Canada Day Adventures 2021

 

On this holiday the best bet was to get some atlassing done north of Wallaceburg.  I decided to get a few more point counts out of the way, starting in my "half" square which runs up the St. Clair River to Sombra.  After four of those, I moved inland to the full square to do some more point counts.  The window is closing fast for point counts, so it was a good opportunity to knock a few off.

First one inland was along Holt Line just east of Baseline Road.  As always, I drive with the windows open hoping to hear something of interest.  I was moving along, but had mis-judged where the next point count was when I heard a Dickcissel!  Turns out the point count location was right there!

There is not a lot of habitat for Dickcissel in my squares, but it was nice to finally find one. I think there were two there.

My next stops were along Smith Line west of Kimball Road, so I went by McKeough then up Duthill Road. Motoring along with the windows down, I once again heard something of interest.  Sedge Wrens!

There is a nice grassy field where they were singing.  It is not often we get nesting Sedge Wrens around here, but once in a while we do.  Often they are associated with an invasion of Dickcissels.

I sat there for some time, but they never showed their faces despite being quite close, so I moved on to my next point count.  Finishing that one , I moved a bit east towards the next stop and once again heard something of interest.  A Grasshopper Sparrow.  They are rare in my district anymore! It was a first one for this year to record for the atlas in my square.  

Nearby was an American Kestrel, which you may not think is noteworthy. But it is!  They are scarce this year, and it was the first one I had seen in any of my squares this spring/summer while atlassing. It was recorded on my last point count of the day.

Next, I moved on to McKeough floodway for a long walk.  I had already confirmed many birds as breeding in previous visits, but this time Yellow-billed Cuckoo made the cut.

I had hoped to find some insects (odes), but there was not much probably because it was still quite early in the day.  A few Banded Hairstreaks were around.

Next stop was Reid CA for another long walk.  I checked out hairstreak central along the way.  Numbers have drastically declined since last weekend, so things are on the down-swing for those now.

Interesting that no Edwards' have showed.  In the past I have seen big numbers at Reid.  Funny how those things go.

Dukes' Skippers should be out anytime, but I did not find any today.

I walked around the big field at the back which can be interesting at times for insects.

A few Appalachian Eyed-browns were flying, but not near as many as last year.

Four-spotted Skimmers are common at Reid.  I find them quite attractive.

I had just finished up the field walk when Pete Chapman and Mary Martin popped into view off the laneway.  We observed various things along the way back, including a Royal River Cruiser.  (It kept cruising though!).

Large Lace Border moth

I lingered a bit at the hairstreak headquarters, and found a Northern Oak.  Very worn, and probably the last one I might see this year.  This photo shows the good side.  The other side was missing about one-third!

I was not done for the day and made a brief stop at Moore WMA.  Did not stay long as it was still wet (tired of wet feet!) and one cannot get into the valley due to high water.

After a quick walk at Wilkesport's Nicholl's Memorial Forest, I made one more quickie attempt at McKeough.  Flag-tailed Spinyleg should be out  anytime, but no dice on that.  I did find one Pronghorn Clubtail, a regular there along the river's edge.

An historical note for today:  Hard to believe, but 70 years ago today, the ferry Daldean arrived at Sombra under much fanfare after being built at Erieau.  How time flies.....

Photo below was taken by my Uncle Bill Abraham as the Daldean passed the family cottage at Port Lambton.  

The ferry now serves Bob-Lo Island.