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Avian flu showing up in mammals

After several skunks and foxes were found sick in the Medicine River area, Alberta wildlife specialists were stumped. The animals were all experiencing blindness, seizures, and cloudy eyes. Eventually, three foxes died. Alberta Fish and Wildlife later confirmed with lab tests that five skunks had the avian flu.

“The avian flu here in Alberta hit everybody suddenly and there’s still an awful lot of unanswered questions,” says Carol Kelly, wildlife rehabilitator and executive director at the Medicine River Wildlife Centre in Spruce View, Alberta. “Animals and birds that scavenge dead birds can contract it.”

Two of the five sick foxes did eventually recover and were released, Kelly says. “The difference that we know so far is that mammals can recover from it and they do not pass it on the way birds do,” Kelly says.

The contagious strain of the avian influenza virus has been spreading across the country, affecting wild animals and farm poultry alike. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus is widespread, even affecting birds and wild animals in PEI.

“This isn’t the first time that we’ve had HPAI or avian influenza in Canada,” reassures Thom Luloff, senior wildlife biologist at the Kawartha Wildlife Centre and conservation biology professor at Fleming College. Luloff primarily teaches vertebrate biology and animals disease and pathology. “We’ve had avian influenza since 2005.”

How to keep birds (and yourself safe from avian flu)

“We’re more interested in diseases now because we’re coming out of a pandemic,” the biologist adds.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and stakeholders, like concerned poultry farmers, developed a “robust and effective” avian influenza strategy plan years ago, Luloff explains, referencing the pathogenic strain of the influenza virus from 2014/2015. “This isn’t the first time we’ve done this.”

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is most often found in waterfowl like ducks, geese and other shorebirds, Luloff says. Certain strains of the virus—like this year’s—can spread to poultry like chickens and turkeys. In early May, the Chicken Farmers of Canada reported the virus in nine provinces across Canada.

At the time of the interview, Luloff says the risk is “really for domesticated birds,” as there have not yet been any major mass mortality events in the wild.

“Wild ducks are known to be the principal reservoir for the global gene pool of all influenza avian viruses,” Luloff says. He reiterates that we should not feed ducks bread, or any wild animals anything at all. “We shouldn’t even be in contact with them,” he says. “They need to do what they need to do.”

“When we’re purposely making a connection [with wildlife],” he adds, “that is a problem. That breaks that separation that is supposed to exist between wild animals and anything that is domestic,” Luloff says, humans included. “It’s our pets, it’s our poultry—it’s us.”

We now know that the avian flu can affect foxes, which are canines, or dogs, but we haven’t seen it move into other species yet, Luloff says. “If we continue to keep our distance, that’s not something to be concerned about.” The more we interact, “the more likely something is to happen,” he says.

“If you have birds that have any contact with outside,” Luloff says, “you want to be very careful because these birds are highly vulnerable to infection and death.”

“You can’t do anything once they’re sick,” he adds. Birds with the highly transmissible virus sicken quickly and die quickly. “It’s always a good idea to be careful and clean with your feeders and your birdbaths in general,” Kelly says. Diseases can spread easily if feeders are not cleaned well or often, she adds.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the use of bird feeders is still safe on properties without domestic poultry. Birds Canada recommends regularly cleaning feeders, if you have them.

For now, Luloff recommends taking down feeders altogether, encouraging people to maintain a safe separation between domestic and wild life. “Prevention is the absolute best way to minimize issues with avian influenza,” Luloff says. “Let’s just enjoy the beauty of nature. Let wildlife do their wild thing.” For personal safety, Kelly advises hand washing and avoiding touching the face after handling any animal.

Birds affected by avian flu will have symptoms such as “unexplained emaciation”, head-twitching, poor balance, and weakness, Kelly says. If you encounter any birds exhibiting similar symptoms, she advises calling a professional. “Let’s appreciate wildlife and keep it wild,” Luloff says. “That is better for everybody.”

