More Summer Stuff!

 I made my usual rounds not far from home the last few days.  The summer is waning quickly so I take advantage of any time I get to be outdoors looking for things of interest.

Dukes' Skippers have finally showed up in the "usual" spot at Reid.  I saw two in quick order late Thursday.

Friday I had the urge to go to Point Pelee.  I thought maybe I could look for Marine Blue or something of note.  (I have not heard of any sightings of Marine Blue after mine last Sunday.  I know some went to look though).

I did a watch at the Tip for a while before looking for insects.  The "Tip" goes way out right now!

There were hundreds of gulls, but nothing of note caught my eye.  Only one tern...a Caspian.

Some shorebirds included Sanderlings, Semisands, and an early Ruddy Turnstone.

I then slowly walked up west beach trail.  I stopped to read a nice sign recently erected.

There were more butterflies and dragonflies than I had been seeing in previous visits.  Wandering Glider was the most common.  Most were "wandering"!

Around the "serengeti" tree, a large darner caught my eye. It was a Comet Darner!  I was not able to get a photo though.  There have been a few previous records in the past at Pelee and surrounding area, but this was my first for there.

I stopped briefly at De Laurier parking lot, and found a Common Buckeye at the weather station.  A first-of-year!

My next stop was Hillman Marsh shorebird cell, where I thought it was the best chance of seeing some good butterfly.  It was paltry for leps!  I did see another Buckeye, and added a Common Sootywing.

I went home via Blenheim, and stopped by the lagoons.  A good number of shorebirds were in.  Solitary Sandpipers are in big numbers this summer everywhere it seems.

Another member of the glider family was present....a Spot-winged Glider....on the fly.

Saturday, it was up to north Lambton, as Forest Lagoons is a necessary stop at least once a week this time of year. It is the best place for shorebirds!  There were lots to sort through, including over 100 Lesser Yellowlegs. Again, lots of Solitary Sandpipers.  Nothing of note though.

I moved on to Ausable River Cut CA, but as I arrived, word got out that three American Avocets were at Kettle Point.  Since I had not seen any yet this year,and it was not far, back I went!  Jeff Skevington and James Holdsworth were still there when I arrived, and so were the Avocets.  My favourite shorebird!

A worse-for-the-wear Little Gull was also present.

I went back to Ausable River Cut and looked at mussels.  I added Fat Mucket to my list.

Three-ridged mussel seems to be the most common there.

Not much in the way of insects, but some Wild Indigo Duskywings were flying.

Along the way home, I stopped by Marthaville Habitat Management Area, for my once-a year visit.  Good wetland there.

Slaty Skimmer

Viceroy

One last stop was McKeough CA for an attempt at Marine Blue.  Virtually no butterflies!  Only Flag-tailed Spinylegs.

Today, it was a bit overcast after some much-needed rain overnight.  I stopped by Keith McLean C. L. where I spent some time there.  Shorebirds were quite fluid, as they often are.  There was not much at first, but things came in or flew over.

Quite a few dowitchers were eventually seen, including three rather early Long-billed.  Given the lighting, and distance, etc., my photos were no good for them.

I then went as far as Clear Creek and stopped by the old quarry.  One of my favourite spots!

I immediately saw a Comet Darner, but it seemed to take off.  Another eventually appeared, but as usual it was on the fly.

The sun was partially out when I arrived and there was some activity, but then it clouded over making things very quiet.  Very few damsels (bluets and dancers) now.

Azure Bluet

Violet Dancer

Last stop was Blenheim lagoons.  Lots of shorebirds again, but nothing spectacular.

 

Late April Sightings: Shorebirds, Grebes and other Things

Migrant birds have been trickling in the last few days.  The weather (yes it is a hot topic!) has not been ideal with torrential rains all over the province.  Wallaceburg received an insane amount of rain early Friday morning and things were flooded and overflowing.  Farmer's fields were turned into hundreds of small lakes, and places like Peers Wetland were flooded to the point the trails was inaccessible.

Friday morning I found an early Least Sandpiper at Stewart Wetland.  The water levels had finally been drawn down creating excellent shorebird habitat.  However, after the ridiculous amount of rain, more pumping will be needed!

