Some great May Highlights

There has been so much to see in May. Birds, of course, but also various wildflowers as well as reptiles, insects, mammals, etc. I have been doing some black lighting, and will devote one or more posts to that topic in the near future. But for now, I will try and catch up with some of the various highlights that I encountered recently, whether it be a rare plant or an opportunistic photo op.

One of the first things you may notice when checking out this post is a new header photo. I hate to see the American Avocets go, but this next one deserves the profile. It highlights a wonderful experience I had earlier in the month at the Sydenham River Nature Reserve. The Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are truly spectacular here, but only for a few days. They are so abundant that in the overall site, on both sides of the river, there must be at least 40 acres of them! It isn't a rare Ontario species, but certainly is not common although they can be abundant where they are found. It is ranked as S3, which means there are more than 20 locations but fewer than 100 locations in Ontario. I think it is safe to say that there are fewer than 50 naturally occurring populations in Ontario.

Once they finish flowering, the plant flops onto the ground and quickly gets hidden by other vegetation, and in just a few weeks the entire plant seems to disappear. But for a couple of weeks in early May, it is a sight to behold.

There are other wildflowers about, although not many in the deeper woodland areas which are almost fully shaded now. Jack-in-the-pulpit is quite common and widespread.

 Large-flowered Bellwort can be abundant.

 One of the least observed spring wildflowers is this next one: Mitrewort. The plant is not usually very abundant, but is not rare by any means. However the entire plant is seldom more than 40 cm (16") tall, and the tiny flowers are barely 4-5 mm across.

 In woodland pools, this Yellow Water Crowfoot, a type of buttercup, can be abundant.

On one of my most recent visits to Rondeau, I came across this Eastern Foxsnake, an officially endangered reptile, enjoying the quiet roadway.

Elsewhere in the park were these Five-lined Skinks, also endangered and Ontario's only lizard. It is sometimes called a Blue-tailed Skink, as the one in this next photo shows, but it is only the young ones that have the blue tail. This particular individual is playing Ostrich, with its head buried in the sand. It was quite healthy as far as I could tell, as it quickly scurried away shortly after I got this photo.

Adult Five-lined Skink

I wanted to get to the southeast beach to check on shorebirds. Along the way I came across this clump of Puccoon, the only one I saw in flower that day, but by now, there should be plenty out.

 I did encounter some shorebirds, including these two Ruddy Turnstones, along with Dunlin and Least Sandpiper.

 My real hope was to find a few Whimbrel, a large brownish shorebird with a long, down curved bill and are typically found in the area for only a few days in spring. I was pleased to find 6 birds, and got these 5 in the photo.

I also had a visit to the McGeachy Pond and Erieau Rail trails for a few hours one day. There were a few birds, but the day before it had been really exceptional with numbers and diversity. American Redstarts were plentiful the day I was there, including this young male which really wasn't trying to serenade me I am sure.

 There were at least a couple of Northern Parula, a species of warbler which always used to seem hard to find. This one was quite approachable, almost too close to focus on!

 I saw both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, which are typically hard to photograph. However this Black-billed Cuckoo obliged me for a few minutes.

 The trail edges have lots of this next species along it: Dame's Rocket is very colourful, but not native.

 The wetlands had lots of turtles. I did see a couple of Blanding's Turtles, but got no photos. However this adult Midland Painted Turtle....

 ....and this hatchling of last year, were more cooperative.

The Blenheim Sewage Lagoons are now open to birders, with a municipally provided permit. Birders have to keep numbers down to 5 or less, and practice social distancing. I went to check them out the first day they were open, and unfortunately the overall bird diversity was quite low. Only 4 species of waterfowl (Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Mallard and Ruddy Duck) and only two species of shorebird (Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper) were there. Nothing to get excited about, and with the water in the ponds very high, and the sprinkler cells totally dry, they aren't going to be very exciting for birds or birders anytime soon. However I did have an unexpected highlight. A couple of Red Fox pups were scampering around, and quite surprised to see a human based on their apparent urgency to get far, far away when I appeared. They were partially back lit, so not the ideal photo but I was certainly happy to get these.

More than just birds!

The peak of the spring bird migration is now behind us for another year, much to the chagrin of keen birders. There are still some species heading north, but in just a few short weeks, others will be heading back south!

During the last couple of weeks or so, there have been some lulls in the bird activity, and then it is time for me to get out a different camera and lens combination to focus on plants. I am almost glad for these lulls in birds, since the parade of spring wildflowers is nothing short of amazing in its own right.

