Mid January Report: Munson, Pesha and The Astronomer

 This past Monday was very windy...again!  I went out to Port Lambton and found another pair of Trumpeter Swans close to shore.

Not to be confused with the smaller Tundra Swan, of which I saw a pair yesterday off Cathcart Park.

I have spent quite a bit of time along the river, but still not much out there.  A couple of days ago, lots of ice was finally in the river, so that should help in concentrating waterfowl.  Especially with the cold weather we have now.

Yesterday, there was a good raft of mainly Redhead near Fawn Island.  The raft was too far out to do much with, but I bet one of those Ring-necked X Redhead was in there!

Many ships are now laid up for the winter, but some are running.  It was nice to see one of the last classic lakers passing Port Lambton on Friday.  It was bound for Toledo.

Wednesday I did a big tour, but of course did not see much of note (my usual luck).  I stopped by Wardsville Woods for a walk.  There were some birds, including a Hermit Thrush.

Scene along the creek

At one point, I notice this prickly thing, a remnant of last year's crop.  It was actually Wild Cucumber....not very edible!

Of course, there is not much going on there in winter, but it is a favourite hotspot with so many rare odonates in late spring and into summer.

The backyard feeders have been busy, and the Fox Sparrow has become quite regular.

Nice that it has stuck around.  Not complaining, but a Harris's Sparrow would be better!

There have been more Mourning Doves this winter (up to at least a dozen) compared to most winters.

I have been hoping one of their cousins with a white wing might stop in!

Today, I went down to Rondeau for a change in scenery.  Rather quiet, especially in the campground. It is always hit and miss in the campground!

Lots of Greater Scaup and Common Goldeneye were flying high past dog beach.  It was mostly ice out there, so not many lingering.

Outside the park, there were many flocks of Snow Buntings in the countryside.  Sparrows were collecting along roadside scrapes.  Included was Savannah Sparrow, which were seen by a few observers this morning.

Last evening, I was going through some old photographs and came across a moth photo I had forgotten about.  Turns out is was an Astronomer Moth (or The Astronomer).  Although not all that uncommon, it is not often reported.  I was looking at iNaturalist entries, and most around the province have remained unconfirmed.  Not sure why that is.  It is highly variable though, as many moths are.

I think it gets its name form the silvery speckles that can be seen on the wings, perhaps mimicking stars.

This one I found at Reid Conservation Lands back in June 2015.

***********************************************************************************

With lack of subject matter lately, I have been delving into local history.  During the winter months, I probably would come up with more ideas on historical things.  There is no end to it around Wallaceburg!  I always though I should start a history blog.  Recently, I have been writing articles for the Wallaceburg Museum's newsletter.

Although I have brought up this subject before, the photography of Louis Pesha is interesting from the early 1900's.  The writing below will appear in a future issue.

One of the most prolific photographers of our area in the early 1900’s was Louis Pesha.  Born in 1868 near Shetland, Ontario Pesha perfected the art of photography and opened several studios in the area.  He photographed buildings and scenes of small towns and of the surrounding countryside.

Eventually he realized that he could make a living on producing post cards of his work.  Pesha produced thousands of images that are now highly sought after by collectors and historians.  Great Lakes ships were a popular subject matter, for example.

Louis Pesha later opened a shop in Marine City, Michigan where he could essentially photograph ships from his doorstep on the St. Clair River.  It was also centrally-located to photograph scenes in various small towns not far away.

Wallaceburg was one of them where he produced many photos of buildings, industries and daily life. 

Included here are a couple from the Alan Mann post card collection.

 

railroad bridge near glass factory

 

a scene probably east of Courtright

 

His post cards always had a number, probably in sequence.  Historians have tried to make sense of this numbering system, but have not come to any conclusions. Pesha’s post cards were never copyrighted.

 Louis Pesha became so successful that he was able to purchase a luxury automobile in the form of a steam car.  Unfortunately, this car was the product of his untimely death.  On October 1, 1912 while visiting the family farm near Shetland an accident occurred where the car rolled over him and crushed his skull.  He had hit the wrong pedal, and the car jerked backwards over an embankment.

 Pesha’s wife continued to operate the business until about 1920, but his post cards still remained popular especially to collectors.

 I have an extensive collection of Pesha post cards depicting scenes in Wallaceburg, surrounding towns and ships along the St. Clair River.  My grandfather Frank recalled seeing Louis Pesha in Wallaceburg on many occasions.

I always liked this one of Clay Creek outlet at what is now Cathcart Park.

 

 

Spring?

Marsh Tower at Rondeau

As I always like to get out on the weekends (since I work all week), today was no exception. However, what is with this ridiculous weather? It must be spring. It seems the weather is decent during the week, but come Friday, the clouds roll in, temperature drops and the winds pick up. Add to that, the rain. What's new?
I went to Rondeau anyway. Of course there was not much to see while one got soaked in gale force winds.
Song Sparrows have certainly come through in numbers. They were eveywhere. Other than Tree Sparrows, I am not sure what else was around for landbirds. Well, lots of blackbirds anyway.
The ducks are building up in numbers on the Bay.
Walking out Marsh Trail would have been bearable (lee side) except there is still lots of snow. Some drifts are very deep.

Marsh Trail

At Erieau, all three merganser species were present. Only a single Bonaparte's Gull was flying with Ring-billed Gulls. A couple of Coots left over from the winter were in the marina. Some did not make it through the winter.
As I arrived back home in early afternoon, I decided to check out the St. Clair River. About 50 Long-tailed Ducks were near Seager Park--a spot I like to sit for a while. They float downriver for a bit, then fly back upriver and repeat the procedure.
At Cathcart Park, some mergansers were in the canal. A pair each of Hooded and Common. Too bad there was not a Red-breasted pair for a complete set! Some were in the river though.

Cathcart Park is a good spot to look at waterfowl during the winter. It is popular park that has been there for a long time. It was actually a Provincial Park originally. The outlet of Clay Creek is here. The landscape has changed over the years. I found a post card in my collection (photo taken by Louis Pesha--a famous photographer whom I may write about at a later date) at Clay Creek. Pesha died October 1, 1912 so this scene is about 100 years ago.

Clay Creek c. 1910

This is the same spot today with shoreline "hardened":