Beach Creatures

 On several occasions during my outdoor forays, I have spent time along the southeast beaches and grassy sand dunes of Rondeau. This was in part due to the beach being one of Marie's favourite places to hike along when we were out at the park, and it was partly because, although it was fairly warm, there was often a breeze and the mosquitoes were not a problem! My most recent outing was on Aug 1, which is Marie's birthday, and I thought of her regularly while I was out and about.

Beaches and  shorelines can be great places to see birds, especially shorebirds as their name implies, with a greater variety during the times when they were migrating through the area. Some of the larger, and sought after species would include things like Whimbrel, shown first....

...or Willet, shown next.

More common are Ruddy Turnstones, this one in vivid plumage.

 Of course the Spotted Sandpiper is a breeding species, and one or more can be found regularly.

In most cases, the shorebirds will be gathering right along the shoreline, but on occasion when some miniature inlets have been established due to the intensive wave action of recent months, such as the one shown next, they may be a little more attractive to shorebirds. They will warrant periodic inspection as the shorebird migration season builds, that is for certain.

Of the shorebirds shown above, I only saw the latter species during my recent times there. But the shorelines can also be a popular place for gulls, sometimes in abundance.

Bonaparte's Gulls are building in numbers, as their breeding season has come to an end. They nest in the relatively far north, such as where there are scattered coniferous trees at the edge of the Hudson Bay Lowlands. This next photo is one I took while doing some wildlife surveys in Polar Bear Provincial Park, back in 1989, as it was nesting in a Spruce Tree several metres above ground.

 Here in southern Ontario, they are non-breeders, but can be present in large numbers both spring and fall. This first one is in its non-breeding plumage......

...whereas this next one shows an adult in almost full breeding plumage. There were several dozen of this species along the shoreline on one or more of my recent visits, along with both Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.

 But my primary focus was the small insect critters that inhabit the sandy areas scattered amongst the grassy dunes. I was really hoping to catch up to a Bronzed Tiger Beetle, which I had captured in my photos of a couple of years ago, and one photo of which ended up being included in my Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent book.

I didn't see any on my recent visits, but I will keep trying. Maybe it was a bit early in the season, or maybe they were smarter than I was and stayed under the sand to avoid the heat!

But there was a good variety of other little creatures which I was able to capture via my camera. They are all very small, with most of the following being about a centimetre in length, and some are quite cryptic, That combination makes it difficult to even see them let alone photograph them. This first one is an American Sand Wasp. It seldom rests on the sand, but is often hovering in flight, as the second image shows, or is busily burrowing its way into the sand, shown in the third photo.

Next is a Band-winged Bee Fly. They were fairly common.

Next is a type of Tarantula Hawk Wasp, known as Caliadurgus fasciatellus.

This next one is probably a not quite adult Carolina Grasshopper.

Probably an Eastern Dobsonfly, next.

This next one is a type of Flea Beetle. They were also fairly common, but not often seen unless they were in flight, and when they landed, they often tumbled over on their back before righting themselves.

This next one is a Seaside Grasshopper. One seldom saw them unless they were in flight, and as the second photo shows, they can blend in quite well to their sandy surroundings when the wings are folded. These photos, along with most of the other insect ones, were taken with my 500 mm lens which on the particular camera I was using, was the equivalent of about 16X and I could focus down to about a metre. Each one was then greatly cropped.

Thread-waisted Wasp

Next are a couple of images of a Three-banded Robber Fly.

A little larger and generally more obvious were a few damselflies, such as this one which seems to be a Tule Bluet.

In my searching for photographic objects above, I came across a couple of frogs hidden under a piece of wood. Due to them being mostly covered with sand, it was hard to see the details to be absolutely certain of their identity, but it seems they were Green Frogs. It was a little surprising to see them here, since normally that species is associated with quiet wetlands along with at least some forest cover. Out on these wide open sandy dunes, there was virtually no water other than the lake itself, and the arid conditions here seemed highly unlikely for them, but there they were.

Aside from concentrating on the small creatures of these habitats, one can easily get distracted by some of the larger and colourful elements, especially plants. A bit earlier in the season, one will find the yellow or Hairy Puccoon clusters scattered around the dunes.

At this time of year, there is a bit of a pinkish/purple haze through the beach grasses.

This is prime season for the colourful Cylindrical Blazing-star, which is officially a Species At Risk, but here it is quite abundant.

There can sometimes be a white colour form of this rarity, which brings a pleasant change to the pink/purple dominance.

 Then as with most natural areas, there is the occasional non-native species which gets established. Here is a Common Yucca, past flowering but distinctive nonetheless. They are scattered throughout the grassy beach dunes, and are undoubtedly present due to having been introduced on cottage lots at some point in the past.

I will be out again, maybe in not such hot weather, and see other little creatures. In the meantime, I will enjoy such outings, and think fondly of Marie being out there with me, at any time of the year.

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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