2012: A Summer to Remember For Butterflies and Other Insects

 Today, I spent much time indoors after being out all morning. I was down to Erieau and east of Rondeau looking at the lake.  (The park was closed).  It was just too windy and cold today to be out walking for any length of time!  Nothing of note was seen.....again.

I was reminiscing late this afternoon by going through old posts on the blog.  

This past summer had some insect highlights, especially with dragonflies and butterflies.  The Marine Blue at McKeough in August was the best lep highlight, and later, the one I discovered at Clear Creek quarry was even better!

However, the year 2012 was an incredible year for rare butterflies and other insects.  It has been unmatched since!  There was so much everywhere.

I came across one posting which gives a taste of what was around at Point Pelee and environs for a couple of days.  Sachems and Dainty Sulphurs had a banner year!  As well, I saw a couple of Funereal Duskywings that summer.

It is reposted here (August 15-16, 2012):

Pelee Sachem and Gray Hairstreak Invasions!

With time on my hands, I spent Wednesday and half of Thursday at Point Pelee and found a butterfly bonanza.  Pelee lived up to its fame with a fabulous showing on Wednesday, and fewer butterflies on Thursday.
I was out on West Beach by 09:00 Wednesday and the butterflies were immediately evident.  I found several Sachems (certainly the target species of this trip!).  During my stay I noticed several were in pairs, mating was likely an occurrence.

Sack-ems!

Most of the Sachems were at the north end of the beach, south of West Beach parking lot.  I walked all the way to the Tip and back, alternating between beach and trail.  I notice many Gray Hairstreaks south of the solar panel on first pass.

After a break, I did the same route, and by this time it was warmer and sunnier.  I kept tally the whole time, trying not to count twice, but with the sheer numbers, it was a challenge.  Around and south of the solar panel things got interesting.  Gray Hairstreak galore!  It was quite a chore to count them.  I conservatively came up with 32 along in that area!  Most I have ever seen on one walk!  Total for the park that day ended up at 41 which is a new daily high.

Horace's Duskywing

Other highlights included Horace's Duskywing and Common Sootywing.  I think that is the first sootywing I have seen in the park!  Not common there anyway.

Common Sootywing (not a snout!)

By this time it was after lunch and some nourishment was needed.  I checked out that new place just outside the park gate.  An interesting luncheon indeed.
After lunch, I checked out Black Willow (south) and Northwest Beach (south).

Next stop was Wheatley Provincial Park.  I decided to camp there for the night anyway.  It was actually quite pleasant as I chose my usual site at the north end of Highlands.  No people around in the immediate area and the weather was nice.  I like that area because it is quiet and there is an old lagoon site just behind that I always walk.
There I found five more Sachems among other things.

I then went over to Hillman Marsh.  More butterflies and I got Dainty Sulphur (8) for the day. Lots of checkered skippers needless to say.  Also added a Peck's, something that almost never shows up within Pelee Park for some reason.  I had the last one about 3 year's ago or so, and previous to that there was one in 1996 I believe.

Peck's Skipper

The evening was nice at Wheatley with lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches around.  Many moving now.  Screech Owls heard during the night.

Hillman Dainty

Next morning I did the same route at Pelee, but noticed fewer butterflies.  The wind had stiffened and switched to the SW.  At the Tip parking lot I met Alan Wormington.  We started at the Tip where we met up with Jeremy Hatt.  He was leading some friends around, but could not join us.  Too bad he missed yesterday! LOL.
Alan and I walked up West Beach Trail discussing other possibilities of butterflies along the way.  There are many potentials this year such as Whirlabout, Clouded Skipper, Long-tailed Skipper....

Another Sack-em!

This morning I walked De Laurier first thing and noted quite a few migrant warblers.  An early White-throated Sparrow was chipping in the underbrush, but I did not see it.  Things are getting too thick there with grape vine, etc.!

Following is a list for this trip:

August 15:
WEST BEACH TRAIL/BEACH south of West Beach P. L.:
Common Sooty-Wing (1)
Horaces's Duskywing (1 immaculate female)
Common Checkered-Skipper (25)
Fiery Skipper (13)
Sachem (16)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (37) --32 of those were in the area south of the
Solar Panel!! (conservative number!)

