Butterfly Bonanza

One doesn't normally consider September, and late September at that, to be a prime time for finding butterflies. But then the extended mid-summer weather isn't exactly normal, either.

It had been a little more than two weeks since I had last been to the McGeachy Pond trail and checked on the butterfly bush by the west end parking lot, so I decided it was time again. I went out this past Tuesday morning....another hot sunny day.

The butterfly bush still had numerous flower clusters, with lots of butterflies vying for a spot from which to sip the nectar. It was hard to decide which butterfly to photograph first! The west end of the trail also had numerous butterflies, and overall I ended up with well over 150 butterflies of a dozen species! This area had been mine to cover during the butterfly count back in July, a time when butterfly diversity is usually at its peak, but on that occasion I got only half a dozen species and only a few dozen individuals at the most.

The following photos were taken on this visit. I didn't attempt photos of Cabbage White or Red Admiral.

It has been an excellent late season for Painted Lady. On this occasion I saw at least 30, and most looking quite fresh.

 Monarchs were not surprising at all, as they are well into their southwestern migration. There were at least 22 of them.

 Silver-spotted Skippers were few....no more than 5.

 I didn't bother counting Orange Sulphurs, although there were at least a dozen.

 One which I was hoping for was Fiery Skipper. If it shows up in southwestern Ontario, it is usually late in the season, so not a total surprise but nice to finally see one for the year. There were actually two individuals.

 Gray Hairstreak is also more likely to be seen later in the season, and this single individual was my first of the year, and one of the few I've photographed in recent years.

Along the trail was a profusion of goldenrod and New England Aster, among others, but it was clear that New England Aster was the favoured plant.

There were a few Clouded Sulphurs, another quite expected species.

Common Buckeye is another late season species. The one individual I observed wasn't my first of the year, but I've seen no more than half a dozen so far.

 Certainly one of the highlights was to see a super abundance of Bronze Coppers. I had a couple on the early July Butterfly Count, a little early for them, but only one or two since. It is a species that is often associated with wetlands, so the adjacent McGeachy Pond wetland was undoubtedly a factor. I was quite surprised to count at least 55 individuals along the trail, certainly more than I usually see in an entire season!

 It wasn't uncommon to see three or more in close proximity to each other......

 .....or even 7! There are 6 visible (one only partially) in this tight shot.

 Another first of year for me was this Common Checkered-skipper. It had been reported in other areas, but for some reason has not been common in Chatham-Kent. It is very tiny...about the same as the width of the aster flower head.

While the temperatures are dropping a bit for a few days, getting to be about normal, a slight warming trend early next week will likely continue the butterfly action, so at least one more visit will be attempted then to see what differences there might be. Stay tuned!

Am Avocet and Eurasian Collared-Dove

Days like this don't come around often, especially at this time of year. Two unusual birds: one a new species for the year and the other, a new species for my Rondeau list as well as a new one for the year, both within an hour or so of each other. And I didn't have to drive out of Chatham-Kent. Of course if it weren't for intrepid birders, in this case Keith and Jim Burk, discovering both of these species and getting the word out, my year and Rondeau list would likely not have changed. So thanks Jim and Keith!

Yesterday afternoon I headed towards Rondeau with the hope that the Eurasian Collared-Dove that they had found earlier in the day was still hanging around in a visible location. But on the way, I went by the entrance to the Blenheim Landfill where the day before Keith had noted an American Avocet in the pond just inside the entrance, but which is still visible without going through gates. It was at the far end of the pond, of course, so with the long telephoto and peeking through the Phragmites, plus some heavy cropping, this is one of the better shots I got. Check.

Now it was on to Rondeau in my search for the dove. I got to the Dog Beach area and noted a birder along the road. It was Kit McCann, who had been searching for about 45 minutes without seeing the bird. That wasn't what I was hoping to hear, so I drove to the end of Lakeshore Road and parked, gathered my camera and binoculars and slowly walked north. I noted an immature Redheaded Woodpecker in the cottonwoods next to the last cottage. A nice bird at any time of the year, but not what I was looking for, so I kept on. I met up with Kit, who was walking in my direction. We saw a few Mourning Doves in trees, but nothing we could make into a Eurasian Collared-Dove. We kept looking, and then spied a possible candidate. It looked a bit paler, and didn't have the usual speckling on the wings. But we couldn't see the characteristic dark neck band. There was a slight hint of a band, but was it just the shadow of a branch?

A little different angle, and then it popped its head up.

Bingo....target achieved! We watched it for awhile, and eventually it flew off to the north east, then swung around back in the general vicinity of where we had found it. It was in another dead tree, but this time much closer to the lake. Kit and I eventually went our separate ways, and since I had to drive by the spot again after retrieving my car, I decided to get my tripod and scope out to see if I could see it in the more distant dead tree. It was visible, but not without a bit of difficulty given the branches. While I was looking at it, a car approached and the driver asked whether the dove was around. It was Rob, from Mississauga, and when I replied in the affirmative, immediately pulled over and got a look through the scope, quite happy that checking this one off was so easy. We watched it for a few more minutes.

