Sightings Through the Smoke As We Head Downhill

 As time flies by, I have been out and about to places not far from home.  After June 22 we are on a downward slide as the days start getting shorter!  It was a Smokey week.

Almost every day I have been checking Reid CA for hairstreaks to no avail.  Obviously there was some event that decimated the population.  Last year's dry summer?  This spring's cold and damp weather?  A combination of things?  One can only speculate.

Here are some insects at Reid and other places locally.

Eastern Comma

Appalachian Brown

Blue Dasher

Eastern Pondhawk (F)

Stream Bluet

Delaware Skipper

A couple of days ago, I had the urge to go to Point Pelee.  Once again, nothing of note showed up during my visit!  It is a good time for gulls, and there seems to be an inordinate number of gulls around Pelee and Kingsville.

I spent most of the time at the Tip.  Lots of gulls, but not even a Little Gull!  A few terns (3 species) were around as well.

The only ducks were a male Lesser Scaup (unusual this time of year), and a female Red-breasted Merganser.

It was cloudy to start, but the sun came out for a while.  However, on the way home it clouded up and we had some drizzle.  I made a quick stop at the end of Zion Road east of Wheatley, which proved worthwhile.

I noticed quite a few gulls in the field (inc. one Lesser Black-backed), but as I approached the end of the road, something different in flight caught my eye.  An American Avocet!  As it is my favourite shorebird type, I was quite pleased to see it.

Shorebirds are already showing up as "fall" migrants, so I would consider this one a very early fall migrant.

Today, I had to go a bit farther for a change in scenery.  I went to Strathroy to check out the lagoons.  Currently, there is a fabulous mudflat, very attractive for shorebirds.  It should be good in the coming weeks.

There were oodles of Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers, but fall migrants included about a half dozen Least Sandpipers, and at least one Lesser Yellowlegs.

The Black-necked Stilts are present, but elusive.  I did not see the young, but once in a while a birder can get a glimpse of them.

Lots of ducks!  I saw three families of Blue-winged Teal here.

After the better part of two hours there, I went over to Clark Wright CA on Walker's Line.  It is a neat little spot for a variety of birds and insects.  Pine Warbler (heard one singing today) nests here.

In the past, I have had American Copper here, but the trail has been re-routed away from that particular spot. Only one Monarch here today.

I was pretty much done in the area after the walk here, so headed down to Shetland CA boat launch.  It was cloudy to start, but luckily the sun came out and I spent the better part of two hours here.  Odes were still a bit sparse, but I did see a few Blue-ringed Dancers (an imperiled species).

Other dancers included Powdered, Violet, Blue-fronted, Blue-tipped, but no Dusky yet.  

Blue-tipped Dancer

Powdered Dancer

Variable Dancer

Stream Bluets are plentiful here, as well as American Rubyspots.

It is good for rare dragonflies as well, but the only one I saw was a Black-shouldered Spinyleg.

One must keep an eye out for other rare things, such as the threatened Spiny Softshell Turtle.  I saw two large ones here today.  If you look closely, there are two here!

A bit later, I noticed a Map Turtle visiting with the softshell.

As well, it is a good spot for another species of concern, the Blackstripe Topminnow.  There are lots here!

After getting my fill of odes, I headed out and then made another stop at Reid CA.  I wanted to meet Rick Cavasin who was there on my arrival.  Rick put together that excellent laminated pocket field guide to Butterflies of Southern and Eastern Ontario (now in its 5th edition).  

We did not find any hairstreaks, needless to say!  However, a nice visit discussing various things.

I had been seeing the critically imperiled Royal River Cruiser for a few days, but today I finally had the opportunity to photograph my favourite dragonfly.

As we enter the holiday weekend, hopefully the smoke clears and we have a good time outdoors!