More Bugs and Some Elgin County Rarities

 This past Tuesday was a nice calm morning, so I went out to Mitchell's Bay to walk the south shore trail.  Still nothing special, but one noteworthy bird was a Horned Grebe on the Bay.  It was bit too far for a good photo though.  Occasionally we will see one in the area in summer.

This is a Horned Grebe!

The usual bluets were along the trail.  Not sure why they call this one an Orange Bluet, but here it is.

After that, I headed out to Port Lambton to visit with some people looking at boats.  Nearby, I stopped at Brander Park to look at the pond.  There was not much flying, but some (Westfall's) Slender Bluets were still present, making more Slender Bluets!

Swamp Spreadwings were doing the same thing.

Two more Swamp Spreadwings....

Next day, I wanted to check out Skunk's Misery, but that did not work out too well.  Mosquitoes were unbearable!  So, I went up to the Sydenham River, first checking the boat launch at the end of Aughrim Line.  I guess it was a bit too early in the day for much.  Several Stream Bluets were seen in which seems to be a recurring position.

Downriver, I stopped at the Shetland boat launch site hoping to find Dusky Dancers.  Not to be!  All the other usual creatures were there though.

Powdered Dancer

Blue-tipped Dancer

Blue-ringed Dancer

Shetland is also one of the more reliable spots to see Flag-tailed Spinyleg.

Also saw a couple of Royal River Cruisers, but they were cruising!

Blackstripe Topminnows were plentiful as well.

Next day, I did not feel like doing much and stuck close to home.  The garden was busy with all kinds of insects.

Greater Golden Digger Wasp

Lunate Longhorn-cuckoo Bee

another Margined Callipgrapher

Recently I noticed some alien flowers in the garden.  Had no idea as to species, but turns out they were Safflower.  Obviously a result of overspill at the feeders during winter!

I also have several sunflowers that came up this year.

A few days ago, Black-billed Magpies were found just west of St. Thomas-- a family unit, as young birds were seen!  Today, Friday, was the day I headed into Elgin County to see them.  I was not in a position to take an photographs, but I did see at least two of these unique birds were seen at a farm.

I have seen them up at Rainy River on two visits in the distant past where they are fairly common.  So, this was nice to see this species again.  (Although I did find one at Rondeau Park once, but it was banded).  

There were several seen in southern Ontario this past spring, so it is not surprising that a pair hooked up!  Certainly a significant event for southwestern Ontario.

Heading back west and not too far, I stopped at John E. Pearce P.P.  A couple of days ago, Sedge Wrens were found in the Storey Wetland.  An uncommon bird for this area!  They must have arrived recently, as they were not detected earlier in the summer.

Today, I distinctly heard three birds singing, when apparently only two were detected yesterday.  I spent some time there, and even observed one carrying nesting material!

This one was carrying nesting material

I also like this place for insects.  Good for dragonflies. In the past I have had Comet Darner here, but I could not come up with one today.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (most of it)

Red-spotted Purple

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

On the way home, I decided to give Wardsville Woods a try.  Pretty sparse for leps and odes!  The prize of the day was Fawn Darner.  In fact, I saw two of them.

I have had them here in past years, so obviously a good spot to find them.

Great Spangled Fritillary at Wardsville

And, that was it for today!

Wetland Walks and More Comets

 The last few days it seems that I have been keeping an eye open for insects.  There is a lot out there if one wants to get serious!

On Monday, I went down to Hillman Marsh for a long walk. A Limpkin could be lurking (or limping?) around for all anyone knows!  I found nothing special, but at least the sun was out during this time.

Heron types are always around.

Great Egret

Black-crowned Night-heron

Some insects:

Red Admiral

Least Skipper

Eastern Amberwing (male)

Eastern Amberwing (female)

Blue Dasher

Skimming Bluet

On the way home, I stopped by the bluff at the end of Zion Road, but did not have the luck I did last time.  One gets a spectacular view of the shoreline.

A road was here once!

The next day, I went to Mitchell's Bay first thing.  It is interesting to watch the lake, as Great Egrets keep going back and forth.  Difficult to say how many are out there.  One of these days, perhaps a Snowy Egret will show up.....(I did seen one many years ago!).

Lots of bluets along the trail of which most were Tule.

Orange Bluet

After this walk, I was at a loss where to go, but decided to give Wardsville Woods one more try.  Once again, very few odonates, let alone butterflies.  

Swamp Milkweed beetles

I caught sight of one clubtail (the ONLY one of this visit).  I have learned to take a quick record shot of things right away, and it was a good thing I did on this one.  Honestly, I did not know what species it was at the time, but I did realize it seemed different.  It took off in short order never to be seen again.

At home on the computer screen, I was shocked to see that it was a Riverine Clubtail!  A rare species for the area.  It was just last year that some were discovered here as a first for Middlesex County.

That made my day when it was difficult for finding much.

I then drove through Skunk's Misery.  Even though it was a perfect day, there were practically no butterflies.  Just as well the butterfly count was cancelled on Sunday (due to weather).  Numbers would have been extremely low in any event.

