Waterbirds, an orchid and forest spiders

 Water birds continue to be part of the avian show. A good number of shorebirds have been at the sewage lagoons, including Wilson's Phalarope, which seems to be fairly sporadic and elusive for many birders, but this Red-necked Phalarope was nicely cooperative for the few days it was present.

At times it would fly off a bit to join other shorebirds, but then return in close proximity. My presence did not seem to deter it at all, as long as I was just standing quietly and waiting for it to return. There is often up to 10 or more species of shorebirds to gaze at on any given day right now. Lesser Yellowlegs, shown next, seem to be plentiful with sometimes as many as 20 individuals scattered around.

On occasion I have been to St. Clair NWA, especially in the evening on a quiet weather day. Clearly that would not have been last Thursday, when a severe storm was approaching. The weather radar looked ominous, and shortly after sunset, it arrived with a fury. High winds, with rumours even of a possible tornado just to the north of Chatham, and heavy rain came down. We estimated that we got at least 4" (10 c.m.) in a couple of hours, and the high winds knocked many various sized limbs down. In many places, there were entire trees that came down, sometimes onto vehicles and taking down power lines. We were without hydro for almost 8 hours. Certainly not a fun time, and a relatively sleepless night, wondering how long it would last, and would the sump pump keep going? Fortunately we had a small power pack which did keep ours going as long as it needed to.

But back to the most recent SCNWA visit. There were not a lot of birds to photograph, but a couple of the usual ones cooperated. A couple of Great Egrets flew by....

...this Great Blue Heron seemed to have settled in on its roosting spot for the night.

It is always a highlight to see Swamp Rose Mallow in its peak condition at this time of year. But at SCNWA, it is one of the few places where the white version of it can be found scattered about and partially hidden amongst the other vegetation.

 

As I was leaving, a group of Sandhill Cranes flew over the marsh. Usually you can hear their calls from a kilometre or more away, and sometimes not be able to find them in the sky depending on the distance. This group was totally quiet.

A trip to Clear Creek Forest Prov Park included a brief stop at the Ridgetown Sewage Lagoons along the way. There weren't a lot of things to photograph during my short time there, but this Eastern Kingbird cooperated for a few minutes.

I was looking specifically for fungi to photograph, which I often do in various woodland places after such a wet rainy period of these last few weeks. More on that in a future post. But while there, I saw several of these Citronella Horse Balm still in quite good condition.

There also were a few of the Blue-stemmed Goldenrod coming into flower.

I checked the old gravel pits for odes, but even though it was sunny and not all that cool, there were hardly any to be seen, let alone photographed. I did manage to get this photo of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sitting out in quite an open spot, a bit unusual for this species.

I have also been to Rondeau on a few occasions, searching for fungi and other things. In some of the open spots there are things like Spicebush Swallowtail....

....and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

I wander into the forest, wearing boots to ward off ticks, chiggers and poison ivy. I came across this seedling Shagbark Hickory....

...and unfortunately, an ongoing display of the dreaded Beech Leaf Disease, which continues to run rampant in the Beech/Maple forest.

Along one particular part of the trail, I came across a new location for a rare orchid. It is Autumn Coralroot, an endangered species in Canada, which I don't usually expect to see until late in the first week of September. This was seen almost a full two weeks earlier.

It isn't very showy, but interesting when you get a closer look. This is the species at its showiest.

I often carry a stick with me when wandering through the forest. Not to tackle ticks or anything, but I wave it in front of me to prevent walking face first into a spider web, which can be numerous. This first one is a Spined Micrantha...

...while this next one I have not yet identified to the species level, but is a member of the quite abundant, and often colourful, orbweaver group.

Until next time.....

