A Walk Through Canard Valley Conservation Area

I stopped by Canard Valley (CA) Conservation Area today on the way to going to Colasantis with my son. It is not a well known area and it not well marked. You have to really want to go there to find the place! Anyway, I only walked along the Canard Valley (Creek) for about 100 or so meters but it was very nice! It just felt special to walk down to the water level of this waterway and to stand on its floodplain and realize that this is a tiny remnant of our region's natural history. This conservation area is known for one of Canada's best population of Kentucky Coffee Trees, a rare hybrid of Trout Lily among other things. This site is even mentioned in a fantastic publication by the EPA about the Lake St Clair/Huron/Erie Ecosystem [link].

Upon getting out of my car I noted a Banded and Striped Hairstreak as well as some unidentified skippers. Lots of Summer Azures were present as well.

I noticed many Dun Skippers nectaring on a perennial that I've been seeing a lot lately - Heal-all. Heal all is an edible plant! It also has beautiful petals. 

My best observation though was a nice Dukes Skipper! The first one I had seen was very obliging and I captured both dorsal and ventral views of the fluttery beast. I noted a second Dukes a moment later but I only had a chance to photograph the dorsal markings that distinguish it from a female. The male has the black line (stigma) though the orange patch on its upper forewing. Below, I've featured a Dukes Skipper image that features dorsal and ventral composite views, showing both the male and female sexual dimorphism of this species. 

Dukes Skipper - Dorsal and Ventral Composite

Other pics from this week:

This female Black Dash looks very similar to a Mulberry Winged Skipper that I have been looking for.

Good Birding!
Dwayne

Further Reading:


Brilliant Atlas of the Lake Huron/St Clair /Erie Ecosystem
http://www.epa.gov/ecopage/stclairbiodiv/stclairbiodiv.pdf

Map of Natural Areas in Essex County
http://wecec.org/pdf/publications/Natural_Areas_Map.pdf

Canard Valley Land Donation in the News
http://rivertowntimes.com/canard-valley-conservation-area-grows-thanks-to-public-private-partnership/

Kentucky Coffee Tree in Canada
http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/rs_kentucky_coffee_tree_e_final.pdf

Dukes Skipper
http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/dukes-skipper/?id=1370403265601

Heal All Plant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunella_vulgaris

Where are the Monarchs? Summer 2015
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Windsor/ID/2672318991/

Early June Butterfly Watching in Windsor

Ventral view of a fresh female Hobomok Skipper as it taps into a wildflower

I've attempted to view and photograph some butterflies this week and just figured I would share some of my sightings. I find I'm still learning so much with regards to identification! While I was photographing these butterflies, I heard Song Sparrows, Field Sparrow, Indigo Buntings and Great crested Flycatchers singing from the surrounding trees!

This week, I've seen:
Black Swallowtail
Spicebush Swallowtail
Giant Swallowtail

Hobomok Skippers
Tawny-edged Skippers
Peck's Skippers
Viceroy
Eastern Tailed Blue
Juvenals Duskywing
Duskywing Species
Pearl Cresent
Common wood Nymphs
Cabbage White
Orange/Clouded Sulphur

Black Swallowtail - Note the tiny black "dot" at the very bottom of its wings

Peck's Skipper Nectaring on Red Clover

Dorsal views of a female Hobomok Skipper butterfly - Note how it proceeds to coil its probiscis before taking flight!

Tawny edged and Crossline skippers are similar, but Tawny are smaller and are more common in June. This collage features both a ventral and dorsal view of a Tawny edged Skipper.

I've realized that there is now an e-bird equivalent for butterfly watchers! Its called E-Butterfly and if I'm not mistaken, its based in Ottawa Ontario! I created an account recently but I just don't know if I have time to really log my sightings. 

