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.......

Recent Tidbits

I have not had much to report in the last week here on this forum.  Since I am posting daily on Facebook, there is some overlap there!

I have been to Mitchell's Bay a few times, Rondeau a couple of times, and the usual local places several times.  Not much to photograph on the those visits!  I mainly look for things of interest.

Last Friday, I went for a long walk out Rondeau's marsh trail to Long Pond.  It was more for exercise than anything.  There were about eight species of migrant warblers, and a few flycatchers.

The only shorebird other than Killdeer was a Solitary Sandpiper at the end of my walk right by the start of the trail.

Here are a couple of butterflies seen (or parts thereof).

Spicebush Swallowtail

Red Admiral

Saturday morning it threatened rain, and eventually it did rain!

View from Peers Wetland of incoming storm

Sunday I went down Blenheim and Erieau way.  The lagoons had basically the same shorebirds, plus a pair of Red-necked Phalaropes.  Seems to be a good year so far for them.  Last year I completely missed the species!  This year I have seen six so far.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk through the woods at Reid Conservation Lands.  I kept an eye out for anything of interest.

This bright red fungus caught my eye.  It is Red Raspberry Slime Mold.  Needed the macro setting to get this photo.

The Twinleaf plants are still showing, soon to disappear until next spring.

Other things seen:

Red-tailed Hawk feather

Ghost Pipe

Leopard Frog

Common Checkered-Skipper

Monday was cloudy off and on, so I did not do much.  Did a lot of driving around!  But of course I did not see much.

Green Cone-headed Planthopper

Monarch

Prairie Dock at Peers Wetland

Today was quite nice as I headed down to Rondeau Park.  I suspected it would be a good day for birds.....and it was!  I spent most of the time on south point trail.  There were lots of warblers, vireos and flycatchers.  

I tallied 12 species of warblers.  Cape May Warblers were bountiful, as I counted 24.  Highlight was a Connecticut Warbler just before getting back to the parking lot.  Although it was quite co-opreative, I could not get a clear shot with the camera.  Here is the best photo:

In the spring, we may hear them singing, but they remain unseen.  That was the case this past spring!

South point trail has a new sign.  There is no maintenance beyond the "S-curve".  Beyond that, it is extremely grown-in, now hardly recognizable.

All for now.....

More Running Around and Some Bonuses

 I have been visiting various places in the last week.  Seems like a lot of running around and not finding much of note (until today)!

Last Friday I headed up to north Lambton and checked out the entire Ipperwash Forested Dunes and Swales trails.  Once again it was almost devoid of birds.  Not sure what is going on with that place!  I was looking more for insects though.

Cardinal Flower

Of note, I found this Huron Shore Bee Fly.

Perhaps I have unknowingly seen it before, but it is rather uncommon.  Seen in dune habitats, I suppose it got its name from this area.  However, it can be seen elsewhere.  There is a Rondeau record, Long Point, and it is seen in the NE United States.

In any case, the walk gave me some much-needed exercise!

Next day it was fairly local.  I took a walk at Reid C. L. and found some insects.

Common Painted-Lady

Greene's Giant Ichneumonid Wasp

Fraternal Potter WAsp

Later, a brief walk at McKeough revealed my first Common Buckeye of the year.

A single Flag-tailed Spinyleg was along the river's edge.

Sunday I checked out Blenheim lagoons.  Lots of shorebirds, but nothing of note.  Quite a few Stilt Sandpipers, and Lesser Yellowlegs continue to be in big numbers.

Yesterday I was due for more exercise, so I walked out Rondeau's marsh trail to the half way point.  Not much in the way of birds, and actually I was disappointed. I was hoping to see some southbound warblers!  I had seen zero as of yesterday.

Lance-tipped Darner

Eastern Pondhawk

A Common-checkered Skipper was in the yard in the afternoon.

Today was a different story with a perfect weather day.  I went to the south shore trail at Mitchell's Bay.  There were lots of birds, including warblers! (10 species).  Lots of vireos as well.

An added bonus was a flock of at least six Yellow-headed Blackbirds flying over.  Too quick for a photo, but there might have been more as I had just caught the tail end of the flyover flock.

This afternoon I could not resist going for a walk at Reid C. L.  Took a different route today and actually walked through the woods, which I rarely do during the summer.

Great-spangled fritillary

On the way back, I cut out to the laneway. At one point I caught sight of a dark skipper.  It turned out to be a female Zabulon!  I have only seen one before down at Ojibway.  All others have been males in this area.  

It was a pleasant surprise indeed.

I was just getting home, when I got word of a decent bird not too far away.  So, off I went to near Port Lambton.  Since it is a restricted access place, location will not be revealed here until later.

A Snowy Egret was a nice addition to such a nice day.

But wait, there was a bonus.  Two Red-necked Phalaropes were nearby.

One of the better days for this summer!