Observations of the Past Week: July 8-12

 Just a few things here that I came across this past week as the wacky weather continues with excessive rain.  There has not been a lot in the way of insects to photograph this summer!

One or two Dukes' Skippers have been seen at Reid the past week.  A far cry from last year!  This one was right in the parking lot as soon as I got out of the car.  And, it was still there after my walk!

I saw my first Broad-winged Skipper of the year at Reid a few days ago.

Some other butterflies:

Grey Comma

Monarch

Red Admiral

Red-spotted Purple

Eastern Comma

And even a Mourning Cloak caterpillar.

Today was quite disappointing at Reid, but I did see a neat dragonfly.  Probably a first for me at that location....a Swamp Darner!

It is considered vulnerable in Ontario.

Come of the common things include Ruby Meadowhawk.

And Common Whitetail. (No shortage of them this year!)

Been looking at the garden as well (when I can stand the heat!).

Mining bee sp.

firefly

And, something different...

Variable Eastern Taedia

Mourning Cloak

The first Common-checkered Skipper showed up this week.

I have been down to Blenheim and Erieau way a couple of times.  Shorebirds are coming through in numbers as expected, but nothing particularly noteworthy.  Lots of Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitchers among others.

A male Redhead has been frequenting the McGeachy Pond area lately.

Another bird with red on it was a Red-headed Woodpecker at McGeachy yesterday morning.  Unfortunately I could not get a clear view of it with the camera.

I decided to photograph a bluet along the way, and it turned out to be a Skimming Bluet.  Fairly common, but I think it is the first one I have seen this year.

That is all I have for now.  Maybe I should turn to plants for a while!

Outings, Odes, Odds 'n Ends

 This is one of my favourite times of year with long days and lots to see, especially with insects.

Seeing the spiketails last Saturday was certainly a highlight, and I seemed to have visited on the right day!  I went there today, and there was not much to see, but there were a couple of good sightings.  Apparently both the Arrowhead and Twin-spotted Spiketails were first records for Middlesex County!

Last Sunday I went to Point Pelee for whatever reason.  I just took a chance, since I have had some good gulls there at the Tip this time of year.  Nothing unusual though!  As expected, some pelicans were at the Tip.

I took my time heading up west beach trail, but yet again, very few insects.

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I have spent quite a bit of time at Reid CA lately, but then I alway do this time of year.  Tuesday, I came across a Pronghorn Clubtail.  I think the first one for there, but I get lots up the road at McKeough.

Widow Skimmers have come out in numbers lately.

And, still quite a few Racket-tailed Emeralds kicking around.

I have been looking for Dickcissels in my area, but have come up empty.  Yesterday morning I went down to Fletcher just to see one and get my fix!

Yesterday I spent lots of time at Reid, looking for birds, but as usual, the place is not crawling with them.  

In the "big" tree section, I admired a very large Chinquapin Oak.

The dbh is probably 4'.

After birding, I looked for Oak Hairstreak.....and....found one!  The first for this year, but a well-known person saw one two days previous.  I did not know till later.

I also saw one Banded Hairstreak.

McKeough had a few Pronghorn Clubtails.

Today, I thought I would go back to Skunk's Misery.  However, it was one of those "off" days.  Perhaps the cool temps and strong wind had something to do with it, as it was "off" every place I went.

I first walked Sitler Woods again.

American Chestnut

Then checked other areas, including my favourite trail off Sassafras.  Saw a fledgling Chestnut-sided Warbler, but could not get a photo.  An adult was nearby singing.

Will have to check this spot next weekend, as there could be Oak Hairstreak here! (one was found last year).

Of course, I had to go to Wardsville Woods.  I was disappointed as there was not much to see in the way of odes and unfortunately no sign of any spiketails.

However, there were a few Swamp Darners at the back.

One spot had some clubtails that may be Cobra.  Nobody seems brave enough to tell me otherwise on iNaturalist, so I will have to leave it at that.

The Cobra is rare in Ontario..that is all I know.  They are very similar to Midland (which is common), but I looked at the photos at home.  I am not familiar with Cobra of course, so I may be wrong.

The club is shaped like a cobra head.

Saw the first couple of frits today.