Good butterfly watching!
Dwaynejava

PS: My birding friends recently participated in a Ballie Birdathon which raises money for Bird Studies Canada. I don't know if I can motivate any of my blog readers to donate but if you are so inclined, please click the link here for the "No rEgrets" team. Kory Renaud, Jeremy Bensette, and Jeremy Hatt have raised over $1000, and I just donated $40 myself.  I read recently that North Americans spend $2 Billion per year on Halloween Candy... Imagine people donated just a fraction of the money they spend on Halloween candy to conservation and research? 

Aberrant Azure

Last weekend, I went out to Pelee in an effort to meet up a few friends that were birding the park. I was late getting there and ended up walking west beach footpath on my own. I found this aberrant Summer Azure along west beach, oddly enough, on the same plant that hosted the Olive Hairstreak a few days before!  I later showed the image to 'A-Worm' and he quickly shattered my hopes of this being perhaps a silvery blue or maybe a cherry gall azure. He simply described it as being an aberrant Summer Azure. This blog [link] seems to have found the same aberrant version of this summer azure. The blog mentions that its not uncommon to have smearing or stretching in the ventral wing maculations of coppers, blues and hairstreaks.

Tawny Emporer on the Pelee Tram. I often see at least one good butterfly on the roof of the tram...

Giant Swallowtail

Later, I kayaked the Pelee Marsh. I've done this now for the last three summers in August, and  get a great chance to see some shorebirds up close. No major rarities this time around, although I guess a nice look at Wilson's Snipe is always nice.

Black Tern - Juvenile

Pectoral Sandpipers

Wilson's Snipe

Late August is a great time to get out and see shorebirds, or to visit a natural area and see the late summer wildflower show!

Good Birding!
Dwayne

Cylindrical Rough Blazingstar at Ojibway

Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth ?!?! v2

Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

On the way to my parents house tonight, I stopped by Ojibway Park for a quick walk. I had been seeing Broad winged Skippers lately and wanted better looks. Upon walking up to a small meadow in the Spring Garden area of Ojibway, I saw a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth to my right, then to my left, I noticed another Clearwing Moth, ... with more of a yellow-black colouration... Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth?!?!?!? Are you kidding me?  I literally have two frames of this moth and it was gone.  Its funny, if you approach them very slowly, they seem to not mind your presence, but if you make a quick movement, such as move a camera strap, they can be a little shy.

More Reading:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hemaris-thysbe (Hummingbird Clearwing)
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hemaris-diffinis  (Snowberry Clearwing)

Just a Clearwing Moth - Common as dirt...

I saw another Clearwing Moth moments later as I was leaving. Its funny, once you "see" a new species, your seem to then see it more easily from that point on.

It seems like butterfly life has really died down a little ... are we between broods? I did get some really nice looks at Broad winged Skippers though... I have male and female and dorsal ventral combinations... See below!

Branded Skipper Butterflies are a little difficult to identify because there are some strange wing positionings. The two photos above show a male and female dimorphism, but it is more clearly seen in the dorsal perspective. The dorsal perspective though, for skippers can be strange because skippers hold their forewings up at a 45degree angle, so depending on the angle you are looking at the butterfly, you may see the upper forwing on the right, and the upper hindwing on the left. I don't know if I'm explaining that very well, but I think any butterfly watcher has to come to terms with that sooner or later!

I took my son to a playground near my sisters house this week, and noted several birds:
25 brown headed cowbirds (I hate seeing big groups of cowbirds :-(  )
15 Starlings
10 Goldfinch,
25 Barn Swallows,
2 Song Sparrows,
Willow Flycatcher! (to my amazement)

Regarding Willow Flycatchers, I must say I am delighted to find them. I usually hear their scatchy call then try to find them perched atop a small bush or shrub... I only see them a few times during the summer in more expected areas such as Hillman Marsh. Not easy to find close to Windsor, but I may be mistaken on that...

That playground had a few housing lots slated for development with lots of weeds. These two beauties flew by me in the mater of a few minutes. The top being a Black Swallowtail (see that small dot at the very bottom of its wings?) and a Spicebush Swallowtail, which has no "dot", and the band of orange dots is pierced by the blue colouring. Very cool eh?

