Fall Migration Has Begun!

The star of our week was finding a Juvenile Purple Gallinule. It doesn't have the glorious colours of the adult, but it was a Life Bird for Deryl and myself! A couple of birders were just leaving the lagoons when we arrived, after spending 90 minutes unsuccessfully searching for it. Deryl found it in less than 5 minutes. So the next time he complains to anyone about not being "bird" lucky, feel free to remind him of the Purple Gallinule! 😀

I love the size of its feet! They work well for walking on top of lily pads. 

This species is native to Florida.  

Many species of warblers were in Canatara this week. I found a 

Cape May Warbler bathing in a forest puddle, not far from the animal farm.

Black-throated Blue Warbler, female, before her bath!

Blackbirds are gathering together in large groups as they get ready to migrate. While at Camp Saredaca earlier this week, we saw 150 Red-winged Blackbirds mixed with some Grackles and Starlings.

A Great Egret, completely submerged its head and neck to catch his breakfast.

I found my first Praying Mantis of the year in the 

Canatara meadow, ready to grab some unsuspecting prey!

Eastern Red-backed Salamander! A surprise find near Goderich.

While traveling south of Goderich recently, a coyote ran across the road in front of us. We pulled over to the shoulder and probably would never have gotten a photo if it hadn't taken the time for a pee break! LOL!

 Cicada Emerging From Skeleton

When I first spotted this Cicada, I assumed it was just an exoskeleton. When I looked a little closer, it started to move. It was crawling up from the ground getting ready to spread it's wings!

I tried to be patient while waiting for the skin to split, but a "watched pot never boils"! I walked away for 15 minutes a couple of times, and then returned to see the start of emergence.

It took about 30 minutes to get to the stage in the last picture above.

I had to leave but came back an hour later to find it hanging from its former skin.

Pretty cool experience!

 Awesome August

We have been noticing more birds lately. I'm guessing that this year's fledglings are getting strong enough to catch their own food. Lots of hummingbirds are showing up in our backyard.

I surprised this Flicker who had been hunting for grubs in the soil. He still has some mud on his beak.

Osprey are regularly coming to Lake Chipican for food. This fella didn't make a dive for fish. Maybe the goldfish are getting smarter, or there just aren't many of them left to see from high above the water.

Great Blue Herons are taking advantage of the increased wetlands thanks to all of the rain and high water table. 

This one was busy dodging Dragonflies who were circling around his head.

I wanted to include one butterfly. An Eastern Tailed Blue posed with his wings open. This rarely happens and you usually only get glimpses of the beautiful blue while it is in flight. The tails aren't much larger than a hair and this butterfly is missing the tail on the rear left wing.

Baby Turtles Are Hatching! 

Last June, I wrote a post about excavating a nest of Snapping Turtles. The Mom had dug her nest in an area that was unlikely to produce successful hatchlings. The eggs were incubated in a lab. Now that they are hatching, they are being returned to their original nesting area.

Of the 46 eggs laid, 16 have hatched so far. I was happy to be asked to be a part of the release! I picked up the young turtles and drove them to Henderson C.A. I think they were a little "shell shocked" from all the traveling. They just sat there in neat little rows when I gently placed them on the ground. I walked away for 10 minutes and when I returned, they had all ventured to the pond. As the remaining turtles hatch, they will be returned to the Henderson pond later this week.

Some of the rescued nests in other locations hosted Spiny Softshell Turtles. I was thrilled to capture a photo of 2 of the little cuties before departing with my crew. I love their long, pointy noses! 

I enjoyed a walk at Campbell C.A. while I waited for the arrival of the turtles. A new Pollinator Garden attracted many species including this pair of Great Spangled Fritillaries.

All the rain that fell last weekend, created some temporary wetlands in Canatara. These Great Egrets, as well as other herons, ducks and geese were making good use of the space!

I was surprised to find a Fiery Skipper this week. It's been a few years since I last saw one!

I see lots of these oddly shaped spiders, but they are usually too high to photograph. This Spined Micrathena was about shoulder height along a trail. Its spiny abdomen is a deterrent for predators.

