Down and Up, As Another Week Streaks By

Time is flying by, and another week has passed. 

Making my rounds this week, I was down to Rondeau twice and up to Sarnia twice!

Tuesday I did a lakewatch at dog beach.  Again, nothing of note, but a tardy Spotted Sandpiper was on the beach.  It has been around for a few days.

A check of south point trail found it rather quiet.  There were "pockets" of birds.  One of the better groups contained this Blue-headed Vireo.

With the warm weather this week, butterflies and other things were active.

Mourning Cloak

Common Garter Snake

I do not usually look at grasshoppers, but for lack of anything else to look at, I photographed this one at Peers Wetland.  A Differential Grasshopper.  They are fairly abundant there, but turns out this species is apparently "vulnerable".

On Wednesday, I headed up to Sarnia in the afternoon, as there was a presentation I wanted to attend in the evening.  I first took the long walk at Perch Creek Habitat Management Area, then later Wawanosh Wetlands.  There were a few birds to look at, including this Northern Shrike.  It co-operated quite nicely, and was even singing.

Along the trails, I found this Monarch, and later one a large Snapping Turtle.  The Monarch was not moving much, but then neither was the turtle!

It started raining (again!) at Wawanosh, so that walk was fairly quick.

Thursday I slept in because of rain, but headed down to Rondeau where the sun was out!  I walked out marsh trail.  It was quite pleasant, but no notables for birds.

Here, I also saw Differential Grasshoppers.

Even a late bluet sp. was still out.

Asters are mostly done now, but I came across a couple.

Thursday, I was close to home taking walks at various locations.  In the afternoon, I ended up at Wilkesport.  Some insects were out in the warm weather.

Oblique Streaktail

Eastern Calligrapher

Autumn Meadowhawk

Few flowering plants are out now, but this Hairy White Oldfield Aster was still blooming.

Today, the north winds kicked in, so I headed up to Sarnia for a lakewatch.  I sat in the car most of the time since it was constant drizzle, too miserable to stand outside.  Therefore, no photos today!

Lots of ducks and loons were moving today.  There was heavy cloud, but each time the clouds cleared a bit, we could see lots of ducks and loons heading south.  To my eyes, most loons were Red-throated.  I caught sight of one, which I determined to be a Pacific.  I am sure a few go through every fall, most being undetected!

Eventually, the drizzle stopped enough to stand outside, but activity was dying off, and so was the wind.  It was then time to head home.