Mid-September Meanderings

Saturday morning I headed down to Rondeau Park in the muggy air.  I met up with a couple of guys from Hamilton who had just arrived to look for the Great Kiskadee.  I was going to by-pass the bird, but it was a good thing I stopped to look for the bird with the fellow birders from Hamilton.
The bird was seen first thing in the morning (we heard it call three times as it emerged from its roost site).  It was not seen subsequently, and may have flown the coop or been predated.

After a brief look at the first record for Canada, I went down to south point trail.  A good number of warblers were on the move through the trees, many of which I could not get on for ID.

Young Eastern Towhee

There has been little wind the last few days and the weather quite stagnant.  The lake was calm and few birds were out there.

There has been an invasion of Purple Finches lately.  I have seen or heard them in every locale.  Last evening I found at least 14 at Peers Wetland!

I checked a few other spots later in the morning, but by then things were very quiet.  I went over to the Kiskadee trail where many birders were on the lookout.  The bird was never seen again after early morning.  One can only hope it is still around.

Some wildflowers stood out on my walks.

Closed Bottle Gentian (andrewsii)

Great Plains Ladies Tresses (with Cucumber Beetle)

Today, I was not sure what to do, but pointed my car in the direction of Essex County. I first did a check of Wheatley Harbour where some Sanderlings and a single Ruddy Turnstone were running along the beach.

There were lots of gulls, but nothing stood out.

I then went over to Point Pelee (last minute decision!), and started on Cactus Trail.  I happened to meet up with fellow blogger Dwayne Murphy and his son Michael.  We chatted a while, noting that a few hawks were on the move.
I did not come up with much there, so moved up to De Laurier trail.  There were no warblers to be found, but some hawks moved overhead, including an early Red-shouldered.

Hawk with Broad Wings

Next stop was west beach trail to look for insects.  Cabbage White and Orange Sulphur are in big numbers right now, and today was no exception.  There was little else.....again.
However, near the serengeti tree, I found a Gray Hairstreak.  Always nice to see!

As well, a couple of Common Checkered-Skippers were out and about.

A co-operative Solitary Sandpiper was nearby.

It was getting late in the morning and I wanted to check out Hillman before it got too hot.  Upon arrival, Bob and Karen Yukich from Toronto pulled in.  It is getting funny, as I meet them quite often in many spots!  Bob was at the Kiskadee event last Saturday as well.

We parted ways and I walked around the shorebird cell to look for butterflies.  There was not much, other than sulphurs and Cabbage Whites. Near the end, I met up with Bob and Karen again and we spotted a Common Buckeye.  Bob was earlier commenting that he had not seen a Buckeye yet this year.  They have been very scarce this year, like many species.

There were quite a few Common Checkered-Skippers around the cell, and I even had one in the yard this afternoon.