3d outings, Nelson's Sparrows and waterbirds

 First of all, I must apologize for not responding to some of the comments that readers have left on the past few posts. For some reason unbeknownst to me, this blog site periodically goes into a funk, and even though I can post blogs and comment on other's blogs, it does not allow me to reply to comments on my own blog! It will eventually straighten around. At least it always has in the past.

On to this post. 

There has been quite a mix of weather these last few days, ranging from wonderful sunny, bright, comfortable days to what I call 3d days: dull, damp and dreary days. I've been out in all types. Sometimes I choose to go out on a 3d day, as I know the places I want to go will not be crowded. On a couple of those that occurred recently, I went for a long hike at Rondeau. On one of them I didn't even take my camera with telephoto lens, just the camera with a short zoom lens. And also an umbrella.

Some readers will be familiar with the term 'forest bathing'. It is becoming more popular, although it is not a new type of outdoor experience. While some attribute it to an experience first developed in Japan in the 1980s, in reality it has been going on for a lot longer than that! I expect that the intensely driven nature of Japanese society to be productive following the war, might have caused some to realize the dangers in such an intensively driven society, and thus realized the benefits of spending relaxing time in nature. But the reality is that humans have been finding comfort, relaxation and inspiration, and therefore many health benefits, for centuries. It just wasn't called forest bathing.

I have been doing it for decades. I intentionally choose places where I am least likely to encounter other humans, especially if there is a lot of human activity on a nice day. 3d days are ideal. One can walk along at a very leisurely pace, soaking up the ambiance of the quiet woods. Or one can go along at a brisk pace, stopping along the way when you want, but getting good cardiovascular benefits as well. If one is out for long enough, both brisk and leisurely time can be done.

I typically try and get about 5-7 km in a walk of this type. Sometimes hiking this far or longer on a 3d day I might only encounter 2-3 people, and then only briefly as the cyclist is going the other direction. As mentioned above, I have been out to Rondeau a couple of time with this in mind. On the occasion when I didn't take my long lens, the only photography I did was to capture the quiet greenery of the forest.

Without focusing on birds, one may notice some of the other inhabitants of the forest. While some might consider them 'lesser' inhabitants, I don't, as they all contribute in the way that they were intended, and without them the conditions of the forest might be quite different!

Fringed Gentian

New England Aster

 Some, unfortunately, will not be around anymore, but the scavengers and decomposers may get some benefit.

Northern Watersnake

On other occasions, I have taken the telephoto lens with me, and encountered scattered flocks of migrant birds. Under the shaded canopy, and with numerous leaves to contend with, getting good photos is not easy. Most photos ended up in the deleted file.

Blue-headed Vireo

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Most of the migrants are busily, even frantically, feeding on whatever they can find, to gain enough energy to continue on their southward journey. Sometimes they get into some rather unconventional positions in their search, which may or may not end up successful. This Black-throated Green Warbler was getting into all sorts of positions looking under the leaves for a tiny morsel of something.

There are lots of berries still clinging to the shrubs and vines that produced them. Dogwoods, Viburnums, Wild Grape and Virginia Creeper are some of the most abundant berry producers, but the one shown next is that of Winterberry, not a very common species here at all. While it likes to grow in damp locations, which there is a lot of at Rondeau, I only know of it occurring in about three locations. These berries seem to be popular, and will not last long with all of the berry-eating migrant birds passing through these days.

On another occasion, Marie and I spent some time hiking the Mitchell's Bay North Lakeshore Trail, and also the southern trail. I find the north trail a bit more enjoyable, as it is less busy and with better view points to appreciate what is along the trail. Parking can be a challenge, however. Very few people, even birders, explore this trail. Nonetheless, almost 140 species of birds have been recorded here.

The trail has been upgraded in the last year. It was closed for most of a year, due to high water damage of the dyke much of it is built on, and this visit was only the second one of the year for me. The trail has had a good layer of crushed stone on it, with one part of it leading to a slightly higher viewpoint looking over Lake St. Clair and the south end of Walpole Island First Nation. There is even a picnic bench at the end, to make spending time at the viewing point more comfortable. Thanks to the municipality of Chatham-Kent for maintaining these trails!

