Muskoka Musings

This past weekend I got away from my home area, but obviously not from the weather!  Just like clockwork, the weather went for a crap yet again for the weekend.  This must be some sort of record since we have had a weather event every single weekend this year, and the year is half over!!  Will it ever end?

I planned a trip to Muskoka over a month ago to visit Browning Island on Lake Muskoka.  In retrospect, it should have been for a weekday. I had plans to check out some of the interior of the island during the breeding season, but due to the weather and other factors, I spent little time exploring the interior.
I usually manage to get there every two years to visit our friend Shirley McIntyre who owns a cottage at the north end of the island.
Two years ago I spent a few hours on the interior, as described in this blogpost:
https://burgbirder.blogspot.com/2016/08/muskoka-trip-browning-island.html

I headed up early Saturday morning and arrived at Bracebridge about 10:20.  First stop to wind down, was the lagoons adjacent to Kerr Park.  It is a decent birding spot and popular to the locals and conveniently located on the same road to the marina where I was headed.
I happened to meet up with David Goodyear at the lagoons, a local birder.  I had never met David before, but he knew who I was before I even said anything!  Turns out he is a faithful reader of this blog.
Just before the meeting, I walked by the woods and listed some birds.  Some butterflies were out under gloomy skies, including Common Roadside Skipper and White Admiral.  The local butterfly count was cancelled on this day due to the weather. (Never plan an outdoor event on a weekend!).

I spent an hour there, and then headed down to Allport Marina where Shirley picked me up for the ride over to the cottage.
At least the drizzle held off while I was at Bracebridge and for the boat ride.  However, drizzle came down the rest of the day which was decidedly depressing.
I spent some time exploring the property though.  It has a point of land and a cozy  cove.

Next morning, the sun was actually out!  It stayed out most of the day, but there were clouds off and on and even a brief rain shower.

View towards Monte Cristo Island

In the morning, I explored Eilean Gowan Island nearby.  The interior is a nature reserve and a 5 km trail goes around the island. It is obviously heavily-browsed by deer.

I encountered some basic birds, including a pair of Common Ravens.
At one point, a Red Fox made an appearance.

After my walk, we visited with some friends of Shirley's at an adjacent cottage, then headed back for lunch.

After lunch, we managed to find the public access to the nature reserve on the west side of the island.  There is a marked trail, but one has to land in a very small boat, and bushwack to find it.

Not knowing where I would end up, I eventually came to a clearing (or meadow) which looked familiar from my visit two years ago.

There were lots of butterflies present, including numerous Long Dash and some Eyed-Brown.

There were also many European Skippers which goes to show how widespread they are.

A few dragonflies were around, including Black-shouldered Spinyleg.  This one must be fresh, as it is very yellow.

The adjacent cottage to the public access is owned by friends of Shirley's, so luckily we were able to use their dock.

Lake Muskoka on west side of Browning Island

Back at the McIntyre property, I once again walked around.  Pileated Woodpecker makes an occasional visit, but I only heard it.  I found evidence to recent activity.

Pine, Blackburnian, and Yellow-rumped Warblers are resident.  A family of Eastern Phoebes just fledged from the nest on the cottage last Thursday.

Just like clockwork, Monday morning dawned with out a cloud in the sky.  At least it made for a nice drive home.
I did stop by West Perth Wetlands as I always do, but nothing noteworthy was present.  Water levels are rather high, as we near fall migration of shorebirds.

Near home, I decided to stop at Reid CA to look for hairstreaks.  In the first 15 minutes I found five Oak Hairstreaks, which seem to be most common there.

It is prime time for this rare resident of Ontario, which can only be seen for a period of two weeks each year.

If this coming weekend is nice without rain, I will be completely lost......

Koilos (900 kg statue) on Lake Muskoka

Mid-Month Meanderings

Walpole Island Friday Morning

We had some wonderful weather all week (as usual).  I took Friday afternoon off to take advantage of it as I knew the weekend was on the doorstep.
I stopped by some usual haunts in southern Lambton County.  Various butterflies and insects are now out.
At Reid CA, Long Dash were on the wing.

At Moore WMA, several fresh Silvery Checkerspots were flying.

Juvenal's Duskywings are at the end of their cycle.

Hobomok Skippers will soon be at their end.

Saturday morning I woke up to an all too familiar scene.  The clouds had rolled in and rain threatened just like clockwork for the weekend.  I headed down to Rondeau anyway and got a walk in before the downpour came.  This forum is not appropriate to describe how I felt Saturday morning!  What is new?

