St. Clair National Wildlife Area, one of the highlights of southwestern Ontario

 St. Clair National Wildlife Area (SCNWA) has always been a favourite place of mine to go. It is special in its own right due to the high quality wetlands, and even better it is quite close to home and so accessible!

Many of my previous posts include some of the things I find there along with things from other sites, but this one will focus only on this NWA. Being ~600 acres (~240 ha) in size provides lots of opportunities for wildlife, especially wetland birds. A further benefit is that there are other wetlands immediately north and southwest of it, to improve the overall wetland features for wildlife. 

The hiking trail that crosses the heart of the wetland is invaluable to appreciate what it has to offer. The presence of an observation tower enhances a visit. These first two photos were taken from the tower, and the first one shows the hiking trail leading to the tower.

The second photo gives an idea of the expanse of the marsh, with some open areas scattered throughout, making it ideal for many water birds.

One never knows what to expect, so being constantly on alert for anything flying by is essential. One of the highlights of a recent evening visit was to observe both an adult Bald Eagle and an Osprey, with the eagle harassing the Osprey. I watched them for several minutes, as at one point they were flying almost right overhead. The down side was that it was getting close to 8 p.m. so the light wasn't great and they were against a bland sky, but I rattled off a bunch of shots. Here are some of the more satisfying ones. It was hard to tell, but it appeared that the Osprey had something in its talons, and the eagle was trying to get it to let it go so it could pounce on whatever it had. I didn't see any success of this, and eventually the two birds separated and moved off.

 

 

On another occasion when I was out in the evening, I enjoyed an attractive sunset.

Sometimes one can see things like Sandhill Cranes passing by against the colourful sky.

Sunrise photography is also quite fun and rewarding. These next two were not taken recently, but a few years ago when I had a special interest in capturing sunrise shots from various points in Chatham-Kent.

 Aside from the landscape, er, waterscape photography, the main purpose for many visitors is to see the wonderful diversity of flora and fauna. Here are a few things from mostly recent visits, starting with butterflies.

Black Swallowtail

Clouded Sulphur 

The first two butterflies are to be expected. This next one is a Common Buckeye, and it is anything but common. This was the first one I had seen this season. A bit of a surprise was to see three of them, and they were vying for a spot to land. This one was the successful one, and I saw the same one (based on the wear and tear on the left forewing) in the same place two days later.

Monarchs, of course, were fairly abundant which wasn't surprising due to the plentiful milkweed on which to lay eggs when they weren't feeding on Missouri Ironweed.

Red Admiral

Viceroy

The flowers are more abundant in the later part the season, with lots of goldenrod and sunflower species lining the trail these days. One of the highlight species to see is this next one, the Marsh Tickseed, which is an endangered species, but fairly common along at the waters edge along both sides of the trail.

Another rarity, although not as rare as the previous one, is Missouri Ironweed.

 

Another rarity is Field Thistle, next.

 Not a rarity at all, and actually fairly common, is Evening Primrose.

 

Of course there are quite a few Leopard Frogs hopping along the trail.

 But birds are one of the main reasons people are visiting, and for good reason. The views and diversity are great, with some giving good photo opportunities, and others just views through binoculars as they scoot through the skies. Waterfowl are building in numbers, and once the hunting season starts, they will be increasingly abundant at the NWA as it is a safe haven for them. Here are a few waterbirds that I have recently encountered and photographed.

Great Blue Heron

Less frequently the herons will be up in a tree along the edge.

Great Egret

One of the highlights of a few years ago, when the water in the NWA was lower, was to photograph a large group of Great Egrets at their overnight roost. This photo was taken in late September just before sunrise. I had to use a very slow shutter speed, due to the very early morning light, but the birds remained motionless.

Waterfowl, especially Mallards will be quite abundant in the next few weeks.

Mallard

Okay, not a waterbird in one sense, but Northern Harriers frequently nest in wetlands, and are often hunting for something to feed on.

The first two photos were taken from the tower. And then the bird landed a short ways just off the trail, and allowed me to get this next photo.

