Autumn in Central Lambton County!

Beautiful Fall colours at Henderson Conservation Area!

I was staring at the large number of pine cones on this White Pine Tree when a Red-breasted Nuthatch made an appearance. Nuthatches can use their strong beaks to break open the cone scales and remove the seeds from within.

Bald-faced Hornet nest: Each year a new nest is created. The insects scrape pieces of wood from trees and mulch it into a type of paper with their own saliva. They build several layers of brood chambers surrounded by a protective outer layer. The entrance/exit hole is in the bottom right corner.

https://peskylittlecritters.com/how-bald-faced-hornets-build-nests-explained/

A late flying Spicebush Swallowtail.

Black-tipped Darners are large, strong flying dragonflies found throughout southern Canada. They are late season flyers and the preferred habitats are lakes and ponds in forested areas.

https://wiatri.net/inventory/odonata/SpeciesAccounts/SpeciesDetail.cfm?TaxaID=7

Yellow-rumped Warbler taking a break during migration.

Belted Kingfishers feed almost entirely on aquatic prey, diving to catch fish and crayfish with their long, heavy bill. 

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

Greater Yellowlegs are sometimes called Telltale, Tattler, and Yelper, all of which refer to their harsh sounding alarm calls. They can be found in mudflats and shallow marshes during spring and fall migration.

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

Our second stop was at the Marthaville Habitat Management Area where we found several Autumn Meadowhawks in mating wheels.

Great Plains Ladies' Tresses

 Northern Leopard Frogs

Work began in 2024 at the Marthaville Habitat Management Area to remove  Phragmites australis. It is an aggressive plant (originating from Eurasia) that spreads quickly and outcompetes most native species, resulting in a complete takeover of the habitat. This photo was taken on September 26, 2025. The removal project is continuing in 2025.

https://www.scrca.on.ca/property-closure-at-marthaville-habitat-management-area/#:~:text=The%20Marthaville%20Habitat%20Management%20Area%20will%20continue%20to,on%20a%20water%20control%20structure%20at%20that%20time.

Insects are incredibly talented when it comes to making their own shelters! The two leaves in the picture appear to have been stitched together with white thread to form a type of "tent" for the occupant.

 A Few Feathered Friends!

Pockets of migrating warblers can be found if you're in the right place at the right time! A Black-throated Green Warbler was eyeing up his next snack as it walked along the twig.

Gray Catbirds live in dense shrubs, vine tangles and thickets of young trees both in the summer and on their wintering grounds. One of their calls is a mewing sound, similar to a house cat.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/lifehistory#behavior

Common Yellowthroat female

White-throated Sparrow

A White-throated Sparrow concentrated on grabbing seeds from a flower. He had to pluck the seed off of each fluffy parachute before consuming it.

Video: White-throated Sparrow grabbing seeds.

Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that fly through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. When this individual made an appearance, all other bird activity ceased.

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

A Great Blue Heron and Great Egret "marched" past each other as they exchanged fishing locations.  Egrets are members of the Heron family and the two species compete for the same types of food. Fish are the mainstay of their diets followed by crayfish and other freshwater crustaceans but they will also eat small mammals, frogs and other amphibians.

https://birdfact.com/articles/what-do-egrets-ea

Great Blue Heron with landing gear deployed.

The Great Blue Heron appears to be conducting an orchestra as it recovers from the watery landing. 

Canada Goose Beach Patrol!

Downy Woodpecker looking for insects!

The Downy Woodpecker was able to fit half its body into the tree cavity!

I unknowingly disturbed a hunt while walking down a trail. The Cooper's Hawk was close to zeroing in on some prey, possibly a chipmunk, when it popped up from the understory and stood on the side of the tree trunk. It continued to look towards the forest floor but the prey managed to escape. The Cooper's Hawk nest in Canatara Park this summer successfully reared 4 youngsters, so there are a few hawks using the park as their "grocery store."

And sometimes, something is just "out of place." Someone with good climbing skills placed this wooden bird high in a tree above a lookout tower at Henderson Conservation Area.

 Port Colborne

Day 2 of House/Cat Sitting: Saturday was spent exploring areas near Port Colborne. Our first stop was at Mud Lake.

This Solitary Sandpiper was the only shorebird I was able to photograph, however both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were distantly visible. Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Wood Duck and Mallard were some of the duck species we added to our bird list.

We counted 25 Great Egrets clustered at one end of Mud Lake! They will be heading south for the winter soon.!

It was a beautiful fall hike, but the 3.1 km walking trail didn't give us many views of the wetland.

Great Blue Heron at the "lookout"! He had a wetland view!!

The dry summer season has all but dried up the bog so we didn't find any wetland birds. However, we did learn some interesting history about the property.

The property had been used as a Prisoner of War Camp for German Soldiers during World War II. They were put to work harvesting Peat when European supplies of peat were cut off. Peat was used as a fuel source at the time.

A narrow gauge railway line was used to transport peat more efficiently out of the bog to processing plants. Remnants of the track and other buildings can still be found on the property.

Song Sparrow

Rapid movement in the goldenrod exposed some ongoing predator/prey activity. The spider quickly secured the insect by wrapping it in silk, as the grasshopper continued to "fight back". Once satisfied that the prey wasn't going to escape, the spider waited off to the side until the grasshopper stopped struggling.

A birder who we met at the Wainfleet Bog recommended visiting Morgan's Point. The bedrock shoal, sand dunes, tall grass meadow, woodlot and open areas lend to the site's importance as a stopover for migrating birds and butterflies.

Looking out at Lake Erie from Morgan's Point.

Several Black Saddlebags cruised above us in the air. I was happy when one landed on a nearby perch.

After leaving Morgan's Point, we noticed unexpected activity in the air. Several parachutes could be seen as they slowly drifted down to ground level. There is a skydiving centre nearby. 

Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area: A former quarry naturalized into a wetland with a hiking trail around the ridge.

Views of the former quarry.

A short portion of the quarry trail was roadside and we had to cross the road to stay out of the way of the horses and the dust they kicked up.

Leopard Frog in the quarry basin.

Lock at Port Colborne - Luckily we weren't delayed by any bridge closures from freighters passing through the Welland Canal system.