[NatureList] sparsely seen species in Bishops Mills

[Frederick W. Schueler]

Everyone,

A few first observations for this year:

Toads: While we hear distant calling by Toads in the spring, we don't
see juveniles in most years. There were a few in 2024, but none last
year. I was hoping to get either a pair of adults, or some eggs or
tadpoles, to swarm our little pool in the backyard, and see how this
would affect the village's Toad population, but didn't manage this. But
in the past couple of days I've found 2 DOR and 1 AOR juvenile Toads on
the streets, so we did get some from wherever the remote calling that we
heard comes from - at the least 700 m.

Japanese Beetles: Yesterday Meaghan McDonald & I were scouting out the
possibility of biodiversification at the Bishops Mills Cheese Factory
site, and in checking the creek (20 cubic metres/second where it's
measured near Kemptville - the highest flow I've ever seen in July) the
Japanese Knotweed stand beside the bridge had grown up to about half a
metre high after having been cut back earlier, and many of the leaves
were perforated and we saw one Japanese Beetle -
https://ngtimes.ca/japanese-beetles/ - sort of a nice home-coming for
one invasive species from Japan chewing on another.

Monarchs: As I was trying to show Meaghan where the millrace from the
former Bishops milldam goes under Mill Street, there was a Monarch
butterfly on a big patch of Joe Pye Weed below the road. There have been
a lot of notices of this species on facebook, but this is the first
we've seen here. This is one species where low numbers can't be blamed
on last summer's local drought...

fred.
=======================================================

On 7/23/2026 9:23 PM, Aleta Karstad wrote:
> Fragile Inheritance Monthly Nature Talk: Ontario’s Turtles
>
> Date: 3 August
> Time: 7:00pm
> Place: Bishops Mills Community Hall
> Admission: Free
>
> Details: Join local biologist Amanda Bennett for the next Fragile Inheritance
> monthly nature talk on Monday, August 3, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. held at the
> Bishops Mills Community Hall.
>
> The presentation will explore the fascinating natural history of
> Ontario’s turtles through an engaging slide show, with a special focus
> on the species you might encounter right here in North Grenville.
> Attendees will have plenty of time to ask questions and learn more about
> local research and conservation efforts.
>
> (donations appreciated, Fragile Inheritance memberships available)
>
> <https://www.fragileinheritance.ca/>
>
> https://www.fragileinheritance.ca/ <https://www.fragileinheritance.ca/>
>
> For further information contact Aleta (623) 299-3107
>

--
------------------------------------------------------------
---------Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad ------------
Fragile Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/
6 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
------------------------------------------------------------

[rmb...@istar.ca]

I've seen lots of tiny little toads hopping around here and on the
laneway. Too bad I don't live closer, I'd bring you some.

It seems that I see a monarch flying around every 2 or 3 day,
certainly numbers are way up this year. I've seen them landing on my
milkweeds and I keep checking for caterpillars but haven't found a
single one yet.

I had some robust milkweed plants in the "rock garden" in front of the
house, but a porcupine came through and in a couple of nights mowed
them down. It puzzles me that a porcupine would be chopping down the
milkweeds. Disappointing.

Rose-Marie

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[Frederick W. Schueler]

On 8/1/2026 10:06 AM, Rose-Marie wrote:

> I've seen lots of tiny little toads hopping around here and on the laneway. Can't recall if I had posted this pic of the big Mama Toad on this list, when I go out on the walkway I have to check where she's sitting so I don't step on her.
* I think we have a long term decrease in large Toads here - in a quick
scan we have Snout-Vent Length >90mm recorded in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2007, 2008, 2016, 2018, and 2021, though earlier 1990s & 1980s
records aren't in the database. Many of these large individuals were
given names (Dorothy, Lisa, Bella, etc.) and were seen repeatedly. I
think that whatever the supply of juveniles may be, there's been an
increase in traffic and more roadkills. It's really sad to see the
growth of a cohort of juveniles documented by the measurements of roadkills.

fred.