2017 Big Rock bioblitz

Summary

Big Rock's unique feature is the well established Peregrine falcon nesting site. While they are now off the Endangered list Peregrines remain a rare and very local species that reflect overall environmental health. Peregrines have been successfully nesting and preying on local birds since around 2005 which represents a good indicator of the health of the local avifauna. It doesn’t address abundance since there’s no question that the population of virtually all small perching birds has declined hugely over the last 20-30 years.but does imply that individuals within the local population are reasonably healthy.

The plants are representative of Renfrew County with nothing standing out as exceptional. The bedrock is uniformly acidic gneiss, which would be expected to yield such a result. As a component of a system of natural area, however, representative landscapes such as Big Rock are important.

Field observations

On June 24, 2017 an assessment of the flora and fauna of the 4.65 ha Big Rock Conservation Area was undertaken by Pembroke Area Field Naturalists: Grant Bickell, Christian Renault, Ethan Anderman, Rob Cunningham, Jennifer Valentine and, Erick Liskie.

Big Rock is in EcoRegion 6E and is thought to have a great variety of flora and fauna for its relatively small size. The flora is divided into somewhat distinct zones consisting of: deciduous forest (A), coniferous forest (B), cliff (C) and meadow (D).

TREES

Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus

Red Pine - Pinus resinosa

Eastern Hemlock - Tsuga canadensis

Eastern White Cedar - Thuja occidentalis

Red Oak - Quercus rubra

Ironwood - Ostrya viriniana

White Ash- Fraxinus americana

Basswood - Tilia americana

Paper Birch - Betula papyrifera

Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum

SHRUBS

Common Bearberry - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Common juniper - Juniperus communis

Juneberry sp - Amelanchier sp

Bush honeysuckle - Diervilla lonicera

Wild rose - Rosa sp

Staghorn sumac - Rhus typhina

Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Maple-leaf viburnum - Vibernum acerifolium

Arrowwood - Vibernum rafinesquianum

Glaucous honeysuckle - Lonicera dioica

Narrow-leaved New Jersey Tea - Ceanothus herbaceus

FERNS

Marginal woodfern - Dryopteris marginata

Rusty woodsia - Woodsia ilvensis

Bracken fern - Pteridium aquilinum

HERBACEOUS FLOWERING PLANTS

Orange hawkweed - Hieracium aurantiacum

Field hawkweed - Hieracium caespitosum

Pale corydalis - Corydalis sempervirens

White clover - Trifolium repens

Early saxifrage - Saxifraga virginiensis

Common St. Johnswort - Hypericum perforatum

Rough Cinquefoil - Potentilla norvegica

Slender Vetch - Vicia tetrasperma

Hairy beardtongue - Penstemon hirsutus

Hop clover - Trifolium agrarium

Wild licorice - Galium circaezans

False soloman's seal - Smilacina racemosa

Barren strawberry - Waldsteinia fragarioides

Sarsparilla - Aralia nudicalis

Big-leaf aster - Aster macrophyllus

Spreading dogbane - Apocynum androsaemifolium

Wild lily-of-the-valley - Maianthemum canadense

Early meadowrue - Thalictrum dioicum

Bastard toadflax - Comandra umbellata

Cow-wheat - Melampyrum lineare

Black snakeroot - Sanicula marilandica

Wild Basil - Clinopodium vulgare

Mouse-eared chickweed - Cerastium vulgatum

Common speedwell - Veronica officinalis

Fireweed - Epilobium angustifolium

Birdfoot trefoil - Lotus corniculatus

Field Pussytoes - Antennaria neglecta

Devil's Paintbrush - Hieracium aurantiacum

Rough Woodland Sunflower - Helianthus divaricatus

Black Snakeroot - Sanicula marilandica

Lesser Daisy Fleabane - Erigeron strigosus

Small-flowered Crane's-bill - Geranium pusillum

Wood Lily - Lilium philadelphicum

GRASSES & SEDGES

Dry-spike Sedge - Carex siccata

Merritt Fernald's Sedge - Carex merritt-fernaldii

Pennsylvania Sedge - Carex pensylvanica

Long-stalked Sedge - Carex pedunculata (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)

Sprengel's Sedge - Carex sprengelii (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)

Ebony Sedge - Carex eburnea (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)

Dewey's Sedge - Carex deweyana (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)

White-grained Mountain-ricegrass - Oryzopsis asperifolia (Base of property along and above Manning Rd)

BIRDS

peregrine falcon

turkey vulture

herring gull

ring-billed gull

yellow-bellied sapsucker

eastern wood pewee

great crested flycatcher

least flycatcher

red-breasted nuthatch

white-breasted nuthatch

chestnut-sided warbler

pine warbler

blackburnian warbler

red-eyed vireo

yellow-rumped warbler?

black and white warbler

Nashville warbler

black-throated blue warbler

American redstart (sighted Manning Rd)

scarlet tanager

rose-breasted grosbeak

chipping sparrow

song sparrow

ANIMALS

wood frog - Rana sylvatica

INSECTS

baskettail - Epitheca sp

Boreal Bluet - Enallagma boreale

Tule Bluet - Enallagma carunculatum

Hagen's Bluet - Enallagma hageni

Racket-tailed - Emerald Dorocordulia libera

Ashy Clubtail - Gomphus lividus

Robber Fly - Laphria sp

Silvery Blue butterfly - Glaucopshyche lygdamus

little wood satyr- Megisto cymela

forest tent caterpillar - Malacosoma disstria

northern cloudy-wing - Thorybes pylades

long dash skipper- Polites mystic

hobomok skipper - Poanes hobomok

Indian skipper - Hesperia sassacus

European skipper - Thymelicus lineola

orb spider - Araneus sp