White-lined Sphinx Moth near Black Willow

BLACK WILLOW south beach:
Common Checkered-Skipper (5)
Common Gray Hairstreak (2)
+White-lined Sphinx Moth

NORTHWEST BEACH south of P. L.:
Common Checkered-Skipper (4)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (2)

HILLMAN SHOREBIRD CELL:
Common Checkered-Skipper (55)
Fiery Skipper (4)
Peck's Skipper (1)
Sachem (2)
Dainty Sulphur (8)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (2)

WHEATLEY P. P. -old lagoon site at north side
Common Checkered-Skipper (1)
Fiery Skipper (2)
Sachem (5)

August 16:
WEST BEACH TRAIL/BEACH south of West Beach P. L. (including south of solar
panel):
Common Checkered-Skipper (13)
Fiery Skipper (7)
Sachem (8)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (19)

NORTHWEST BEACH south:
Common Checkered-Skipper (2)
Fiery Skipper (2)
Sachem (1)

V.C. PARKING LOT:
Fiery Skipper (3)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (1)

Pelee Things

A strong SW wind pulled me down to Point Pelee today.  Had a fine day of birding with Richard Carr and Steve Pike.  Lots to see, especially sparrows.
A fair bit of action at the Tip, but one would have thought something of interest (a jaeger or good gull) would appear.  Lots of bonies moving for a change.  Shorebirds included a Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and a pair of distant flyby birds that were out of range for ID.



Some Tree Swallows swirling around plus one Bank.  There was discussion of Cave Swallows with this big SW wind today.  I see one was reported in NY State today!

This creature was hunting Blue Jays!

After 2+ hours, we headed inland and looked at sparrows, kinglets and warblers.  Only Yellow-rumped and Palm for today.  Sparrows were the bird of the day with all the usual types present.  Chippies led the way again today with hundreds of them.  Large flocks were numerous. Some took baths!

Steve and I walked up west beach trail in search of butterflies, not to mention birds.  Several common species present, but I eventually spotted a male Sachem.  It was very active and did not settle and I eventually lost it to sight.  We continued on, but shortly Steve spotted another.  This time a female.  Good photos were achieved on this one.  I thnk the record late date for this species is October 17.  Perhaps it will be broken this year!

 Sachem

I went up to De Laurier and walked Anders.  As I came back to the end, I spotted a slow-moving Fiery Skipper.  It did not move much, and in fact I could have touched it.

Not-so-fiery Skipper

Steve and I then went up to NW Beach and found many more sparrows.  Too many to look at!  Here was also an Eastern Meadowlark and the second Yellow-billed Cuckoo of the day.

Curious Cuckoo

On the way home I stopped by to see if the Red Phalarope was around.  It was!  A young couple, whom I had met back in May was watching it as well.
On to another week, but these tremendous SW winds should bring in something of note......

More Butterflies -'tis the Season!

It rained this morning, but the sun was out this afternoon.  After work I checked out the gardens at Brander Park for butterflies.  Fiery Skippers are building up in numbers, but still no Sachem!  It is incredible really, as Fiery Skippers were all over and chasing each other.  Had to be around 30 of them.  Several Peck's as well.
Some photos:

The odd butterfly I photographed at Blenheim yesterday is indeed a Sachem.  (Thanks to those who gave an opinion!).  The more I looked at it last night, it was obviously a Sachem.  I would assume it is a first record for the Rondeau area. It was not like the typical males I have seen recently, so that is what threw me off.

It will be interesting to see what transpires this late summer and fall for butterflies in southern Ontario. It has been an incredible year unlike any other.

Red-necked Phalarope reports are still appearing.  The eight I had at Blenheim on Saturday is probably a record high count for there at one time.

Pelee White-M and Blenheim Sachem

I tried my luck at Point Pelee today.  I got down there fairly early to look for birds, as there was a stiff south wind blowing.  I thought perhaps something would appear at the Tip.  Lots of stuff moving, but nothing noteworthy.  I was joined by Kory Renaud for a while and we saw tons of swallows heading south.
Two shorebirds showed, but we only saw the tail end of them and they were moving swiftly.

the only goose at the Tip!

