Wetlands, shorebirds and a couple of orchids

 There are so many things to see and photograph! I've been out periodically when it hasn't been super hot and humid, and try and pick times of the day when it is most comfortable. This is a good time of year to see shorebirds, especially when the conditions at sewage lagoons are highly attractive for them. A recent visit didn't turn up any American Avocets, like I saw a couple of weeks earlier, but the following ones were fairly typical.

Least Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs

Pectoral Sandpiper

This next one isn't a shorebird, obviously, but a regular inhabitant of the open grassy conditions surrounding the various cells. It is a Savannah Sparrow, and nests here.

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper, still in partial breeding plumage

This next one is also a Spotted Sandpiper, but in a juvenile plumage.

One of the more sought after shorebirds to see at this time of year is this next one. It is a Stilt Sandpiper. Note the slight droop at the end of the bill, and the fairly heavily barring on its flanks.

And when it comes out of the water, its dull yellow legs are visible.

 I stopped by the Erieau Marsh Trail on one occasion, thinking that the mud flats might have attracted some shorebirds. I didn't see any, but came across this photo op.

Tired Turtles

I check out the open wetland areas along Lake St. Clair fairly regularly, as there is always something of interest there. Turkey Vultures are a bit more common these days. It won't be too many more weeks until they are passing through in huge numbers!

Swamp Rose Mallow, a provincial Species At Risk, is fairly common in the best quality wetlands.

American White Water Lily

There are lots of flowering plants along the trail, so butterflies are regularly flitting about.

Black Swallowtail

Monarch butterflies are sometimes quite commonly seen.

Sandhill Cranes continue, but are typically wary of people.

On the other hand, members of the swallow group are quite abundant. They really like the open wetland habitat for feeding on the hordes of insects, as well as for resting opportunities in dead trees. At the moment, I find Purple Martins are the most abundant.

Marsh Wrens continue to occupy the cattail part of the wetlands...

...and Great Egrets have finished breeding, so they frequently hang out in or near the wetlands. At this spot at St. Clair NWA, I counted 14 perched in the broken tree complex.....

...and another dozen in the vicinity of the Mitchell's Bay North Trail.

Eastern Kingbirds have fledged, and are busily feeding their young.

Of course when aren't Canada Geese common! But if they provide a photo op, I will sometimes take it.

Also near open wetland are things like Buttonbush......

...and Bull Thistle.

Meanwhile, American Goldfinches are picking away at the fluffy seedheads of Canada Thistle.

And I usually get out to Rondeau from time to time....no surprise there! First photo is that of an American Green Crab Spider, resting on a boardwalk railing.

Nearby were some flowers of Bittersweet Nightshade hanging over the trail.

A non-native orchid, but an orchid nonetheless, is the Broad-leaved Helleborine.

Along woodland edges is Fringed Loosestrife, with their downward facing flowers.

Last, but certainly not least, is one of my most sought after plants, and one of the most endangered plants in Canada. It is the Nodding Pogonia. I went out specifically looking to see how it was developing in spite of the relatively hot dry weather, which normally does not bode well for it, and was quite pleased to find at least a dozen in flower! I expect to have more to say and show about this orchid in a future post, so will only include one of several photos I took on this occasion.

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A walk in the woods can turn up many things!

A healthy woodland is always interesting to explore. There are breeding birds, of course, but not always as obvious with the heavy foliage. Here, a Great Horned Owl is peering out at me.

There is so much more diversity in the other types of wildlife and vegetation, however. And often the human crowds are not much of a problem, at least on some of the more remote trails.

Some things are brightly coloured and easily noticed, such as this Chicken-of-the-woods fungus. They can be seen at anytime, from June through September.

Other orange things include this Wood Lily (Lilium phildelphicum), found along some of the more open sections of woodland.....

...as well as this Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense).

A bit earlier in the season, one can see this orangey scene at various places of a woodland.

These oblong cavities are characteristic of where a Pileated Woodpecker has drilled into the trunk of a Hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) digging out insects. The indirect result is the ensuing run of sap. Sap contains good concentrations of sugars especially in the spring, and these sugars are attractive to yeasts for feeding on. The type of yeast here is Cryptococcus macerans. It can appear on many different types of tree and even on wild grape vines and is often seen where there has been a wound that lets the sap out.

There isn't a lot of sunlight getting to the forest floor these days, and wildflowers are not abundant.

You are more apt to see the spring wildflowers in this condition, with their seeds ripening, such as this Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandifolia).

Where a tree has died, or fallen over, it lets a bit more sunlight to the forest floor, and it is there where there is a greater profusion of vegetative growth. This American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) has fallen over, and the growth on the forest floor is beginning to become more prevalent than in the  adjacent shaded area.

 
There are a few flowering plants, however, even in the somewhat subdued light. Purple-flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus) is scattered about. Its fruit is not considered edible like many other  raspberries are.

Fringed Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) may be found in some of the damper sections.

 A close-up of the leaf stem shows the fringe, which gives this plant its name.

Another plant found in rich woodlands these days, and mostly restricted to the Carolinian Life Zone, is Richweed (Collinsonia canadensis).

It wasn't until I got these images on the computer that I noticed the colourful little critter on the stem...a Red-banded Leafhopper!

I usually see these leafhoppers on milkweed plants in more open areas, so I was a bit surprised to see this one here.

A close-up from a previous year

Thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana) is not all that colourful, but is distinctive.

This vine, named Wild Yamroot (Dioscorea villosa), is not common, and the flowers are not particularly impressive. Its seeds are more obvious than the flowers, and in the fall, the heart-shaped leaves turn an attractive golden brown.

Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum) is quite abundant in these southern hardwood forests. It is one of the more delicate fern species, and will disappear with the first frosts.

Bottlebrush Grass (Elymus hystrix) is an obvious grass species well represented along the trails.

Occasionally one might come across a fork (Forcus plasticus) in the trail :-).

If you look closely to where you are stepping, the distinctly marked caterpillar of a Mourning Cloak butterfly may be crossing the trail.

This next image shows a Brown Stink Bug (Menacles insertus). I didn't handle it to see if it lived up to its name.

Even in the forest, dragonflies occur. Here is presumably a female White-faced Meadowhawk, well away from its normal wetland haunts. The various species of meadowhawk are notoriously difficult to tell apart in the field, especially the females.

Even during these dog days of summer, there is lots to see!