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!

Point Pelee Butterfly Count! And Other Notes

 This past Saturday a butterfly count was revived at Point Pelee and surrounding area.  I always used to attend this one, but it was discontinued at least ten years ago.  It has always been in early August, making it a "fall" count.

I was joined by Keith Burk and we scoured the accessible areas south of the visitor centre.  Frankly, it was slim pickings!  A continued theme for this year.

We walked to the Tip then headed back the west side.

West beach trail has always been a prime section to look for good things.  There was not much, but Keith spotted a duskywing.  I immediately recognized it as a Horace's Duskywing!

A nice find indeed.

There were some crescents, which are now tricky to ID.  There is the Pearl, but Northern has been declared two distinct species, depending on timing.  Alan Wormington always maintained that there were three distinct species, so I guess he was right!  I am still trying to understand the situation.

The "Northern " complex (at this time of year) is presently called by its scientific name, Phyciodes diminutor.  Here is one I photographed on the count.

There were other species along the way including Dun Skipper.

I did not photograph some such as Giant Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Monarch, Orange Sulphur, etc.

We made a second pass on the northern section of the west beach trail.  Things are always changing there, and it was certainly worthwhile.

We found two more Horace's Duskywings in short order.

Farther up the trail, I spotted a butterfly move in the shade. It opened its wings briefly, and I realized it was a Compton Tortoiseshell!  It moved to another branch, but never opened its wings.  However, it was indeed the said species.

There has been a bit of an invasion of this species of late, but it is quite rare in Essex County.  Apparently, there have only been about 17 records, and it is very rare at Point Pelee.

This sighting certainly made the day, after seeing so few butterflies.  Indeed a first for me at Point Pelee.

Keith and I had only 16 species, while the entire count ended up with 39 species.  Our Compton and the Horace's Duskywings were the only ones recorded on the count.

I have been out and about the past week, just not as much as usual, and certainly have not come across much of note.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Monday I came across some neat spiders.  There are lots out there though.  

Spined Macrathena

Arrowhead Orbweaver

Tuesday was quite foggy first thing, as I went for a walk at Mitchell's Bay.

It was such a glum morning, I went home.  But it got a little nicer in the afternoon, so I went for a long walk at Reid Conservation Lands.  

Common Wood Nymph

Common Ringlet

It was a good day for Royal River Cruisers, as I saw about twenty!

I have posted other things on iNaturalist, but there certainly has been a lack of ID participation on that forum of late!

Wednesday was such a glum day, I decided to go the museum to work for a few hours!

Today was yet another foggy morning.  It was quite dense at Wallaceburg, but I went out to Mitchell's Bay anyway.  Better visibility there at least.

It was "museum" all day today, so I was not out.

Some passerines are trickling through from the north, but I have not seen any!