Butterflies were a bit scarce today as I moved up the west side.  I cut over to Sparrow Field to try for White-M.  I met up with Mike King, Bob Curry and Glenda Slessor who had just found a very worn White-M, almost not worth counting!  Eventually a "good" White-M was found and we took many photos.

Sparrow field White-M hairstreak

I headed over to West Beach and looked for butterflies.  They were rather scarce compared to last week.  I met Bob Yukich who had been around a couple of days.
Not even a checkered-skipper along the west side!  A few Fiery Skippers though.  No Sachems either.
I next checked south of Northwest Beach.  A couple of checkered skippers there, but not much else. Not a Gray Hairstreak nor a Sachem. A severe drought compared to last week!

Another Fiery

Next stop was behind the Day's Inn.  There was a report of 5 Red-necked Phalaropes there, and sure enough I saw them just off the dock.

Final stop in the area was Shoeless Joe's field.  There were countless checkered skippers, a few Fiery and a few Sachem and a couple of Variegated Fritllaries.

Time still left in the day so I made a beeline for Blenheim.  It has been good lately.  Today there were 7 Red-necked and 2 Wilson's Phalaropes to be found among other shorebirds.  All the phalaropes in pond 5 were spinning. Neat to see.  It has certainly been a banner year for Red-necked Phalaropes with all the reports.

Many Bobolinks were there in the weeds.

Tons of Fiery Skippers and an oddball caught my eye. It may be a Sachem, but not the classic ones I have been seeing.  I thought perhaps a variation on a Peck's, but the more I look at it, Sachem is likely.  Any opinion is welcome.  Likely a first Sachem  record for Blenheim!

I met up with John Lamey while at the lagoons and we had a nice discussion on recent happenings with birds and butterflies.  John recently checked several locations along the Burlington-Oakville area and found Sachems everywhere.  There must be a heck of a lot of them that came into Ontario!

Pelee Funereal and More!

Another Sachem!

Well, another good butterfly happened my way again today.  I was not sure if I would go to Pelee today, looking at weather forecasts.  Yesterday they were all over the map with wind direction, and wind is critical for certain activities at Pelee.  Go anyway...weather forecasts are wrong most of the time anymore!
I started at Blenheim Lagoons and Erieau first thing this morning.  A good number of shorebirds at the lagoons, but nothing new.  There was a Red-necked Phalarope ( a normal one!) in pond 5.  That is the fourth one there this month that I know of.
On to Erieau where there was not much to see.  Sky was clearing, so why not try Point Pelee.
I headed straight for west beach parking lot and headed down the edge of the beach.  This has been the best spot recently. Lots of knapweed, etc.
I found a total of 11 Sachems this time.  At one point I found a mating pair!

More Sachems in a month?

A few Fiery Skippers and Common Checkered-skippers were found.  Gray Hairstreaks as well.
At one point I caught sight of a fairly large duskywing.  This one flew around alot and never settled.  I eventually lost sight of it thinking possibly funeralis. It did not strike me as Horace's, and I have never seen one this far down the beach.

Just south of the serengeti tree, there was Steve Pike and Chris Law and another couple.  They had seen a total of 26 Gray Hairstreaks near the solar panel.  When I got there, I only found 5!  Too much traffic ahead of me.  All in the timing as usual.

Common Checkered-Skipper

I headed back the same route not really adding anything new.

Next stop was the old parking lot south of NW Beach parking.  More of the same there.  Just as I was about to step onto the road, a duskywing caught my eye.  Funereal! This one was quite active and I got good looks at it, but not a good photo.  It took off south and I never saw it again even though I looked.

It was almost 2 p.m. so I headed out.  I briefly stopped at the end of conc. E road and looked on the dike.  A good spot for White-M, but no luck.

Gray Hairstreak with Fiery Skipper in background

I stopped at Liddle's fish place for a lunch, then went over the ramp area.  While eating there, I noticed quite a few butterflies in the grass and weeds.  Turned out to be several Wild Indigo Duskywings, a Common Sootywing, Fiery Skippers and a Gray Hairstreak.

A decent day!
I am back to work tomorrow, so there will be a lull in the storm.....

wasp with Orange Sulphur (?) caterpillar 

Pelee Sachem and Gray Hairstreak Invasions!

