Autumn has certainly been in the air the last few days as I made my rounds this past week. Many clear nights! We had our first frost this past week.
The moon was still full at the beginning of the week.
A few clouds went by at one point.
Most of the warblers have gone through and Yellow-rumped are the dominant species now.
I have gone to Mitchell's Bay about every three days, and it has not been disappointing. This Black-and-white Warbler posed briefly at one point.
One must sort through the blackbird flocks for anything of note. I took a random binocular scan at one tree and spotted a Yellow-headed Blackbird! Of all the blackbirds, I just got lucky in spotting this one.
Thursday morning I decided to check out Dow Wetlands south of Sarnia. It is always good for sparrows this time of year, but I did not come up with anything of note. It was interesting though.
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| Lincoln's Sparrow |
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| Dark-eyed Junco |
Friday seemed like a good day to go to Point Pelee. I have avoided the place since last spring! Unusual for me, but that is how things have gone this year.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the most numerous species of passerines, especially on De Laurier trail.
One can see how dry it is. Lots of mud everywhere!
There were very few butterflies, but I did not stay past noon when things warmed up.
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| Eastern Comma |
Not many nectaring sources left, so fewer insects too.
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| Transverse-banded Flower Fly |
I stopped by Hillman Marsh before heading home. Hillman Creek is quite dry with lots of mud attracting shorebirds. There were a few to look at.
A Bronze Copper caught my eye at one point along the trail.
Saturday I once again did the (south) trail at Mitchell's Bay.
There were a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, but I did catch sight of an Orange-crowned.
The morning was too nice, so I continued on and walked Peers Wetland. The moon was still quite visible well into the morning. Not full anymore!
There were a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, but no other warbler types. A couple of Blue-headed Vireos were working the trees at one point.
Continuing on, I went for a fairly lengthy walk at Reid Conservation Lands. As usual, not many birds, but quite a few kinglets were throughout.
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| View at back field looking north |
I walked along the river for a while then cut through the woods. I noticed a lot of crayfish activity, but I never see the creatures!
This turkey feather stood out at one point.
And this patch of Pear-shaped Puffball fungus as well.
With the moderate east wind today, I thought it would be a good day to walk out Rondeau's marsh trail. It was a bit cloudy to start, but then cleared up for a fine day.
I ended up walking all the way to Long Pond! It was certainly tiring, but I guess I am not as young as I used to be....
It was a bit on the quiet side, but there were lots of sparrows, especially past the half way point. Swamp Sparrows dominated the scene.
As expected, not many warblers, and most were Yellow-rumped. I did see one Orange-crowned, a couple of Palms, and the best was a Northern Waterthrush at the half-way boardwalk.
I was not quick enough to photograph any birds (or did not try!), but later on a few insects were seen along the way.
This late Tule Bluet was one of them.
There were very few flowering plants, but each one had something on it. Some flowers even had four or five species of insects on them.
Not in focus, but this photo shows Oblique Streaktail, Perennial Mason Wasp and Eurasian Drone Fly. The drone flies were quite numerous.
Here are closeups of the tiny insects. Difficult to focus on!
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| Eastern Calligrapher |
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| Oblique Streaktail |
Probably best was two or three Perennial Mason Wasps. Considered endangered.
Butterflies included Viceroy, Monarch, Eastern Comma and Orange Sulphur.
That is it for this week!
