Describe It, Please

Describe it, please Earl Plato

“Describe it again, Lucas.” My grandson Lucas O’Brien had just returned from a week in Quebec on the Ottawa River. His family had had a great time boating, fishing and enjoying nature near Renfrew. “Luke” is an observant eight year old.
He imitated the call of this unknown bird. It was a repeated ‘shriek’. I couldn’t identify it. Ospreys were present as were hawks but their calls I knew.
What about herons and bitterns? Luke said it’s black and a had a wide wing spread.
Turkey vulture? Too big and have you heard the strange call of Turkey vultures?
Thank goodness for the Peterson CD on North American Birds put out by Houghton Mifflin Interactive.
I went through the CD for Raptors. “What about a falcon, grandpa?” This great CD brings up a photo of a bird. You can enlarge it to full screen and then play its call. Not our bird. It was not a raptor.
I brought up the herons, cranes and bitterns too as Luke watched. “That looks like it!” It was a Little Blue heron. “Can’t be,” I said, “they’re from the southern U.S.A.”
Diane and her boys went home. Had I heard that call that Luke had made? I went back to the Little Blue heron page. I enlarged the picture. It was a black-bluish bird as Luke had remembered. I should have played the call then. Now I did and the shrieking call was repeated again and again. I taped it.
I checked the bird’s Range and yes, in summertime it comes this far north even to the Ottawa River area. I called Diane and Luke answered. “Listen to this Luke.” I played the tape call of the Little Blue heron over the phone. “That’s it grandpa!” He had seen and now identified it as a Little Blue Heron.
If you like birds and have a computer buy this Peterson CD. I have had my money’s worth many times.
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One of my Butterfly bushes is flourishing with its purple bottle brush -like flowers. The other is coming along. Last week saw a butterfly alight on my flowered bush. “That’s a Tiger Swallowtail!” It was and another one returned today. An excellent specimen this one. I have a few butterfly books and one I bought a few years ago told the story. Do you have the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory Guide? In the section - Butterflies of Southern Ontario - pages 6 and 7 tell the story. All these years I have mistaken the Canada Tiger Swallowtail for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The eastern is not common here in Niagara and it is much larger than the Canadian. The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail is the common species in our area. Heading out to Marcy Woods for my favourite, the Spicebush Swallowtail. The Guide says on page 4 - locally common - Habitat - Carolinian forest edges - that’s Marcy Woods!