Strathroy Stuff and Sydenham River Nature Reserve Stuff

 Wednesday was brutally cold and windy, so my activities were limited.  It was a little drizzly in the morning, so I just checked out some spots along the St. Clair River.  I later went for a short, but uncomfortable walk at Reid CA just looking at plants.

Kidneyleaf Buttercup

Largeflower Bellwort

Dwarf Ginseng

Early Blue Cohosh

Red Trillium

Large White Trillium (with a pink hue!)

Today was calm and sunny, but cool!  Looks like the weather has settled down and it will get quite warm this weekend.  Watch for lots of new birds!

I went to Strathroy this morning, first stopping at the lagoons.  A Black-necked Stilt has arrived for the third year in a row!  Its mate should be arriving soon.

There was lots to look at and I spent over an hour and a half there.  Another notable bird was an early Eastern Kingbird.  Probably the earliest I have seen one.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get a photograph.

Other migrant shorebirds included six Greater Yellowlegs, two Lesser Yellowlegs, and a dozen Pectoral Sandpipers.  But, they were distant and a scope was necessary.

I also checked out Strathroy Conservation Area.  This was only the second time I have ever been there.  Not much in the way of birds, but this Eastern Screech-Owl was keeping an eye on things.

The place has an abundant supply of Eastern Skunk Cabbage.

And Marsh Marigold in the wet areas.

Next stop was Clark Wright CA on Walker's Line.  A Pine Warbler has already arrived on territory there.

I then drove some roads, but it seemed too early for Upland Sandpiper yet, or at least I could not find any!  They should be around starting now.

The next stop was Sydenham River Nature Reserve, where a planned outing of Lambton Wildlife was to take place.  I arrived over an hour early, so looked around on my own at the end of Buttonwood Road in Middlesex.

This a premier place to see Virginia Bluebells, an endangered plant.

Most were not in full bloom yet, but it is impressive the amount that is there, especially on the other side of the creek.

Generally, the SRNR is not open to the public, as it is a reserve owned by Ontario Nature (ON).  That is a good thing, as there are many rare and precious things there.  But, we often have special planned outings there, as I have covered in the past.

In the retired field acquired in recent years by ON, Mark Buchanan spotted a small butterfly.  It turned out to be Meadow Fritillary!  It is a bit early, but they can be seen this time of year.  It was another species not on the list.  I had difficult time trying to get a photo.

We also spotted  a Juvenal's Duskywing.

I noticed various insects, and randomly photographed this one.  It is an Eastern Catkin Fly, which is vulnerable in Ontario.  Another one not on the SRNR list, although I am sure they have been there.

Another insect was a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, a common beetle.

There is a beaver dam along the little creek, that has the water backed up.

One could cross the creek here, as there is little water downstream of the dam.  There is some shale exposed here, and within that I found a brachiopod of some sort.

Here are some other views of the area.

Some birds included Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (they nest here), Wilson's Snipe, and a Greater Yellowlegs.  The yellowlegs was a new one for the bird list here.

It was a productive day with some decent finds!

Weekend Birds and Butterflies--Sabine's Gull!

On Sunday I decided to give Rondeau a try despite the weather forecast.  It was quite gloomy in the morning with the forecast saying 80% rain.  As usual, it did not rain!  The sun came out in the afternoon though.
Rondeau was almost birdless, and I kept saying to myself that I have seen more birds in the dead of winter. I guess things are late this year.  Not much moving on the lake either.
However, I at the very end of my walk, I did see a decent flock of warblers, etc. with about a dozen species.

maggie

Highlight was a Golden-winged Warbler.  I never did get on it with the camera.

After a couple of fruitless hours in the park, I headed over to Blenheim.  Almost another waste of time!  The ponds are way too high, and sprinklers are powder dry. One decent bird though, was a Common Nighhawk flying around. It was the first one I have seen this summer.
The white Tree Swallow is still present!

