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Month: Late August - The tail-end of summer.

Introduction

Hello! It’s me again. With another exciting entry about my self-led educational journey into the wilderness of Ontario. Ironically, this time, the wilderness is just outside my own doorstep. The Oshawa Creek is a fantastic and popular stroll that winds itself all the way from downtown Oshawa to the shore of Lake Ontario. Here, on this entry of me learning more about this province’s ecology, I attempt to educate myself on the vegetation and organisms that live in this beautiful (debatable) part of a dreary and rather built-up GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

Background

The Oshawa Creek is part of a large watershed network that borders Lake Scugog and Nonquon River to the North, Lake Ontario to the South, Duffin’s Creek in Whitby to the West and Bowmanville to the East. The watershed network is roughly 11616 Ha with 11km at its widest – near the top of the catchment – and 21km at its longest. However, for this article, our investigation will primarily focus on the boundary between Wentworth and Southmead Park during the late summer, which is when the photos were taken. The path we took spans about 1.3km following the Eastern half of the riverbank, which is where the path was located. According to the official Ontario website, the ecoregion that the creek occupies is the mixed wood plains ecozone. Limestone-dominated landscapes with intermixing of deciduous and conifer-based canopy.

Figure 1. Our path highlighted in yellow within the Oshawa Creek Watershed, which is highlighted in red.

What did we see?

Figure 2. Pale Jewelweed - Native ( Impatiens pallida) .

Also known as Pale Touch-Me-Not. This is a beautiful annual flower attached to a leafy plant. Appropriately flowering at the tail end of summer, this particular flower exhibits chasmogamy, meaning that its petals are open and surrounding the reproductive parts of the plant, which in turn invites pollinators in to help fertilize the plant. In this case, bumblebees. Chasmogamy and Cleistogamy are two such terms that describe how flowers are formed and primarily describe their method of how they become fertilized and reproduce. Many plants can exhibit one or both methods in separate flowers. Just something to add to the knowledge bank there. (I hope I used those words correctly).

Also, to note, another fun thing about this plant is the dispersal of its fruit where it can essentially launch its seeds. Something common to the aptly named Touch-Me-Nots. Best be careful.

Figure 3. A really bad picture of Common Jewelweed - Native ( Impatiens capensis) .

Another Touch-Me-Not. Also known as the Spotted Touch-Me-Not, this species differs from its brighter counterpart in a few ways (outside the obvious). For example, its inviting trumpet shape can play host to pollinators such as bees, butterflies and even the famous hummingbird (I didn’t know hummingbirds came this far up north till recently). Additionally, I. capensis has coarser toothed margins on the edge of the leaves compared to I. pallida.

However, they do occupy roughly the same moist, west environments. Appropriate considering that I found both of them within a few footsteps of one another. In fact, there is one more species in the same family that we found an abundance of.

Figure 4. Himalayan Balsam - Introduced/Invasive ( Impatiens glandulifera) .

This one is a doozy. Unlike the other two mentioned above, this one is not a native but rather, a nuisance in Southern Ontario. Previously a decorative plant for poorly informed settlers, these pests have established themselves across Southern Canada from British Columbia to the Maritimes. Compounded with the threat of climate change and the likelihood of an increased range towards the north (Walther et al 2002), the end date of the Himalayan Balsam might not be coming any time soon.

Figure 5. Himalayan Balsam distribution range across Canada (from Clements et al 2008).

These guys are well-known in Ontario for forming stems the height of your average human or even taller. They also routinely outcompete native species. There are ways to remove these guys from an area, although it will require a bit of effort, such as: hand pulling smaller seedlings or mechanically removing large stems via brushcutters followed by smothering the plant using black, non-transparent bags. Always good to be aware of invasive species.

Figure 6. Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) .

Whilst the specimen in this picture is a little worse for wear, Bee-Balms seem to be a popular wildflower that occurs around this time. Judging from the condition of this one, however, flowering season may soon be over. Lovely colour and a strange inflorescent formation that anyone, botanist or otherwise, can appreciate. Apparently, according to almanac.com, it brings in pollinators like bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. So, not all that different from the Touch-Me-Nots of earlier.

Finally, there’s something called nectar-robbing, which I had never heard of until I started doing some research on this plant. Nectar-robbing is a process in which pollinators pierce the base of the flower to access nectar without making their way through the pollen. Like a backdoor cheat method. Primarily used by larger insects. The strategies that nature uses to get things done is astonishing to say the least.

