A "Few" More Insects (Plus a Shorebird)

 This past Thursday I ventured into Elgin County for a change in scenery.  I went as far as John E. Pearce Provincial Park where I walked around the Storey Wetland.  It has been good for insects in the past, including Comet Darner which I had discovered some years ago.

I should have known, as there were not many dragonflies, par for the course this year.  There was nothing worth photographing!

This Great Spangled Fritillary posed nicely though.

One of the tiny insects, called a sedgesitter, was tempting to photograph.  They usually face downwards.  A difficult one to identify to species.

It was going to be another hot day, so I headed back west and stopped by the old quarry at Clear Creek.  It was much better for odonates than my previous visits this year, but certainly a far cry from what it usually is.

Alas, I saw a Comet Darner!  This is another location I discovered quite a few years ago, so it was somewhat expected.  These rarely perch, so on-the-fly photographs were attempted.

There were very few bluets, but some "Westfall's" Slender Bluets were flying.  I managed to get decent enough photos to ID them.

A couple of Violet Dancers were nearby as well.

While there, a pair of Common Ravens flew overhead.  They have been known to nest in the area.

Friday, I took a long walk at Reid Conservation Lands.  It was quite disappointing for insects yet again (except mosquitoes!), but I did come across my first Dukes' Skipper of the year.

A couple of Banded Hairstreaks were along the trail.  I am now up to five individual hairstreaks for the year......lol!

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail posed for a bit.

As did a Red-spotted Purple that was a little worse for the wear.

Since shorebirds are returning now, I decided to check out Blenheim lagoons first thing Saturday morning.  Turns out I came across my favourite shorebird, an American Avocet!

There were lots of Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and a number of Short-billed Dowitchers around as well.

I was going to be a very hot day, so I decided to head back home after this visit!

Sunday was the annual Skunk's Misery butterfly count.  I did my usual route along Centreville Drive in the morning.  It was extremely disappointing as there were very few butterflies.  But, that has been the way it is this year for whatever reason(s).

View along Centreville Drive

I saw only one single hairstreak, if that tells you anything.

Banded Hairstreak

However, the highlight was a Dukes' Skipper in a known spot along the road.  I spent some time at this spot hoping to see one, and it paid off.

I discovered the species here for the first Middlesex records in the past.

Woodland butterflies were scarce, including the Northern Pearly-Eye.

Most common skipper was Dun.

Dun on Buttonbush

Lunch was held in a different spot this year, at Big Bend Conservation Area.  I had never been there before, so it was all new to me.  A neat spot I should check out again.

View from the boat launch at Big Bend

In the afternoon I toured around aimlessly, hardly seeing anything (what's new?).  I was so disappointed I went home early and skipped the gathering at the end of the day.  It was too hot anyway!

Blue-tipped Dancers at the boat launch on Mosside Line

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!

Labour Day Weekend 2022

 Nothing too exciting this weekend as it was a crap shoot where to go!

Friday I went down to Rondeau and area, but it was fairly quiet for passerines.  I later stopped by Blenheim lagoons to check on the shorebirds.  It has been very good there of late, and actually the best in years.

I lucked into an American Avocet, my favourite shorebird!

Numerous other shorebirds were present.

The next day, it morphed into two more birds!  The following day, three were down in Essex lagoons, so that is where they went obviously.

I went for a short walk at Reid CA in the afternoon.  There were a few warblers along the trail.  This Royal River Cruiser posed for a photo.

Yard things included  Common Checkered-Skipper and a Cape May Warbler.

Saturday, I went down to Hillman Marsh and walked the dike loop.  That walk has good potential for something, but I did not turn up anything of note.  I had hoped the Wood Storks were hiding there somewhere, but oddly they were only seen the one day.

In the afternoon, I went for another walk at Reid CA.  An early Lincoln's Sparrow popped up.

Sunday, I wanted to get up to north Lambton, so went to Kettle Point. Big mistake!  I should have went to Sarnia where multiple jaegers were seen.  I did a lakewatch at the point with James Holdsworth.  I thought there was potential for something, but not much was moving there.  However, we did get on a flock of shorebirds which were Sanderling, plus a chunky bird.  It was a Red Knot!  They were moving too fast to get any sort of photo.  In less than an hour, they were reported at Sarnia/Port Huron!

It was a drizzly day unfortunately, so I could not do much else.

Today, I went down to Rondeau for a lakewatch.  It had potential, but once again, nothing of note showed.  I then walked south point trail, finding lots of warblers.  I guess the best one was a Mourning.

It was then on to Blenheim lagoons to see the shorebird spectacle.  Lots of took at!  Something must be really good in the sewage in the middle pond, where most of the shorebirds hang out.

The same shorebirds were present, including the Red Knot.

Two Red-necked, and two Wilson's Phalaropes were also in the mix.

It was nice to see so many shorebirds there.  One of these days, perhaps we will see something really good.