I continued on, and stopped by the boat launch at the old bridge site off Mosside Line.  This spot has been productive in the past, but water levels were high due to the crazy amount of rain.

Several Stream Bluets and some Blue-fronted Dancers were present.  Add a couple Blue-tipped to the mix.  A couple of clubtails went by, and also a Royal River Cruiser.

Blue-tipped Dancer

Shetland was not far down the road so I stopped there as well.  River was running very high, and practically no odes.  They must have drowned!  I did see one Blue-ringed Dancer among very few other things.

Before getting home, I went for a long walk at Reid CA.  Needless to say, not a single hairstreak.

Today, I wanted to get into Elgin County.  First stop was the Storey Wetland at John E. Pearce P.P.  Actually there were quite a few odes; common things of course. I have seen Comet Darner here in the past, but not today.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Viceroy

This Common Yellowthroat posed quite nicely for a photo at one point.  Obviously feeding fledglings.

Next stop was Fingal WMA.  I always go to the Ian Carmichael pond area.  Lots of Spot-winged Gliders were here, but difficult to photograph since they were on the wing.

LOL

Not far up the road is Southwold Earthworks which I always pay a visit.  Many years ago I had a bonanza of butterflies here, but little since!

One thing of note here, all the Beech trees are dead or dying.  Not a good sign.

Here is a photo of one from past years.

I noticed one Azure Bluet in the grass at one point.

Heading back west, I walked through Joe's Bush NW of New Glasgow.  Hooded and Pine Warblers are of note here.  They were singing, but remained unseen.

One more stop for the day was the old quarry at Clear Creek.  I did not spend a lot of time here, but saw the usual bluets or dancers.  Skimming Bluet was different from the last visit, but I messed up the photos.  As well, pretty sure I had Slender Bluet.

Violet Dancer

Comet Darners were flying, and I saw at least two.  Seems they are a bit early this year, or I am just getting lucky compared to the previous years.

Ojibway butterfly count is this Saturday, followed by Rondeau on Sunday.  I will likely skip Rondeau this year since the last few years there have been progressively fewer and fewer butterflies. Given circumstances this year, probably not worth my while!

County Tours

Saturday I explored several places, going through Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Middlesex and Lambton Counties.  Keith McLean Conservation Lands near Rondeau Park was the first stop.  The day started off right when I found a Marbled Godwit on the mudflat.  We usually do not see many of these in Chatham-Kent, so it was a treat.  It is probably my third self-found Marbled in C-K.

After that I headed east along Talbot Trail.  I walked the Bury Cemetery trail, but it was still a bit early to see any butterflies.

I had the idea of checking out the Dutton prairie off Coyne Road so the was the next stop.  It was a disappointment, as it was quite overgrown and wet.  I could only go so far when I encountered too much water on the trail.

Compass Plant

It was a year ago I was on an organized field trip there which I enjoyed quite a bit.  Will try again sometime later in the day!

While in the general area, I went down to John E. Pearce P.P. to walk the Storey Wetland.  It can be good there for leps and odes.  

Spicebush Swallowtail

Silver-spotted Skipper

Peck's Skipper

About three-quarters of the way around, I caught sight of a Comet Darner!  It kept going out of sight, so that was that.  A pond was nearby, so I had the thought of checking it out.  Sure enough, I saw a Comet Darner patrolling over the pond.  It was bit distant though, so I tried for photos anyway.  Note different species in the photos!

Afterwards, I started heading back west and ended up at Wardsville Woods, another one of my favourite spots. Good for leps here, and sometimes odes.

Great-spangled Frit

Here I encountered two Purple Finches.  Obviously they are on the move right now.  Many have reported them for the first time in southern Ontario this year.

Of course, this is the time of year to look at Cardinal Flower.

A prairie plant demonstration plot is situated on the property.

Next stop was in Skunk's Misery where I walked my favourite trail off Sassafras Road.  This Red-spotted Purple was quite small.

There is a small creek along this trail, and at one point I caught site of an emerald.  Possibly a Mocha, but I did not have long enough views.

Just before going home, I stopped by Florence again.  The river was running higher than it has been all summer (darn rain!).  There was little to see since there was no edge but I did see several species of dancers.  This one was a bit of a mystery, but could be a female Dusky, which I was hoping for.

Dirty Dancer

Today, I had little scheduled and went down to McLean's first thing.  Nothing of note today, but this place has a lot of potential.  I predict a Little Blue Heron in the near future! (Overdue...I found one here August 26, 2000!).

Great Egret

This afternoon, I took a long walk at Reid CA with little else to do.  

Common Ringlet

Dukes' Skipper

Lance-tipped Darner

Last weekend I photographed a butterfly at Wilkesport that looked very different.  I thought it was an odd Viceroy, but it never dawned on me what it really was (sometimes I am blind in one eye and cannot see out the other!).

Turns out it was a hybrid!  Viceroy X Red-spotted Purple to be exact.