Dickcissel Season and Another New Lambton Bird

 Time marches on!  I have been making my usual rounds of late, taking advantage of the nice weather.

Friday I headed down to Rondeau for one last walk there until perhaps August.  Mosquitoes were bad!  I walked down Harrison from maintenance to Bennett and back Lakeshore Road.  I encountered quite a few birds, including Hooded Warbler, a couple of Acadian Flycatchers and others.

Little Wood Satyr

It was then off to Wardsville to look for odonates.  Unfortunately they were a bit thin there!  I did get one of my targets, that being an Arrowhead Spiketail.

I did see at least one other spiketail which I thought was a Twin-spotted, but it was flying high and had some sort of prey. It seemed to be looking for a spot to stop and consume the meal.

There were a couple of Midland Clubtails, but no Cobras yet.

Butterflies included Peck's Skippers.

Next day was the annual bird survey at Sydenham River Nature Reserve.  Counters were thin.  Seems interest has waned in this event, as it is difficult to get volunteers anymore.

I found the usual residents on my route, and nothing special.  Although a female Common Merganser on the river was a bit unusual.

Before leaving, I took a look for odonates and managed to find what I was looking for.  An Arrowhead Spiketail!

In the past we have had Rusty Snaketail here, but it has been several years since I have seen one.

It was early in the day and quite windy, so odes were sparse.

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Common Whitetail

Midland Clubtail

The ravines here are impressive.

Yesterday, I had the urge to head up to north Lambton.  Last Thursday evening, James Holdsworth found a White-faced Ibis at the Thedford Lagoons.  This species is good anywhere in Ontario, but it was a first record for Lambton.  Probably way overdue.

I did not really have the chance or ambition to try for it until yesterday.  I went quite early, and basically found it right away.  It was too distant under heavy clouded skies to attempt a photo.

That was my second new bird for Lambton County in less than a week!  One can go years without adding anything, but to get two in short order is satisfying.

I continued on and visited various places including a walk at Ausable River Cut CA.  I looked at mussels there and found the usuals, plus the rarer Wabash Pigtoe. 

Next stop was the Lambton Heritage Forest.  Acadian Flycatchers seem to be having a good year there, as I encountered eleven singing birds.

On the other hand, Hooded Warblers are less plentiful this year.  I noticed that at Skunk's Misery as well.  I wonder what is going on with them?

I did get two Cerulean Warblers to add to the list.

Some Hobomok Skippers were flying in the sunny spots.

I also came across another Cherry Scallop Shell Moth.  Very attractive!

(cell phone pic!)

Next stop was nearby Karner Blue Sanctuary. Insects were very scarce there it seemed.  

I did encounter a Blue-winged Warbler singing an almost perfect Northern Parula Song.  The Merlin app was registering it as a parula.  It took a long time to spot the bird, as I wanted to make sure! Yep, it was the Blue-winged!

I also walked the Sandrin Tract Woods trail nearby.  The "bowl" is almost dried up showing the lack of rain we have had in the last year.

A couple of duskywings there were Juvenal's.

Not many odes, even though this has been a hotspot.

Midland Clubtail

Four-spotted Skimmer

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

One last stop was Reid C. L. before getting home.  Things not looking good there either for insects. Some Four-spotted Skimmers were flying.

Today, I knew that Dickcissels were around.  They obviously just arrived.  I went down to SW Chatham-Kent to a couple usual spots and had no problem finding some.

singing up a storm!

I am sure some will be arriving elsewhere including Lambton County soon, if not already.

This Way and That Way: Recent Findings

 On Tuesday, I thought I would venture into Essex County.  I only went as far as Hillman Marsh, walking the main area in the shorebird cell and boardwalk area.  Later I walk a bit of Couture Dyke.

The was still some water in the shorebird cell attracting waterfowl and some late shorebirds.  A pair of Redhead ducks was notable for the date.

Shorebirds were a bit distance, but included some late Semipalmated Sandpipers as well as Semipalmated Plovers.  A White-rumped Sandpiper and a Dunlin rounded out the lingering shorebirds.

distant Dunlin

Behind me, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was knocking at the door, so to speak.

Around by the boardwalk, the long-staying Neotropic Cormorant was standing vigil in its usual area.

While in the area, I decided to walk Couture Dyke.  There was not much to see here!  Insects were more plentiful including thousands of Eastern Forktails and Fragile Forktails.

A Bronze Copper caught my eye at one point.

A few Least Skippers were seen along the way.

Working my way home, I had a hunch that Dickcissels may be around since several had already been reported in Essex County.  I did find one singing male at a usual spot.  A bit shy though.

One more walk before getting home included the trail at Mitchell's Bay.  There is always potential for something of interest around there, so I had to try!  Nothing this time though.

The rather common Tule Bluet was well-represented along the trail.

As were Map Turtles which were plentiful taking advantage of the warm sun.

Wednesday, it was in the other direction!  Weather was nice as I first walked Ipperwash Forested Dunes and Swales.   It is excellent habitat for a variety of things, although birds are usually low in numbers.

I felt ambitious and walked all the trails!  The only notable bird was a Northern Waterthrush, not entirely unexpected though.  A low Pine Warbler was collecting nesting material.

Some orchids included two of the common types of ladies slippers.

Large Yellow Ladies Slipper

Pink Moccasin 

It was a bit early in the day, but I kept an eye out for insects.  Several female Slaty Skimmers were flying.

A did see a couple of bluets.  This one I am not sure, as I could not get very close to it.  Could even be a Boreal Bluet.

There were other common odes, including one Racket-tailed Emerald which did not co-operate.

A pair of Roadside Skippers was on Narrow-leaved New Jersey Tea.

White up that way, I decided to check out Sandrin Tract Woods sand pit.  It is drier than last year, so not much water was there, and hence few odes.

Calico Pennant

Azure Bluet

There were more things in the butterfly department though.  Several duskywings.

Columbine Duskywing

Tawny-edged Skipper

Juvenal's Duskywing

Some other interesting insects included these:

Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee

Narcissis Bulb Fly (alien!)

Today I took a more leisurely pace, sleeping in a bit, then heading up the St. Clair River to Corunna.

Stopped by Seager Park, which is now open this year after a revamp all last summer.  Not as much "land" there as there used to be, and no beachy areas.

As alluded to before, this park was always a favourite picnic spot when I was little.  Virtually the same same spot here, as shown above today.

Me (left) and some of my cousins

Heading home, I went by a pasture area, and low and behold, a Dickcissel was singing.  First one I know of in Lambton this year.

More of those to appear, I am sure!

In the afternoon, I came across a pair of Common Sootywings at Reid Conservation Lands.

Some Juvenal's Duskywings were still flying, some showing the end is near!