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Lots of birds, herps and orchids of the season

 My camera has been busy! Of course with so many things appearing as the spring unfolds, it's no wonder. Birds are fairly plentiful, although most days have been a bit quieter than normal. Then one hears of some rarity well off from where you are, and you know by the time you get there, it may have moved on. In my early days of birding, one just went out and found things, and maybe you would hear about something rarer a day or two later, or read about it in next week's newspaper column. What a concept. Nowadays one can hear about rarities all over the place, almost instantaneously. I expect for serious listers, that can add to the stress of birding, and take away some of the enjoyment of being out in nature for the mental and physical health benefits of just being out. 

But enough of that. 

I have been out fairly regularly, and try to plan my outings to where I think the most bird action might be. Sometime you win, sometimes you lose. But getting out for exercise, fresh air and looking for things is always a win. And as I started off on this post, my camera has been fairly busy. Rondeau is by far my 'go to' place, although I will venture to other locations on occasion, especially if I am going right by. Here are some of the bird highlights I have photographed at Rondeau. Regular readers of this blog will realize the variety of warblers to be seen, and while there are some that I have yet to catch up to, there has been an average variety to see on any given day, but they aren't always easy to photograph.

American Redstart

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Cape May Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow Warbler

There are lots of non-warblers to aim the camera at. One species which is always a target is the Acadian Flycatcher. This species showed up in the same quite accessible territory of a pair of last year, and cooperated nicely.

There are many, many Gray Catbirds around.

A Pileated Woodpecker, although a permanent resident of Rondeau, is always nice to see, especially when one can get a photo or two. This one was vigorously digging into a rotten log along Tulip Tree Trail, probably on the search for carpenter ants.

Red-headed Woodpeckers continue along Black Oak Trail.

Red-eyed Vireos are, or will be, quite abundant......

.....but a Yellow-throated Vireo is not common. It has nested here on occasion.

Cuckoos are starting to show, but they are difficult to photograph. This Yellow-billed is the more common of the two, and will nest at Rondeau.

Philadelphia Vireos are regular on migration.

Chipping Sparrows are quite abundant.

Swainson's Thrushes are decreasing, as the majority have left for the north.

A young male Summer Tanager was cooperative near the north end of the park. A female was reported, and it is possible that they will attempt to nest. It is becoming an almost regular species, but mainly one or two at the most in any given year. It was back in 1985 when there was a slightly bigger influx of this species, and a pair of them attempted to breed along the South Point Trail.

In between birds, there are always other things to see, such as an Eastern Garter Snake feeding on an American Toad.

This much larger Am Toad was safely out on a piece of wood floating in a slough.

Turtles are on the prowl, and this Common Snapping Turtle was crossing the road in front of me.

Yellow Lady's-slipper are not common at Rondeau, but I am aware of a couple of locations. This one is viewable, with binoculars, along one of the trails.

Not an orchid, but a rare plant, is Goldenseal, shown next. Its origin at Rondeau is not certain, but it does occur in two locations.

This next orchid is known as Showy Orchis. It is not very big, but grows in several locations that I am aware of.

A question I am often asked in spring, is what is this impressive flower on this tree? Actually this photo shows it a little farther along than when it is first noticed, and it is not a flower at all, but the emerging leaves of Shagbark Hickory.

Shorebirds are passing through in usual numbers and diversity. Short-billed Dowitchers, even with an apparent long bill, are scattered about.

Semiplamated Sandpipers are becoming more common....

...but Dunlin are by far the most numerous at most places I have been to.

Red-necked Phalaropes are not common at all, and in fact are not seen every year. A pair of them have recently appeared at the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons. They were on the far eastern side of one of the lagoons, much too far away to try and photograph. I carefully went around to the eastern side berm, knowing the light was not at a good angle, but at least I was much closer. With a bit of processing, I was able to get a few photos that are at least decent record shots.

As an update for anyone wanting to know the outcome of the Great Horned Owls nesting in the laundry basket at Paxton's Bush:

The two young finally took their first flights, and this one was seen high up in a nearby maple tree just a few days ago. Now that the leaves are fully out, and the birds spend most of their time high up, it will be very difficult to see them from this point on.

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