Waterbirds, and the fastest animal on the planet

 There are lots of waterbirds on the move these days. While I have been out looking at rare orchids and other plants, that will wait for a later post.

I've been to St. Clair NWA recently, as it is not far from home, and if I choose a time or a route where there is no one else, it is extra pleasant for my tastes.

There is an ongoing presence of the aggressive and invasive Phragmites along the trail, which is somewhat unfortunate in that it obscures the view into the extensive wetland. But with the associated more natural vegetation along the way, there is lots of insect activity to be found.

Monarchs were abundant and most of the ones I saw were looking quite fresh.

This similar looking one, a Viceroy, was looking pretty worn.

There were a few crescents. This one is likely a Pearl Crescent, owing to the tip of the antennae not appearing to have any orange.

I thought this colour of a grasshopper was unusual. It might just be the relatively common Carolina Grasshopper.

Not an insect, obviously, but a critter that feeds on insects is this Leopard Frog. They were quite numerous along the trail.

There were quite a few swallows on the wires along the roadway, such as this Barn Swallow, considered a Species At Risk......

...and also along the trail and road entrance were a few Prairie Thistle, another Species At Risk.

One thing the Phragmites and other vegetation along the trail allows, is a closer approach to somewhat open areas in the dense cattails so as to get a relatively close view of the numerous Great Egrets scattered throughout the wetland. This first one was almost too close to focus on. This NWA, and almost any large wetland along Lake St. Clair, is one of the best places in Ontario to see this species. Of course it helps that there are at least a couple of egret colonies within a short flight distance of the NWA.

Once they get startled away from their feeding area, they may take up a spot in a more distant cluster of trees or shrubs, keeping an eye for when the coast is clear.

When they are startled from their feeding spot, they may circle several times affording some great photo opportunities.

Maybe if the water levels are appropriately lower over the next few weeks, there will be quite the spectacle of over-night roosting egrets, like this that occurred for several weeks in September and October of 2012. There were close to 150 birds using this spot. This photo was taken a few minutes before sunrise, using a long exposure. The birds were almost completely motionless. It is one of my many favourite memories of SCNWA, and I had a nice 24" X 8" canvas print made up of this photo.

Other large wading birds offer similar photo ops, but they aren't usually as numerous to begin with.

Great Blue Heron

Sandhill Cranes used to be quite a novelty to be seen in southwestern Ontario other than on migration. Fortunately it is a species that has increased considerably in the last 2-3 decades, and so are a regularly seen species throughout the breeding season.

Sewage lagoons are popular for shorebirds. I've been to the Blenheim lagoons several times lately, as there has been a good variety of shorebirds, including some rarer ones. For example a young Red Knot has been seen periodically. I didn't get any photos of it, but here are the ones I managed to shoot.

 Baird's Sandpiper were one of the rarer ones. It stood out with its wing tips extending beyond the tail. The long, slim wings really stood out when it was in flight.

Least Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs greatly outnumbered their larger relatives.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Pectoral Sandpipers were present in small numbers.

This young Ruddy Turnstone was a bit unusual. They are more often found along sandy shorelines of the local lakes.

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

There were lots of these sandpipers, with probably at least 75 or more around the lagoons in variable sized groups.

One of the highlights was not a water bird type at all, but at least one Peregrine Falcon, formerly an endangered species. It would be high in the sky, and then almost out of nowhere, come swooping in and flushing some shorebirds, hoping one would be vulnerable to be picked off. I didn't see it catch anything. Perhaps it was just practicing.

It was hard to keep the focus locked on to the falcon as it sometimes flew low and fast. This species is the fastest animal on the planet, as they have been known to dive at speeds of over 300 km/hr! But of all the shots I took, I managed to get a small number with satisfactory results.

Non-shorebirds were not fazed at all by the falcon. These two Midland Painted Turtles were soaking up some sun.

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Local Birds, Bugs and Botany, not the Algonquin kind :-)

 My exploration of local natural areas continue, with an array of flora and fauna to fotograph :-).

A recent trip up to the Mitchell's Bay area had me checking out the North Shore Trail. It is a relatively quiet trail, partially because parking is a real issue, with only one spot available for a vehicle. So unless hikers wander in from Mitchell's Bay itself, there is rarely anyone else there. That makes it better for finding wildlife to see and photograph. On this most recent occasion there wasn't a lot within range of my lens, but I did get a few shots of this cooperative Great Egret....