It wasn't as exotic as a Fork-tailed Flycatcher which was all the rage today at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, but I will take it! And given the nature of flycatchers to show up in unusual places in the autumn, who knows what might still show up??

Rondeau nightlife

The park is fairly quiet these days. However with the continuation of mid-summer temperatures insect activity is still in full swing. It is a great opportunity to set up the black light in an otherwise dark environment to see what comes in. It is a bit late in the season for any type of large silkmoths, such as Luna or Cecropia....that will have to wait until next June or early July. But there are myriad other moths as well as beetles, bugs, flies etc.

A few days ago, I went out and found an out-of-the-way location to set up in the early evening (Park staff were aware of my interests, and were most interested and supportive.) Once my equipment was in place, I settled down to wait until it was fully dark. I didn't want the light on any longer than necessary, as it was not in the ideal location for a car battery to die!

I heard the occasional Wood Thrush in the forest, and there were a few warbler type chips as well. Right at dusk, a Great Horned Owl was hooting up a storm, but quite distant. I decided to try whistling for Eastern Screech Owls, and after a little encouragement, one responded not too far away. A little later it, or another one, came in quite close all on its own. There were probably at least three screech owls calling while I was there.

Just at dusk, I heard one of the resident coyotes howling. It was probably at least half a kilometre down the Harrison Trail. A little later, I heard another one howling, and this one was probably no more than 200 metres away, if that. A couple of coyotes farther south were conversing with this closer one. I even howled a couple of times myself.....it would have been interesting to know what the coyotes thought of that stranger in close proximity!

Other flying things arrived as the dusk settled in.

Mosquitoes weren't a huge problem, but they made their presence felt. I was hoping that after dark they would become less of a problem, and that is indeed the way it turned out.

(Note: I have various excellent reference books which are invaluable in determining what I am able to capture digitially. However I also rely on an online database called BugGuide to discover or confirm these insects, and most of the ones I take end up being added to that database.)

A brown stinkbug was an early arrival.

Banasa calva

A surprise guest was this backswimmer! I wasn't anywhere near water, and in fact even most of the sloughs are quite dry, so I'm not sure what this critter was doing.

Notonecta sp

Moths did arrive. A relatively large and distinct one was this Large Tolype.....

Tolype velleda

 ...a much smaller and less patterned one was this Gold-striped Leaftier.

Some are as yet unnamed.

A medium sized moth that varies considerably in its colour is this Large Maple Spanworm.

 On one occasion a Large Maple Spanworm decided to settle on the stick I was using to suspend the black light. Since I took all of the photos with a flash, I didn't notice what seemed to be a pair of eyes lurking in the background until I was processing them on the computer. Was it some kind of night creature with glowing eyes watching me curiously?

 A closer, highly cropped look shows them to be two very tiny yellowish-green leafhoppers! Unfortunately they are slightly beyond the narrow field of focus, so don't show up really clearly. They are very tiny.....probably no more than about 2-3 mm in length.

This next image shows a 'large' leafhopper of the Gyponana genus. There are more than 22,000 described species of leafhopper worldwide, and it is believed that there are more than 100,000 species, many of which have not been described or likely even discovered. There are 'only' about 3000 in North America......

Leafhoppers are never large.....but they may seem to be when compared to their smaller relatives. It is about 6 mm in length so it is a comparative large species

 But on this next photo, one can see both of these species showing the relative size.

Another leafhopper, possibly a member of the Scaphoideus genus and also distinctly patterned also decided the black light was worth checking out.....

 ....as was this Syrphid Fly.

Toxomerus geminatus

I didn't want to press my luck with the car battery, so after about an hour and a half I decided to call it a night. The number of new insect arrivals were slowing down.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first set up. But the night life of calling Great Horned and Eastern Screech Owls, along with the periodic coyote chorus, all the while under a brightly lit starry sky, was very much worthwhile and totally enjoyable. And the insects didn't disappoint either. In fact, I am quite sure I will take advantage of the continuing warm nights and try it again real soon!

Three 'hids': Orchids, Syrphids and Aphids

Last week I had the occasion to show Ontario Parks staff the Nodding Pogonia (Triphora trianthophora) at Rondeau Provincial Park. Given the fairly recent change in Ontario Parks (OP) staff, none of them had ever seen the orchid. And given the orchid's official Endangered status, it was important for OP staff to see it first hand, and have a greater appreciation for the challenges in understanding and ultimately managing for this orchid. Many readers will know that it is a favourite species of mine. I have been observing the species annually for almost 45 years, including having study plots set up in one of the main areas for over 30 years.

This is what we hoped to see, although it is a little late in the season for it to be in its prime.

