Wetland area action!

 This is a great time of year to explore wetland areas. I've made regular visits to both the SCNWA wetland, as well as the public trails through or adjacent to wetland areas in the Mitchell's Bay area. The camera has been busy!

Here are some of the things you can expect to find at either spot, with the exception of one species which I will point out.

Bald Eagles are much more plentiful than not that many years ago. Most of the time they are seen at a distance, but I managed this photo from my vehicle. 

Black-crowned Night-Herons are regular, but not frequently seen. This next photo show one in its juvenal plumage.

In fields nearby, sometimes there are hundreds of geese feeding, before getting ready to fly out to the lake for over night.

Double-crested Cormorants can be fairly abundant.

One of the highlights of my recent visits was to see this shy Eastern Musk Turtle right on the trail. When it saw me it withdrew its head.

I turned it over briefly just to get a photo of its underside. Musk Turtles are a Species at Risk, as are several turtle species, but this one is extremely rare. They do occur in the wetlands adjacent to Lake St. Clair, but are rarely seen.

Great Egrets are, of course, pretty reliably seen in most wetlands in the area, as they nest in the cattail islands as well as Walpole Is FN.

It's always enjoyable to capture a good flight photo!

A smaller heron type, even more abundant than the egret, is the Green Heron.

Along the Mitchell's Bay trail are quite a few tallgrass prairie species nicely visible over the season. One that was doing quite well was one called Cup Plant. It has been planted, as the area historically had lots of tallgrass species in this part of Chatham-Kent. It is quite rare and is one of the very few locations I have seen it in C-K. It had several Monarchs feasting on it...

Along the trails, Leopard Frogs are periodically seen out in the open.....

...and Northern Harriers are on the prowl for something to feast on.

Sandhill Cranes are seen in small groups around the fields or flying over the wetlands.

Ducks are increasing, although they are getting shyer. The regular booming in adjacent fields to scare off the blackbirds, etc., are getting the ducks wary of the upcoming duck hunting season. But for now, things like Wood Ducks are quite common and occasionally quite visible for the photographer :-).

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Orchids, Fungi, Spiders, Butterflies and more!

 In spite of the heat and humidity of the last few weeks, I have been out and about a few times. However some of those outings have been to pursue things for a specific post topic, which I hope to get out in the near future. But there are always things to see besides the specific things I have been looking for, so I intend for this post to catch up on a few things.

 It isn't often that sphinx moths are seen in the middle of the day, but on one occasion a park staff person discovered this Achemon Sphinx moth on the lawn of the Visitor Centre. It may have been injured, as even after it was picked up and put on the leaf of a shrub, it stuck around for a day or so. 

Spiders can be quite interesting to find. The one in this next photo is an Arrowhead Orbweaver.

Blackfoot Polypore

Next is a member of the Robber Fly group.

Black-waisted Laphyria

A Slime Mould

Small Enchanter's Nightshade

Richweed

Next is another slime mould...

....and if you look at the right-hand side of the photo, you will see the head of a Carolina Mantleslug, shown much larger in this next photo.

  

An earlier post showed the leaves of a rare species which someone planted a few years ago, but is not native to Rondeau. It is Tall Coreopsis, usually found in quality tallgrass prairie habitat. 

The leaf arrangement is quite indicative of this species.

Cylindrical Blazing-star, another rare species, and is native to Rondeau, is doing quite well in the open sandy habitats.

Butterflies are fairly abundant when the blazing-star is so common and widespread, especially Monarchs which are gradually accumulating in preparation for their southern journey.

And Spicebush Swallowtails are fairly regular as well.

Scattered around the purple blazing star, are a few white ones. 

 

Elsewhere in my roamings, I have come across a Marbled Orbweaver wrapped up in a curled leaf adjacent to its web. I unfurled the leaf and the spider just sat there trying to look inconspicuous in spite of the camera only inches away? 

An Ivory-marked Borer.

Enchanter's Nightshade

Fall Cankerworm Moth

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Definite Tussock Moth

Sweet Joe-pye-weed

Next is a Spined Micrathena, a rare spider, munching on something that got caught up in its web.

Ruby Bolete

The next two are photos of an orchid, the Club Spur Orchid, which I normally see along a slough west of the West South Point Trail. I was surprised to see two of these growing on a mossy log right along Tulip Tree Trail.

Orange-humped Maple Worm

Orange Polypore

Next is another rare, but not native to Rondeau, tallgrass prairie species that someone planted back in the 1990s. It is Gray-headed Coneflower.

One of the August highlights for me is to check on the endangered Nodding Pogonia, an orchid that is only found in Canada at Rondeau. The weather was a factor this year, making it very difficult to find in flower, as the buds that are ready to open, only open for a single day, and all on the same day. It may be another week before the weather conditions are conducive for the next set of developing buds to open. As a result, on several occasions when I went out to its main population, well off any trail, this is what I found. They had opened a day or two earlier!

 

On one occasion, I came across a plant that had a bud that appeared to be ready to open, and I photographed it.....

....and I returned the following day, checked the same plant, and found it had opened!

This particular year was not all that great for this orchid. I have been tracking this species since the 1970s, and always seemed to find that the third week of August was prime time for maximum flowering. However with the lack of rain at the needed time, and the overall weather conditions, those that grew to the flowering stage flowered a few days earlier, and by the third week of August, were about finished. There may have been one or two still waiting to flower, but not many, so it was a poor season. At least I did get to see a few in flower on one occasion. Maybe next year...

 

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