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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Rondeau....always a good choice!

I've been to Rondeau a few times lately, with varying number of photos to capture. The shoreline has definitely been changing. This first photo shows what the south end of the park looked like in mid-January before the cold, snowy spell.

Next is the same spot in late February, with the lake covered with ice.

 These next two photos show the lakefront, just a bit farther along the beach from the previous two. These were taken about two weeks after the previous one.

 Still some ice, but by now, even most of the ice is gone, and the birds are on the return, or at least more active! Some of the more cooperative birds were:

Song Sparrow

This Pileated Woodpecker seemed really intent on this tree trunk, a little way from the boardwalk, perhaps digging a nest cavity?

Cardinals are always fun, and sometimes cooperative.

Mute Swans, well they are attractive in their own way, although they play havoc with native species all too often.

Killdeer

Hairy Woodpecker

Fox Sparrows are nicely coloured and distinctive.

Not many flies around for this member of the flycatcher family, but I have known it to eat berries when necessary.

Eastern Phoebe

Black-capped Chickadee

Although there has been the occasional Robin stay over winter, they have returned in large numbers in the last week or so. On one day I looked out my kitchen window and counted 47 scattered around in the community park beside the house!

Some birds were playing a little harder to get, such as this Yellow-rumped Warbler, next....

....and this very active Golden-crowned Kinglet.

One of the bird highlights of the last week or so was the sighting of a Brewer's Blackbird in the park. It was associating with a mixed flock of blackbirds, which were always moving around. I saw the photo of the one, and it was convincing. However only one other person thought they saw it a day later. I checked flocks of blackbirds a few times when I was out, but never saw it. Brewer's Blackbirds are fairly rare in this area, although back in about 1978, a pair nested in a small tree along Erieau Road, across from McGeachy Pond. I didn't have the camera equipment then that I have now, but did photograph the nest.

In June of 2011, on one of my excursions to the Bruce Peninsula, I managed to get a couple of photos of a Brewer's Blackbird on its territory. They have a bit of a glossy head, like a Grackle, but they are smaller, and the beak is smaller.

At times, they can look a bit like a Rusty Blackbird, which is quite regular in southwestern Ontario, although on the decline. I photographed this one a couple of days ago. It is transitioning from its overall dark appearance, showing much more of the rusty appearance.

Of course as the weather fluctuates, there are even some warmer species of overwintering insects showing up.

Long-tailed Aphideater Complex

Black Blow Fly

Other things that captured my eye, include this Eastern Chipmunk, which had emerged on a sunny day. Its tail is still in the hole it emerged from, and although the critter was kindly cooperative for me, it didn't take long to get back down the hole.

Eastern Squirrels are active all year, but on some days they seem to be extra numerous.

Even fungi will survive the winter. This next photo is of a Splitgill Mushroom.

 There's always something! Can't wait to get back out there again!

 

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