Mid-autumn things, and a taste of winter

 Autumn, and especially October, is my favourite time of year. The weather is usually quite appealing, not hot and humid, and there are still lots of things to enjoy out in the natural world. And of course October is the month that I got to marry Marie, almost 50 years ago, and that was a significant reason to be thankful.

I enjoy watching the change in colours, as the autumn season winds down. Here is a progression over the last few weeks, from one of my preferred vantage points.

October 8

The next one is a bit brighter, sunnier day.

October 28

And finally, on a partly cloudy but mostly clear sky day.

October 31

I was out a couple of days ago, but it was quite windy and many of the leaves were off. I don't know what it would look like today, Nov 9, but this is what it looked like out my kitchen window!

It probably wasn't quite so white at Rondeau, as the lake effect would have kept the weather slightly warmer, and any snow that fell would not have lasted long.

A bit earlier, there were some sunny and moderately warm days, which can be interesting. Some butterflies were still flitting about. Nothing rare, but nice to see as the season winds down. I had 6 of the first one...

Eastern Comma

...but only a single of this next one.

Mourning Cloak

Some fungi were still developing. This first one, Destructive Pholiota, had fruiting bodies earlier, but they dropped off, or got knocked off, so they tried again.

Oct 28

Nov 4

Pear-shaped Puffball

Other things I took the opportunity to photograph, include:

Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar

Marbled Orb Weaver

Next is the leaf of a rare orchid known as Puttyroot. It is in the later part of the autumn that the leaf appears, and will stay like this all winter, until the flowering stem appears in late May/early June. At that point, the leaves dry up and aren't normally visible when the plant is flowering.

Next is Silky Parchment, another type of fungus.

Wooly Bear Caterpillars are seen quite regularly.

There is still a good variety of birds to be seen at times, flitting about the shrubbery or whatever, seeking sustenance from the berries. White-throated Sparrows, shown first, were quite abundant in dogwood thickets where the berries of Gray Dogwood, or sometimes a non-native rose can be found.

American Robins are migrating in good numbers, and can be found feeding on the berries of Red Cedar.

There was a fairly good crop of acorns this year, so these next three species are all taking advantage of them.

Blue Jay

This Red-bellied Woodpecker is trying to stash an acorn in a tree limb, planning on feeding on it later in the winter.

Wild Turkeys are scattered about, and feed on acorns as well.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are undoubtedly the most common warbler persisting in the area these days. A small number may stick around all winter.
 

Enjoy any remaining autumn colours....they won't be around much longer!

Some new insect species for Rondeau, and some regulars

 I've been spending a bit more time than usual, on the search for insects visiting things like goldenrods or sunflowers, and that are not well represented at Rondeau. In the process, I have come across some species new to the park, and some that are even endangered! Certainly one of the highlights is this Zabulon Skipper, a new butterfly species for the park.

In no particular order are some of the others, both common and rare to endangered.

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Common Aerial Yellowjacket

Banded Tussock Moth

Bald Faced Hornet

This next one isn't an insect, obviously, but it is a first for the park. It is Conifer Chicken of the Woods, which is found predominantly on coniferous trees. This was on a fallen White Pine trunk.

Decorated Mop (second record)

Next is a quite attractive fungus called Golden Oyster Mushroom. It is not native however.

Another fungus is this one called Wolf's Milk.

Eastern Yellowjacket

Next is a large caterpillar, of the Elm Sphinx moth. While Elm trees are almost non-existent in Rondeau, it is also associated with Basswood so there are lots of them.

Fall Webworm caterpillar

Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar

Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee

Spiders are of interest, although I don't seek them out all that much. When I wander the trails, or just through the woods, I frequently run into their webs! This one is a Marbled Orbweaver, sometimes found tucked into a rolled up leaf at the edge of their web...

...or sometimes quite obviously out roaming around their web.

This next one is an endangered species, known as a Metric Paper Wasp

Much more common is this Northern Paper Wasp.....

...and a Silver-spotted Skipper sipping on the nectar of this American Hog-peanut.

