Insect Hunting This Past Week

 As usual, this time of year I am looking more at insects, but of course birds are mixed in.

Last Monday, I headed to south Chatham-Kent just ot look around, starting at Keith McLean C. L.  Highlight there was a singing Dickcissel.

Next walk was at the Erieau marsh trail, but along the way, especially along Bisnett Line, I noticed many trees down. Obviously the storm hit hard there.  Nothing of interest along that trail.

I then went to Blenheim lagoons, now that shorebird migration is well underway.  There were quite a few shorebirds, including an early Stilt Sandpiper.

It was a cloudy morning, but afternoon was sunny.  I checked out insects in the garden, finding most of the usuals, but some other less than usual.

Hidalgo Mason Wasp

Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee

Two-spotted Longhorn Bee

Louis's Club-horned Cuckoo Wasp

Two-spotted Bumble Bee

This green creature was on the back porch, a member of the lacewings.

Chrysopa oculata

Tuesday I spent time north of town.  This Green Heron posed nicely at McKeough.

I walked through the floodway a bit, which was a mistake.  Ticks were horrendous! Generally they have not been that bad this year, but that location was bad.

Some Wild Indigo Duskywings were interesting though.

Next stop was Reid C. L.  I did find a Dukes'.

Some Delaware Skippers were here too.

Broad-winged Skippers were flying, but they never settled down.  At one point I thought I photographed a Broad-winged, however I never saw the underwing.  Later after a discussion on iNaturalist, it seems that it is a Dion Skipper.  Very similar to the Dukes', this is rare in our area.  Unless it an abherrant creature, it is new for Reid. Upper wing pattern indicative of female Dion.

Other things:

Banded Hairstreak

Question Mark

Next day I decided to visit Skunk's Misery, mainly along Centreville Drive.  I found or heard the usual birds.

Very few butterflies.

I was hoping to see Dukes' Skipper in a known spot, but they never materialized.  I spent quite a bit of time there.  Northern Broken-Dash were quite plentiful.

An Emerald Spreadwing was there as well.

I next visited Wardsville Woods since it is nearby.  Still very few odes!  I mainly concentrate along the creek back to the pond.

View along the creek

Basically one of this and one of that.

Azure Bluet

Violet Dancer

Some moths were in the shaded areas.

LeContes Haploa

Clymene Moth

Friday I did the same route to south Chatham-Kent as earlier in the week.  It was basically a waste of time!  It was cloudy. The Dickcissel was not at McLean's.  Nothing of interest at McGeachy Pond, and workers were at the lagoons so there was no sense in walking to the back pond.

I did however hear a singing Dickcissel across the road from the lagoons.

The afternoon turned out sunny as it usually does, so I went up to Reid C. L.  I spent quite a bit of time there, but things were not co-operating for photos.  I wanted to try and get a photo of a Broad-winged Skipper, but they kept fluttering around.

However, a Dukes' Skipper did pose nicely.

Found one more in a different location.

I checked yet another spot, but no Dukes' there.  

Lots of Blue Ash in this area.

The one larger tree I have been keeping an eye on is now barely alive.

Today I had no idea where to go!   I opted not to participate in the Skunk's Misery butterfly count this year.  Just not the same as it used to be, as interest has waned in these things.  I travelled up along the St. Clair River First thing. Stopped at Willow Park.

Dickcissels are once again behind the berm at the old Lambton Generating Station nearby.

I decided to check out the boat launch at Shetland C. A. this morning.  It was somewhat productive, but still very few odonates (I guess that is the way it is this year!).  I spent the better part of two hours there.

I did find a single Blue-ringed Dancer.  They will just be coming out, so it is early.

I was hoping to see Flag-tailed Spinyleg as well.  Seems they come out later in the morning!  I did finally see a couple.

Its cousin with a black shoulder was also in the vicinity.

Black-shouldered Spinyleg

A couple of Swift River Cruisers were patrolling the river the whole time, but they difficult to photograph in flight, lol.  Too swift.

