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.