Chilling effect

Pecking order: Swans, Canada geese and ducks jockey for position in one of the last patches of open water in the region at Wellers Bay.

Second year of heavy ice coverage hurts the birds

Each winter, small lakes and ponds in Ontario freeze. Solid enough for us to strap on skates and play friendly games of hockey. But while crystalline mountains form where waves crash on icy shores, Lake Ontario usually persists in its liquid form.

Last year was different. Arctic temperatures and heavy precipitation caused ice to form over the great lake. In near-record levels, more than 90 per cent was covered in ice. While this year is not as cold, last year’s deep freeze, followed by a cool summer, meant the lake had gotten a head start this winter. As we near the end of February, more than 80 per cent of the Great Lakes are covered in ice.

There hasn’t been so much ice on the Great Lakes since the 1990s. While distant memories for us humans, this exceeds the lifetime for the geese and ducks that have chosen to winter here. They recall only winters mild enough that food has remained accessible.

Last year, this turned tragic, as hundreds of emaciated ducks and swans died on the ice, unable to find food. Neither did they have enough fuel to cross the lake and head for warmer climates.

“Birds that migrate need a lot of fat. That’s their fuel to migrate. And they need to accumulate a lot of it to get across Lake Ontario,” says Pamela Stagg, a birder and naturalist living in Prince Edward County. “So the birds that were here, the ducks that stayed here through January last year, suddenly encountered extensive ice. They weren’t able to build up those fat reserves, so they couldn’t migrate. And in some cases, they weren’t even able to seek out open water elsewhere, so they simply died on the ice. February is crunch time for them, and unfortunately, there are signs we’re going to see the same kind of die-off that we did last year.”

For some waterfowl, the winter migration is as much a choice as it is for human beings. Some choose to spend their winters south of the border, while others decide they can manage remaining in their nesting sites until spring arrives.

It’s a trade-off: Those that leave must work harder over the summer, storing up enough fat to last the difficult journey over the lakes. Those that stay can rest easier in the summer months, but must continue to forage through the scarcity of winter. They must hold out hope their food source will not be barred by a crust of ice.

A group in Barcovan, west of Carrying Place, has decided to help out the birds that have decided to brave the winter, leaving corn feed for the population in Barcovan Bay. Feeding wildlife is controversial—interfering with natural progression— but the alternative is watching their feathered neighbours slowly die of starvation. They will stop feeding as soon as the ice begins to recede and the birds can resume finding their own food.

Fish are also affected by the ice, says Jim Hoyle, a biologist with the Lake Ontario management unit of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Because some species of fish, like the walleye, thrive in cold water, there has been a surge in their population this past year.

Other fish, like white perch, are living at the northern limit of their habitat in Lake Ontario, and extremely cold winters can cause die-offs.