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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