Water Woes to Reid Ramble

As this wacky weather continues, I got an unexpected day off today.  The amount of rain Sunday afternoon was absolutely ridiculous!  We do not need any more rain the rest of the year!  Water levels rose at least six inches at Port Lambton since yesterday afternoon.  As a result, the shop was flooded and surrounded by water.  Needless to say we are fed up with this high water!

At least the day was nice so I went up to Reid CA and took a long walk.  I ended up walking around the edge of the back field, something I have not done before.  It was rather pleasant with lots of insects and plants along the way.
There is quite a bit of Gray-headed Coneflower and Wild Bergamot attracting insects.

Snowberry Clearwing on Burgamot

Several species of common dragonflies were seen.

Widow Skimmer

My goal was to get a photo of a Royal River Cruiser, so at one point an individual posed quite nicely.

Closer to the gate, I saw a couple more Royals, and also looked for Dukes' Skippers.

I managed to see one hairstreak in the two hours I was there.

Giant swallowtails are out with a fresh brood lately.

More Tiger Swallowtails too.

Back on July 5, we did the Skunk's Misery butterfly count.  Total species came in at 48.  Species totals were down needless to say, but some species were in record numbers.  The Emperors, especially Tawny, was at an all time high of 966.

Banded (402), Hickory (136) and Striped Hairstreaks (27) were in record numbers.  Coral, Acadian and Edwards' were absent.

Common Wood Nymph was at a high of 358.

There were lots of missed species including Common Buckeye and Milbert's Tortoiseshell, and several skippers.

The coming Sunday will be the Clear Creek count so hopefully the weather will co-operate.

Late Saturday afternoon, I spotted a tiny Common Checkered-Skipper pop into the yard.  It was a first-of-year.  It did not stay long!

Mid Summer Rambles

Last Saturday I visited several spots, starting with Forest Lagoons.  Forest is the "go-to" place in the area for shorebirds, although Bright's Grove has some habitat as well.

I spent quite a bit of time there just seeing common migrants.  A number of Semipalmated Plovers were present.

The birds are not all that close, but a scope is essential.

I then headed south to Skunk's Misery.  Things are rather quiet now as one would expect, but I did find several Hooded Warblers.  One was even singing.
Nearby Wardsville Woods was on the agenda as well.  I like checking it out for butterflies this time of year.

Red-spotted Purple

not a butterfly!

I have been looking more at moths of late.  There are lots out there when you get looking!  I have no idea what this one is:

There is the demonstration plot for prairie flowers.

Cylindrical Blazing Star

The little pond at the back is worth checking.  There is a single Cardinal Flower that grows there each year.

After Wardsville, I thought I might as well check Blenheim lagoons.  There were lots of shorebirds (150+) in the sprinklers cells, but most were Semipalmated Sandpipers.  I tried for Western, but not even a Baird's was amongst them.  It was about a year ago we had a Western at Blenheim.

This week I took some late day walks locally.  Dukes' Skippers are still kicking around at Reid not wanting to get into focus.

Today I found a few as well, but they are getting worn.

I even found a very worn hairstreak which appears to be Banded.  Possibly the latest I have had at Reid.

Giant Swallowtails are having a good summer in SW Ontario.

Some other butterflies were out and about.

Question Mark

Great Spangled Fritillary

I did see one Broad-winged Skipper in the sedges, rather distant.

Monkey Flower

Clear Creek Butterfly Count 2018

Today, Sunday, was the annual Clear Creek butterfly count.  Weather was excellent, at least in the morning.  Along Lake Erie, there were severe thunder storms late morning, so we were lucky to avoid that at Moraviantown while our party searched some sites for butterflies.  I left at noon as skies were not looking all that great.

This count can be quite interesting with many good areas to search, especially old railway lines.  Those railway corridors were my favourite spots in the earlier years, but they have deteriorated to some degree since then.
This is one of the latest counts, so you miss many species.  However, it did quite well last year.  It will be interesting to see what the results are.

Our group (led by resident Darren Jacobs) met around 09:00 at the Tim Horton's/grocery store on the Delaware of the Thames First Nation at Moraviantown.  I had never really checked this area before either for birds or butterflies, although we touched a bit on it in the very first year of this count in 2000.

Wild Bergamot seemed to be the flower of choice today for many of the leps.  We found lots of it!

Giant Swallowtails were in numbers rarely seen, as they were all over the place.  Right now, all places are abundant with them.

Monarchs are doing quite well this year, with higher numbers than in recent years.  I did get a photo of its mimic, the Viceroy.

At the north end of the community, there is a trail and some prairie plantings along the Thames River. (just above "Moraviantown" in the above Google Maps photo).  We checked that out just before heading out for lunch as thunder rumbled to the south.

Note dark skies to the south!

I managed to find a few Tawny Emperors.  There is a lot of Hackberry, the larval foodplant, along the banks of the Thames.

At one point I caught sight of a hairstreak which turned out to be a Hickory.  It is getting late for the satyrium hairstreaks, but Hickory is one that can be found at this time.  I was not able to get a photo before it took off.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Common Sootywing

Our group ended up with at least 24 species in the morning.
Heard that the total species count for the entire day was 43.  Fairly good for this time of year!

Before we met in the morning, I stopped by the Tecumseh Monument area east of Thamesville.  It is a nice spot for a walk and to learn about early history of the area.  Interpretive signs tell about the War of 1812 and Chief Tecumseh who was killed nearby.  The area has a rich history, and significant events happened here during the War of 1812.

Another Tour (Cannot Stay Put!)

This time of year I like to get to Blenheim Lagoons at least once a week.  Things have been mediocre there this summer, but there are always shorebirds in the sprinkler cells.

Today there were not too many shorebirds, but 2 Baird's and 2 Stilt Sandpipers were the highlight.  Also present were Semipalmated Plovers (4), Semipalmated Sandpipers (~20), Least Sandpipers (4), White-rumped Sandpiper (1) and scattered throughout the lagoons about a dozen Lesser Yellowlegs.  Where are the phalaropes??

Looks like a Baird's!

This time there were several ducks!  Mostly Mallards, but a few Wood Ducks and a single Hooded Merganser.

While at the sprinklers, a pure flock of 8 baby bonies flew in.

Five of them

The leucistic Tree Swallow was also flying around.  Its ghostly form stood out!

I checked out Erieau as well.  Along the marsh trail a few birds were present including the first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the fall.

Punk Warbler?

An elusive Northern Waterthrush was also there and the usual multiple Yellow Warblers.

I wanted to get into Elgin County, so I checked out a few spots there including Fingal WMA.  It was quiet for wildlife.  It is a neat natural area, but this place has essentially turned into a huge dog park.
I went as far as Port Stanley Lagoons, and as expected, the water levels were high.  Around the edges I did see a couple of Short-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers.
Lots of Bonaparte's Gulls there including several baby bonies.

My last walk was in Middlesex County at one of my favourite stops.  Wardsville Woods (the old golfcourse) is a neat place to walk and look for butterflies.  Usually there are just common things there, but I like wandering around.  As I got out of the car, a Common Sooty-wing was at the parking lot.  Strangely, it was the first one I have seen this year!
A couple of the butterflies:

Obvious today was the number of Giant Swallowtails.  I estimated close to 70 there, the bulk of which were feeding on Canada Thistle.
Many other species were present including Tawny-edged Skipper, Common Painted-Lady, Great-spangled Fritillary, and Common Wood Nymph.  The latter two were showing their wear as expected this time of year.

Tawny-edged Skipper

Just before getting home, I made a quick check at Reid CA.  This dragon was 'cruising' around.

Royal River Cruiser