Adventures of the Past Week....More or Less

 Nothing spectacular seen in the past week as time marches on.  Last Friday I went to Rondeau Park.  There were lots of warblers moving along the Bay side.  Most were unidentifiable!

I spent the first hour at the park store watching birds migrate, then walked out the marsh trail.  Blackpoll Warblers were the most numerous.  We see more of them in the fall migration than the spring since they take a different route.  Redstarts and Magnolia Warblers were also in good numbers.

No photos....birds moving too fast!

Saturday I headed up Sarnia way for the first time in over a month.  Stopped by Dow Wetlands before going to Canatara Park.  Lambton Wildlife was having a special event with a walk around the park, then a picnic lunch.

Tall Coreopsis

Here are a few things I photographed.

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Smeared Dagger (moth caterpillar)

Rough Blazing Star

On the way home, I made a brief stop at Nicholls at Wilkesport.  Some Royal River Cruisers were flying, nearing the end of the season.

Sunday I walked out Rondeau 's marsh trail for lack of anything else to do.  It was not overly productive with birds.  There are lots of hummingbirds around right now.

I looked at the garden at home in the afternoon.  Goldenrod attracts a lot of bees and wasps!

Locust Borer

Hump-backed Beewolf

Common Eastern Bumblebee

Perennial Mason Wasp

European Paper Wasp

I do post some of these on iNaturalist, but as usual lately, there is lack of ID participation.  Not sure what people are afraid of here.  

Yesterday I did not have a lot of ambition.  There were very few birds around anyway, but I went for a walk at both Reid C. L. and McKeough C.A.

I admired some of the trees at Reid.

A walk at McKeough revealed probably the last Flag-tailed Spinyleg I will see this year.

Among other things, a Common Buckeye was in the floodway channel.

Today, I really did not know where to go, but ended up at Rondeau Park.  There was a stiff south wind, so Steve and I did a lakewatch at dog beach.  As usual, nothing of note!

A quick stop at Keith McLean C. L. before heading home, revealed my first Fiery Skipper of the season.

Till another time......

Some September Sightings

 Last Tuesday, I stopped by McKeough CA for a morning walk.  Highlight was a Zabulon Skipper!  It was a first record for that place.

One can only wonder how many are really out there.  They are certainly expanding.

Eastern Tailed-Blues are plentiful right now, especially at McKeough.

Wild Indigo Duskywings are popping up as well.

A couple of insect/arachnid sightings in the next couple of days:

Lance-tipped Darner

Yellow Garden Spider

On Friday, I went down to Rondeau to walk the marsh trail. I was hoping to spend quite a bit of time there, but we were mislead by the weather forecast.  The evening before I am pretty sure it said some sun and very little chance of rain.  Dead wrong!  It was threatening rain.

That was unfortunate because there were hundreds of birds, most moving south.  I only could spend two hours on the trail.  Here is  a link to my eBird list:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S389630415

I did notice two Common Nighthawks flying as well.  Sometimes they fly during the day!

I only managed this photo of an Osprey.

It rained the rest of the day!

Not to be detered, I went back the next day to tackle the marsh trail.  Luckily, it was much the same deal with birds, but with sunny skies.  I walked to the half way point, seeing more species than the previous day.

Common Yellowthroat

Red-eyed Vireo with meal (earwig?)

A couple of butterflies along the way.

Question Mark

Common Painted-Lady

Common Checkered-Skipper (at home)

Yesterday, I drove along the St. Clair River first thing.

barge Ashtabula

For my morning walk, I went to McKeough CA.  It was quite enjoyable with picture-perfect weather.

Holt Line Bridge

  As well, there were lots of birds.  Included was a Purple Finch.  They seem to be moving through in small numbers now.

Cedar Waxwing

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Common Painted-Lady seems to be popping up everywhere lately.

Later in the afternoon, I saw quite a few bees and wasps in the garden.  Included was an oddity called a Louisiana Painted-Dark Bee.  I had one of these in the past here.

Today I headed down towards Rondeau and Erieau.  I checked a harvested tomato field and saw a Buff-breasted Sandpiper east of New Scotland.

I then headed over to Erieau to walk the marsh trail.  There were a few warblers and other birds, plus some hummingbirds.

This afternoon, it was too nice to pass up an opportunity to check out McKeough and Reid.

There were a few birds, including this Philadelphia Vireo having a meal.

Came a cross a Grey Comma at McKeough, something I have have not seen since early summer.

Some Wild Indigo Duskywings were flying nearby.

A Reid, a couple of Royal River Cruisers were flying. Soon, they will be done until next June!

A few warblers were flitting through the woods.  Included was an Ovenbird, which was in a shaded area.  I did not have time to put the correct settings on the camera, so it is blurry.

Been watching for birds in the evening at home.  The odd warblers are moving through, but not much passing over lately.

End of August Report!

 Here we are at the last day of August....already.  I have been out as much as possible, except yesterday when it rained off and on all day.  Taking advantage of every hour.

Each evening I sit on the back porch watching for birds.  The odd warbler has gone through.  One of my favourite things to see are Common Nighthawks.  I have seen about seven so far, but I can only see a small amount of sky.

Some butterflies recently include those what I have seen in the garden.  Common Checkered-Skippers are almost a daily occurence.

Other common things have shown up as well.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Orange Sulphur

This past Friday I walked out Rondeau's marsh trail to the half way point.  A few birds kept me interested, including the aptly-named Black-and-White Warbler.

Another Olive-sided Flycatcher caught my eye.  I have seen lots in this year's fall migration!

There is some good matting along the shoreline that attracts shorebirds.

Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers

Yellowlegs of the lesser variety

Solitary Sandpipers were in good numbers (at least seven).

I stopped at Keith Mclean C. L. before heading home.  There was finally some mud showing.  I half-expected a Hudsonian Godwit, but I could not turn the lone dowitcher into one.

Early Saturday morning I toured locally.  Yet another two Olive-sided Flycatchers were at Peers Wetland.

I then decided to head to the Thamesville area and check for rubyspots.  It did not turn out well.  The river was running a little high, and the bank was too steep and grown-in to see much.  I was particularly interested in Smoky Rubyspot.  I may have seen one, but anything I could photograph was its common counterpart. (note:  photos uploaded here are not reproducing well for some reason).

I then moved on to Wardsville Woods. There was not much there to photograph.  A few warblers and such were moving through the woods.

Today, I decided to give Rondeau a try.  Big mistake!  Hardly any birds. Oh well, last couple of visits were decent.

The iconic concrete structure is getting further out into the lake it seems.

I walked back the beach from "trail's end".

I could see a small sailing vessel coming from Erieau.

I thought it looked familiar.  It was the Playfair out of Toronto.  Every summer teenagers get training on this and its sister the Pathfinder .  These brigantines have been around for decades.  I have seen them on the St. Clair River as well.

At one point I noticed about 15 Eastern Kingbirds. along the treeline.  

Leaving Rondeau somewhat disappointed, I headed over to Erieau to walk the marsh trail. I was not expecting much, but there were more birds here than at Rondeau!  Quite a few warblers, including a dozen Cape May.  They certainly have been plentiful this year.  In any case, it is my favourite warbler

And indeed, yet another Olive-sided Flycatcher working the dead trees past the viewing stand.  Heavily back-lit, I took a photo anyway.

On to another week.......