The joys of exploring open wetland areas

 I don't recall ever being on a roller coaster in my earlier days, but these last few weeks and months seem like I am on one now. Lots of ups and downs, sometimes with little or no warning, as I wrestle with the passing of Marie. Nonetheless, I have been out roaming around bits of the natural world when the mood and weather seem appropriate. Of course the heat and humidity is always a factor, at least for me. Even though I grew up on a farm in southern Chatham-Kent, I don't seem to have minded the heat and humidity as a youth working on the farm. But as an adult, I never seemed to be able to tolerate it all that well.

One of my favourite go-to places reasonably close by, is the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail. It is quite open, with great views of various bird species and usually a bit of a breeze to make the weather more comfortable. It is one of the better spots to see and photograph Great Egrets, which nest at some of the cattail islands just out in the lake. I usually see at least half a dozen on my outings.

They also nest in the marshes of Walpole Island, which is off in the distance from the best vantage point of the trail here. The view point at the end of the gravel trail, where I took this next photo from, is higher than the surrounding wetlands, giving some great views of the marsh as well as Lake St. Clair.

There are some dead trees, which at times can be well-stocked with migrant swallow types, especially Purple Martins. There are lots of martin houses in the area, and as the nesting season is over and their autumn migration is soon to come, they gather in large numbers to feed on the numerous flying insects, but take time to rest on these dead branches.

On one of my recent times along this trail, I got a fair whiff of skunk smell. I didn't think too much of it at first, since skunks are native to the area. But as I got a little further down the trail, I noticed a bird in a tree in the direction the skunk smell was coming from. It was a Great Horned Owl, sometimes called a skunk owl, since they don't seem to be bothered by the smell, and will prey on them from time to time. This owl had undoubtedly had a recent experience with a skunk.

Upon a closer look at the photo on the computer, I noticed this owl did not have any sight in its right eye.

With the openness along this trail, it is great for getting good views, and even some good photos of the creatures hanging out in the area. Another member of the swallow family, is Barn Swallow shown next. There are always a few, but not anywhere near the numbers exhibited by the Purple Martins.

A Belted Kingfisher or two can often be seen, although they are quite reluctant to let anyone get very close.

Out over the lake there may be a few different gulls and terns, especially in spring and fall. Caspian Terns, shown in the next two photos, are becoming more plentiful. They don't breed in the immediate area, but frequent the area as they hunt for small fish to capture from the relatively shallow lake these days.

In the cattails, one will often hear Marsh Wrens. On occasion one will even come into view for the camera!

More likely to be seen are Song Sparrows.

Eastern Kingbirds are scattered around in small numbers...

...and there is usually a Green Heron skulking around the edges.

Another favourite spot to check out is St. Clair NWA, which has a great trail meandering through the ~240 ha wetland. Birds are present in good numbers, but not always within decent camera range. That may change over the next few weeks, as migrant waterfowl will be passing through, and many will take refuge in the NWA from the hunting pressures occurring in nearby marshes. However other things with wings include butterflies, such as this Black Swallowtail.

...and lots of Monarchs and the similar looking Viceroy, shown next.

Wildflowers such as Blue Vervain, next, are plentiful...

...as is the rarer Field Thistle, sometimes called Prairie Thistle, and is a Species At Risk. Since most of what used to be known as Dover Twp, north of the Thames River and adjacent to Lake St. Clair used to be tallgrass prairie prior to settlement, there are pockets of prairie vegetation persisting in places like SCNWA. Prairie Thistle looks very similar to the much more common Swamp Thistle, but is a paler pinkish purple in comparison.

Sandhill Cranes can be seen regularly. One of the best times to see and hear them is in the early evening, as they return from their daytime feeding in fields, and spend the overnight hours in the marsh. I typically see 20 or more, and they will continue in reasonable numbers for the next several months.

  A Northern Harrier, a.k.a. Marsh Hawk, patrols the marsh, followed by an Eastern Kingbird which doesn't approve of its presence.

Another wetland wildflower, and also a Species At Risk is this next one: Swamp Rose Mallow. It can be quite abundant in these marshes along Lake St. Clair.

I did make it to Rondeau on one occasion, hiking along the Marsh Trail. It has always been one of my favourite parts of the park, but in recent years the trail has taken quite a beating with the high water. It is still hike-able. Bald Eagles can be seen fairly regularly, as there is at least one nest out along the edge of the forest and marsh. This eagle, a sub-adult, was perched in a nearby dead tree and was surprisingly tolerant of me along the trail.