With time on my hands, I spent Wednesday and half of Thursday at Point Pelee and found a butterfly bonanza.  Pelee lived up to its fame with a fabulous showing on Wednesday, and fewer butterflies on Thursday.
I was out on West Beach by 09:00 Wednesday and the butterflies were immediately evident.  I found several Sachems (certainly the target species of this trip!).  During my stay I noticed several were in pairs, mating was likely an occurrence.

Sack-ems!

Most of the Sachems were at the north end of the beach, south of West Beach parking lot.  I walked all the way to the Tip and back, alternating between beach and trail.  I notice many Gray Hairstreaks south of the solar panel on first pass.

After a break, I did the same route, and by this time it was warmer and sunnier.  I kept tally the whole time, trying not to count twice, but with the sheer numbers, it was a challenge.  Around and south of the solar panel things got interesting.  Gray Hairstreak galore!  It was quite a chore to count them.  I conservatively came up with 32 along in that area!  Most I have ever seen on one walk!  Total for the park that day ended up at 41 which is a new daily high.

Horace's Duskywing

Other highlights included Horace's Duskywing and Common Sootywing.  I think that is the first sootywing I have seen in the park!  Not common there anyway.

Common Sootywing (not a snout!)

By this time it was after lunch and some nourishment was needed.  I checked out that new place just outside the park gate.  An interesting luncheon indeed.
After lunch, I checked out Black Willow (south) and Northwest Beach (south).

Next stop was Wheatley Provincial Park.  I decided to camp there for the night anyway.  It was actually quite pleasant as I chose my usual site at the north end of Highlands.  No people around in the immediate area and the weather was nice.  I like that area because it is quiet and there is an old lagoon site just behind that I always walk.
There I found five more Sachems among other things.

I then went over to Hillman Marsh.  More butterflies and I got Dainty Sulphur (8) for the day. Lots of checkered skippers needless to say.  Also added a Peck's, something that almost never shows up within Pelee Park for some reason.  I had the last one about 3 year's ago or so, and previous to that there was one in 1996 I believe.

Peck's Skipper

The evening was nice at Wheatley with lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches around.  Many moving now.  Screech Owls heard during the night.

Hillman Dainty

Next morning I did the same route at Pelee, but noticed fewer butterflies.  The wind had stiffened and switched to the SW.  At the Tip parking lot I met Alan Wormington.  We started at the Tip where we met up with Jeremy Hatt.  He was leading some friends around, but could not join us.  Too bad he missed yesterday! LOL.
Alan and I walked up West Beach Trail discussing other possibilities of butterflies along the way.  There are many potentials this year such as Whirlabout, Clouded Skipper, Long-tailed Skipper....

Another Sack-em!

This morning I walked De Laurier first thing and noted quite a few migrant warblers.  An early White-throated Sparrow was chipping in the underbrush, but I did not see it.  Things are getting too thick there with grape vine, etc.!

Following is a list for this trip:

August 15:
WEST BEACH TRAIL/BEACH south of West Beach P. L.:
Common Sooty-Wing (1)
Horaces's Duskywing (1 immaculate female)
Common Checkered-Skipper (25)
Fiery Skipper (13)
Sachem (16)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (37) --32 of those were in the area south of the
Solar Panel!! (conservative number!)

White-lined Sphinx Moth near Black Willow

BLACK WILLOW south beach:
Common Checkered-Skipper (5)
Common Gray Hairstreak (2)
+White-lined Sphinx Moth

NORTHWEST BEACH south of P. L.:
Common Checkered-Skipper (4)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (2)

HILLMAN SHOREBIRD CELL:
Common Checkered-Skipper (55)
Fiery Skipper (4)
Peck's Skipper (1)
Sachem (2)
Dainty Sulphur (8)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (2)

WHEATLEY P. P. -old lagoon site at north side
Common Checkered-Skipper (1)
Fiery Skipper (2)
Sachem (5)

August 16:
WEST BEACH TRAIL/BEACH south of West Beach P. L. (including south of solar
panel):
Common Checkered-Skipper (13)
Fiery Skipper (7)
Sachem (8)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (19)

NORTHWEST BEACH south:
Common Checkered-Skipper (2)
Fiery Skipper (2)
Sachem (1)

V.C. PARKING LOT:
Fiery Skipper (3)
Common Gray-Hairstreak (1)