One often will see Great Egrets here, not surprising since there is at least one sizeable nesting colony at Walpole.

Ospreys don't nest anywhere nearby that I am aware of, but given that it is their time to migrate, birds passing through will make use of the watery environment from which to catch their next meal, as this one has done.

As long as there is open water, one will almost certainly see anywhere from one to several dozen of the non-native and problematic Mute Swans.

The Keith McLean Conservation Lands just north of Rondeau continue to be productive for birds. While the water levels are down from the past couple of years, at times migrating shorebirds and others make good use of the more limited flooded field habitat. I have stopped there a couple of times as well, and had good success at finding and photographing some of these migrants, including:

American Golden Plover

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Stilt Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitcher

 Long-billed Dowitchers are not common, but show up annually in small numbers, at least for a few days. I came across two birds on my second last visit.

 

 Up to a dozen Hudsonian Godwits dropped in for a short time a day after one of my recent visits. Most left, but at least three remained, and on a subsequent visit, I managed to get a very distant photo of them. It is highly cropped. The godwits are to the right of the smaller, single Killdeer, with their heads down feeding in this photo.

Great Egrets are regularly found here as well, although not usually very cooperative at close range.

Turkey Vultures pass through daily right now on their migration, with some sticking around for a short while.

On my second last visit, I saw some small sparrow types that I suspected could be Nelson's Sparrows, but they were furtive and I never got conclusive looks at the. Other birders were there the next day, and confirmed seeing several. As a result, there has been a fairly steady stream of birders spending time here to search for them, and as far as I know, always with some success. Since I was going to the park for some black lighting last Friday, I went a bit earlier to also search. The soybean field along the natural area had been harvested, and the weedy edges along that field that seemed to attract these shy, elusive sparrows, was gone. Fortunately there was enough habitat elsewhere, and in a more concentrated area, to keep the sparrows from moving on. I did manage to see not one, not two, but eleven Nelson's Sparrows! It was a breezy time, and since the birds didn't sit atop the vegetation for their views, they were always a little lower, and with the wind blowing the weedy vegetation back and forth so steadily, it was difficult for the camera to lock focus in time for a clear photo. This first one is one of the 'better' out-of-focus shots I got. Many others were quickly deleted.

Fortunately there were a few photos that I was pleased with.

This next one has two birds, with the front one being in relatively good focus, but partially obscured by vegetation. Another bird is in the blurry background to the left.

I was definitely more satisfied with the results this time. Last year, while there weren't quite as many as far as we know, I did not get a single photo that I was pleased with.

If you would like to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to Nature Nuggets, send an email to: prairietramper@gmail.com

Things with wings, and endangered plants, September style

I've been at the local sewage lagoons a couple of times recently to take in migrant shorebirds, which are in abundance, and butterflies which are still enjoying the flowers in the bright sun. Yellowlegs, both Greater and Lesser, were well represented.

Greater Yellowlegs

 My real hope was that the western Willet was still around. I missed it the last time I was there. After a bit of searching, it did indeed show up and entertained me with a couple of flybys.

Willet

 Its relative size shows up better in this next image, where Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper and other shorebirds are all in flight.

 In the sprinkler cells were a couple of adult American Golden Plover, as shown next in proximity to a one-legged Lesser Yellowlegs. A Buff-breasted Sandpiper showed up an hour or so after I left.

American Golden Plover

 The lingering Tundra Swan seems to be getting more tolerant of birders......or else it is getting weaker.

Other winged things were visible on this sunny day, enjoying the late summer show of wildflowers. Monarchs were quite numerous, along with a few Summer Azures, Eastern Tailed Blues and the usual Cabbage Whites and Orange/Clouded Sulphurs.

At least three fresh looking Black Swallowtails were active.

