Windy Day at Point Pelee!!

We headed down to Leamington to join the Friday evening presentation at the Ontario Field Ornithologists Conference. Our original plan did not include going to Point Pelee on Friday, but the forecast for Saturday rains inspired us to adjust our plan.

We enjoy the walk from the Visitor Centre to the tip but time was limited so we were happy to see that the tram was operating. Hurricane Helene was making news in the southern US and it sure felt like we were feeling the leading effects of the storm. The tip as we know it was completely submerged, or perhaps even washed away.

Gulls, including Bonapartes, Herring, Ring-billed and Great Black-backed, made some distant appearances as they soared along the tip. However, watching a group of 7 Sanderlings which were soon joined by 21 more provided lots of entertainment! They ran along they beach looking for food while trying to avoid the waves.

6 of 7 Sanderlings huddled in a sheltered area.

21 new Sanderling arrivals!

A few Sanderlings walked within 2 metres of where we were standing.

Video: Sanderlings at the tip of Point Pelee!

Stable Flies were abundant at the tip. My jeans, although they seemed to attract the flies, did protect me from their bites. They were a great nuisance for people with bare legs.

 Lagoon Life!

Not exactly a tropical paradise, but the Strathroy Lagoons host lots of different life forms at this time of year. Insects are larger and easier to see in the fall since they have been eating and growing all summer. The lagoons are an important rest stop for migrating waterfowl.

Finding the Larva of a Snowberry Clearwing, was one of the highlights of my walk. Although I have seen many at the adult stage, this was my first larva. Usually blue/green on the top and yellow/green along the side, the caterpillar that I found was the much less common 'brown' form.

Adult Snowberry Clearwing, (found in mid-July)

One of the first caterpillars that I noticed was shiny in the morning light. The Asteroid Moth caterpillar was nibbling on New England Aster.

Dogwood Sawfly

The larva in the above 2 photos are both Dogwood Sawflies. They don't look the same because they are at different instar stages. Sawflies resemble smooth, hairless caterpillars with six pairs of prolegs. Moth and butterfly caterpillars (almost) never have more than 5 pairs of prolegs.

PROLEGS: SPOTLIGHT ON CATERPILLAR ANATOMY (thecaterpillarlab.org)

Isabella Tiger Moth caterpillar

Virginian Tiger Moth

Familiar Bluet was the most common dragonfly species that I saw.

Red speckled Dun, a small species of Mayflies, were abundant, often landing on my clothing or backpack.

Honey bees were active on the knapweed.

Some waterfowl, including these Wood Ducks were on the water. Any shorebirds I noticed were too far away for photos or identification. I also saw several Pied-billed Grebes and Mallards, a Green Heron and some Cedar Waxwings. All in all, a nice morning for walk!

 Backyard Moth Madness!

Frass (brown specs on leaf, above) is the word used to describe the poop of many insects, including moth caterpillars. As caterpillars eat almost constantly while awake, they create a lot of frass which can be used by predators to detect their location. To avoid this, some caterpillars will explosively expel their frass as far away as possible to hide their true location!

https://www.ontarioparks.ca/parksblog/5-moth-facts/#:~:text=With%20over%202,800%20species%20of%20moths%20recorded%20in%20Ontario%20on

As the summer progressed, caterpillars became adults which provided more species for us to find. A few of the very many moths that we saw are shown below:

Chickweed Geometer Moth!

Flame-shouldered Dart

Florida Fern Moth

Frosted Tan Wave

Gem Moth

Guenee's Pearl

Harnessed Tiger Moth

Juniper Geometer Moth

Peppered Moths

A Gathering of Moths!

 Historic Petrolia!

Sept. 21st - A day well spent in Petrolia! Guided walking tours at Petrolia Hillsdale Cemetery featured members of the town's theatre group performing heritage scenes in period costume. Re-enactments of colourful historic citizens taught about the rich Oil heritage, Oil Barons, Beekeepers, as well as the owners of a Nitroglycerine business that blew up, all of whom are buried at Hillsdale.

Henderson Conservation C.A. is adjacent to, and visible from the cemetery. This is a view I don't often see. I spent a couple of hours at the C.A. before heading to the afternoon tour.

One of the first butterflies I encountered was a Common Buckeye, hiding amongst the fallen leaves. It was difficult to locate the butterfly when the wings were closed.

I was pleased to find 4 Common Buckeye, a species that sometimes eludes me. A friend in the Brigden area said that she saw 30 individuals on Thursday!

It is hard to identify white-form Sulphurs to species. It could be either a female Clouded Sulphur or female Orange Sulphur. The legs and wing edges are bright pink.

New England Aster - popular with pollinators, but apparently not at the time I took the photo!

A Cabbage White butterfly later nectared on New England Aster. The beautiful purple, white and blue asters are an important source of food for pollinators in the fall!

Seven-spotted Lady Beetle

Margined Calligrapher

Tufted Globetail - (according to iNaturalist)

Swamp Milkweed Seeds - preparing for next spring.

 Fall Migrants!

Daylight is shortening and many birds are heading south. The following birds were all viewed in Canatara Park this week as they took a break for food and rest during migration.

Eastern Wood-Pewee: When several flycatcher species live in the same forest, the Eastern Wood-Pewee tends to forage higher in the trees than the Least and Acadian Flycatchers, but lower than the Great Crested Flycatcher.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Wood-Pewee/overview

Red-eyed Vireo: They have an internal compass which guides migration. However, fat stores seem to influence migration paths when the birds reach the Gulf of Mexico. Fatter birds head across the the Gulf, while leaner birds hug the coastline or travel inland around the Gulf. Cloud cover also makes routes near land more likely.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-eyed_Vireo/overview

Great Egrets

One of these things is not like the others. One morning, the Great Blue Heron had to share Lake Chipican with at least 4 Great Egrets!

Black-throated Green Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Warblers are known for their quick, flighty movements. Add tree leaves to the mix and they can be tricky to photograph! The only clear shot of this Black and White Warbler that I was able to manage, was the tail end!

Nashville Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

American Redstart 

If you look closely, the American Redstart has her eye on a juicy spider, hanging on the underside of the maple leaf.

In a flash, the Redstart ate the spider for her next snack.