The day was far from over, so I wanted to check out Wardsville Woods where Meadow Fritillaries were seen about a week ago.  I have not seen that species in a few years.
There were actually very few butterflies, but I did come across one fresh Meadow Fritillary.

Asters are blooming, giving us some colour.

I was just about to get in my car, when a Milbert's Tortoiseshell alighted on some goldenrod.

Since Skunk's Misery was just around the corner, I drove through.  At one point I heard the distinctive chip of a Hooded Warbler.  Hooded Warblers are fairly common in Skunk's, so this was obviously a leftover just off Sassafras Road.
I went for a short walk on one trail.  This Gray Comma was ahead of me.

The destination on Monday was up for grabs.  It appeared a good SSW wind was brewing.  The forecast showed a light wind, but it was actually very brisk.  So, Point Pelee was the place to go.
Glad I did as there was quite a bit of activity at the Tip (more than Saturday).  Not ten minutes after my arrival, I spotted a Sabine's Gulls to the west!

Kory Renaud was already at the Tip, and I got him on the bird.  Turns out it was a lifer for him!  It was actually the first one I have seen at Point Pelee (finally!).

Oddly, I did not realize this was an adult at the time until I saw the photos on the computer later.  After some email exchanges with Alan Wormington, this is record is the FIRST ADULT seen at Point Pelee!

Shorebirds included several Sanderling (mostly flybys), a Semipalmated Sandpiper and a Ruddy Turnstone on the Tip sand.
Lots of Barn Swallows were moving today.
I stayed until about 11:30, then went looking for butterflies and such.

Apparently this is a Lance-tipped Darner.  (I am going to stick to butterflies!).

There were not many butterflies today.  I saw the three Buckeyes at NW Beach again. Lots of Common Painted Ladies are around right now.

I walked the goldenrod...errr..cactus trail again. Quite a few butterflies and birds were there.  The place is overcome with goldenrod and the trail is not well-defined.

Some photos there:

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Gray Hairstreak!!

Meadow Fritillary

In my last post, I mentioned not seeing a Gray Hairstreak in years. Well, I finally saw one this morning! What are the odds?? I was in West Elgin County to check for birds and butterflies as I usually do in early August. I always stop at the Southwold Earth Works south of Iona. This spot is owned by Parks Canada where a prehistoric settlement was located. There are low mounds that humans made eons ago. There are sometimes birds and butterflies to see, but I usually do not expect much. There was a lot of clover in bloom there, and the butterflies were attracted to it.

I first noted some type of small fritillary. I wasn't sure until I looked in the book since I normally only see Great-spangled. They were Meadow Fritillaries! I have seen them before on the Skunk's Misery count. There were several types of butterflies including countless Northern Broken-Dash, Monarch, Painted Lady, etc. I was stooping down to photograph one of the Meadow Fritillaries, when another butterfly caught my attention. Holy cow, a Gray Hairstreak! I never got a good photo of it, and it disappeared before long. After extensive searching, I never did find it again. Although a fairly common and widespread butterfly, it seems to elude me.

Earlier, I stopped at Fingal WMA. This was an old aircraft and gunnery school in the 1940's, and was really a small city in its time. There are no buildings left now, but many trails criss-cross the property. It is good for birds and butterflies. I remember going to see a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher there a few falls ago. There is also a prairie area, but this year it is unappealing for some reason. I saw upwards of 20 species of butterflies there. I also came across a Blue-winged Warbler.

Another stop was at Clear Creek Forest just inside Chatham-Kent. I saw many Wood Nymphs there in the open area.

My last stop was at Blenheim Lagoons to look at shorebirds. Lots to see, including a Willet. I don't think I have seen one there in the summer. The Dunlin was still sticking it out with one leg. A crappy photo attempt through my scope: Shorebirds are one of my favourite bird types to study. Once in a while we get lucky with a rarity to make things exciting, but not today.

SOLITARY SANDPIPER