Endangered Species In Your Backyard!

By Tim Tully

When one thinks of an "endangered species", most people tend not to think of the fields, forests, wetlands and beaches of Tiny Township. The word "endangered" conjures up exotic images of Black Rhinoceros, Siberian Tiger, or Whooping Crane, but rarely (no pun intended) do we think of species that exist quite literally in our own backyards. The fact is that almost 25 individual species, which are currently listed on the provincial and federal endangered species lists, have been documented in Tiny Township. This number is incredible when you consider it represents close to 10 percent of the total species listed for the entire country!

In this province, two lists are cited which classify species according to degree of rarity. Five classifications exist within both the provincial listing compiled by The Committee on the Status of Species-at-Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) and the national classification as designated by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Each category represents escalation in the likelihood that an individual species will become extinct.

The entry level category classifies species as vulnerable, a species of special concern due to characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Threatened is defined as any native species that is at risk of becoming endangered throughout its range, if the limiting factors are not reversed. Endangered status is given to any native species facing imminent extinction or extirpation. Extirpated refers to any native species no longer existing in the wild, but existing somewhere else within its range. The last category extinct categorizes species, which were formerly found in Ontario or Canada, and which no longer exist.

In Tiny Township, examples of COSEWIC/COSSARO species can be found in each of the five different categories. In the vulnerable classification, there is no animal more fascinating than the Eastern Hognose Snake. This harmless creature (no poisonous snakes breed in Tiny) prefers dry sandy sites under forested conditions. Historically, habitat existed in the dunes behind the Nottawasaga Bay shoreline and throughout the township in areas with sandy glacial soils in a forested condition. Hognose is a heavy bodied snake, normally brown or yellow with dark spots along the back and a mottled grey or greenish belly underneath. The average length reaches 51 to 84 cm (20-33 in.). Upon closer examination, it has a distinctive upturned snout which gives rise to its name. The Eastern Hognose Snake is a notoriously bad actor. When confronted with danger, it simply rolls over and plays dead! If you right the snake, it will repeat its feigning death act, complete with writhing à la worst spaghetti western actor! In other defensive postures, hognose snakes will flatten the skin around the neck and weave like a cobra or curl up and rattle their tail rapidly in imitation of a rattlesnake's defensive warning. People will often report a loud hissing noise, which the snake exhales when afraid or startled.

As you can guess, none of these defenses is particularly effective with humans, as the snakes are often confused with poisonous species and killed as a consequence. Perhaps more devastating than direct human persecution has been habitat loss, as much of the appropriate forest habitat has been cottaged, cut or altered to the point where Eastern Hognose Snakes are absent. One snake was found in North Tiny in 1998, with a second, unconfirmed sighting in the Bluewater Beach area.

Seven bird species are designated as threatened in Canada. One of those species, the Hooded Warbler, was only recently discovered in Tiny Township at a location outside of Awenda Provincial Park in 1989. Further evidence of a breeding population was substantiated at Cedar Point in 1995. What is incredible about this discovery is that Hooded Warblers have never been found to breed far from the north shore of Lake Ontario and Erie. Population estimates for this Carolinian species range from 100 to 200 pairs for the entire country (all in Ontario).

The Hooded Warbler is a small songbird the size of a sparrow. The adult male has a striking black hood and yellow mask. Adult females are olive green above and yellow below with strong traces of the male's black hood. Hooded Warblers are restricted in their range to deciduous or mixed tracts with a dense deciduous scrub layer. They breed in clearings where older trees have fallen or died creating an abundance of light and consequently dense growth at the forest floor.

Despite the threatened status of the species, they are afforded no protection under the existing Ontario or Canadian endangered species legislation. The forest near Awenda was devastated by improper logging practices. The Cedar Point Area of Natural and Scientific Interest has been turned into luxury estate lot development. The habitat requirements for this species are so specific they are unlikely to successfully breed in other Township locations.

A disturbing trend is evident when examining the current lists of endangered species. Many of the species native to southern and central Ontario are forest interior specialists. Like the Hooded Warbler, they find some element of the deep forest interior habitat critical to their survival. Without large forest tracts (40 to 400 hectares) in natural condition, Tiny Township will lose the majority of its national rarities. Forest interior species include Cerulean Warbler, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Redheaded Woodpecker, Southern Flying Squirrel, Ginsing and Puttyroot orchid. Ironically, it is these same forest areas that are now attractive to developers as people seek to retire or cottage "in the country"; witness Copeland Creek, Cedar Point, and Whip-poor-will Woods. Despite the apparent lack of aesthetic changes after development, scientists document forest interior species will disappear either immediately or through time.

In an examination of those animals currently listed as critically "endangered" and facing extinction, three species were formally found in Tiny Township. In each case, these animals required incredibly specific habitat. Henslow's Sparrow prefers open habitat that contains tall, dense grass and non-woody vegetation. The Loggerhead Shrike is also a bird of grasslands. It needs extensive fields of rough overgrown pasture and sparse soils with scattered shrubs present, particularly hawthorn and Red Cedar. The Piping Plover nests on isolated sandy or pebbled beaches that are wide, flat and sparsely vegetated, often with dunes located nearby. As habitat for these endangered species was eliminated or altered, they disappeared from Tiny Township (extirpated).

In the case of many of the VTE species (vulnerable, threatened or endangered species) of Tiny Township, the habitat they require to forage, mate or establish territory might be in your forest, field, wetland, or beach. Publicly owned lands provide only a fraction of the required habitat for populations. It's an interesting point that less than half of the VTE species of the Township have been documented in Awenda Provincial Park despite its apparent large size (6,000 acres). Wildlife respects natural boundaries; not those created by humans. Increasingly, as the landscape of Tiny Township is fragmented by human- induced changes, natural areas become isolated "green islands" dooming species to the process of immediate or gradual extirpation. The challenge that exists is to look at the need to connect natural areas on a landscape level regardless of their public or private status. In this way, wildlife 'core' areas and the essential natural 'corridors' between them will be protected in what biologists refer to as a "natural heritage system".

By virtue of protected habitat, we will protect the assemblage of species that live there - not simply the vulnerable, threatened and endangered, but the common as well. Innovative conservation measures can take place. Look no further than Wymbolwood Beach Cottage Association where members grouped together to purchase forest lands to create a nature reserve.

In the current revision of the Tiny Township Official Plan, residents have an opportunity to entrench the protection of wildlife and habitat. Approximately 60 percent of the township remains in a forested condition. It is not too late to protect the biological diversity of Tiny from further unnecessary development while at the same time learn more about its fascinating and diverse ecosystem.

The Passenger Pigeon was once the most common bird in North America with numbers estimated to comprise almost 40% of the continent's entire bird population. One single flock in Ohio (1870) was estimated to contain 2,000 millions birds! The last pair of wild Passenger Pigeons was seen in north Tiny Township in 1903. The Monarch Butterfly, prior to 1990, was considered one of the most common butterfly species. It was classified as vulnerable to extinction in 1997. It is a valuable lesson to remember - what is common today can be extinct tomorrow. It will be up to both individuals and the Township to determine the fate of Tiny's remaining natural areas and consequently its wildlife. We are at a critical juncture in time; we can create a model for future municipal conservation or acquiesce to the human landscape of southern Ontario. Perhaps the effort we make in our own backyard - Tiny Township, will make, in some way, a difference in the monarch's struggle to avoid the fate of extinction that befell the Passenger Pigeon.