Lingering herps, leps and birds coming and going

 There is always lots to see at this time of year, but as the weather becomes more challenging for various things in nature, there will be a decline.

Some of the reptiles and amphibians are making use of the sunnier, slightly warmer days. Salamanders, such as this adult and juvenile Blue-spotted Salamander, shown first, will be going underground.

This Eastern Garter Snake will linger for awhile yet.

A couple of posts ago I showed an Eastern Gray Treefrog that was trying to change its colour to match the background it was on, so it would be more inconspicuous. This one was likely never going to change its colour to red, so just stayed green!

Similar to the salamander shown above, this Eastern Red-backed Salamander will be going underground very soon.

Leopard Frogs may linger a bit longer, at least on sunny days, before taking refuge at the bottom of wetlands.

A Northern Brown Snake was hanging out on a paved road, certainly a risk given the vehicles and bicycles it would have to contend with.

This Northern Watersnake was along a hiking trail, so a much lower risk for it.

And this Northern Ribbon Snake was also along a paved area. After I got its photo, I prodded it a bit but it never budged, in spite of not showing signs of any obvious injury.

Sunny days can also bring a few butterflies out. First off is a Question Mark. It is helpful to see the underside to see the white question mark, looking like a split comma....
 

...and the upper side of the same species. A little farther down these photos is an Eastern Comma, showing the more obvious white comma feature

Red Admiral

There are still a few Monarchs flitting about, trying to get enough energy to make it farther south in their migration journey.

Eastern Comma

Eastern Comma

Other lingering insects include Beech Blight Aphids which are always entertaining to watch, in spite of the fact that they are so tiny.

Yellow-legged Meadow Hawk

 Birds may be coming or going. Bald Eagles may sometimes be year round residents, but one of the local hawkwatches have already recorded almost 250 eagles that have passed by on their way south.

Waterfowl are building in numbers and will linger as long as there is open water. Canada Geese are quite plentiful.

Great Egrets persist in small numbers but most have already departed.

Of particular interest to birders was the presence of two Hudsonian Godwits in a couple of places in southern Chatham-Kent: at the Keith McLean Conservation Lands as well as the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are probably the most abundant warbler around currently, and usually a few may linger all winter.
 

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are fairly regularly encountered, at least for now.

This Yellow-billed Cuckoo is definitely a late lingering individual.

Turkey Vultures are passing over the hawkwatch sites by the hundreds, sometime the thousands, every day depending on the wind direction.

Sandhill Cranes are still around in small, but dwindling, numbers.

Rusty Blackbirds are fairly abundant, at least for the short term, as they pass through on migration.

Pileated Woodpeckers are a year-round resident and always fun to watch.

As with the Canada Geese above, other waterfowl such as these Mallards, are quite abundant. The diversity of waterfowl species is building, although due to the hunting season, are quite leery of coming with in photo range.

Lincoln's Sparrows are one of the more common sparrows these days, but that will change over the next few weeks as they continue to migrate.

I came across this Eastern Meadow Vole quite recently. It was scampering through a grassy area, so I didn't get the photos I was hoping for, but I think this is the first time I have ever photographed even one!

I was surprised to see this Closed Bottle Gentian still in flower a week or so ago. Normally they are all finished by the end of September.

Berries are always  favoured by various birds, so they can build up their energy to continue their migration. The berries of this Winterberry Holly won't last long!

The leaves on so many trees are beginning to show their autumn colours, such as this Sassafrass cluster shown next. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks when they and others will be in their full autumn glory!

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Wetland area action!

 This is a great time of year to explore wetland areas. I've made regular visits to both the SCNWA wetland, as well as the public trails through or adjacent to wetland areas in the Mitchell's Bay area. The camera has been busy!

Here are some of the things you can expect to find at either spot, with the exception of one species which I will point out.

Bald Eagles are much more plentiful than not that many years ago. Most of the time they are seen at a distance, but I managed this photo from my vehicle. 

Black-crowned Night-Herons are regular, but not frequently seen. This next photo show one in its juvenal plumage.

In fields nearby, sometimes there are hundreds of geese feeding, before getting ready to fly out to the lake for over night.

Double-crested Cormorants can be fairly abundant.

One of the highlights of my recent visits was to see this shy Eastern Musk Turtle right on the trail. When it saw me it withdrew its head.

I turned it over briefly just to get a photo of its underside. Musk Turtles are a Species at Risk, as are several turtle species, but this one is extremely rare. They do occur in the wetlands adjacent to Lake St. Clair, but are rarely seen.

Great Egrets are, of course, pretty reliably seen in most wetlands in the area, as they nest in the cattail islands as well as Walpole Is FN.

It's always enjoyable to capture a good flight photo!

A smaller heron type, even more abundant than the egret, is the Green Heron.

Along the Mitchell's Bay trail are quite a few tallgrass prairie species nicely visible over the season. One that was doing quite well was one called Cup Plant. It has been planted, as the area historically had lots of tallgrass species in this part of Chatham-Kent. It is quite rare and is one of the very few locations I have seen it in C-K. It had several Monarchs feasting on it...

Along the trails, Leopard Frogs are periodically seen out in the open.....

...and Northern Harriers are on the prowl for something to feast on.

Sandhill Cranes are seen in small groups around the fields or flying over the wetlands.

Ducks are increasing, although they are getting shyer. The regular booming in adjacent fields to scare off the blackbirds, etc., are getting the ducks wary of the upcoming duck hunting season. But for now, things like Wood Ducks are quite common and occasionally quite visible for the photographer :-).

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