Forest Travel Log: A Spring Chorus in Backus Woods

Rebecca Pearce-Cameron

Saturday April 2, 2022, was a warm day and filled with spring energy, so my son and I packed up our gear and took off for a hike in Backus Woods – eager to hear the spring peepers again and to explore this beautiful gem of Norfolk County. A team of Black-Capped Chickadees greeted us at the entrance by coarsely alerting other nearby creatures of our presence and chatting away in the branches. Much like the Chickadees, we took off, babbling away to each other on the Wetland Trail. I thought surely we wouldn’t hear much as we weren’t exactly quiet, but after we passed the first swamp area, we finally heard the spring peepers! My son went quiet. At one and a half years old, it was his first time truly hearing this special spring chorus!

Excited to get his own hiking in, my son asked to hop out of the backpack, and it was at that moment when I realized we had hiked entirely too far! Oh well. It was a beautiful day and we had no other place to be. On our long, toddling journey back to the car, we stopped to look for Pileated Woodpecker holes, tried to spot signs of the Sharp-Lobed Hepatica flower emergence (we were a bit too early), and learned what White-tailed deer tracks looked like thanks to helpful interpretive signs. There was lots to explore.

In 2011, with the support of partners, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) acquired Backus Woods. They maintain these trails and woods with incredible care and attention. We are grateful for Backus Woods and the opportunity to have these astonishing trails so close to home. Soon enough, as migration gets underway with gusto, the Backus Woods spring peepers sounds will be replaced by the many notes of warblers and other songbirds returning after a long winter away – and we will be back to hear a fresh rendition of the spring chorus.