Pied-billed Grebes are more often heard than seen.

Sandhill Cranes are often in the area, and will nest in or adjacent to the wetland. When feeding in the shallow water, they can sometimes be almost obscured by the tall wetland vegetation. This was taken from the tower.

 Wood Ducks are a favourite, and are one of the more common duck species present at the moment.

Young female Wood Ducks

 

So many photo opportunities to enjoy at this nationally significant natural area. Enjoy it when you can!

 

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Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail

 The Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail is one of my regular places to go to, especially in the summer. It is open, usually a nice breeze, fewer bugs, and always a few things to see and photograph. And it isn't that far from home.

For anyone not familiar with this trail, this is what it looked like when I took this photo in April of 1989, as I was giving some folks an aerial tour of the district.

 The wetland had been altered, obviously, to create more edge and what not. It has changed a bit, but the canals are still there, although somewhat filled in, and they aren't as sharply delineated as this photo shows. There is a gravel trail that goes out through one of the stands of cattails, and is a little higher elevation, which gives a great view of Lake St. Clair. The trail also goes south and ends at Mitchell's Bay village, following the shoreline. This next photo was recently taken from the slightly higher vantage point, looking northwest out over the lake, with Walpole Island First Nation in the background. There is even a picnic table to rest at and spend as much time as you want, watching the ducks, geese, cormorants, egrets, gulls, eagles, terns, etc. moving around.

 Great Egrets are almost always seen, from early May until freeze-up. Sometimes they are perched on something along the shallow water edge....

...or sometimes up in a tree fairly close to the trail. They must feel a little safer higher up.

 A cormorant swims by in the canal adjacent to the trail....

...while a Green Heron partially hides in the vegetation out in the shallows.

Shorebirds can be around, depending on water levels of course. Here is a Greater Yellowlegs....

...with a Killdeer nearby.

Sandhill Cranes are often in the area, although sometimes just seen flying well out over the lake. The wind turbines in northern Essex County are visible out in the back ground.

This shows that shorebirds can be seen in close proximity to one another, as in this next photo, a Solitary Sandpiper is on the left, then a Lesser Yellowlegs in the middle and a Killdeer on the right.

A closer look at a Solitary Sandpiper, not a species that ever seems to be very abundant.

There is some Phragmites along sections of the trail. This sparrow popped up and got my attention. It isn't a typical plumage, but appears to be a partially leucistic plumage of a Song Sparrow. Leucism is the result of a lightening of the feathers, as opposed to albinism, the latter of which results in some or all of the feathers being white, and the eyes, legs and beak are pink.

Along with the Phragmites, there are other plants, especially as in the last decade and a half, some of the land areas have been planted with tallgrass prairie species. Of course when flowers are blooming, butterflies can be found, such as this Viceroy.

Purple Loosestrife, can be abundant, unfortunately.....

...and this next photo shows a view across the canal along the trail, and the Purple Loosestrife can be seen in the foreground, with numerous taller Cup Plant in the background.

Cup Plant

Another non-native, but fairly abundant species is Velvet Leaf. It is quite common anywhere near roadsides or agricultural fields.

The next two species are definitely tallgrass prairie associates.

Missouri Ironweed

Indiangrass

Great Blue Lobelia, next, is native but a generalist.

And other critters will be found on the flowers such as:

Goldenrod Soldier Beetle

Arcigera Flower Moth

Another prairie plant species is American Senna, next, but is pretty much finished flowering now.

Various critters can be found along the trail, including a few Bronzed Tiger Beetles...

...and Differential Grasshoppers, which are a species at risk, but quite abundant here. They are on the gravel path... 

...or resting in the adjacent vegetation.

This Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly was quite cooperative resting on the bent over stem of Indiangrass.

So there are a few things to see along this little used trail. Sometimes there are people from the Mitchell's Bay village hiking or biking along the trail, but sometimes I have the trail all to myself for an hour or two. I don't mind a bit :-).

 

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