Simcoe Nature

Other than a number of White Admirals (lifer) and a late Bay-breasted Warbler, there wasn't really anything noteworthy on my class trip up to Orillia for a couple days. Since I really don't have anything to report on at this time, I'll just post my eBird checklists and a photo of a Common Whitetail, which was the most numerous dragonfly species.

June 20th (Day List)
June 21st (Stationary Count)
June 21st (Day List)
June 22nd (Stationary Count)
June 22nd (Day List)

Common Whitetail (London, Ont)

I'll be graduating this week, which means that soon I'll hopefully have more to write about!!!

Dickcissels to Dragonflies

Today I decided to check out a few locations around home. The first was south of London on Scotland Drive. There has been a recent influx of Dickcissels lately in Ontario, and a few had been reported in the previous days.

It didn't take long to find a couple Horned Larks.

Soon after the larks, we found a singing Dickcissel (DICK). The DICK can be identified by it's yellow breast and rufous back. The males have a black "bib". DICKs have been invading Ontario, in particular southern Ontario, in numbers that were likely unprecedented.

After the first one flushed due to a passing truck, I continued up the road where I found this bird on a wire. It was very cooperative.

This isn't cropped at all.

A third was found back near where I left the truck, and the first bird was back to the field where I had originally spotted it. The field doesn't appear to be a crop of any kind, so it is likely that, as long as it isn't cut, the Dickcissels will stay and attempt to nest.

It soon flew up into a tree, which is where I left it.

I went to Weldon Park in Arva after lunch, which can be a great spot for dragonflies.

It took awhile, but I did eventually catch my first dragonfly...a Dot-tailed Whiteface.

A few more missed before I nabbed a Common (Eastern) Pondhawk.

I was unable to catch this guy, but it's a Unicorn Clubtail.

I was finally able to get a Common Whitetail after dozens of attempts.

Heading into the woods, I found a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a couple American Redstarts.

The introduced European Skipper was seen.

To top off the day, I saw my first Silver-spotted Skippers of the year.

Tomorrow should prove to be exciting...stay tuned!

In the Hand: Common Whitetail

I was trying out my new insect net down at the local pond today. The only dragonfly that I saw was a female Common Whitetail. To catch her I didn't even need my net! She was sitting nice and still, probably due to the recent rain.

The Transition Period

Sad as it is, spring migration is virtually over.

But there is hope...this is the time of year that butterflies/moths (leps) and dragonflies/damsels (odes) start to appear in large numbers. These groups will entertain us until fall migration starts in a couple months. Today, I made my first trip of the year to look specifically to find some flying insects.

I started in my favourite spot to look for leps, a large open field adjacent to Sunngingdale Rd. and at the start/end of Uplands Trail. I can often find many skippers here. Today, I only saw a glimpse of one skipper, but there was quite a large number of Common Ringlets.

There was a tagged Monarch, but I was unable to get a photo or the tag number. A Virginia Ctenucha also didn't want it's picture taken.

An Eastern Tailed-Blue made an appearance.

There were a couple bluets, including Eastern Forktail.

Heading into the woods, I saw numerous larger species of dragonfly, such as Common Whitetail and what looked like a meadowhawk of some sort.

Heading deeper in the woods, there was a White-stripped Black moth.

Also see was one of my favourites, the Ebony Jewelwing.

Although things are still a bit slow, hopefully they will soon pick up!

Late June Wildflowers and Bugs

Today, I decided to go down to my local park and take photos of plants and bugs. Usually I'll do bird photography there, but lately I've noticed a lot of nice wildflowers around, so I outfitted my camera with my 55mm lens (though I did bring my 600mm lens just in case).

The first wildflowers that I decided to take photos of were these Bird's-foot Trefoil (lotus corniculatus). These flowers were probably the most common one I saw all day.

Next up was this Variable Crown-vetch (Coronilla varia). Also seen a lot throughout my walk.

Just a few feet away from the last flower, was some Common St. Johns-wort (Hypericum perforatum). I think that these are one of the prettier flowers that I saw today.

My only deep purple coloured  flower of the day was Cow Vetch (Vicia cracca).

This flower is called a Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus). It looks sort of like an Aster, so it can be a little difficult to identify.

The Thistle family all look similar. This one, the Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense), is one of the more common members.

I only saw this plant once on my walk. The unique plant below is none other than Pineapple-weed (Matricaria discoidea).

The dried out stems of the Wild Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) is a common sight in Ontario. I managed to see (and feel) a couple of the green plants today. Ouch!

Dried-out

I saw some Common Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) along the pathway. Come this fall, the berries will be ripe for the birds. I have seen Waxwings, Robins, and Hermit Thrushes enjoying the fruit.

I did not spend much time looking at the trees, but I did decide to photograph a White Oak (Quercus alba). The two species of oak I have seen in the area are Red and White. You can tell a Red from a White by looking at the leaves. White has round leaf points and Red has more pointy leaf points.

White Oak

I could not find any clover species other than Red Clover (Trifolium pretense).

Probably the most familiar wildflower to people is Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum lewcanthemum). I surprisingly only only saw this flower at one location during the whole walk.

This little white flower did not seem to be doing so hot. I am not 100% sure on the ID, but I think that it may be a White Campion (Silene latifolia).

After spending almost an hour out in the field, I finally came across a small bunch of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). When I was younger, I remember that the hill going down to the pond was covered with milkweed. I would always look for Monarch Caterpillars and Eggs hidden in the leaves. Now the hill is nothing but Variable Crown-vetch and dirt.

I saw that a leaf was broken off, and the white liquid that gives the milkweed its name was oozing out.

The Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) was growing along the trail. These are a favourite of American Robins and other thrushes.

Other then plants, there was some fun things as well. A Great Blue Heron was one of them.

I changed to the 600mm for this one!

I found an abandoned Red-winged Blackbird nest in some of the Phargmites.

No photos, but the Mallard ducklings were everywhere. The adult males were also molting.

The highlight of the walk for me was finding a Virginia Ctenucha (how you properly say that is beyond me!) He (or she) was very friendly, and even decided to crawl onto my hand while I was taking a few photos!

I saw three species of Dragonflies and Damselflies. The first being a Tule Bluet.

Common Whitetail and Common Green Darner was also observed.

Common Whitetail

I saw a Solider Beetle for about a minute before it flew off.

I am sure that one day I will get to identifying this bee, but for now....it is just a bee.

Just a Bee...

Hoverflies, Mud Daubers and Cabbage Whites would not sit still for a photo, but were seen quite frequently.

That is it for now, though I am sure that another post will be coming out soon enough. Thanks!