 We did see a few plants that had drooping flowers, indicating they were in bloom a day or two earlier. But since each flower only lasts for a single day, and all the ones that are ready to open up do so on the same day, the chances of seeing them in flower is limited. We did see plants that had bloomed earlier in the season progressing nicely and forming seed capsules so that is encouraging. A couple of years ago it was so dry that the few flowers that may have opened (and there was no concrete evidence that any did) did not produce any seed capsules at all, which is not good for a species that is endangered and with its entire known Canadian population limited to Rondeau!

Developing seed capsule

The survey of 2017 resulted in only 51 plants being counted, although there is at least one other location in the park which likely had a few individuals. However that location is even more remote, and seldom looked at.

While we were at the Triphora site, we came across some great examples of the Beech Blight Aphid, a.k.a. Boogie Woogie Aphid.

The latter name is due to its action when a branch is bumped or it otherwise feels threatened. They all make themselves a little bigger with their rear end stuck higher, waving a thread-like feature of their anatomy. Supposedly this collective behaviour might scare away any birds looking for a meal along the branches.

After leaving the Triphora site, I took the OP staff to the site of another orchid. It is Autumn Coralroot (Corallorhiza odontorhiza). It is tiny as well, although not endangered. This first photo shows what it might look like from a metre or so away.

 Obviously it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, but when you get down on hands and knees and look closely, it is attractive. These next two photos show some relatively open flowers. This species is also known to self-pollinate, and sometimes the flowers don't open at all.

 Once pollinated, the flowers and developing seed capsules droop even more, before eventually becoming upright. The capsules will split open in several spots, allowing the extremely light seeds to be transported by even gentle breezes to a location potentially suitable for them.

I also took a bit of time on a recent visit to check out some of the goldenrod, where late season pollinating insects abound. There were the usual wasps and flies. On this occasion I was checking out the Syrphid flies, also known as hover flies or flower flies. The black and yellow patterns are attractive, and help identify them to species. Due to the great number of Syrphids, I posted some of the images on BugGuide, an on-line database designed for people across North America to post images and have them identified. In spite of some of the varied reference books I have at home, the number of insects one will come across is huge, and this on-line database is immensely useful. Here are three Syrphids species that I photographed, although when I initially photographed them, I thought there might have been more than three species. I was not aware of the different patterns between males and females of the species.

White-banded Flower Fly (Eristalis dimidiata) female

Erstaliis dimidiata male

Transverse Flower Fly (Eristalis transversa) female

Eristalis transversa male

Helophilus sp

Recent Rondeau and Erieau foray

It is amazing how time flies, and I hadn't been to either Rondeau or Erieau for awhile. A recent trip to both made up for that.

At Rondeau, I headed for the South Point Trail, where there is often a buildup of warblers and other passerines at this time of year. That was a good choice. The bushes were loaded. Unfortunately the bright sunlight, caused many shadows in the dense shrub growth, and hawks in the vicinity kept the birds low and partially hidden. So photos weren't all that rewarding. Blackpoll Warblers were by far the most common.

 I got about 15 species in all, including the occasional Black-and-white Warbler. They aren't usually this green, but being in the shade of the greenery will do that.

There were also sightings of things such as Northern Parula and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but no photos. No Connecticut Warbler either that I could find, although one or more has been seen by others along this trail in recent days. Seven Bald Eagles were noted overhead, including five of which were flying much higher and drifting with the winds in a southwest direction, so presumably migrants.

It wasn't that many years ago when seeing a Bald Eagle was a real highlight, but due to their rebounding population in the last couple of decades, is an expected sight.

I always keep an eye out for other things of interest, and came across a variety of pollinators on goldenrod. One that particularly caught my attention is this Feather-legged Fly (Trichopoda sp.), named because of the feathery appearance of the lower part of its hind legs. It is a little more obvious in the second photo.

I got lots of photos of other pollinators, but as yet are still working on their identification. Maybe it will be fodder for a future post.

What used to be a rare orchid but is now just considered uncommon with a restricted range, is this Great Plain's Ladies'-tresses.

A later trip to Erieau proved worthwhile. Nothing really unexpected was seen, but it is always nice to see what is around.

There was a flock of at least 50 Sanderling feeding and resting on the beach.

A Ruddy Turnstone was feeding on the pier and area.

Not a Rock Sandpiper

At the west end of McGeachy Pond is a butterfly bush next to the parking area. On this day, it was very busy, with more than a couple of dozen caught up in a feeding frenzy. There were at least 15 Monarchs and 7 Painted Ladies as well as Question Mark, Red Admiral, Silver-spotted Skipper and the usual Orange Sulphur and Cabbage White butterflies, all seen in about 20 minutes.

Monarch

Orange Sulphur

Painted Lady

Question Mark

Question Mark

Silver-spotted Skipper

A brief stop at the Campbell Line pasture on the way home did not have much bird life. Aside from the typical Turkey Vultures passing by overhead, there was a family of Eastern Kingbirds on the fence by the road.

 This immature Brown-headed Cowbird, below, was hanging out with the kingbirds, so I assume it thought it was part of the family due to it likely being raised by them. No doubt it will not make the southward migration with its 'family', but hook up with other cowbirds before long.