Bird feeders causing illness in birds in the Pacific Northwest

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Cottage Q&A: Will this tree survive?

The Cottage Life crew recently moved into a new office (in Toronto’s Liberty Village). We noticed a tree sprouting from the parking lot behind the building. We had so many questions! How is it still standing? Is it getting water? Will it die? Will it fall? We went to an arborist for the answers. 

It’s not so much the lack of water that’s the problem, says Steve Smith of Bartlett Tree Experts in Calgary. “The main issue is probably the extensive damage to the root system from the process of it getting paved over, along with how compacted the soil is now.” Sorry, Mr. Tree: “The pavement piled on top of the root system and against the trunk will likely lead to the tree’s decline, and, eventually, its death.” It’s possible that the whole tree could come down, but “the more likely scenario would be a gradual loss if vigour and tip dieback until there’s nothing left of the tree,” says Smith

There’s a right way and a wrong way to hardscape near a tree. Spoiler alert: pictured is the wrong way. The right way? “Keep outside of the dripline of the tree—the tips of the branches,” says Smith. “This will ensure that only a small portion of the root system could potentially be damaged during the work.” Significantly damaging the tree in its “critical root zone”—roughly one foot in radius for every inch of diameter of the trunk as measured at about four feet or 1.4 metres above the ground—will cause serious problems. Trees with damaged roots have a harder time staying hydrated and a harder time absorbing vital nutrients. They become more susceptible to disease and pest damage.

“I would say if people are really worried about damaging a tree’s root system it is best to have an arborist come out and give them their thoughts before beginning the project,” says Smith.

Well, it’s too late for our parking lot tree. Still, we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

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Wild Profile: Meet the cecropia moth

As May heats up, the huge, dramatic-looking cecropia moth—Canada’s largest moth—appears on the scene. It emerges from its massive cocoon in late spring or early summer. Cecropias stick around only long enough to find a mate and breed, leaving behind hundreds of leaf-munching offspring.

How big is the cecropia moth?

This moth is part of the giant silk moth family; they get their name from the huge, elaborate cocoons that they spin. Big cocoons produce big moths: cecropias have a wingspan up to 18 cm—that’s about the size of a plate. (A monarch butterfly’s wingspan, for comparison, is only 9 or 10 cm.) The moths are nocturnal, and have only vestigial mouths. They don’t eat. Their main job is to find a mate and get down to, ahem, business. Males do the pursuing. Newly-emerged cecropia moth females produce a pheromone from their abdomens. Males, using their feathered antennae, can detect one drop of the natural chemical from a kilometre away.

Cecropia moth females vs males 

Female cecropias weigh almost twice as much as males. That’s because they’re laden with up to 300 unfertilized eggs. That’s a lot of babies! Once they’ve made a love connection, male and female moths hook up for almost a full 24 hours. Then, males leave to find more potential partners. The female lays her now-fertilized eggs in batches, often on maple, birch, or cherry trees. Jobs complete, life is short for these bugs. Both parents die within a week or two.

What do the caterpillars look like? 

A female cecropia moth lays more than a hundred eggs, but many caterpillars don’t survive long enough to become adults. When they hatch, they’re tiny and black. They go through several successive molts, changing from yellow to green. Eventually, when a caterpillar is about five inches long, and fattened up from two straight months of eating, it begins to spin its cocoon. It takes a full day, and nearly a mile of silk. Home complete, a cecropia moth caterpillar seals itself into the cocoon for the winter. Nighty, night! See you next year.

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Cottage Q&A: Giraffe legs in the water?

Several years ago, I was kayaking in a swampy bay in our lake. From a distance, I thought I saw the legs of a dead giraffe. How can that be, I wondered. But as I got closer, I could see that it was actually a large plant root of some sort. I took a photo; I was interested to know what it is.—Neil Poutanen, Lac Sinclair, Que.

