Exciting Day in North Lambton!

You never really know what you will find on a trip into nature!

By keeping our eyes down, we found a number of cool things including this Common Five-lined Skink! It has been suggested that this is a female who is heavy with eggs! Common Five-lined Skinks are endangered in the Carolinian Forest region. They enjoy basking in sunny areas to maintain a preferred body temperature between 28 and 36 C. They feed on insects, worms and other invertebrates.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/common-five-lined-skink

I watched a dragonfly for 10 minutes zipping above me. It finally landed but was back-lit by the sun and difficult to see the coloured markings.

A little further down the path, another one landed below head height. I believe it is a Common Baskettail.

A well-camouflaged, Common Whitetail female!

Prairie Warbler's have eluded me for a few years. We watched a pair hunting for food and carrying nesting material!

 Dumfries C.A. - Cambridge:

We explored Dumfries Conservation Area in Cambridge for the first time. The 75 ha property has plantation forest, mature forests, wetlands and trails running through it.

Shortly after entering the trail system, we found a Mustard White which was a "life butterfly" for us! Early literature on eastern North American butterflies usually described the Mustard White as very common. Today, Biologists speculate that the Mustard White, which has been outcompeted for mustard food sources by the introduced Cabbage White, has retreated more into woodlands. The ROM Field Guide to butterflies of Ontario: Peter W. Hall et al, 2014

These trails presented us with our first Eastern Pine Elfin of the year!

One member of our group was "freaked out" when this critter flew and landed on her Dad's backpack. I believe it is a Flat-headed Hardwood Borer, based upon an internet search through iNaturalist. It had a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

Trails wound through a variety of habitats. I look forward to returning as there were several butterflies that I didn't have time to try to identify.

 6-Legged, Winged Things!

As a predator, Six-spotted Tiger Beetles contribute to the natural control of insects and other arthropods. Here, they are contributing to the continuation of the species!

https://entomology.umn.edu/six-spotted-tiger-beetle

A Marginalized Calligrapher visited the Blue-eyed Grass in my native garden. These tiny flies are sometimes called Flower Flies or Hoverflies.

Dark Paper Wasps will eat caterpillars, flies, ants, termites, spiders, bees and other wasps!

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52757-Polistes-fuscatus

We found a female Ebony Jewelwing along the Ausable River channel recently. They tend to stay at rest longer than other dragonflies and damselflies. Wings on males are entirely black.

Asian Lady Beetles can have different colours and numbers of black spots, but can all be identified by the 'M' shaped mark on the thorax behind the head.

https://www.orkincanada.ca/pests/beetles/asian-lady-beetles/

 Some Recent Birds!

Great Horned Owls do not nest in Canatara, but once in awhile we are lucky to find one in the park. Commotion made by several agitated American Crows allowed Deryl to see this beauty! Great Horned Owls are the number 1 predator of Crows. Crows however, have also been documented killing young Owlets that are still on the nest.

As I walked along a trail, a pair of Killdeer parents performed their broken wing trick in an attempt to lure me away from their puffball shaped babies. Killdeer nests are placed on the ground and the chicks are able to walk and run only 24 hours after hatching. (I never did see the well-camouflaged babies.)

A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak hunted for bugs hidden amongst the rocks.

Yellow Warblers are often found in the meadow, along with countless insects and arachnids. Yellow Warblers have occasionally been found caught in the strands of an orb weaver spider's web.

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

 Shorebirds in Sombra:

The skies were alive near Sombra with flying shorebirds performing aerial maneuvers. Top picture shows Dunlin. Bottom shows mostly Dunlin and Semi-palmated Plovers.

Occasionally the birds would land close to shore. A Semi-palmated Plover spent time foraging for insects in front of me. They look like miniature Killdeer, but only have one black band across the breast.

Above is a Killdeer for comparison, sporting 2 black bands. They get their name from the shrill "kill-deer" call they regularly project.

Lesser Yellowlegs are commonly found in Ontario during migration. They are known for their steadfast defense of their eggs and chicks. Biologist William Rowan once noted, "they will be perched there as though the safety of the entire universe depended on the amount of noise they made."  

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

Chimney Swifts are difficult birds to photograph as they spend almost their entire life airborne. They aren't able to perch, but when they land, they cling to vertical walls inside chimneys or in hollow trees or caves.

