More Dickcissels and Things Here and There

I have been out and about, but not as much as I usually do. For the most part, I have not gone far.  Trying to cut down on driving, no ambition, no place to go, busy.  Those are my excuses!

Walked Nicholl's Memorial Forest and wetland on Tuesday. I photographed this dragonfly beside the pond.  Not even sure what it was at the time.

I think it is just a teneral Blue Dasher female.

Last Tuesday I checked out some traditional spots around south Lambton County for Dickcissels.  The first stop was a pasture area on Stanley Line just west of Kimball Road.  Success!  There was one male singing way back, and certainly too far for a photo attempt.

The only other spot was at a communications tower beside the Sombra solar farm.  Although this one was close, it did not co-operate for a photo like most things lately!

By the way, Ospreys nested on this tower this year.  Strangely, I did not know they were there until later.  This is a very tall tower, so I did not look high enough (that is my excuse!).

The next day, I did a similar tour.  The Dickcissel was still beside the solar farm.  There was also one at the barn and pasture on Holt Line just east of Baseline Road.  It too did not want its photo taken.  This is an annual spot as well.

June 11 was museum day, so I did not do any amount of looking around.

Friday, I wanted to go some place completely different.  Komoka Provincial Park on the west side of London was the destination.

It is actually a fairly large park with several access points.  I went to two of them.  I had not been there in several years, other than a stop at the parking lot off Gideon Drive a couple of years ago for the Blue Grosbeak.

I first went to the entrance off Komoka Road.

Great Egret on the pond

Some butterflies:

Common Ringlet

Hackberry Emperor

Then went to the entrance on Gideon Drive.  A whole system of trails are here going into various habitats including mature forest.  I only stayed on the outside.  Nothing special encountered.  Some Long Dash Skippers were along the trails off Gideon Drive.

I headed back via highway 2.  I stopped at Wardsville Woods for a look.  Yet again it was disappointing for odes.  Not sure what is going on this year, but there is certainly a lack of odes and leps in many places.

I did spot a Racket-tailed Emerald at one point.

Just before leaving, an Arrowhead Spiketail made an appearance.

Saturday was yard sale day, so no travelling!  It was a perfect weather day, good for a yard sale, but difficult to pass on being out and about.

Sunday was a rather glum day, but I toured locally.  I did finally see an Osprey at the Sombra solar farm.

A Dickcissel was singing near the Baseline bridge north of Holt Line.  Likely the same bird from a couple of days previous.

I went for a long walk at Reid C. L.  Slim pickings, but it was somewhat cloudy and early in the day.

Eastern Calligrapher

Yesterday I went down Rondeau and Erieau way.  Weather was perfect for being out.  I first checked out Keith McLean C. L.  A pelican had been there a couple days previous, and I was not expecting it to still be there.  But it was!  Fast asleep at first.  One would hardly know that white blob was a pelican.

It did poke its head up a little later to reveal its tell-tale head and beak.

Also went for a walk at McGeachy Pond and the Erieau Marsh trail. Nothing of note.

Today was one of those days I had no place to go.  Just did some yard work and things on the house.

Blue Dasher

Canada Day Novelty

 A treat came to many birders as they woke up on July 1, when a Lark Bunting was reported at the pasture on Stefina Line.  The eBird list was posted late Monday evening, so most birders did not know about it until the next morning.

I headed out early and met Steve Charbonneau at the site along Stefina Line.  We soon heard the unique song of the Lark Bunting, then spotted the bird atop a shrub.  It was some distance away, but easily seen.  Appears to be an after hatch year male.

Neat to see its aerial display.

It was a must-see bird as most of us had not seen one in Chatham-Kent, if not elsewhere in the province.  I had never "chased" after one, so it was a long-overdue lifer for me!

Going by eBird records, there have only been two others in the county.  One (female) in May 2015 at Rondeau Park seen by only one observer, and one at Tilbury in June 1990.

It was indeed a nice way to start the summer!

As a bonus, two or three Dickcissels were in that pasture as well for the dozens of birders that flocked to the site.

We are now in the midst of fall migration, unfortunate in some respects.  I love this time of year, but the days are progressively getting shorter and autumn will be here before we know it.

Shorebirds are showing up on schedule.  I stopped by Blenheim lagoons on Monday, where there is excellent habitat available.  Birds from the north included nine Lesser Yellowlegs and five Least Sandpipers.

This one had a leg tucked in.

There was an inordinate number of Killdeer as well.

Yesterday after getting my fill of the Lark Bunting, I went back home and got out to do what I originally intended to do that day.

After checking out some spots for birds, I stopped by Reid Conservation Lands.  It was disappointing in the insect department, as there were no hairstreaks and very few odes.  I am certain that unseasonably cold month of May killed off a lot of things!

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Appalachian Browns are doing well though, as I saw over twenty in my short visit.

There were lots of mosquitoes though, and they certainly loved all the excessive rain we had in the last month.

Today, I toured around trying to add data for the bird atlas, as we are getting near the end of the data-gathering period.  Difficult to add anything new.  The dickcissels are still singing up near Holt and Baseline, but I did not see any evidence of females.....yet.

I stopped by McKeough and Reid for walks, but very few butterflies and dragonflies.  Indeed it is a bad year for them.  Mosquitoes were even worse today!  Nothing to photograph, so that tells you something.

These are from Sunday, as Common Wood Nymphs are now out.

We are long way from Halloween, but this pennant was warming up in the sun.

Scenes of Late and Dickcissel Arrival

 Lately, many of us have been roaming around to see what we can find for the breeding bird atlas.  'Tis the season!  I have not found anything new in my area, but as time goes on it gets more difficult to upgrade breeding codes.  One can only cover a small fraction of the territory.