Another one was seen flying by, although it was flying away and didn't give me the photo op that I would have liked.

Elsewhere I stopped in at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons on my way home from Rondeau, in part to see a few shorebirds that are becoming more numerous. But this long-staying male Canvasback got my attention, and although it was well out close to the middle of one of the ponds, enabled me to get a couple of photos. Canvasback are more of a western species, although they pass through in good numbers on migration. Summer records are not unheard of, but quite unusual.

I did see a few shorebirds, but they were a bit skittish. Perhaps it was due to a Peregrine Falcon hanging out in the area, which put the shorebirds to flight periodically. This Lesser Yellowlegs was one of the more numerous species, with at least a dozen seen, and it gave me a good photo op.

An endangered orchid, and lots of odes

 Sometimes the days go slowly, and other times the days go more quickly. Some of it is weather dependent, and at other times, it is in dealing with some of the other major issues in the aftermath of Marie's passing. I have been out roaming around locally as time, weather and energy permits.

One of the priorities in the world of nature during August, is to do some monitoring of an endangered orchid, and specifically the Nodding Pogonia (Triphora trianthophoros), which is only known in Canada to occur at Rondeau. Its location is for the most part, being kept a secret by park staff due to its small nature and endangered status.

 I have been following this special orchid for about 50 years. Given that the individual flowers only remain open for a day, there have been some good days this year, and other days not so good. I expect to devote an entire blog post about this species and my 2024 experience with it, so keep an eye out for it.

This is also a good time to try and track down various species of odonates or odes (damselflies and dragonflies), and I have had some moderate success in this. They are best found near water, of course, and my 'go to' places include a few spots along both the Thames River and Sydenham River, as well as Clear Creek Forest Provincial Park, St. Clair NWA and Rondeau.

On one occasion as I was heading to Clear Creek Forest, I came across an unfortunate scene.

This large adult Eastern Fox Snake, which is a Species At Risk and with its main population primarily limited in Canada to southwestern Ontario, had been crossing Talbot Trail when a vehicle ran over it.

At Clear Creek Forest, things were a bit more positive, and I have been there on more than one occasion to photograph odes and a few other things that provided an opportunity.

Blue Dasher

Blue Dasher

Calico Pennant

Double-striped Bluet

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Pondhawk female

Eastern Pondhawk male

Variable Dancer

Widow Skimmer

None of the aforementioned odes are particularly unusual, although the Double-striped Bluet is probably the most uncommon of the ones shown. I particularly liked the Variable Dancer, the only damselfly where the male is an obvious pink/purple colour. I did see the rarer Comet Darner on a couple of occasions, but very briefly and there was no opportunity for a photo.

There are typically a few other invertebrates that get my attention here, such as:

Bronzed Tiger Beetle

Great Spangled Fritillary

Tawny-edged Skipper

Viceroy

The local rivers are definitely worth checking out, as they feature some of the more challenging damselflies to see and photograph. With all of the rain over these past several months in their overall watersheds, however, the water levels continue to be a bit high, and the banks are a bit muddy and therefore slippery. Caution to gain access to even the limited places must be adhered to! Nonetheless, with care and a bit of time, there are a few that make it worthwhile. These include:

American Rubyspot

Blue-fronted Dancer

Ebony Jewelwing female

This next one is very rare, even considered endangered in Canada. It is the Smoky Rubyspot and for the most part, is very limited to the rivers of southwestern Ontario.

While on the prowl for odes, I came across this American Snout butterfly busily feeding on some goldenrod. It is not a common species, and I hadn't seen one for quite awhile so was glad to get a few photos.

At other places, such as Rondeau and SCNWA, there are various odes as well, although none that I came across were particularly uncommon.

Halloween Pennant

There were lots of Ruby Meadowhawks, shown next, flitting around.

I only got a frontal photo of this one, and it is likely a Ruby Meadowhawk as well, although there are at least a couple of others that look similar and a careful look at some more obscure feature is required to make definite call on it.

While I was busily focussing on the meadowhawks, I saw this caterpillar roaming around. It is the larval form of the American Dagger Moth.

And on various milkweed pods, I came across clusters of the Large Milkweed Bug.