This next one is fairly distinctive, although small. It is a type of Tachinid fly, with no common name but a long Latin name known as Xanthomelanodes arcuatus. It is the first record for Rondeau. It doesn't have any formal status, although there are very few records across southern Ontario.

Next is a Tufted Cluster Fly, another first for Rondeau.

I'll wrap up this post with a couple of bird species. First is a Hudsonian Godwit that has been hanging around the Keith McLean Conservation Lands fairly reliably over the last few days. It is well away from the closest vantage point, so only distant photos are possible.

The muddy island in the middle of the wetland is popular for shorebirds, including the godwit, but it is also a popular hunting ground for a Peregrine Falcon. It swoops and dives at high speed and makes getting a good photo challenging. These next two are the best I could get so far.

 

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Birds and other critters on some warm days of October

As is often the case, there have been a few warmer than normal days in October. It is almost summer-like, and lots of sun. It isn't really Indian Summer....that is a few weeks away, hopefully.

Yesterday I checked out the Erieau waterfront, hoping to catch up with a Hudsonian Godwit that Steve Charbonneau had seen the day before. The water levels and weed mats in Rondeau bay are such that they provide excellent habitat for ducks, shorebirds and herons. Unfortunately they are a long way from shore, so that even with the 'scope cranked up to 50-60 power, viewing especially during a breezy day can be challenging.

I didn't see the godwit. I didn't see the Eurasian Wigeon that Steve had seen either, but with the 5000+ ducks scattered as far as the eye could see, the wigeon was probably there somewhere. As for the godwit: there were shorebirds, including Pectoral Sandpiper, both yellowlegs and both American and Black-bellied Plover, plus a few peeps that went unidentified due to the distance and haze. Who knows where the godwit is by now.

I headed over to Rondeau next, going to the east branch of the South Point Trail. Birds weren't especially plentiful, but I did see a few warblers skulking in the wind-blown shrubbery. The most notable avian species was an abundance of Rusty Blackbirds (it was being considered as a Species At Risk recently, although it hasn't happened yet).....there must have been upwards of 1000 in several flocks. It was really hard to tell the number, as they kept emerging from the wetland shrubbery only to stream by to the other side of the trail. They were constantly on the move, and difficult to get a photo of.

Even though it was windy, where the sun was hitting the trail in some sheltered areas, it was good for butterflies. I saw at least 8 Eastern Commas.

There are a few Monarchs still passing through.

A small number of Pearl Crescents are still around.

 A single Common Buckeye was fighting the wind looking for shelter.

The sunny pavement also attracts snakes trying to soak up a bit more warmth before going underground for the next few months. I noted several Eastern Gartersnakes, as well as this Northern Brown Snake.

The park roads open to vehicular traffic showed evidence of slow moving snakes, unfortunately, with several Eastern Gartersnakes in various states of wreckage.


When one got to the southeast corner, it was easy to see the results of the early autumn storms of the last couple of weeks. This remnant from the old south campground camp office was exposed during the major east wind storms of 2015, but then got mostly covered up again for most of the next few months....such is the norm for dynamic shorelines. But now, once again, the strong winds from the east and southeast have brought it back into view.

Along the sandy trail to the shoreline, I noted a small, orange ball on the move, struggling to escape a shallow sandy pit. It turned out to be a Marbled Orb Weaver, a colourful spider that is fairly common in late summer.

The Blenheim Sewage Lagoons can be a worthwhile stop. On this day a male Lesser Scaup was the first bird I saw.

There were almost 150 Ruddy Ducks in various sized groups in each of the ponds.

One of the Long-billed Dowitchers was still around. This one has a shorter bill than some of the others of a week or so ago.

LBDO, October 12, 2016

LBDO October 1, 2016

This next photo shows a Greater Yellowlegs on the left, a Lesser Yellowlegs on the right with the dowitcher busily feeding in the middle.

Savannah Sparrows are widely scattered and plentiful.

And there has been a recent influx of American Pipits. I observed more than two dozen flying over the sprinkler cells and dropping into the drier, weedy portions.

Butterflies are still around, with the only unusual ones noted at the lagoons being two Common Checkered Skippers. They were on the move and this photo is from a previous visit.