More Hairstreak Hunting

 Friday, I had intentions of checking the conservation areas north of Wallaceburg, but that did not last long.  It certainly turned out to be a washout on one of the rare occasions the weather forecast was correct.

I did get some time in at Moore WMA where I wanted to look for the Oak Hairstreaks.  I got there earlier than I wanted to be, but I had to beat the rain.  I spent about an hour and a half there before the rain started, signalling the start of the weekend.  

Always look for Indian Hemp!

It took some time, but I did find four Northern Oak Hairstreaks, all quite worn.

There were several Banded and Hickory, and even a couple of Coral Hairstreaks.

I also saw my first-of-year Northern Pearly-eye.

There was not much else to do the rest of the day since it rained.  Turned out to be a ridiculous amount of rain!  This morning fields were flooded, ditches overflowing and yards under water.

There was little to do this morning since it was so wet, so I headed down to Rondeau Park.  Normally I would not go there this time  year but I had no idea what else to do!  It poured rain on the way down, but luckily it stopped by the time I got there.

The only thing of interest was a young Little Gull on the east beach of south point trail.

Next, I headed east and did some birding at Clear Creek.

The sun actually came out for a bit and my next stop was in Skunk's Misery to look for hairstreaks.  I found a good spot with hundreds of butterflies.  There were a hundred Banded Hairstreaks, a few Hickory.  Despite a valiant effort, I did not find a Northern Oak.

Defective

Worn Out

This one may be an Edwards', but certainly not a classic one.

Butterfly of the day was Tawny Emperor.  I estimated about 300 in the one small area.

The road was littered with them, almost looking like leaves.

At least three Compton Tortoiseshells were among them.

There were other things of interest at this spot.

Lettered Sphinx moth caterpillar

unknown fly

Beggar Moth

Unknown

Heading towards home, I made a detour to Reid CA.  There were a hundred Banded Hairstreaks, and it was difficult to find a Northern Oak.  I did find two though.

These were out early this year, so we may have no more than a week of seeing them this year.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a better day, but who knows!