Monday I drove around the Port Lambton-Sombra area for my "half" square.  It includes the lagoons of both villages, but I did not venture into them.  It is a "process" to get legal access to them and I did not want to be bothered with that this year.

I stopped by Reid CA after the drive.  I saw those flies again.  Only thing I can come up with is a type of bog fly.  Nobody can ID them on iNaturalist it seems.

Common everywhere, are Narrow-headed Marsh Flies.

A few butterflies were flying, including this Tiger Swallowtail.

Tuesday I needed a long walk, so the best option was to go to Rondeau.  I did a beach walk, starting at the light beacon area, all the way out south beach.  There was hardly a thing flying on the lake, and the only things swimming were a couple of Common Loons.

It was a nice calm and clear day, so it was enjoyable.

I did not see any shorebirds until I got well out south beach.  There were lots of Semipalmated Sandpipers (62), Semipalmated Plovers (8), a Sanderling, and a White-rumped Sandpiper.  There were even four rather late Least Sandpipers.

A single Black-bellied Plover was a tardy individual.

The only ducks were two Mallards, two Red-breasted Mergansers and this impaled duck.

We will be seeing fall migrants soon.....unfortunately!

For mussels, there were lots of Fatmucket as usual, but I picked out a couple of the rarer types.

Wabash Pigtoe

Eastern Pondmussel

After the long walk at Rondeau, I stopped by Keith McLean Conservation Lands.  Nothing of note, except this American Coot seemed lonely.

Wednesday, I stayed fairly close to home and checked out more things for the bird atlas.  I walked along the diversion channel from McKeough to highway 40 first thing.  Seemed a bit quiet to me, and certainly not as many Orchard Orioles as usual for example.

I went to Reid CA as well for a bit, but nothing to photograph!

I rolled by the Sombra Solar Farm as well. The Western Meadowlark was still present, but will not likely stay.  That afternoon, apparently, the grass was cut.  Unfortunately that meant lots of nesting birds were destroyed.  Some rural landowners have to do what they have to do, but are oblivious to the wildlife they are killing off.

In the afternoon, I drove out to Port Lambton to check the pond at Brander Park.  Some Eastern Amberwings were flying, as well as Skimming Bluets.

Soon, I will have to check for the rarer Westfall's Slender Bluets there!

Things are starting to bloom in the garden, so I will be checking for insects.  This bee is a new one as far as I can tell.

Patchwork Leafcutter Bee

And, common things such as Bi-colored Sweat Bee.

Today I needed to go farther afield and ended up at Hillman Marsh for a long walk.  Seemed a bit on the quiet side to me.  As always, I keep an eye out for insects.

Halloween Pennant

Viceroy

Skimming Bluet

It was still early when I finished, so headed over to Point Pelee.  I did not stay long, but walked to the Tip.  American White Pelicans are getting rather common there anymore!  There were at least 60 upon my arrival--the most I have ever seen there at one time.

It is a good time of year for a rare gull, such as Black-headed.  I have seen two!  However, no appearance today.

I was hoping to see lots of insects, but they were rather few (again!).

Blue Dasher (female)

While there, word came out about some Dickcissels near Fletcher.  That was perfect since I would be going home that way!

We had just talked about Dickcissels yesterday and how they have been absent so far.  There are lots Michigan and westward, but not in Ontario.  Perhaps things will change soon, depending on weather and breeding success out there.

Two birds were singing upon my arrival at the specified location.  Not close though, but good enough to see and hear.

Insects Here and There and More Yard Critters

 Friday I headed southwest and first stopped at Mitchell's Bay to walk the south shore trail.  It was a pleasant morning and just the "usual" things were seen.

Tule Bluet

I continued on and passed through Stevenson, where there are some Dickcissels just east of the village.

My destination was Hillman Marsh where I wanted to do the long walk on the dike.  

I usually see Broad-winged Skippers this time of year, and this day was no exception.

Broad-winged Skipper

Skimming Bluet

Some Blanding's Turtles were seen.

Near the end of the walk, I came upon a pair of Dickcissels that appear to be nesting.  The male was singing on a perch, and a female popped up out of the vegetation.

Friday evening we had a wicked storm around Wallaceburg.  I probably never saw it rain so hard!  Winds were high as well, and we lost hydro for at least four hours.

The next morning it was evident how strong the storm was.  Trees and limbs down all over, as well as hydro poles.  Eight poles were down on Langstaff Line alone!

Saturday was a bit of a washout as it rained off and on all day.  Now we are getting way too much rain!

Sunday dawned hazy, but thankfully we did have some sun later on.  The main even today was the odonate count at Sydenham River Nature Reserve near Alvinston.

I took my usual section.  As expected, things were quite scarce as they have been every place this year.

No real highlights for me, but a Carolina Saddlebags was nice near the end.

Some finds:

Powdered Dancer (teneral)

Azure Bluet

American Rubyspot

Banded Hairstreak!

Northern Pearly-Eye

Delaware Skipper

As expected with all the rain, the river was running very high, so we could not get close to the bank unfortunately.

After getting home, I checked the garden for more yard critters.  Found a couple of new ones, and got a better shot of a Tufted Globetail, a very tiny insect.

Clouded Plant Bug

Thick-legged Hoverfly

Eastern Forktail

Margined Calligrapher, another very tiny insect, seems to be quite common everywhere.

This one is completely puzzling so far.  Even iNaturalist cannot ID it! The nearest it comes is a European insect that should not be here.

On to another week!

Monkey-flower at SRNR