6 Legs in Autumn!

Common Checkered Skipper resting on a Swamp Milkweed Seed pod in our garden. The wings contain numerous white or pale spots arranged against a darker gray or black background, creating the checkered pattern. 

https://butterflyn.com/common-checkered-skipper/

A migrating Monarch was found on October 30th along the south shore of Lake Huron. Many Monarchs have already reached Mexico. She has a long trip ahead of her and is going to be needing suitable flying weather!

Viceroy, the Monarch mimic with the extra lateral black line crossing the hindwings.

Clouded Sulphur

Common Checkered Skipper found on October 30th. I typically find this species on sunny days in late October.

Common Buckeye seem to prefer sunny areas close to the ground. I often find them on bare ground, soaking up the sun.

Praying Mantis, "praying" for a meal to land nearby.

Wild Indigo Duskywing. They will overwinter at the caterpillar stage.

A tiny Sweat Bee on Wild Chicory

Chickweed Geometer Moth is a day flyer that prefers prairie grassland, fields, meadows, lawns and gardens.

https://minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/chickweed_geometer.html

A North American Spur Grasshopper species, sheltered in the plants.

Common Whitetail, female

Common Looper Moth, a day flying moth.

This member of the Blister Beetle family doesn't have a common name. Scientific name is: Meloe campanicollis. Touching a blister beetle can cause painful blisters on the skin.

On cool fall evenings, insects search for a place to shelter during the overnight hours. Once morning arrives, they will remain in the shelter until the weather warms up enough for them to start moving.

Bumble bee protected by a flower "umbrella"!

Bald Faced Yellowjacket nest. (previously called Bald Faced Hornets).The dark entrance hole is visible on the lower right. These insects make paper from combining saliva with chewed wood and using the resulting paste to make paper walls and cells for raising the brood. Nests are started by overwintering mated queens. Once the queen has raised a few workers, they take over the task of building and feeding while the queen focuses on egg-laying.

https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/whats-bugging-you/bees-and-wasps/identifying-bees-and-wasps/yellowjackets-and-baldfaced-hornets

 Fall Birds & Some Turtles!

A Little Blue Heron was the "star" of the show this week when it was discovered in Lambton County! They rarely venture north of the Great Lakes. It has likely been 30 years since one was found in our area. Although adults are a bluish/purple mix, our visitor was an immature bird. First year birds are white in colour. Mingling in mixed flocks of white herons in the southern U.S., immature Little Blue Herons blend in with mixed species groups, gaining extra protection against predators.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Little_Blue_Heron/overview

Greater Yellowlegs - The top of the yellow legs are barely visible in this photo and they have a noticeably long bill! Greater Yellowlegs are seen mostly during migration as they pass between nesting grounds in the mosquito-ridden bogs of boreal Canada and wintering territories on marshes across the southern U.S.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Yellowlegs/overview

3 well camouflaged Greater Yellowlegs, feeding in the Thames River in London, ON.

10 Greater Yellowlegs flying over Lake Huron. The long bills are visible in the silhouette.

Mourning Dove feeding along a trail in London.

Pileated Woodpecker taking a break on a Hydro Pole.

Purple Finch populations have been decreasing since the more aggressive House Finches were introduced in New York City in the 1950's, spreading across eastern North America. Purple Finches have large, seed-cracking beaks, and they seem to have a preference for black oil sunflower seeds. 

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Finch/overview

Every once in awhile, a Red-shouldered Hawk will grace the skies above us!

Rusty Blackbirds are easier to identify in their fall plumage when the feather tips show a rusty colour. In the breeding season, adult Rusty Blackbirds are a glossy black colour with a light coloured eye. 

Turkey vultures swirling in a thermal. In a few weeks, these birds will have migrated south for the winter.

On some of the milder days, turtles such as this Northern Map Turtle can be found basking in the sun. The sun's warmth helps them to digest their food more quickly, allowing them to eat even more calories. Fat stored on their bodies helps them to survive the winter buried while in mud under the water.

A Snapping Turtle "lurked" slowly through the shallow water in Canatara Park this week. Nearby, a Mallard Hen was keeping a close eye on the predator. A clump of mud is visible on the top of the turtle's shell.

As I watched, the Painted Turtle on the left (top picture) turned around and rested his head on the shell of the other Painted Turtle (bottom picture), while a Pond Slider looked on!

 OFO Grand Bend, North Lambton

I joined a Field Ornithologists event in North Lambton last Sunday. A group of 20 birders visited the Grand Bend Beach, Kettle Point, Forest Lagoons and Pinery Provincial Park. These Pectoral Sandpipers were flying at the Forest Lagoons.

The Pectoral Sandpipers spooked easily, but continually returned to their feeding station. They are currently migrating to South America for the winter and this stop was a food fueling station for them. Since their breeding grounds are in easternmost Russia, across Alaska and into northern Canada, some Pectoral Sandpipers make a round-trip migration of nearly 19,000 miles (30,500 kilometres) every year!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pectoral_Sandpiper/overview

Northern Harrier flying low over Lake Huron at Kettle Point.

Turkey Vulture flying high above us at Kettle Point.

Ring-billed Gulls relaxing on Grand Bend Beach: Scientists have discovered that migrating Ring-billed Gulls use a built-in compass to navigate. When tested at only 2 days of age, chicks showed a preference for magnetic bearings that would take them in the appropriate direction for their fall migration. The gulls also rely on landmarks and high-altitude winds to provide directional cues.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-billed_Gull/overview

Common Drone Fly - nectaring on Goldenrod in a sheltered part of Grand Bend Beach.

Winter bird food! Juniper berries.

Kilally Meadows, London

Environmentally Significant Area

We explored the 10 km of trails at Kilally Meadows, located in north-east London. The 146 hectare property stretches along the North Thames River and Meander Creek, between Adelaide Street and Highbury Avenue.

https://thamesriver.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024-KilallyESA-brochure.pdf

An estimated 60 Cedar Waxwings were spotted. We found them in several corners of the property.

Berries such as those found on Juniper trees were an attractive food for the Cedar Waxwings. (notice the berry in its beak in the lower photo)

Fall Colour!

Meander Creek

A Belted Kingfisher was heard long before I actually located it as it cruised up and down the river channel!

The camouflaged bark of Sycamore Trees always adds variety to the landscape.

Sycamore Leaves

Although only one was spotted, White-tailed Deer are common in the area. The diversity of habitats along the river corridor meets the needs of many mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects/butterflies!