We were interested too. Because we had absolutely no idea. (Well, we were 99 per cent certain that it wasn’t part of a dead giraffe.) Turns out, your second guess was correct. It’s a root system.

“Those are actually the roots of a water lily—you can see the leaves in the surrounding water,” says Sean Fox, the manager of horticulture and curator of the University of Guelph Arboretum in Guelph, Ont. “The roots would typically be buried in the mud at the bottom of the lake, but if dislodged, they can float to the surface.”

Neat-o! But why are the roots so huge? “Water lilies can form large colonies, where many hundreds of leaves are attached to the same root network,” says Fox. “So, while the individual leaves might look small compared to the roots, those large rhizomes are actually part of a broader network that stores food over the winter and supplies many leaves, which can cover a very large area of the surface water.”

It doesn’t take much to dislodge even a big honkin’ root network. It could have been knocked loose by turtles or fish moving around in the substrate, turbulent water during a storm, or “a well-meaning paddler sticking their paddle too deep into shallow water, hitting the mud, and pulling some roots up,” says Fox. (He’s not throwing shade. He means a different paddler. Not you.)

The roots are strange-looking, sure, “but beautiful in their own way,” says Fox. Just like a giraffe.

Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

This article was originally published in the May 2022 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

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Wild Profile: Meet the pronghorn antelope

Here are a few things that you should know about the pronghorn antelope. One: it’s the second-fastest land animal on earth. Two: thanks to very bulbous eyes set far back on its head, it has better vision than any other ungulate—a pronghorn’s field of vision covers 300 degrees. Three: it’s not actually an antelope. Wait, what?

Pronghorn antelope vs. antelope 

The species’ scientific name (Antolocapra americana) means “American antelope goat.” But it’s not closely related to either of those animals—it’s not part of the antelope family at all. A pronghorn’s closest living relatives appear to be the giraffe and the okapi (a species that looks like a cross between a deer and a zebra, native to the Democratic Republic of Congo). True antelopes live mostly in Africa, with smaller pockets in Asia and portions of the Middle East. In Canada, pronghorn populations are largely restricted to parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

How fast can a pronghorn run? 

This non-antelope can sprint as fast as 92 km/h—only the cheetah is faster. Why are these skinny, deer-like animals so speedy? They’re built for it, with long legs and can take big strides, plus large hearts and lungs in relation to their size. Some experts believe pronghorns evolved to be so fast because they once lived in grassland habitats alongside now-extinct cheetah-like predators. This could also be the reason they developed such great eyesight. A pronghorn can spot a predator from up to six kilometres away. That’s a real advantage to survival in a flat, plains environment. Oddly, for an animal that’s so leggy, pronghorn antelopes aren’t good jumpers. Unlike deer, they’re more likely to crawl under an obstacle—a fence, for example–rather than attempt to leap over it.

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Nature Scrapbook: The northern spring azure butterfly

Flitting, dodging, never seeming to land, northern spring azures are ethereal specks of splendour, appearing miraculously on sunny, warm spring days. The pale blue butterflies herald the unfolding of the season’s ephemeral blossoms—to which they’re intrinsically tied—along forest trails and watersides throughout Canada to the tree line.

Beneath sun-warmed leaf litter, azures emerge from plump, brown or yellowish chrysalids for their maiden flights, unlike the smattering of other early spring butterflies, which overwinter as adults. Males patrol almost constantly for mates, especially mid-afternoon to dusk. They seem to disappear when occasionally landing to bask, the grey-brown undersides of their closed wings blending with ground colours. Living for only a few days to a couple of weeks, they sip a little flower nectar, but tank up on minerals from mud puddles or even animal droppings.

Female azures, distinguished by their black-bordered forewings, generally mate within hours of emerging. The following day, they lay light-green eggs, spaced individually on flower buds of wild cherry, blueberry, dogwoods, and other shrubs with white spring blossoms. They perish soon afterwards.