Figure 7. Common Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) .

5 petals, bright white and surprisingly toxic. These buggers are about as small as the jewel weed. Preferred place to be found are disturbed sites and fields. As alluded to by the name, Soapwort is appropriately named as it is produces saponins, a soap-like substance that can harm livestock. They were also used for soap by settlers. However, apparently, it wasn’t very good.

Figure 8. Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). At least, I think it is.

According to Fishbrain.com, the picture you see before you are likely Chinook Salmon, but it can also be Steelhead. This picture was actually taken at the very beginning of September so I’m cheating a little bit. Regardless, considering the lack of fish in this river all year, it’s so nice to finally see a school of large fish… swimming next to a couple of shopping carts. A shame really! The creek environment seems to be neglected. If only humans took better care of the area. Maybe the wildlife would be more abundant… probably not. Nice to hope.

These guys live about 9-10 years and are referred to as the King of Salmon. When I saw them the other day, I was blown away by their immense size. Spanning the size of an adult human’s torso and beyond that. Any larger, I would think it was a shark or something.

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Figure 9. White-tailed deer. (Odocoileus virginianus). Mummy and fawn.

I believe these to be white-tailed deer. So adorable. Just outside where the Central Lakes Ontario Conservation Authority was, these guys were just foraging away. Maybe it was the fence but that fact that we observed them like crazy stalkers for a whole 5 minutes and they did little to run away must prove the trust they have in the fence. Maybe having barriers from human interaction is one of the best conservation methods we have.

In New Zealand, deer were introduced and are usually seen as pests. They browse and graze like crazy on all the vegetation, which puts our native species at risk. Whereas here, they are seen as native parts of the ecosystem and even a lucky sighting. Sometimes it’s a bit strange to find creatures in one environment where they are seen as but a piece of the puzzle whilst in another, they are saboteurs and pests. Conflicting feelings.

Conclusion

As per the last article, I would like to make a land acknowledgement. Firstly, a reference from the City of Oshawa website.

“The City of Oshawa sits on treaty land that is steeped in rich Indigenous history and is the present day home to many First Nations, Métis and Inuit people. We acknowledge that we live and work on land covered under the Williams Treaties, and the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.”

The city of Oshawa comes under the Williams Treaty and is traditionally the land of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island. I would like to extend my personal gratitude to them as well as any other First Nations, Metis and Inuit who currently reside in the area. Their knowledge and stewardship of the land helps to bring us all closer together and closer to nature. More information can be seen in the link for the City of Oshawa down below.

A smaller trip to somewhere I frequent every month or so. A beautiful piece of the GTA. Admittingly, its not the most well-kept but every effort we make now is something that will have resonating effects in the future for our successors. Whether that is cleaning a river of its shopping carts, picking up rubbish or even spreading some good know-how. Together, the world will prosper as one. Something cheesy like that. The point is: be kind to nature and to each other.

Acknowledgement

Thanking my partner, Madeline for her ever-loving support as she wanders through woodlands, wetlands and other strange environments with a man who won’t stop taking pictures of flowers. Also, she edited this piece.

Catch ya next time.

Reference

https://www.ontario.ca/page/introduction-ecological-land-classification-systems#section-1 -Land Classification

https://opendata.durham.ca/ - Where I got the data for creating my maps.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/yellow-banded-bumble-bee - Bumblebees

https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/palejewelweed.html - Pale Jewelweed

https://bplant.org/compare/331-336 - The difference between Pale and Common Jewelweed

Walther, G. R., Post, E., Convey, P., Menzel, A., Parmesan, C., Beebee, T. J., … & Bairlein, F. (2002). Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature, 416(6879), 389-395. - Article that talks about the invasion potential of species with Climate Change

Clements, D. R., Feenstra, K. R., Jones, K., & Staniforth, R. (2008). The biology of invasive alien plants in Canada. 9. Impatiens glandulifera Royle. Canadian journal of plant science, 88(2), 403-417. - Article that talks of Himalayan Balsam as an invader.

https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/invasive-species/meet-the-species/invasive-plants/himalayan-balsam/ - More information about Himalayan Balsam

https://www.almanac.com/plant/bee-balm - More information about Wild Bergamot

https://fishbrain.com/fishing-waters/jTut__eN/east-oshawa-creek - Fish Brain

https://www.oshawa.ca/en/city-hall/truth-and-reconciliation.aspx - City of Oshawa

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