreated and from which Montreal had yet to arise.
I hope you took a notebook for all the species you have encountered on this introduction to the Arboretum.
Here’s a free gift …
I wrote a guide to birding in the Arboretum a few years ago. It’s a free, downloadable PDF file that you can obtain using this link. Fully illustrated with trail maps and descriptions. All I ask is that you make no commercial use of it. The third edition with extra information will be out in the spring - I hope.
Hallowe’en - October 31. Avian Skating.
A couple of days before the end of October we had moved a large concrete bird bath from its long time location in a corner of the garden where is was being taken over by spreading dogwood bushes, and moved it closer to the house in a relatively open area where we would watch from the windows as the birds came and went. Well, quite a success with many birds splashing and squabbling to our delight. Robins and Blue Jays in particular like to have their feathers spick and span. Anyway, the first frost of the year arrived and on looking out with our obligatory mugs of morning tea on this day we were faced with the sight of a confused House Finch standing on the now very ‘hard’ water in which it had bathed the day before and wondering “What happened?”
And Hallowe’en (with an apostrophe, please) reminded me of this cartoon from a bit over a decade ago. It rather speaks to my nerdish soul. I am confident that you, gentle reader, will at least smile …
This is the weekend in Canada and the US when our clocks go back - last weekend this happened in Europe when the following article was published. That extra hour at the end of the day which we have just lost is all the more valuable in winter than in the summer. Give it back please. Anyway - have a read of this:
Our Extra Hour: What will you do with yours on Sunday?
Secondly, an “about time too” initiative -
The American Ornithological Society, which is the organization responsible for standardizing English bird names across the Americas, announced on Wednesday that it would rename all species honoring people. Bird names derived from people, the society said in a statement, can be harmful, exclusive and detract from “the focus, appreciation or consideration of the birds themselves.”
https://substack.com/home/post/p-138518399?source=queue
Let’s Botanize … “There are many ways to botanize. Typically it involves trying to identify a plant species, observing its form and structure or assessing how it survives in the landscape. Plants are everywhere and don’t move, so this can be done in virtually any setting, including your windowsill or sidewalk.”
Finally, to round off your reading … Werewolves on the Moon
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-to-a-werewolf-on-the-moon/
Thank you for giving me a new and different perspective on the Arboretum from a regular walker/hiker over the years.
I have been skiing 4 or 5 times a week at the Arbo since I retired 5 years ago. Have never been there in the summer. Your article has made me decide to.give it a go next year.