Backyard Nature Observations

I'm having a blast observing nature in my back yard! Just today I was working on my deck in my back yard an low and behold... a male Ruby throated Hummingbird was hovering in the air just 10 feet away from me. It was looking at wasps which seem to have found a home in the sophet above my back porch. A Dove alighted gracefully on my rear fence and quickly shot off... Coopers Hawk blasting by. At dusk, a peenting sound from above ... two common nighthawks. Incessant Catbird, Indigo Bunting and Song Sparrows calling. Screeching Red tailed Hawks... I could go on!

I've noted two rare plants recently just near my house... Prairie Dock (SRank: S1) and Sullivant's Milkweed. Both Prairie Dock patches have been recently mown (...moan). That is the conundrum though with prairie plants... They need fire, or lawn-mowers to buzz by every now and then because succession will eventually create a forest. I've created a small native wildflower garden in my backyard with some of the following plants: Dark-eyed susans, Coneflowers of various colours, butterfly bush, Oregeno and Rosemary, heal all, Catnip plant?, and my latest addition: Gayfeather (aka blazingstar)... Which I bought from Lowes just yesterday. Yes, I have Blazingstar in my backyard!

Prairie Dock. Botanist might also note the presence of Wild Carrots

A little black butterfly caught my eye the other day, and sure enough, Common Sootywing in my back yard! I had to take a photo with my cell phone (I had lent my camera out), which was nearly impossible because Sootywings do not let you approach too closely. Common Checkered Skippers are resident in my back yard and any quick stroll will surely stir one up. I've had some great good butterfly walks at Ojibway recently and there does not seem to be a butterfly scarcity issue here in Windsor, although there are a few species I have not seen that I have seen consistently over the last few years ex: broad winged skipper. On the other hand, Common Ringlets seemed to have invaded Essex this year... perhaps from the north?

Common Sootywings are not very common. A SW Ontario rarity if I'm not mistaken!

Three last notes:

1 of 3 -  I found that my grade entrance might "trap" a toad every now and then ... usually after a good rain, so on occasion, I will "rescue" toads with a little plastic container, and recently,,, I thought it would be a great learning opportunity for my son to rescue the toad and release it back to the environment. It was a teachable moment for two boys to help them appreciate and have compassion for nature.

2 of 3 - My son pointed out a caterpillar on our front porch and ... not knowing what species it was, I quickly found the species (Black Swallowtail) and asked my son to compare the caterpillar from two catterpillars in my ROM Butterflies of Ontario field guide. After noting the various colours and patterns, my son made the right identification and was proud to do so. I helped my son see the joy of identifying things by making observations... another great teachable moment. The crystalis never emerged, it may have been 'pecked' by a bird or maybe parisitized by a wasp?

3 of 3 - I noted that the house next to me had nesting rough-winged swallows in an exhaust vent as the house was being constructed. One day, I noted that the Mechanical Company had installed the vent covers, "trapping" the nestlings inside and locking the parents out. I had a heavy heart, as I noted that the parent birds would perch on a nearby window sill, as if to say "where did our vent / home go"? Then, a day or two later I noted the Mechanical Company back, fishing out the baby birds and leaving them on the ground. I suggested that we create a temporary nest cavity (as opposed to just leaving them on the ground), right next to their old vent opening, and maybe, the fledglings could be fed, and resuscitated by their parents. I'm glad to say that we saved the birds ... the parents found their fledglings and fed them and they fledged (3/4) just a few days after this took place.

 Note the newly covered vent, the makeshift nest cavity, and the thankful bird in the foreground!

Good birding!
Dwayne

PS: Below is a list of some birds, plants and butteflies I've seen from simply sitting in my backyard and looking around.


Summer 2015 Nature observations at South Cameron Woodlot....