Black Swallowtail

A nice looking Common Ringlet was still around. The Butterflies through Binoculars guide indicates that it isn't normally seen past mid-August at this northern latitude. Guess someone forgot to tell this one.

Common Ringlet

 Another butterfly was this Least Skipper.

Least Skipper

 But the real highlight was catching up to a Common Checkered-Skipper, the first one I have seen this year. A couple had been seen here earlier by others. Unfortunately I didn't get the kind of photo I was hoping for, with its wings outspread to show all of the upper side wing details. It sat like this for a minute and then true to form, skedaddled away low to the ground and behind other vegetation and I never saw it again. Its small size (even with wings outspread, it is only about 22mm across) in the bright, dappled sunlight doesn't make it any easier.

Common Checkered-Skipper

And in other news......I spent some time confirming and photographing another rare late summer orchid: Yellow Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes ochroleuca). It doesn't have any official legal status as Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern, but in reality, it should be Endangered as there are fewer than 10 known locations for it in all of Canada, and some of those have likely been lost in the last decade or so. It likes sand plains, and the small population I am aware of occurs on private property, which I had permission from the landowner to check out.

It looks a lot like others in the Spiranthes genus, but differs in that it:
-is slightly creamy yellow (hence the common name);
-is a little deeper yellow in the throat of the flower;
-is a little more humped at the base than others in that genus, and
-when seen from the angle as shown in the second image, shows that the individual flowers are more separated from the one above, sort of stretched out like, compared to other Spiranthes.

Still on the topic of Endangered plants, the next image shows a few clumps of Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus.

It is endangered....sort of. In the previous iteration of Ontario's Endangered Species Act, this species was only legally protected at the two sites where it was considered to be naturally occurring: Point Pelee National Park, and Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve (on Pelee Island). There is definite evidence of the species being planted elsewhere in southern Ontario, which is why those other locations were not legally protected. As far as I am aware, that is the current position under the current piece of legislation. To add some confusion, the federal Species At Risk Act does not seem to make the distinction between naturally occurring and planted, but in reality, the feds, as I recall, do not apply their regulations to jurisdictions that have a similar piece of legislation, unless that jurisdiction shows evidence of failing to apply their legislation. Or something like that, but it has been a few years since I had to deal with such issues on the job. (Have I ever indicated that it is very nice to be retired :-).

At any rate, the evidence for the presence of Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus at the location shown in the photo is such that it may well be a naturally occurring population......it isn't 100% conclusive, but probably 90% or greater. Naturally occurring or not, it is unfortunate that this population which has been present for at least 70 years, is under threat due to improper management and unauthorized soil excavation.

On a brighter note, on the same day of visiting the orchid and cactus, I stopped under the bridge south of Thamesville, which crosses the Thames River. I was looking for damsels, but hoping not to find ones in distress. And I had more success than I expected! This is a known location for some interesting and distinctive damselflies: American Rubyspot and Smoky Rubyspot. There were several American Rubyspots, both male and female, and in spite of their reluctance to let me approach with the macro lens, I did get reasonably close with the 100-400 which has a minimum focus distance of slightly less than a metre, even at 400 mm. This first image is of a male American Rubyspot. It looks a little surreal (I've had comments indicating it looks like a painting...not what a photographer wants to hear his photos compared to, however), but the tan background is the result of the out-of-focus colour of the Thames River.

American Rubyspot

 One of my all time favourite damselflies, because it is so distinctive and dazzling, is the Ebony Jewelwing. When it occurs along a shaded forest stream and catches a bit of sunlight, the iridescent green in combination with the black wings is amazing. It wasn't quite so dazzling on this overcast day, but nice just the same.

Ebony Jewelwing

As mentioned, this site is also a known location for a less common damselfly, the Smoky Rubyspot. It wasn't until I got home and saw this one on the computer that I realized I had a shot of a male Smoky Rubyspot perched on a smartweed! It has a blacker body and smoky black wingtips. There is a type that has darker wings, but not all of them, so I was pleased to have shot one of these as well. I only got one useable shot, as this species is known to be more wary than its American relative.

Smoky Rubyspot