This snail was literally hanging by a thread. Perhaps his plan was to eat the leaf and drop to the ground. It would be much faster than crawling back down the stem of the plant!

 Things That Will Get Wings!

One of the more "uncommon" finds I had was a Splendid Dagger Moth Caterpillar. It was well camouflaged on a young oak sapling at Pinery Provincial Park. 

Whoever first discovered this species wasn't very creative in the naming process. - "Striped Garden Moth Caterpillar". Found on Queen Anne's Lace in the Canatara meadow.

These Willow Sawfly larvae will not be turning into a moth or butterfly, but a type of wasp. Sawfly larva have 3 pairs of true legs plus 7 or 8 pairs of false legs. Caterpillars have 5 or fewer false legs.The adult female cuts into plants with her "saw-like" ovipositor to lay eggs.

Another member of the sawfly family is this Dogwood Sawfly larva. The powdery white appearance represents the middle instar. It has a very different appearance from the instars before and after this stage.

I just missed watching this Black Swallowtail emerge from its skin with completely different colouring. You can see the old skin lying beside it. I also didn't witness the disappearance of the skin, but am pretty sure the caterpillar ate it, so as to take advantage of all available energy!

 Cicadas in Canatara.

The coolest thing I found this week was watching 2 different Cicadas emerge from their exoskeletons. I assume the wings will turn a dark colour within a few hours. The bright green wings must make it an easy target for predators such as birds and larger insects.

This side profile shows the Cicada still clinging to the exoskeleton. I watched its legs move slowly as it was getting used to its new form.

Two days ago I found a Cicada in the process of emerging from it's exoskeleton. 

This one has not yet spread its wings.

I didn't realize how many species of Cicada exist in Ontario. I'm not sure if this is the Periodical Cicada that lives under ground for 17 years before crawling to the surface and exiting its exoskeleton. 2020 is supposed to be an emergent year. Other types of Cicadas will emerge annually.

Onto some other stuff:

A Green Heron ignored me as he hunted for food at the Point Lands. I was able to stand on the other side of the ditch and not bother him.

Most of his time was spent looking for invertebrates in the water, but he also snapped at aerial creatures above his head.

A walk through the Canatara meadow revealed 5 tiny Eastern-tailed Blue butterflies. They rarely sit with their wings spread so I was happy to see at least partially opened wings!

I wasn't expecting to find a Buckeye yesterday. This one was skittish, but I still managed a few shots showing the "eyes"!

When the Buckeye flew away, I turned to find an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail nectaring on teasel.

I saw 14 Common Ringlets, more than I have ever found on one outing. They liked the Queen Anne's Lace.

This young Wood Duck was practicing sitting on tree branches, just above the water.

 August Things!

We thought we had some inter-species mating going on in our garden this week! The 2 creatures in the photo did not look anything alike by my observation. But after some research and checking in with "experts" I learned they are the male and female of the Peachborer Moth! No peach trees in our yard but we do have a couple of Sand Cherries which they also like.

We made a trip to the Pinery recently. The fellow on the left is one of the Stink Bug Hunter Wasps. It eyed up the Hackberry Emporer, decided it wouldn't make a good meal and departed.

An Eastern Pondhawk had a delicious Fly meal near the Pinery Visitor Centre.

Whirligig Beetles are known for swimming in erratic circles. They are able to see above and below the water at the same time with their split eye. I don't often seem them out of the water. but there was a steady stream of them crawling on and off the lily pads at the Canoe launch. 

Another critter hanging out near the canoe launch was one of the Fishing Spiders. If given a chance he would probably eat a Whirligig Beetle.

This menacing looking creature is a Cicada Killer. They are referred to as Gentle Giants as they rarely bother humans unless they feel trapped. Cicadas, on the other hand, should definitely feel threatened as they are the main source of food for the Cicada Killer!

On the larger scale of life, we found a Turkey Hen with 4 chicks roaming through the Burley Campground.

A Thing with Wings, Eating a Thing with Wings! This Robin caught a Skipper (butterfly) for breakfast.