Trail Talk 373 - July 22, 2025

This week I will feature creatures you might see along our trails other than insects.  The biggest animal that you might see is a black bear.  I have only seen a bear three times during 50 years of hiking, all of these were in Northern Ontario and all were at a distance. I have heard reports of a bear being seen in Huron county but these are very rare, as are sightings of a lynx.  I usually have a few sightings of a deer every year, usually of a white tail disappearing into the woods. Coyotes are quite often seen in some areas but I have only seen one 3 times in my 20 years of living in Huron County.  I have yet to see a porcupine in Huron County. Every year I expect to get a few sightings of raccoons, groundhogs, and rabbits, less often of skunks, beavers, muskrats. Rarely of opossums and foxes, so it was exciting to recently see a fox cub on the lawn next door.

The most common sights are of squirrels and chipmunks. Usually these are Eastern Gray squirrels, which are either black or gray, or white, red squirrels and Eastern chipmunks. Exeter is well known for its white squirrels but they are also often seen in Clinton and Seaforth.  On Tuesday I saw a white squirrel near the junction of Mill Road and Bannockburn Line which is probably at the edge of their range. There are also flying squirrels, rarely seen during the day so I have never seen any. I have only once seen a fisher, mink and stoat.  Usually the only voles, moles and mice seen on the trails have been dead ones.

I have often seen painted turtles; on Saturday I was not in time to rescue one crossing Londesboro Road before it was run over.  Sometimes I have seen snapping turtles. Last but not least are snakes, frogs and toads.  We often see eastern garter snakes in our garden. However, don’t just assume the snake on the trail is not a common garter snake, it might be the similar looking Butler’s garter snake or a red-sided garter snake. Much less common are the milk snakes, brown snakes, water snakes and green snakes. Maitland River is famous for its Queen snakes but I have yet to see one or a hog nosed snake. The poisonous Massasauga rattlesnake is not found here, but is present on the Bruce Peninsula.

Toads are often seen on the trails and on the Hullett Trails frogs often leap out of the long grass.  They are much less common this year.  Frogs often disappear too fast to identify, but the most common are the leopard frog and green frog. Occasionally I have seen a pickerel frog, mink frog, wood frog, tree frog and spring peeper.

Last but not least are bats, which are usually only seen at night time, and unfortunately are being decimated by disease. I became quite familiar with some of them that entered the attic when I lived in Goderich.

I know I have not included all creatures apart from birds and insects that you might come across, such as bullfrogs and salamanders, but hopefully I have covered the ones most likely to be seen. I personally love all creatures except the ones that bite me, and the alien invasive creatures.

The trail at 80918 Sharpes Creek Line is now closed due to work on the planned southwards expansion of a gravel pit. A reroute has been completed which heads South soon after the trail crosses Bishop’s Road and comes out on Sharpes Creek Line about 1.7 km further South. Then there is a short portion on Sharpes Creek Line before heading east near a large solar panel, then through a forest and along the East edge of a field before rejoining the existing trail. This adds about 2 km to the length of the Maitland Trail. Anyone parking on Sharpes Creek Line should park on the East side of the road so as not to obstruct the view of drivers entering the road from the West side.

Sometimes there is not room for all the photos with Trail Talk, but they are available on the Maitland Trail Association Website blog.

The Menesetung bridge across the Maitland River at Goderich is now closed to pedestrians and cyclists until an expected completion date in November. Registration for the Maitland Camino on Sept 20-21 is closed.

Sharpes Creek Line is closed between Bishop’s Road and Londesboro Road for culvert work Saturday July 26^th 10 am BRVTA hike at Varna on the Taylor and Mavis trails.

Saturday August 9^th 10 am BRVTA shore clean up

Saturday August 9^th 8.30 pm a BRVTA organized night hike at Bannockburn with Cassie Greiddanus of ABCA

If you were too late to join the Maitland Camino and want to hike the whole Maitland Trail you may want to join 4 days of Hiking on August 29^th to September 1^st to hike the trail. Details later.

Tuesday Trompers meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to hike for about an hour. If you wish to be on this email list, complete the form on the MTA website.

Midweek hikers meet at 9 a.m. and hike for 1 ½ to 2 hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com