A recent WEPBird posting mentioned an Olive sided Flycatcher along with some other warblers at Point Pelee so I made an effort to go out. I carpooled with Kit - who is a new and enthusiastic birder from Windsor. We walked Woodland Nature Trail at Pelee and Redbud trail then went to Sparrow Field. Lots of birds to sort through but some highlights included Red breasted Nuthatch - which is rare in my opinion - and an Olive sided Flycatcher. In Sparrow Field we had a Carolina Wren singing as we sorted through flycatchers, warblers and vireos. Its been said by many experienced birders that Pelee is a better migration trap in the fall than in the Spring! In Sparrow Field, I had also noted a fresh hairstreak butterfly on Goldenrod, but as I switched my camera lens, it flushed not to be refound. I'm 95% sure it was a Grey Hairstreak.
Back at Ojibway, I was walking along a path recently and noted an interpretive sign mentioning that a small meadow had Slender Bush-Clover! I had read about this plant as being very rare in Ontario and Canada. Its so rare, that Ojibway Park is the only place in Canada for this plant! Its rated S1 according to this COSEWIC report[link]. I looked around the meadow, being ultra careful of where I was stepping and I immediately found my target plant. Slender Bush-Clover looks a little like Showy tick Trefoil as well as Round-headed Bush-Clover (they are all in the pea family). Its smaller than the previous two plants, and is like a narrow stem shooting upwards with 3-part leaves and little flower clusters along the stem. Its not a stunning plant by any means, 999/1000 people would walk by it and not even notice it. I was interested in seeing this plant as its on the rarity list on the Ojibway Website and I want to appreciate Ojibway Park by viewing its botanical, lep, herp, avian and habitat diversity.
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| Round-Headed Bush Clover (Lespedeza capitata) at Ojibway Park in Windsor |
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| Slender Bush Clover (Lespedeza virginica) at Ojibway Park |
Its difficult to photograph plants. One would think its way easier to photograph a plant than a bird - but somehow I think I struggle more to photograph plants than birds. Its hard to capture the "essence" of this plant and it seems that its flowering period is very short - blink and you miss the flowering stage till next year...
Good Birding, Lepping, Botanizing, Herping, Gardening and anything else related to nature!
Dwayne
Nice shot of the Slender Bush-clover, it seems to have gone wild after a spring prescribed burn, good news!
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