 ...and a couple of male Bobolinks that were clearly showing the transition to a duller autumn plumage.

Along the South Shore Trail, there is usually a Green Heron somewhere along the way, which occasionally allows for a good photo.

A bit later I was busy concentrating on photographing this Great Egret in a tree, when all of a sudden it was distracted by something above it.

It turns out that another Green Heron had landed just a couple of metres above it.

It wasn't long before the egret decided to go elsewhere.

Rondeau Prov Park, of course, is always a good choice for exploration. I was wandering through the woods on the search for an endangered orchid, and while I didn't see any of them in flower on this day, I did come across another not quite as rare plant: American Ginseng. This was a totally new location for this official Species At Risk plant, although given the habitat, it wasn't totally surprising. But it was nice to find it, and what really caught my eye at the outset was the cluster of bright red berries.

At other areas, there is a continuum of things to take note of. This first one is quite common, but the flowers are often hidden by the profusion of foliage. It is American Hog-peanut.

Not nearly so common is this Square-stemmed Monkey Flower.

This Four-toothed Mason Wasp was busy on a flowering stem of White Sweet Clover.

Butterflies are not over abundant, but perhaps a bit more so than during the butterfly count of about a month ago.

Eastern Comma

This Viceroy was nectaring on Common Meadowsweet.

I was out in the southeast beach dunes of the park, searching for a small orchid that I had seen on occasion years ago, but never got any digital photos of. It isn't particularly rare overall, but does not seem to be common at Rondeau. It used to be known as Nodding Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes cernua) but in recent years, that complex of Spiranthes has continued to be analyzed and re-named. Its common name is Sphinx Ladies' Tresses and is currently given the scientific name of Spiranthes incurva. It looks very much like a Spiranthes species that is much more common at Rondeau, although is considered rare in Ontario, known as the Great Plain's Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum). I expect I will photograph it in a few weeks time, and likely feature it in a future post. This latter species flowers a bit later, typically not until September and often continuing into October. The one shown here will likely be finished flowering by September. It is whiter, does not have any fragrance, and has a basal leaf, whereas the S. magnicamporum is slightly creamier, often has a strong fragrance and no basal leaf.

While I was intently looking at the ground for the orchid, a large shadow passed over me. When I looked up, I saw this Red-tailed Hawk. It didn't just circle and leave as if it was passing through; it circled quite closely several times before eventually moving off. Perhaps it was keeping an eye on me, to see if I would flush out a vole or cottontail it could pounce on. The photo is a bit back-lit, so not as good as I would like.

I like the way the primary feathers are flared out in this next pic. For something as relatively stiff as the flight feathers, I am intrigued by the way they can be flared out, presumably to assist with the flight in some way, especially since it was soaring and not flapping. Maybe that assists in direction or lift?

I was pleasantly surprised to find the orchid, but also to see quite a few Common Buckeyes. I felt they were relatively uncommon overall in the general area so far this season, as it is considered a later migrant from the south. There were at least half a dozen or more in various places in the relatively small area that I was roaming around in, and undoubtedly a lot more in the overall beach dune area.

The southeast beach dunes can be relatively colourful at this time of year, as the Cylindrical Blazing-star is quite abundant right now.

Normally the colour of individual flowers is quite pinkish purple......

...but there are always a few white versions to add to the display.

I have also purposely checked out clusters of goldenrod in various parts of the park, as they are really attractive to numerous insects.

Dark Paper Wasp

This next one is the Great Golden Digger Wasp, and is quite large.

Sand Wasps, next, are fairly common, not surprisingly since the park is made up of sand.

At one point I noticed this pair of Ambush Bugs, probably the Jagged Ambush Bug.

And even moths may show up, as in this Ailanthus Webworm Moth.

I also stopped by the Erieau Marsh/Rail Trail for a short time. It is a great spot to see migrant warblers and such at this time of year. While on this visit I didn't see a lot of them, I did get this quick photo of an autumn Bay-breasted Warbler just as it was preparing to escape into the dense leaf canopy.

There were a few flycatchers, including this Great Crested Flycatcher, darting out after small flying insects.

And this trail is a great spot to see a large and showy Species At Risk: Swamp Rose Mallow. It is restricted to some of the larger marsh complexes in extreme southwestern Ontario, and is about at its peak now.

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