Afterwards, I headed west and briefly stopped at Tecumseh Monument along the Thames to check out the riverbank.  Some American Rubyspots were flying.

Before getting home, I swung around to Reid CA and observed one Oak, and one Banded Hairstreak.  Too windy to get decent photos!

Sunday Swamps/Monday Meanderings

Sunday morning saw another trip down to Rondeau Park.  A few more birds came in overnight, namely Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a couple of Black-throated Green Warblers.  Yellow-rumped Warblers remained rather scarce still, but if you want to see more, go to Sarnia's Canatara Park!
More are being seen there, showing how important a migrant trap that Canatara is.

Of course that crazy dove was continuing its daily routine.

Lots of Red Admirals and American Lady butterflies were flying around on Sunday.

Just before leaving the park, I got word that Jim Burk and Steve Charbonneau had found  some darner dragonflies in the NE section of the park.  I was a bit curious as it is rather early for certain mosaic darners, so I took a look.
Two were in the "wheel" position while a couple others were flying around.

They were quite large and suggested Swamp Darner, but I was not sure since I usually see them on the wing.  Also I knew it was rather early for Swamp Darner.

When I got home, I had pretty much concluded they were Swamp Darners!  Usually we do not see them well into May, but with the warm strong SW wind, they were likely immigrants.
I sent the photos to Bill Lamond for confirmation.  He had never heard of any ever being seen this early (by at least two weeks).
So, that was a good find by Steve and Jim!

Today, I checked my usual haunts before work, but it was rather quiet.  An early Black-crowned Night-Heron was at Peers Wetland.

Dawn at Peers

Some yellowlegs (Lesser) had arrived at Stewart Wetland and the wet field spot near the marina.

This evening I braved the cold north wind and went to Mitchell's Bay.  Lots of gulls and swallows were around.  Included was a Glaucous Gull.
I did not detect any Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but they should be around by now.

view from the dock

Pelee Visit: Some Butterflies and other Things

I had the urge to visit Point Pelee today.  Turned out to be a nice day weather-wise, but perhaps a little too windy.

One thing I noticed was that webworms are pretty thick this summer.

I first spent over 1.5 hours at the Tip.  It was quite active, but nothing unusual.  The only duck was a Red-breasted Merganser!
Gulls were congregated at the Tip as usual.  I like to get there before the tourists flush them!

A couple of young bonies were in the group.

Swallows were plentiful today.  Many appeared to be Barn and Bank.

I walked up the east side to Sparrow Field.  It was evident that lots of dragonflies were around today.  This Swamp Darner alighted briefly for a photo.

In fact, there were thousands of Green Darners, hundreds of Black Saddlebags, and dozens of Twelve-spotted Skimmers.  A few other species mixed in included a single Carolina Saddlebags.

Green Darner

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Turned out that birds were scarce in the park today.  A nice group of common birds in Sparrow Field included gnatcatchers, Yellow-Warblers, Common Yellow-throats, Indigo Buntings, Least Flycatchers, etc.

Even though it was very windy, I walked up the west beach trail. There were hundreds of dragonflies, but very few butterflies.

Painted Lady

Dun Skipper

A brief check of De Laurier area revealed nothing.  Henrietta O-Neill was not finding much either.
At North-west Beach a worn Common Buckeye was working the weeds.

After some a perch lunch, I headed towards Hillman Marsh.  I almost did not go in, but I did anyway.  Turned out to be a good choice.  I had not been in there recently and found that the trail on the far side of the shorebird cell had not been cut this summer.  It was good for butterflies and I found lots, even though it was common stuff today.
Highlights were a couple of Fiery Skippers.

Quite a few Peck's Skippers were here as well. (Try and find one within PPNP!--I did have one a few years ago).

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Lots of Eastern-tailed Blues, Pearl Crescents (only two in PPNP this morning!), Black Swallowtails, etc.

A couple of Bronze Coppers were present as well.

I spent quite a bit of time along that section as there were more butterflies there than in the park!

As I was leaving, Pete Chapman and Ann White were just pulling in.  They were doing a pseudo Pelee butterfly count!  For some reason, the Point Pelee butterfly count is non-existent anymore. (LOL)