I saw a somewhat interesting dancer in the distance, so I just photographed it.  At home, I determined it to be a Dusky Dancer, which is an endangered species.  Glad I took the photograph!

I have seen them here before, but they are scarce.

A couple of Powdered Dancers were around.

I often see Blackstripe Topminnows here, and today was no exception.

As well, turtles are often here.  I have not seen a Spiny Softshell yet this year, strangely.  Perhaps not a good sign. They always used to be here on my visits.

A couple of small Map Turtles were here.

Tomorrow is yet another day!

Recent Notes and An Imperiled Tour

 We are back in the hot and humid weather.  Birding will be a bit slow this week, but there must be something of interest out there.

Saturday, I needed to go in another direction and ended up at Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee.  It was rather "slow" for everything!

I did the long walk at Hillman.  No Wood Storks.  At "least" I saw some skippers.

At one point, I came across a Great Horned Owl!

After this walk, I decided to check out the west side of Point Pelee.  Unfortunately, I did not find anything note.  I had to try anyway!

Carolina Grasshopper

Later in the afternoon, I checked out the garden at home.  A Common Checkered-Skipper was present.

Also saw another Hidalgo Mason Wasp.

Sunday it was down to Rondeau for lack of anything else to do.  I walked out marsh trail, but only went so far.  There were a few birds to look at along the way.  

However, a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and we got rained on for a little while.  This was not in the forecast....all week!

In the afternoon it was nice enough to do a long walk at Reid CA.  It too, was rather quiet for everything.  

Seems to be quite a few Common Buckeyes around, and I encountered at least ten there.

Today, I wanted to check the Sydenham River for odonates.  I arrived at Shetland CA boat launch and found two other ode enthusiasts!  One was Jon Pleizier, with whom I had recently corresponded.

There was not much flying, but we did see the usual suspects, several of which are imperiled in Ontario.  A couple of Flag-tailed Spinylegs were included.

A single Blue-ringed Dancer (imperiled) co-operated nicely.

A couple of Royal River Cruisers (imperiled) were flying, but did not stop.

Common things like Stream Bluet were plentiful, as well as Fragile Forktail and Familiar Bluet.

My goal was to see Dusky Dancer (imperiled) today, but that was not to be at Shetland.  It is getting tough to find it seems.

However, I wanted to visit the boat launch at Florence where I had seen them before.  Upon arrival, it did not take long to find a single Dusky Dancer!  A bit distant though.

Both Rubyspots are here, and at one point I saw one of each, Smoky and American on the same rock. I managed to photograph a Smoky (imperiled).

Jon arrived here as well, and I pointed out the Dusky.

A Powdered Dancer (not imperiled!) was on the same perch at one point.

There was not much at all flying here, but a couple larger odes were flying midriver.  One was a Swift River Cruiser.  May have been Royal here as well.

The other was a clubtail that looked interesting, but it never came close.  I pointed it out to Jon and he managed a photo.  (thanks Jon!).  We were not sure at first, but I suggested Arrow Clubtail, since they are found here.

The photo was good enough to confirm Arrow Clubtail!  Another imperiled species in Ontario.  It is found in a few other places in Ontario, but it is certainly not common.

**photo by Jon Pleizier

I am quite sure I saw this species here years ago, but never got any photos.  It was a highlight for the day's list.

With a bit of time to spare, I headed down to Thamesville.  I just went to the Victoria Road bridge again, as the Tecumseh park was a bit farther, and I did not think I would add anything different.

Smoky Rubyspots were numerous here again.

The only other possibility today was Elusive Clubtail, but that may be for another day.  They can be found at the locations I visited today.  But then, they can be elusive!

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In the history corner, the Norman B. Ream was launched in August 1906.  It later sailed as the Kinsman Enterprise and was retired in 1979.  It was sold for use as a grain storage barge at Port Huron, Michigan that year.  Sarniaites may recall seeing it across the river for many years.  

The Port Huron Museum of Arts and History has an excellent marine section, and was given the rights to salvage the interior of the pilot house.  In 1982, my father and I helped in this regard.  It was an interesting experience!