Mid-Month Meanderings

Walpole Island Friday Morning

We had some wonderful weather all week (as usual).  I took Friday afternoon off to take advantage of it as I knew the weekend was on the doorstep.
I stopped by some usual haunts in southern Lambton County.  Various butterflies and insects are now out.
At Reid CA, Long Dash were on the wing.

At Moore WMA, several fresh Silvery Checkerspots were flying.

Juvenal's Duskywings are at the end of their cycle.

Hobomok Skippers will soon be at their end.

Saturday morning I woke up to an all too familiar scene.  The clouds had rolled in and rain threatened just like clockwork for the weekend.  I headed down to Rondeau anyway and got a walk in before the downpour came.  This forum is not appropriate to describe how I felt Saturday morning!  What is new?

The White-winged Dove was, you guessed it, on its usual perch.

There was always the chance for a late migrant.  I once found a Blackpoll Warbler at Rondeau on June 22!

The Prothonotary Warblers were showing well on Tulip tree trail.

I was in the mood (not a good one with the rain!) to do some driving on Saturday.  I next headed over to Clear Creek nature reserve for a short walk.
While walking around the pond on the north side, I stumbled upon this Song Sparrow nest.

Next stop was Wardsville Woods.  A Gray Comma started things off there.

There were not many butterflies this day, but I did come across some very fresh Silvery Checkerspots amid lots of mosquitoes.

The resident Blue-winged Warbler was singing away.

I did a short tour of the Mosa Forest (Skunk's Misery).  It was early afternoon, so it was rather quiet as expected.  The sun had come out by this time to my amazement.
I did come across some of the usuals.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Hackberry Emperors were plentiful, along with commas and Question Marks.

Sunday was very nice if one did not mind the heat in the afternoon.
I decided to head down to Point Pelee.  This time of year has proven to be good for gulls at the Tip in the past.  Today turned out to be no exception!

I went directly to the Tip. I had a hunch that pelicans would be around, and they were indeed. Five of them.

There were lots of gulls around, especially on the Tip sand (yes there is a nice sand spit!).

I scanned in vain for something unusual.  Only a young Lesser Black-backed stood out. There was quite a bit of activity, and gulls were constantly coming in from the west side.

At one point, something caught my attention with a gull that had some blackish underwings. It was indeed a Black-headed!  An adult in non-breeding plumage.

I virtually had the Tip to myself the whole two hours-plus I was there and nobody to share the sighting with.  I really wanted to find something good this weekend, so this gull was the victim!

Interestingly, Alan Wormington found a Black-headed Gull  at the Tip in 2013 about this same time of year.  It was in the same plumage.  It stayed for a few days, and I got to see it as well.
June 13, 2015 was the day I found a Laughing Gull at the Tip.  Goes to show this time of year can be fruitful.

Find the Black-headed!

The American White Pelicans took off not long after I arrived at the Tip, but returned after an hour.

Soon they headed towards Pelee Island.

The Black-headed Gull was still resting at the Tip when I left, but by then "tourists" were arriving. The gulls were flushed of course, as the tourists were oblivious to what was in front of them.

I checked for Dickcissels on the way home.  None were at Hilllman, but a few were at the usual site beside Camper's Cove Road east of Wheatley.
As well, a singing male was at the end of Zion Road.

I guess today made up for the dismal weather on Saturday.