North Lambton July 6

I decided to head north rather than south today in search of mainly insects, or whatever was to be found.
My first walk was at Ausable River Cut CA.  I had never been there this time of year.  Some of the dune areas along the river were interesting.

A Banded Hairstreak was nectaring on Common Milkweed.  The blue anal spot was slightly capped by red, which is a bit unusual.

A Wild Indigo Duskywing was nearby.

Odes included several common species.  Blue-fronted Dancer was one of the more attractive damsels.

A Pronghorn Clubtail was hanging about a wet area.

Birds included Pine Warblers and a Black-and-white Warbler plus more common species.

At Port Franks, I walked the L-Lake trail and into the NCC property.  Mosquitoes were horrendous here, so I did not linger in any given spot!
Some Silvery Checkerspots were at the start.

One of the more notable birds was a singing Black-throated Blue Warbler.  Some are this far south in the breeding season.  It remained out of range for the camera though.
Hooded Warbler was also singing as usual.

After being chased out by mosquitoes, I moved over to Ipperwash Forested Dunes and Swales.  I wanted to walk the Cedar trail which skirts the wetland area in search of dragonflies.

 There was quite a variety of odes.  I half expected Spadderdock Darner as the habitat was good, but I did not see any.

Several Slaty Skimmers were around.

I encountered a few Racket-tailed Emeralds, but not as many as the last visit.

Butterflies included a number of Monarchs, which seem to be plentiful this week.  I managed to find a single Roadside Skipper, trailside, but not along the roadside.

This one I thought was a Crossline Skipper.

There was not much in the way of birds, but that was not my focus.  The usual Black-and-white Warbler was singing away, and several Pine Warblers were throughout.  I saw one carrying food at one point.

Dead man's Fingers at Port Franks

Early August Sightings

Now that we are into August, migrants are moving through more regularly.  Habitat remains pretty good for shorebirds at Stewart Wetland west of Wallaceburg.  Yesterday evening there was a good number of shorebirds.

Sandhill Cranes are doing their daily ritual west of Wallaceburg, coming from Michigan.  They arrive early morning, and depart in the evening. There are currently about two dozen, but numbers will increase into the fall.

Shorebird numbers are decent at Blenheim Lagoons.  There is good edge along the middle pond on the right, and the sprinkler cells are occasionally good.  Yesterday a Red-necked Phalarope showed up and was still present today.

I got off work at noon today and went for a couple of walks.  First was at Moore WMA, but the river was running high due to intense rain light yesterday.  I was mainly looking for insects!

Red-spotted Purple on Purple Coneflower

Blue-fronted Dancer

Variable Dancer (?)

Northern Broken-Dash (worn)

Another walk was at Nicholl's Memorial Forest at Wilkesport where I encountered a couple of Royal River Cruisers.

There was another large dragonfly which may have been a Fawn Darner.

Some butterflies were seen as well.  A Bronze Copper was nice along the pond, but it never stopped. Others included a Tawny-edged Skipper.

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Common Wood Nymph

Weather looks fairly decent for the weekend and I will be out and about!

Flower Longhorn Beetle

Some Dragonflies

During a sunny period in this wacky weather, I went to the McKeough CA for a walk this afternoon. Butterflies were almost totally absent (what's new?), but I did see a few dragonflies and damselflies.

Most notable was a Flag-tailed Spinyleg. This male was in the floodway a ways from the river. I had found one in this same location in 2007. I was not sure what species at the time, but I found out it is quite uncommon in Ontario and found mainly along the north branch of the Sydenham River.

I found another along the river bank as well. It was duller.

Another species I found along the river was likely a Pronghorn Clubtail. At least it looks like the one in the guide!

A damselfly I found in the floodway looks like a female Blue-fronted Dancer...