At my usual morning station in Port Lambton, I spotted a Red-necked Grebe on the St. Clair River.  Too far for a photo though.  They are quite rare in these parts!


Saturday morning I headed down to Rondeau quite early.  I got there in time to hear my first Whip-poor-will of the year.  Things were very quiet in the park for birds today though.
I braved south point trail (very similar to last year with the flooding).  Solitary Sandpipers love it though.

I spent quite some time checking all the usual areas in the park and only came up with about ten Yellow-rumped Warblers, and FOY's of Northern Waterthrush (2) and Black-throated Green Warbler (1).
The Clay-colored Sparrow from last week was still around, hanging out with a multitude of chippies.

An early Gray Catbird was beside maintenance, likely the first of the spring.

After wearing out the park, I decided to head out, but that was when Jim Burk found an Eared Grebe at Erieau.  Next stop!  We had not seen one since 2017 in the area, so it was a nice treat.  It was rather distant for my camera though.

Also at the pier was a young Glaucous Gull.

While there, eleven Willets came in to bump up the year list.  They blended in well with the rocks they were perched on!

I had heard that some American Avocets were at Hillman, so I just had to head that way.  Upon arrival, I counted 24 of the beauties.

Apparently numbers varied thoughout the day, and some were seen just outside the park.  Even a Stilt Sandpiper was along Road E from what I heard.  They are rare in spring migration.
The Marbled Godwits of the previous day were long gone.....as usual.

I met some friends while there who were also taking advantage of the birds present.

Things can only get better from here (hopefully the weather as well!).

Dukes of Lambton

Today I stayed in south Lambton looking more for insects than anything else.  I was scheduled to check out some private property later in the morning, so I wandered around.
Time of day seems to be important in finding certain things such as dragonflies.  I first stopped at McKeough CA and looked for Flag-tailed Spinylegs.  It was just too early in the day.
I next drove around a bit and found out that the field where I found Dickcissels earlier had been cut.  That means Bobolinks, meadowlarks and other birds were affected as well.  The few spots left for these birds are still a lost cause!
Another stop was Moore WMA.  The Solitary Sandpiper from Thursday was still present.

I wandered back a ways into territory I used to check out frequently.

Compass plant

There are trails that go way back and it was always interesting for butterflies, especially hairstreaks.
In my brief visit, I did find a Hickory and a couple of Banded.

No emeralds were seen in the little creek, but perhaps it was too early in the day.

Delaware Skipper

I worked my way to NW of Brigden where I stopped into a frend's property.  The main goal was to check out some sedge areas where skippers were being seen.

Broad-winged Skipper

Last year it was suspected that Dukes' Skippers were living here, but not confirmed.  We first checked the larger sedge area and I found several Broad-winged Skippers on the wing.  Not one settled down for a photo!


While there, one or two other skippers briefly nectared on the Swamp Milkweed.  They strongly looked like Dukes', but with the possibility of the similar-looking Dion being present, I was not 100% convinced.

However, there are things to look for which can separate the two species fairly easily. I have seen only a couple of the more common Dion Skippers over the years, but I have seen lots of Dukes'!

Later we went to a smaller sedge area (quite some distance from the other) in which I remarked that it was perfect for Dukes' Skippers.  Nobody had ever seen anything at this spot before.  At first nothing was seen, but then a couple of large skippers flew by.  I waited for a long time and finally one landed briefly.  I was certain it was a Dukes', but it was not there long enough to take a photo.  As with birds, I take a good look first before wasting time setting up the camera.

We went back to the first sedge area and I caught another photo of one of the skippers.

It certainly looked like Dukes'.
I tend to be too cautious about some things, so I sent photos to someone to examine.  Hands down these sedge skippers were Dukes'.  This is a NEW location for them in Lambton County! (The Reid CA location was new in 2008).

While there we saw other butterflies including a nice Striped Hairstreak.

And, lots of Appalachian Browns.

On the way home I stopped by McKeough CA once again and finally was able to see a few Flag-tailed Spinylegs in their usual spot.

I also stopped in nearby Reid CA and saw a couple of Dukes' Skippers there to round out the day. This one may be a Dion though.  I have seen lots of Dukes', but not Dion!

By this time, it was just too hot to be out!

Eastern Amberwing at McKeough