Their tiny, squat caterpillars, which can be green to whitish, pink, or brown, hatch within several days, and munch buds, flowers, and developing fruits for two to three weeks before they pupate. As they grow, they secrete a greenish honeydew solution, favoured by sweet-toothed ants. In exchange for the sugary drink, the ants protect the developing pupas from spiders, wasps, and other assailants.

While most northern spring azures stay cooped up in chrysalids for 10 or 11 months of the year, some in southeastern Canada pupate within only a few weeks and fly in summer. In southern Ontario and the prairies, a nearly identical but apparently separate species, the summer azure, also takes wing around the same time.

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Rare bird spotted for the first time in Canada

A small, grey-brown sandpiper spotted in Thedford, Ont. proved that one doesn’t need to be the flashiest bird to catch people’s eye. The first sighting of a marsh sandpiper in Canada brought enthusiastic birders to the region in the hope of catching a glimpse of this unique find. 

The marsh sandpiper stands on long, yellow legs that allow the bird to wade through shallow marshlands in search of food. The migratory species, which can be found in eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, has a distinctive white “eyebrow” marking above its eye.

“The marsh sandpiper is native to Eurasia, and so this is the first time its officially been recorded in Canada,” says Natasha Barlow, an Ontario projects biologist with Birds Canada, who made the trip to see the Thedford marsh sandpiper. “Poor weather conditions can push birds off of their flight path, especially during migration when they may be making long-distance flights, and emergency landings in areas where they usually wouldnt be (like in Thedford) can occur,” she adds.

The vagrant marsh sandpiper was first spotted by birder James Holdsworth at the Thedford Sewage Lagoons, as reported by CTV News London. The exciting find prompted the Ontario Field Ornithologists to arrange access to the property for birders to witness this once-in-a-lifetime sighting. 

One of those birders was Paul Riss, who goes by the moniker “the punk birder” and was featured in the CBC Gem documentary, Rare Bird Alert. Riss earned his nickname thanks to his efforts to break down the stereotypes of old, stuffy birdwatchers; instead, he is a proponent that birdwatching is a hobby for everyone.

Riss made an eight hour trek to see the marsh sandpiper, noting that he was not likely to get this opportunity again in his lifetime. Along the drive he was “praying to the bird gods that it was still going to be there.” He arrived at the site and trained his scope. 

“There it was,” he says, “with that lovely white marking on its back. I couldn’t believe it.” 

He observed the sandpiper walking around in the shallows, stopping to feed and preen its feathers. “It was lovely to see,” he says. “The people I was with, they were so happy.”

For those interested in experiencing the thrill of spotting a new species for the first time, Riss recommends that people connect with the Ontario Field Ornithologists to learn the ins and outs of birdwatching. But he emphasizes that birding as a hobby can be as casual as keeping watch on a backyard birder feeder. “To be a birder, you do not need to chase rare birds,” he says. “If you really enjoy birds, you’re a great birder.”

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Wild Profile: Meet the Blanding’s turtle

If you can spy a Blanding’s turtle, you’ll be able to identify it as such. This guy’s bright yellow, extra-long neck (and chin) distinguishes it from other northern turtles. And check out that shell. It looks like an army helmet. Most Ontario turtles have wider, flatter shells. Blanding’s turtles live a lot of life underwater. They stroll along the bottom of shallow, weedy, marshy areas; thanks to that long neck, they can poke their faces into spots other water-dwellers can’t reach. To get at crayfish and snails, a Blanding’s reaches underneath driftwood and between rocks. Gotcha!

When can you spot a Blanding’s turtle?

The best time to see one of these at-risk reptiles is May. For about a month, when the sun is shining and the air temperature is 15°C and up, they bask. Who wouldn’t? They’ll float at the water’s surface or suntan on logs as they try to boost their metabolism. If spooked, a Blanding’s will immediately plop into the water, where, with only the head poking out, one can look more like a venomous yellow-bellied sea snake. (Which is not found in Canada. Do. Not. Worry.)

