Weekend Walks

Sunday I decided to head up to Sarnia to check things out, starting with Perch Creek.  There is not much to see there in the summer, but there are some plantings of prairie plants.  Spiked Blazing Star is now coming out, as well as many others.

Perch Creek Habitat can be good for butterflies.  I came across some Broad-winged Skippers alongside the trail farther back.  First time I have seen them there.

It is also the only place in the area that I have found Leonard's Skippers.  Soon they will be appearing.
There were a few other species yesterday.

Question Mark

Red-spotted Purple

There was not much in the way of birds at Perch Creek yesterday, but it can be good during migration.

Next stop was Wawanosh Wetlands.

It is also a good place for birding with much variety.  I used to go there quite often in my earlier years as it was an excellent spot for shorebirds.  Not so in recent years due to phragmites growth!
It was almost a year ago that a Franklin's Gull showed up there, so you never know what may appear.

Green Herons probably nest in the area as many have been sighted recently.

Skies were gloomy as I left Sarnia, so I did not do much after that on a typical weekend day.
A brief stop at Moore WMA revealed nothing.  Some Purple Coneflower is blooming near the parking lot.

Today I decided to check out Rondeau.  It was uncomfortably hot and humid, but that has been the norm this summer.  I did not really come across any migrant warblers.  Often by this time of year I have seen a variety.
Hardly anything was moving on the lake.  This time of year we can possibly see many Little Gulls, but there were none today.
I did hear the lonely White-winged Dove at one point, so it is still around!

I came across a couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers along Harrison Trail. One was an immature, while this one was an adult.

Cylindrical Blazing Star is just coming into bloom in the dune areas.

I checked the beach area along south point and saw only a couple of Sanderlings and a Semipalmated Plover.
Of interest, was this alien craft on the beach.

Dog Days of Summer

The weather has been great this week (too bad we do not get these days on the weekends!) and I have been going for some walks after work.  Yesterday I checked out McKeough and Reid briefly.

A couple of the McKeough specialty odes were along the river.  I have been using the Canon G16, so I was not too close to the subjects.

Floodway looking west

The McKeough Dam and Floodway was completed in 1983 to protect the Town of Wallaceburg during high water.  A controllable dam structure was built at Duthill and a diversion channel was dug to the St. Clair River just south of Sombra.  The floodway is an interesting walk.  I checked it out quite a bit during the Breeding Bird Atlas project as my squares included the floodway.  Although it (dam) has only been used no more than half a dozen times since then, it has proven worthy.

At McKeough I typically walk over to the old Calahan Road then walk through the floodway to the river.  There were hardly any butterflies, but a few odes including Flag-tailed Spinyleg and Pronghorn Clubtail were patrolling the area.

Pronghorn Clubtail

Flag-tailed Spinyleg

These often rest on the concrete along the river's edge for easy viewing.

In the floodway, the Common Milkweed is waning, but other things, native or not, are coming along.  This tall flower is Elecampane (Inula helenium).  It looks somewhat similar to some native plants but is actually an alien. (Thanks to Allen Woodliffe for helping me ID this one!).

At Reid CA, I still did not see Broad-winged Skipper, but with the hoardes of mosquitoes I did not stay long!
This Edwards' Hairstreak was nearing its end.

Royal River Cruisers were patrolling the trails during my visit.

Today I had the urge to walk Nicholl's Memorial Forest and grounds at Wilkesport.  Just into my walk, this Royal River Cruiser briefly stopped with its typical pose.

A number of other common odes were around, including this Twelve-spotted Skimmer which perched nicely on Dense Blazing Star.

There is a prairie planting at the pond area that I like to check out.  It has a number of plants including Dense Blazing Star.  It is just coming into bloom.

Compass Plant is among the mix here as well.

Yesterday morning I looked at the plantings near Port Lambton Sewage Lagoons along Pointe Line.  It is doing well with Compass Plant standing tall.

This time of year is a favourite of mine to wander these fields as many prairie type plants are coming into bloom.

The Huron Shore

I headed north today.  A brisk NW was forecast, so I started at Sarnia.  Rather quiet, but the wind had not really kicked in by early morning.
I then went over to Perch Creek. Quiet again!  The only warblers I saw were a single Nashville and a single Blue-winged.  I was hoping to find Leonard's Skipper.
The day was young, so I kept going and stopped at Bright's Grove Sewage lagoons just for curiosity.  Nothing there as water was high.  This place used to be quite good and visited often, but water levels have been kept high.
The wind was picking up, so I decided to try Kettle Point.  I was there for an hour around noonish.  It was quite active at first, but things seemed to drop off.  I did see one very distant jaeger, but nothing one could do with it.  A couple hours later, I see a report of two Long-tailed Jaegers there!  Oh well, one can have only so much patience.

While there, Josh Bouman called saying that he was looking at an American Avocet on Rondeau Bay (by kayak).  Not sure I would want to go out on a windy day!

I had it in mind to check the Karner Blue Sanctuary in Port Franks for Leonard's Skipper.  I was not disappointed as I saw about a dozen or so.

Rough Blazing Star is abundant there.

I found this very worn skipper.  Perhaps it is a Leonard's, but it was almost transparent.

Found several Indian Pipe.

And a cool fungus.

Wood Nymphs are still flying, but very worn.  I saw several of those today.

On the way home I stopped at Mosside Rd. where the river crosses, but nothing seemed to be flying in the way of odes.

North of Wallaceburg, I saw a couple of Royal River Cruisers.  One perched for brief moments, but not long enough for a good photo.