Insects Here And There

 Every day I have to go somewhere!  Life is passing by very quickly, so one needs to get out as much as possible.  Some days I have no idea where to go, but I just get in the car and see where it leads me.  Lately, it has been all about insects.

Tuesday, I ended up down at Rondeau.  I went for a walk at McLean's first thing to kill some time, before heading into the park to walk out marsh trail.

I had the idea to look for sedge skippers, especially Mulberry Wing.  Just like every place else anymore, things have really grown in and not much marsh type vegetation is visible close to the trail.  However, I lucked out with one of my targets.

Early on, I photographed this skipper.  Turns out it was a Mulberry Wing!

There were quite a few Appalachian Browns along the way.

Usually one will see its cousin the Eyed Brown here as well.  These like wetter areas compared to the Appalachian.  However, I could not detect one.

Later on, I encountered a few Mulberry Wings but they were difficult to keep track of, not to mention photograph..

There was not much in the way of odes, but some Tule Bluets were along the way.

As well, a White-faced Meadowhawk made an appearance.

Before getting home, I had the notion to check for Dukes' Skippers at Reid CA.  It was no problem finding a couple, but I never obtained a good photo.

Wednesday, I wanted to check Shetland CA for Blue-ringed Dancers and whatever else was around.  I killed some time first thing at Wilkesport.  A couple of Banded Hairstreaks were out and about.

Note the photo above a bit of the upperwing side is showing.  The upperside is very plain and nothing to look at!  You will always see hairstreaks with wings closed.  I once saw a hairstreak that kept its wings open, and it was non-descript.

At Shetland, the water level had receded to a reasonable level after the excessive rains.  It was not problem finding some Blue-ringed Dancers.  They had likely just come out.

This species is critically imperiled in Ontario and is only found in certain spots along the east branch of the Sydenham River (like Florence, Shetland and at the Mosside boat launch), and along the Ausable near Rock Glen.

I found the other dancers and bluets except Blue-tipped.  It was a bit early in the season for Dusky Dancer though I think.

Powdered Dancer

Blue-fronted Dancers

Rainbow Bluet

Violet Dancer

There were many Stream Bluets as always, but I did not try to photograph any.

After finishing here, I made another visit to Reid CA since it was not too much out of the way.  I found Dukes' again, but could never get a photo.

Another target was to get a photo of a Royal River Cruiser.  I caught sight of one, and it disappeared to the side where I knew it had gone to perch.  However, something else caught my eye at that very spot.  A Flag-tailed Spinyleg!

This is the first one I have seen at Reid CA.  Being another critically imperiled species, it is found at a couple of spots on the north Sydenham, a few spots on the east branch.  There is even a record at Komoka near London and one on the Thames near Chatham.  I am only going by iNaturalist records though for these.

I then looked for the cruiser with my trained eye and found it perched!

Thursday, I headed to the Lake St. Clair area and walked the south shore nature trail at Mitchell's Bay.  Lots of Tule Bluets are here.

I then went over to St. Clair NWA.  I never see much here anymore, but checked it out anyway.  Marsh Wrens are doing well here.

Later in the morning, I went up to McKeough CA and found some Flag-tailed Spinylegs.  Not much else though.

Today, I ended up at Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee.  Seems I have no luck at Pelee anymore and is usually a waste of time.

Snowberry Clearwing

At Hillman, I looked for sedge skippers at the boardwalk area.  Several Broad-winged were flying.

I have seen Dukes' here as well, but not today.  However, seems I photographed a possible Dion Skipper.  I never saw the underwing, so that made things difficult.

The upper side is remarkably similar to Black Dash, which I thought at first.  However, this one seemed large, which Dion is compared to Black Dash.  Oh well, it made things interesting!

There was also a multitude of Eyed Browns here.  As mentioned above, they like wetter areas compared to Appalachian, but I did see both.

Some Rondeau Birding and Sedge Skippers

I had nothing scheduled this weekend, so I decided to check out Rondeau.  Saturday, I first stopped at Blenheim Lagoons to check out shorebirds.  There was nothing new, but you never know until you check, and it is a good time for a Ruff!  I have seen several Ruffs in the past years, but it was not to be this day.
A couple of fresh Bronze Coppers were along the dike.

Nothing of note was at Rondeau Park, but it is getting time to see some migrant warblers from the north.  There were lots of Yellow Warblers but they will soon depart.

Red-eyed Vireo consuming katydid

Some common butterflies were seen including a few Eyed Browns.

A highlight was finding a small Fox Snake along the trail.

I was a bit late in seeing Oswego Tea in bloom this year!

After lunch Saturday I did a brief walk at Reid CA.  Some Dukes' and Broad-winged Skippers were flying, but I could only get the camera on a couple of Dukes'.  They were back in the shaded areas so quality is not good.

A fresh brood of Giant Swallowtails is now out.

Sunday, I headed back down to Rondeau Park. I wanted to do a long walk out marsh trail.   I had intentions of looking for sedge skippers, but was not brave enough to wade through the sedges (!).  One needs to get right in the sedges to see anything.
However, I did luck out and found one Mulberry Wing alongside the trail.

Dwayne's nemesis this year

Mulberry Wing are fairly common at Rondeau.  Brenda Kulon reported over 70 on the butterfly count a couple of weeks ago.

Eyed Browns are most common out marsh trail.

Common Terns were plentiful near Dog Beach.  There were very few Bonaparte's Gulls today.

Sewage Lagoons to Sedge Skippers

On Sunday I decided to drive up to Mitchell to check out the West Perth Wetlands.  It is always worth a stop when in the area. Many swallows were swirling around, but shorebirds were the attraction.

I found lots of the expected species present, including a large number of Lesser Yellowlegs.

Solitary Sandpipers were numerous--I counted 10, but I am sure there were a few more.

There was nothing of note, but you never know until you check it out.  Best bird I have seen there in the past was a Marbled Godwit.

I was there just before 09:00, but it appeared that more birds came in by early afternoon according to Jarmo's report
I will be stopping in again August 4 when I head up to Muskoka.

Strathroy was basically on the way home, so I stopped in at the sewage lagoons.  The two large ponds are easily accessible to the public off Pike Road.  It can be a productive place with lots of variety. The one pond has some mud and several Least Sandpipers were present.

Again, you never know until you check it out.  A few years ago I stopped in and found an Avocet!

There are other birds around the perimeter of the lagoons.  There are some woods to the east.  As well, it is a good place for butterflies.

A couple of Wild Indigo Duskywings were present.

I also found several Milbert's Tortoiseshells.  They are common here with the abundance of nettles.

A stop at Reid CA was in order before I got home.  It was productive as Dukes' Skippers were finally on the wing!  I found them in two separate locations.

Broad-winged Skippers were also flying in the old oxbow.  However, I could not get any photos since they never settled down.