In, On, and Around Lake Huron

In...

You didn't think that I'd live up to this title...

Today we took a trip out to visit Kettle Point. It was the kind of day where your ears came in more handy than your binoculars or camera, so there aren't too many photos.

Driving in, I saw a Vesper Sparrow. In the marshes, many different birds could be found, including Marsh Wren, American Redstart, Mute Swan, and Alder Flycatcher.

This Red Fox was content to hang out near the road.

Speaking of red things, there were a couple Northern Cardinals around.

We went out on my uncle's boat...not to much out in the water but a few Mallards.

I checked out the dunes along the public beaches...a few swallowtails (Black and Eastern Tiger), and what I assume to be a skipper of some sort.

To finish off the day, I quickly checked into Ipperwash Dunes and Swales to look for butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies.

This appears to be a Racket-tailed Emerald (thanks Blake!).

This is still unidentified. I think that it is a spreadwing of sorts, but I am unsure of what species. What really stands out is that the end of the abdomen (S8, S9, S10) are unmarked. Usually if a damselfly is of the "Black Type" (the abdomen is mostly black) it will have blue markings near the tip of it's tail. If anyone has a suggestion of what it may be, please comment! If it helps, the underside of the abdomen appears to also be blue. (EDIT: This is an Aurora Damsel...thanks Chris) 

Northern Crescents are fairly easy to find.

These are Juvenal's Duskywings. I was hoping that maybe it was a Sleepy, but alas it was not to be. I'll have to come back out this way and check out some other spots for them.

Final dragonfly of the day was Common Baskettail. There were at least half a dozen in one little area. Fairly easy to capture in the net, but I had to take a few swings before I caught one.

If this is just the beginning of the Ode and Lep season, then we are in for a treat this year!