When do they breed? 

Although Blanding’s turtles breed any time during summer—like other turtle species—romance is really in the air soon after hibernation. A male turtle will spend more than an hour wooing a potential lady friend. (That’s a long time in the turtle-verse.) He’ll caress her head with his chin, and nibble her neck. It’s true love! Except not really; most Blanding’s turtles are promiscuous, and usually more than one papa is responsible for fertilizing the eggs. Once pregnant, a mother heads onto land to lay her clutch, after digging a hole with her back legs. It takes an entire day—nearly until midnight. Before returning to the water, she might stop to forage for berries, leaves, and worms. She just built her nursery and gave birth. She’s owed.

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Wild Profile: Meet the chestnut-sided warbler

The chestnut-sided warbler is an easy warbler to identify—despite the fact that North America is home to more than 50 species of the bird. At least, this guy is easy to ID if you know what to spot. In the spring and summer, when they’ve returned home to their cottage-country haunts after the winter in warmer parts of the world, both breeding males and females have a flashy chestnut stripe on their flanks. Chestnut-sided! Isn’t it helpful when a bird’s name just makes sense?

What does the chestnut-sided warbler sound like? 

If you can’t recognize this bird by its looks, you might recognize it by its calls. Beginning in May, males start belting out their love song from open, sunny spots. It sounds like “Pleased, pleased, pleased to meet-cha!” They’ll sing up to 4,000 times per day. Holy dedication—can you imagine doing anything 4,000 times per day? Once they’ve attracted the attention of a female chestnut-sided warbler, they’ll sing a different tune (literally): a territorial chant meant to tell other males to stay away from their home and their future wife.

Is the chestnut-sided warbler rare? 

Although this warbler’s numbers probably have declined in recent years—the same is true for many birds—chestnut-sided warblers are actually more common than they were in the 19th century. Because they prefer open areas, they actually benefitted from human practices such as logging. In some cases, their territories now nearly overlap with the yellow warbler (the two species are closely related). Yellow warblers look different, but their love songs are similar to a chestnut-sided warbler’s: “Sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet.” Family ties and all that.

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Wild Profile: Meet the red-bellied snake

Snakes don’t usually get the label of “cute”—but maybe that’s because nobody remembers the red-bellied snake. Look at that little face! C’mon. This guy’s not so bad.

Are red-bellied snakes venomous?

Like almost all of Canada’s snakes, red-bellies are not venomous. They are also unlikely to attempt to bite you, even if you picked one up. They tend to be timid when handled. They’re very skinny—more like long worms—and sometimes only as long as eight inches. Even turtles and blue jays eat them. The most a red-bellied snake will do to you is curl its upper lips back in a snarl, or attempt to roll over and scare you away with its red stomach. (Because red is scary?) As with all snakes, this one might try its best to intimidate you with fakery. But…when a snake is as small as a red-belly, its efforts kind of fall short. Well, you gave it the old college try, little buddy.

Where does the red-bellied snake live? 

In Canada, you can find the red-bellied snake from southeastern Saskatchewan east as far as Nova Scotia—although they seem to be absent around Lake Superior. If you can find them. With their dark backs and small size, they blend in with dead pine needles and other leaf litter. Plus, they tend to only emerge from rock crevices and under logs at night, to hunt for their dinners of slugs, earthworms, and beetle larvae.

Is this snake endangered?

Red-bellies mostly breed in April, after hibernating over the winter. But a mother doesn’t give birth—to a litter of up to 14 live, baby snakes—until August or September. The snakelets shed one layer of skin within an hour; after two years, they’re mature and able to reproduce. But it’s hard to monitor this snake’s longevity and numbers, in part because of their nocturnal, super-secretive nature. Currently, they’re not assessed under COSEWIC or SARA; under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species—it catalogues the extinction risk of the world’s animal and plant species—they’re considered “of Least Concern.” So that’s a better outlook if you compare it to the future of plenty of other snakes.