Exploring the forest is a rich and rewarding experience, especially on a quiet day with little wind and after a cleansing rain. This post will highlight, in no particular order, some of the more recognizable herbaceous wildflowers one can see in the woodlands or adjacent areas. Perhaps some of you were noticing these plants in your quest for birds, but didn't know what they were. The ones shown here are fairly typical of similar habitats across southern Ontario.

 
There are many sloughs at Rondeau, which is perfect habitat for the Yellow Water Crowfoot/Buttercup (Ranunculus flabellaris), a member of the Buttercup family. This year was a particularly good one for this species. I don't think I have ever seen it as profuse as what it was this year. Even though it started flowering early in May, it is still in flower in small numbers. It shows up towards the back of the image above. My main purpose for taking that photo wasn't for the flowers, however, but because I like the large Silver Maples in the slough with the green setting.

A similar species, but one which didn't start flowering until a few days ago, is the White-water Crowfoot/Buttercup (Ranunculus longirostris). It tends to be in the quiet, shallow water of cattail marshes. The submerged leaves of both of these species are very finely dissected, as they appear in this next image.

Everyone knows the trillium. But this next one is a rarity. It is the yellow form of the Red Trillium (Trillium erectum).

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a delicate wildflower found especially at the edges of pine oak forests. Hummingbirds love them. On occasion you will see a hummer hovering below, sticking its long bill up to get the nectar at the top of the flower tube.

This first image is what it typically looks like.

 Sometimes you may find a paler version.

 This year I found a creamy yellow version, only the second time I have seen it in Rondeau.

I expect that everyone knows the Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).

Large-flowered Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) is abundant. Since its flowers hang down, the yellow colour gets lost on the bright, sunny days. It is much more showy on an overcast day and when you get down to take a closer look.

Wood Betony, a.k.a. Lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis), is common in the sandy pine-oak forest. It can be mostly yellow....

 ....or sometimes mostly burgandy.

Also at the edges or openings of the forest is the Starry False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellata). It is a member of the Lily Family.

This Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum) is not very noticeable unless you get a close look. Contrary to its name, it is not a grass at all, but a member of the Iris family.

White Baneberry, a.k.a. Doll's-eyes (Actaea pachypoda), is scattered throughout the hardwood forest. If you see these plants in fruit, you may notice the hard, bright white berries with black dots. Pioneers used the fruit as the eyes for their home-made dolls.

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) is widespread in forests of all types, as well as in very open habitats.

Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) is also abundant. It can be almost pure white, pale blue or even pinkish purple.

Mayapple, a.k.a. Umbrella Plant, (Podophyllum peltatum) is dominant in the hardwood forest under storey.

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) is very local at Rondeau.

The forests of Rondeau support orchids of many types. In fact there are at least 19 species of orchid that occur in various parts of the park. Some are relatively showy, such as this aptly named Showy Orchid (Galearis spectabilis). It doesn't get very tall...seldom getting over 10 cm high, but its flowers are indeed showy.

 Being relatively short, this orchid is challenging to get a ground view look at. Hence I dug out my P&S camera with the swivel screen and macro feature.....it sure is a lot easier on the back!

The Large Yellow Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium calcelous var pubescens) is an orchid that most people would recognize. It occurs in several locations at Rondeau. This one grew no more than 20 metres from one of the common trails in the park, and is quite visible from the trail. I imagine that hundreds of birders and other hikers walked by it without seeing it.

Violets are abundant, colourful, and sometimes confusing. Some of the most common ones are
Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata), accurately named because of the long spur protruding behind the front of the flower.

Yellow violets are abundant as well, including this Downy Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens).

Canada Violet (Viola canadensis) is local but widespread in the deciduous forest. There are much rarer violets which I intend to highlight in a future post.

An intriguing plant that most people have never really seen is Mitrewort (Mitella diphylla). The flowers are tiny....really, really tiny. The overall plant may get 15-25 cm high, but there are only a couple of small leaves on its single stem, and a very tiny cluster of delicate flowers at the top. Individual flowers are extremely tiny....typically only about 4-5 mm across. But if you take a close look, they are amazing! For this next image I used a full frame camera, a 100mm macro lens with extension tubes totalling about 68mm, and then I cropped it heavily. Did I mention that it is tiny??

In the last few days, Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii) is starting to appear. This plant doesn't have large showy flowers, but is better known for its seeds. If you are walking through a patch of this plant after the seeds have formed, you will discover long black seeds with very sharp points stuck in your socks, your pant leg, or you!

Not all plants are green. This next plant, looking like a pale coloured pine cone sticking out of the leaves, is called Squawroot (Conopholis americana). It does not have chlorophyll, but gets its energy from tapping in to the roots of other plants. This species is most often found in the pine-oak forest.

There is always something to see!