Monday Rounds

Monday morning I headed down to the Blenheim area to see what was around.  First stop was the lagoons since we are now in the midst of fall shorebird migration.  The were a few yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers in.  I did not get much of a look at them since they flushed even though I was not even very close to them.

A lone Lesser Scaup was in the one pond, looking out of place.

I wanted to check on some local Dickcissels.  Many have returned to sites occupied in 2017.  Other sites have not been occupied this year.
Not far away, a colony of Dickcissels is behind the Canadian Tire, easily seen from Hyland Drive.

It appeared that there were three males singing while I was there.  Seems we rarely see the females, so likely they are there too.

On the Fence

Another spot is the pasture along Campbell Road NE of Blenheim.  I saw four birds there during the brief stop.

Dickcissel in Flight

After that, I worked my way home and went straight to Reid CA before it got too hot.  Quite a few Banded Hairstreaks were out.  Most are dark and easily recognized from a distance, but some are light in colour such as this one.

I came across two Oak Hairstreaks, one of which was very worn.  They are now in their decline and will not be seen again within a week.

I finally saw a FOY Edwards' Hairstreak as well.

I looked for Dukes' Skippers and I believe I did see one flying away into the shaded area of sedges.

It was close to noon at this point and getting too hot again, so I headed home.  This heat wave has certainly limited our activities.  There is always something!