Indigo Bunting
Ruby throated Hummingbird
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
House Sparrow
Common Nighthawk (the last few days, dusk only)
Red tailed Hawk
Coopers Hawk
Grey Catbird
American Goldfinch
Robin
Wood Thrush (occasionally)
House Wren
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Chimney Swift
Ring billed gulls
Bald Eagle (once)
Killdeer
Downy Woodpecker
Killdeer
Cardinal
Black capped Chickadee
Turkey Vulture
Mourning Dove

Common Checkered Skipper
Common Sootywing
Least Skipper
Pecks Skipper
Black Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Viceroy
Cabbage White
Orange Sulphur
Clouded Sulphur
Comma
Question Mark

American Toad

Prairie Dock
Sullivants Milkweed

Deer
Coyotes

ROM Butterflies of Ontario Field Guide Review plus Bonus Video: Vlogging Entimologists!

I recently ordered a copy of the ROM Butterflies of Ontario field guide online and obtained my copy today. I was a little reluctant to get a ROM guide after being a little disappointed with the ROM Birds of Ontario field Guide. The problem with the ROM birding guide was that only one image of each bird was provided, and that was a shortcoming of that book because birds can have many plumages due to age, time of the year and of course, sexual dimorphism.  My initial impression of this book though has been much better. The photography is excellent. The writeups are good and cover lots of information. The range maps are nice - customized to the province of Ontario and even include specific points that the particular butterfly has been found in. Data perhaps garnered from E-butterfly databases and other historic records.


The first section of the book is excellent and includes the following:

• History of Butterfly study in Ontario
• Butterfly morphology
• Factors influencing butterfly distribution in Ontario
• Conservation and protection of Ontario butterflies
• Where to Observe Butterflies (including nice profiles of the top 14 butterfly watching sites)
• Observing butterflies  and documenting records
• Butterfly Gardening

The image below shows the first of 14 butterfly hotspots spread out throughout the province. It was great to read about Ojibway Prairie as one of the main featured areas for butterfly watching.  The next page features Point Pelee. Two hotspots in Essex County. Exciting!  I plan on making trips out to all these corners of Ontario during upcoming summers.

Each butterfly basically has a two page spread that includes great photography of both the dorsal and ventral view of the butterfly, as well as the larval form (Caterpillar). Occasionally, a host plant images is included as well. Range maps and distribution details are excellent.

I was wondering if some extirpated species were included in this book, and it seems yes, they are. I think field guides and other books relating to natural history should include extinct and extirpated species, just to remind us of what should be here and to remind us that we need to increase conservation efforts.

Well, here is the promised video. Its not really a Vlog (Vlog is short for Video Log or Video Blog), but rather, a recorded webcast... But I just thought it would be cool to say: "Vlogging Entimologists"! Its interesting to watch these two ROM authors just sit around and talk about butterflies in Ontario. Its nice to see the authors behind the books you are reading. Enjoy!




One might be curious to know how this guide compares with the recent and excellent Kaufman butterfly guide? I think they are both great, but the ROM guide simply focuses on the Ontario species whereas the Kaufman guide tackles a much larger area: All of the US and Canada! Its a matter of depth versus breadth. So, since so much breadth is covered in the Kaufman guide, there is not much depth. The ROM guide provides much more depth, but less breadth. Both are excellent.

There was some interesting discussion about this field guide on the Ontario butterflies google group. There were some criticisms about inaccuracies in the book or mistakes... perhaps made by inaccurate data entry or mistaken observations.  The debates were interesting, and at times somewhat heated... But rest assured it remained civil :-) One butterfly enthusiast made a comment that... (I forget the context of his discussion - perhaps regarding the data discrepencies and the volunteer efforts to fix them) but he mentioned that we are all paid in "butterfly bucks"... Too funny.

I plan on reading this book and just leaving it on my coffee table for my kids to flip through. I recommend getting it!


Good Birding & Butterfly watching!
Dwaynejava

At the time of publishing, this book is 37% off the cover price at Chapters/Indigo. See link below.
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/the-rom-field-guide-to/9780888544971-item.html