The White-winged Dove was, you guessed it, on its usual perch.

There was always the chance for a late migrant.  I once found a Blackpoll Warbler at Rondeau on June 22!

The Prothonotary Warblers were showing well on Tulip tree trail.

I was in the mood (not a good one with the rain!) to do some driving on Saturday.  I next headed over to Clear Creek nature reserve for a short walk.
While walking around the pond on the north side, I stumbled upon this Song Sparrow nest.

Next stop was Wardsville Woods.  A Gray Comma started things off there.

There were not many butterflies this day, but I did come across some very fresh Silvery Checkerspots amid lots of mosquitoes.

The resident Blue-winged Warbler was singing away.

I did a short tour of the Mosa Forest (Skunk's Misery).  It was early afternoon, so it was rather quiet as expected.  The sun had come out by this time to my amazement.
I did come across some of the usuals.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Hackberry Emperors were plentiful, along with commas and Question Marks.

Sunday was very nice if one did not mind the heat in the afternoon.
I decided to head down to Point Pelee.  This time of year has proven to be good for gulls at the Tip in the past.  Today turned out to be no exception!

I went directly to the Tip. I had a hunch that pelicans would be around, and they were indeed. Five of them.

There were lots of gulls around, especially on the Tip sand (yes there is a nice sand spit!).

I scanned in vain for something unusual.  Only a young Lesser Black-backed stood out. There was quite a bit of activity, and gulls were constantly coming in from the west side.

At one point, something caught my attention with a gull that had some blackish underwings. It was indeed a Black-headed!  An adult in non-breeding plumage.

I virtually had the Tip to myself the whole two hours-plus I was there and nobody to share the sighting with.  I really wanted to find something good this weekend, so this gull was the victim!

Interestingly, Alan Wormington found a Black-headed Gull  at the Tip in 2013 about this same time of year.  It was in the same plumage.  It stayed for a few days, and I got to see it as well.
June 13, 2015 was the day I found a Laughing Gull at the Tip.  Goes to show this time of year can be fruitful.

Find the Black-headed!

The American White Pelicans took off not long after I arrived at the Tip, but returned after an hour.

Soon they headed towards Pelee Island.

The Black-headed Gull was still resting at the Tip when I left, but by then "tourists" were arriving. The gulls were flushed of course, as the tourists were oblivious to what was in front of them.

I checked for Dickcissels on the way home.  None were at Hilllman, but a few were at the usual site beside Camper's Cove Road east of Wheatley.
As well, a singing male was at the end of Zion Road.

I guess today made up for the dismal weather on Saturday.

Rondeau to Clear Creek and Some Insects

Today was a more leisurely day.  I went down to Rondeau to see what was going on.  Midges were in the millions and mosquitoes were thick as well!  It is that time of year.
On the drive through the park, a couple of Acadian Flycatchers were singing along Bennett Avenue as usual.
The Yellow-breasted Chat was singing along Lakeshore Road in the neighbourhood of the White-winged Dove (which still has not given up!).
The walk along south point trail revealed lots of Little Wood Satyrs and crescents, among a few other common butterflies.
I walked Tulip tree trail to see the Prothonotary Warblers.  Two were in the first slough, and another male was at the usual location at the back.

Just after that, I got word from Jim Burk that he had found some Dickcissels near New Scotland.  I was going to head in that direction anyway, so that was the next stop.
There were at least three males singing in that field.  One was quite close, but I could not even see it, while another was at the back.

This IS a Dickcissel!

Today I wanted to walk through Clear Creek Forest.  Here are some scenes.

I always check out the pond on the north side of the road for insects.

It is a good spot for Calico Pennants, and a couple were indeed working the edge.

Butterflies were still scarce.  I did see one Tawny-edged Skipper, but never got on it with the camera.

I did find this attractive moth.

Chestnut-marked Pondweed Moth

On the way home, I stopped by the Thamesville bridge.  Here we find American Rubyspot and Smoky Rubyspot later in the summer.  Today, there were some dragonflies including Midland Clubtail (?).

I tried to photograph one dragonfly on the wing, which is quite difficult!  I think this one is a Midland Clubtail.

This afternoon I checked out Reid CA in anticipation of hairstreaks showing up in a week.  Some Long Dash were working the clover.

A single Juvenal's Duskywing was still hanging on.

It was hot today, so maybe it will bring out some more insects!