Not the winged things I was hoping for......

Yesterday dawned warm and bright. I had decided not to go out to Rondeau since there were other things on the home front that need my attention. Then came the posting from Steve about a cooperative Kentucky Warbler at the corner of Bennett Ave and Lakeshore Road. Drat. I hadn't seen a Kentucky Warbler for at least a couple of years. But I kept on with my home front activities.

Then came the posting about a Swallow-tailed Kite flying south over Bennett Ave......that would be a new bird for the Rondeau checklist area. I remember seeing one south of Leamington awhile back....sometime in the mid to late '80s I think.

All of a sudden my activities around home seemed like they could wait a few hours, so I quickly packed some snacks and gear and off I went.

As I got closer to the park, I made a conscious effort to keep my eyes peeled to the skies as well as the hydro wires. Once in the park, I stopped at an open area near the tennis courts, in the hopes that the kite would pass by in plain sight. My patience wasn't rewarded (and I wasn't all that patient :-) so I headed farther south. I met Steve Charbonneau, finder of the Kentucky Warbler, at the beach access across from the Visitor Centre. It gives a wide open view, and there were lots of dragonflies buzzing around, which could be good for attracting a kite. When nothing materialized, we checked various other spots we thought might be likely. But wherever the reported kite was, it did not appear where we were.

Steve and I went back to see if the Kentucky Warbler was still singing. In spite of checking the area on two or three occasions over the next few hours, the warbler was not to be heard either by me or by several others who were searching. Maybe it was the increased heat of the day? Maybe it had moved on? Maybe......???

I didn't let the day go to waste even though I struck out on the two target birds.

There were a few raptors and raptor type birds in the sky. Turkey Vultures were abundant, and we even hoped to find a Black Vulture as a consolation.

A sub-adult Bald Eagle flew by.

This immature Red-tailed Hawk soared overhead briefly.

And there were other things with wings.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are fairly common now.

Black Swallowtails are just emerging.

Spicebush Swallowtails are fairly abundant, not surprising since Spicebush itself is abundant.

I noticed my first Painted Skimmer of the season.

Another winged critter is the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, commonly seen along the sunlit pathways of the forest and adjacent areas. They don't normally let me get close enough with a macro lens to get a shot like this, but they were busy doing what Six-spotted Tiger Beetles do. For what it is worth, Six-spotted Tiger Beetles don't always have six spots.....the number varies considerably.

While checking out the South Point Trail just in case the kite was perched somewhere in sight, I noted this pigeon on the trail that actually was quite tame. A closer look indicated that it was banded, so presumably is a lost racing pigeon.

A pair of Wood Ducks were resting on a rotting log in one of the sloughs.

This Wood Thrush has built its nest surprisingly close to a lot of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. It is in a honeysuckle bush right along Harrison Trail just south of the exit to Tulip Tree Trail. Hundreds of hikers and bikers have passed by within a couple of metres of this nest.

While none of the anticipated rarities showed up for me, I took the time to enjoy one of Rondeau's star visitors of the season.....the White-winged Dove. In the past, it has not been cooperative for the well lit, unobscured views I was hoping for. Either the sky has been bland, or there are branches or leaves in the way, such as this next photo where it was resting and preening in a Sugar Maple. I had to tweak the image more than usual to get this result.

After a few minutes, it started moving around in its territory, providing some of the views I was hoping for.

Within its territory, it has decided to begin nest building! On one occasion it started on the roof of a Toyota Venza, but when the owner took it for a shopping trip, the bird moved its efforts onto the base of the window and hood of this Lincoln!

I wonder what Matthew McConaughey would say about that (for anyone watching US television)!!

Spring is over for another year

Today is officially the beginning of summer! And now the days begin to get shorter.....

Over the last precious few days of spring, I have enjoyed a few forays around various parts of Rondeau. The summer visitors have not yet arrived in great numbers, so the trails are relatively quiet. So quiet, at times, that other forms of wildlife are found using them. Many birds have been busily nesting, and I have had some success photographing a few of them, but that will be the subject of another post.

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

A walk around Tuliptree Trail on Thursday turned up both male and female Prothonotary Warbler at the usual spot. They delighted us with close views, but were constantly on the move searching for caterpillars. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush were all calling or put in a brief appearance as well.

Along the South Point Trail, there were lots of butterflies flitting about in the sun. Lots of Spring Azures (difficult to separate from Summer Azures for the most part, but according to the reference books, it is still more likely to be the flight period for Springs rather than Summers, and given the lateness of this spring, I will defer to calling them Spring Azures) plus various other species.

Spring Azure

Hobomok Skipper

Little Wood Satyr

Northern Crescent

The extra dark line on the right wing of the Northern Crescent is a shadow from a grass stem just above the butterfly.

The highlight lep for me was to discover a Pipevine Swallowtail, along the Lighthouse Trail offshoot of the South Point Trail. This species is considered fairly rare in Ontario. It was busily feeding on puccoon, but never actually lit on the plant. Instead it semi-hovered as it sipped nectar, so getting a good shot was next to impossible. I did manage the following record shots which show the single row of orange spots on the underwing, in a slightly iridescent blue patch, and the lack of much colour on the upper wing other than very dark bluish black. The butterfly being backlit didn't help my photographic efforts.

Another highlight was getting some decent shots of a Painted Skimmer, a species which is not common in southern Ontario, but seems to be seen regularly in various places this year.

As I continued out along this trail to the lake, several Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers voiced their dismay at my presence. No doubt they had a nest or young nearby, but I didn't go looking.

Killdeer

Some other hikers who ventured out along the lake beyond the washout reported they saw several large Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles just off shore. June is the prime month for turtles to come ashore to lay eggs, and the softshells of the Rondeau area favour the sandy beaches for their egg-laying.

Back along the South Point Trail, I noted an immature male Common Whitetail.

Common Whitetail

A very large American Toad was along the trail. It never moved while I was in the area, and even the occasional cyclist didn't seem to bother it much.

The lush growth of this Carolinian Forest Zone was evident throughout the forest. Vines in particular are taking advantage of some of the extra light available due to the death of ash trees from the effects of the Emerald Ash Borer. Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy are particularly adept at climbing and making use of the supporting structure of such dead trees. Although such vine growth can sometimes shade out and even kill some living trees that are not shade tolerant, the good news is that such lush growth of these vines results in a profusion of berries which will provide nourishment for warblers and other songbirds as they return on their southward migration later this season. Some warblers such as Yellow-rumped Warblers may linger well into the winter if enough berries are available.

Virginia Creeper