Saturday, August 2, 2008

Comma Crop


Today I headed south to Blenheim and Rondeau. Shorebird viewing at the lagoons was very good. As usual for this time of year, shorebirds can be in large numbers. Of note today was a Dunlin with only one leg. It is a bit early for a Dunlin, but there it was, hobbling around!
Five Stilt Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper and several other species were seen. A total of 12 species of shorebirds were in today. I wish I lived a little closer so that I could check the lagoons more regularly.


At one point, I am sure I heard a Pine Siskin fly over. I heard it twice, and looked up and saw a bird that flew like a siskin. I was actually hoping for crossbills, with all the reports farther north recently. That would seem more likely!
I decided to head into Rondeau for a walk along the marsh trail. Besides the countless Summer Azures, Eastern Commas were the butterfly of the day. At least 30 were along the trail in the hour and half I was there. There was quite an array of variation to be seen.
Question Marks were there as well to a lesser degree. Swallowtails included Giant, Eastern Black, Spicebush and Tiger. In a period of about 30 seconds at one point, I saw a Giant, Tiger, and Black in quick succession!
The only skipper seen was one Least at the start.

Common Ringlets were plentiful at Blenheim Lagoons, indicating a recent brood. One was very orange and I thought it was some other species at first.

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