Good birding!
Dwayne

American White Pelicans at Big Creek in Amherstburg V3

4,5,6...7 American White Pelicans? My first for Ontario. Heavily cropped...

After reading about the reported White Pelicans and Little Blue Heron at Holiday Beach this week, I felt I should go and check it out.  It was reported that the Egret numbers at Holiday Beach/Big Creek might be the largest recorded Egret roost numbers in Canada. This morning, I was unable to find a juvenile Little Blue Heron, as most Great Egrets were very far from the hawk watching tower, and my scope is just not sharp enough to see beak detail to distinguish a LBH from a Great Egret.

Or is this a Juvenile Herring Gull?

Recent walks of Point Pelee beaches gave views of Bonaparte's Gulls and Lesser (?) black-backed Gulls. I was hoping to see a Little Gull, but I haven't convincingly seen one yet. I can't honestly differentiate between a greater and lesser gull at this point, so I usually go by what is more statistically abundant. Ebird charts for Essex County hint that Greater black backed Gulls are much more abundant than Lesser black backed Gulls.

A quick kayak trip into Point Pelee's Marsh resulted in surprisingly low numbers of shorebirds. I was expecting more to be honest. On the various islands of mudflats I saw:
2 Semipalmated Sandpipers
5 Killdeer
1 Juv Spotted Sandpiper
3 Short billed Dowitchers
15 Canada Geese
25 Black Terns (in the Lilypads)

I should enter this into e-bird. I should go out at least one more time into the marsh. Probably in the second week of August.

Any thoughts on the subspecies of this SBD? Hendersoni?

Lots of butterflies around at Point Pelee along west Beach. Common Buckeye and American Snout are very abundant, but Giant Swallowtails, Red Spotted Purples, Viceroy, Monarch, Painted Lady and even Variegated Fritillary. I was hoping to see an Olive Hairstreak this week but dipped.

 

 

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

Long Dash Skipper? ... Probably Pecks

Sorting Through Swallows & Some Butterfly Lifers

Tawny Emperor... A Point Pelee Specialty

Over the last week or so, I've been able to get out a few times and rack up a few more butterfly lifers. The best butterfly of the four was found serendipitously. While bringing my son to the tip of Point Pelee, I couldn't help but notice a worn but still beautiful Tawny Emperor (dark phase) on the tram as we were driving! It was on the tram on the way to the tip, and was still on the tram when I went back later on! Tawny Emperors are very rare in Canada. They are best found at Point Pelee or Pelee Island. The southern latitude and generous abundance of Hackberry trees make this a 'common' butterfly at Point Pelee.

Dainty Sulphur. Little, Yellow, Different.

 A recent walk at Hillman Marsh gave nice views of what I think are Dainty Sulphurs. I had read about them on a Ohio-based blog that I follow, and even in Ohio, they are very rare. They are very tiny! I also photographed a nice Fiery Skipper which was exciting. Peck's Skipper was another Butterfly Lifer that I picked up a week or so ago as well. Hillman Marsh was quiet bird wise, with the exception of a generous showing of swallows. 

Another blog that I read from Michigan had some Bank Swallows photographed recently and it dawned on me that I lazily haven't added this bird to my life list. So, its a lazy hindsight lifer that I just never bothered to pick up until now. Cliff Swallows are not really on my 2nd year life list either, so I might be upping my list by two here. Road 19 between Concession C&D has swallows perched on the telephone wires. Bank Swallows, Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows, Rough Winged, Purple Martins and Tree Swallows are pretty easily seen for anyone willing to sort through them. All-about-birds has a nice write-up on all the swallows at this link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse_tax/31/.

 

Its pretty cool to think that of the 8 North American swallow species, 6/8 can be pretty easily seen at Point Pelee right now. The other two absent species are Cave Swallows (Texas Resident) and Violet Green Swallows (Western Resident). I lucked out and saw Violet-Green Swallows last year in BC.

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

Lifer Summary:
Bank Swallow #303
Cliff Swallow #304