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

One of my favourite finds was a Hooded Merganser family - a Mom and her 14 ducklings! Hooded Merganser chicks leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. Mom calls to them from ground level after ensuring the coast is clear. The little fluffballs scramble out the hole then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them! They may have to walk up to half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water!

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

 Backyard Wings!

American Lady butterflies have been visiting the Pearly Everlasting and Pussy Toes planted in my backyard native garden! Perhaps I'll see some caterpillars soon!

Baltimore Orioles are back! We can hear lots of singing high in the tree tops.

There have been many Blue Jay "parties". I'm not sure if I am getting the same birds, or new migrants every day.

Seeing a Brown Thrasher in the yard is always a treat!

White-crowned Sparrows are migrating through the area on the way to their northern breeding grounds.

The blossoms on my Sand Cherries have attracted many pollinators including this Common Eastern Bumble Bee.

 World Migration Day!

Bird walks were offered in Lambton County on World Migratory Bird Day (May 13th) to help Sarnia become certified as a Bird Friendly City. The theme this year was Water: Sustaining Bird Life. All birds rely on water and wetland habitat at some point during their lives. The following species were all found in Canatara on Saturday!

American Redstarts will flash bright orange patches on the tail and wings. This behavior seems to startle insects, providing increased opportunities for the warbler to catch insect prey!

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

Black-and-white Warblers act more like Nuthatches than warblers. They will forage for hidden insects in the bark of trees by creeping up, down and around branches and trunks.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-and-white_Warbler/id

Magnolia Warblers forage low in the understory, picking insects from the undersides of leaves. When the tail is flashed, white spots are exposed, which is similar to the behavior of American Redstarts in their quest to catch insects.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Magnolia_Warbler/id

Deryl was in the right spot at the right time when he saw a White-eyed Vireo in Canatara Park! This species is not a regular visitor to Lambton County. It "wears" yellow spectacles surrounding its white eye and tends to stay hidden in the understory.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-eyed_Vireo/id

This poor Bald Eagle was all worn out after celebrating in the World Bird Migration Festivities in Canatara Park! Shout out to Bluewater Centre for Raptor Rehabilitation (and their mascot) for all the great work they do!

Spring Life in Canatara! 

American Bitterns can typically be found in shallow freshwater marshes. They are stealth predators and typically stand motionless as they wait for prey to approach.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Bittern/id#

If you look closely at the picture, the Bittern is standing still, but he isn't in a wetland!! This bird spent a minimum of 6 hours "perched" on the same branch in a wooded area in Canatara Park. I have not seen one 40 feet up in a tree before!

I couldn't see a nest within the rose bush where this Brown Thrasher was sitting, but it could be a safe nesting location for the bird. Brown Thrashers are the largest common host of parasitic Brown-headed Cowbirds. Thrashers will put up some resistance, often rejecting cowbird eggs that are laid in their nests. Perhaps the Cowbirds will think twice before trying to maneuver between the thorns to find a host nest for their eggs??https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Thrasher/overview

Green Darner dragonflies are a multigenerational long-distance migration flyer! They returned to SW Ontario a few weeks ago. Scientists are just starting to learn about their migratory habits. This species has been recorded flying 122 kilometres in a single day, clocking speeds upward of 58 kilometres per hour during migration!

https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/insects-and-spiders/common-green-darner.html

A Red-winged Blackbird Mom is sitting on her nest, only 12 inches above the water. Once the leaves open on the surrounding bush, she will be better camouflaged.

Frogs and toads have come out of hibernation and can be heard singing their very loud songs in order to find a mate. I encountered a mated pair of American Toads today. If you look closely at the bottom left and right corners of the photo, you will notice many strings of fertilized toad eggs.

 American Toad eggs enlarged from above picture.

 Nest Building Puzzle:

Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities, but will also use manmade nesting boxes. They feed on small, aerial insects that they catch in their mouths during acrobatic flight. They breed in open habitats such as fields and wetlands, usually adjacent to water.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tree_Swallow/id

A Tree Swallow entertained me in the morning as I watched her attempt to maneuver a long piece of nesting material, more than double the length of her body, into a hole that was only 1.5 inches in diameter. She made 6 fly-in attempts while I watched from a distance.

After each unsuccessful attempt, she flew back to the same branch on a nearby tree where her mate was supervising the activity. (He didn't offer to help.)

The determined bird sized up the situation one last time and managed to get most of the twig into the hole. One more piece of the nest puzzle was complete!