Willowleaf Aster and other Late Bloomers * Late Summer Botany *

 

Living close to Ojibway Park in Windsor - I have really made an effort to find many of the rare plants that make Ojibway such a unique place in Southwestern Ontario. My latest find - Willowleaf Aster is somthing that I have wanted to see over the last few years, but since there are many types of Asters, the identification process is a little bit challenging!

I thought I had found this species last year, and I had posted my sighting on Inaturalist - but some botany experts suggested I had mis-identified the species based on the leaves along the stem. But this year, I think I have finally found a few patches in Windsor that I can confidently say that I have the proper ID. The flowers of this plant are a very light purple colour (almost white) and the colour can be made a little more apparent by underexposing the photos when photographing the plant. Allan W. from the NatureNuggets blog who is an excellent source of information gave me some tips on field marks to look for, such as the patterns on the underside of the leaves on this species. The subtle impression I get when I look at this plant is that its an Aster plant that have "rosemary-like" leafy stems throughout. They get willow-like as you move down the stem towards the ground.  

I almost goes without saying that the beautiful autumn flower show that is provided by Goldenrods and Asters makes the change of season (with its shorter days and colder temps) a little more bearable. 

Some other plants that are fun to find at this time of year are Fringed Gentian and Bottle Gentian flowers, that are found in some prarie habitats within the Ojbiway Park network. Fringed Gentian is not a perenial, so I find that looking for them each year requires a little bit of walking around in good habitat and they seem to show up in new places year after year. 

Backtracking a little to summer, I had found a pretty rare plant at Ojibway which is Whorled Milkweed! I was blown away to find this and I can't help but wonder if its naturally occurring or if it was planted?

Speaking of rare milkweed plants, I had observed a single specimen of Tall Green Milkweed this summer as well (around early-mid July).  I had gone back a few weeks later to see this plant in full flower, but sadly, its flowers or the top of the plant had been gnarled somehow, perhaps deer herbavory?

Anyway - I have been a little busy with work/life but I still value the chance I have to blog some of my nature sightings. I think writing really lets a person think, reflect, share ... put ideas down into words. Perhaps create memories or give someone else a chance to see what I'm seeing in my little corner of the world. I really think botany is a great hobby, and I've enjoyed learning from the blogosphere of Naturalists that I follow. 

Good Naturalizing!

Dwayne

Owls of Ojibway

Just a short posting. I'm happy to say that my birding hiatus ends tomorrow at 7pm. I have not birded too much lately, but still have been able to take the occasional walk at Ojibway Park in Windsor.  A friendly birder (yes, they exist!) graciously shared the location of these two gorgeous owls with me, under the condition that I not disclose the location to others. The owl fledgling below is only about 5-6 days old!

The baby owl looked distraught so we left immediately. We stayed back at least 100m, so this photo is heavily cropped and taken with a 500mm lens on a cropped sensor. Please use the highest standard of birding ethics when viewing owls.

Related News:
Four Peregrine Falcon Eggs at the bridge site!
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2012/04/10/four-eggs-for-peregrine-falcons/

Point Pelee Birding Report for 2011 
http://www.ojibway.ca/pointpeleebirds2011.pdf

I'm selling my kayak (maybe)
http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-sporting-goods-exercise-water-sports-Kayak-Wilderness-systems-tsunami-165-Updated-with-Photos-W0QQAdIdZ370102176

New Scope?
I'm in the market for a new scope. Some considerations are the Bushnell Elite Scopes, Vortex Razor 85mm, Kowa 88mm...Any suggestions?

Good birding,
Dwaynejava

Western Kingbird in Windsor

Yesterday's Ontbirds report from James Holdsworth had reported Western Kingbirds (in Windsor) so this posting attempts to document this great find. James' posting was incredibly detailed and covered plumage, behavior and vocalizations... its worth reading if you haven't read it. James also sent me some photos and gave me permission to repost them. The following four are some that he took:

Props to James for finding these! I would have looked at this bird and assumed it was GC Flycatcher.

This morning, I found them myself. I found them perched on the telephone wires about 50m before the entrance to the power station at the end of Lauzon road. Some selected photos that I took from my car:

Even in great light, it was hard to get a nice 3/4 frontal angle photo of the Western Kingbird. Overall though, it was nice to see a small Kingbird family flying around and calling to each other. Thanks again to James for sharing his photos and this excellent find with Ontbirds.


A google map of where to locate these birds (as described by James Holdsworth) can be found below:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=42.287215,-82.915463&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x883b2a7ba4abbe17:0x42d0117a8dd44df,%2B42%C2%B0+17%27+14.48%22,+-82%C2%B0+54%27+54.18%22&gl=ca&ei=DgpETuj2KseGsgKE0IiODQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ8gEwAA

Good birding,
Dwaynejava

PS: If a Western Kingbird has baby birds with an Eastern Kingbird... would the fledglings be Midwestern Kingbirds? lol!  :^)

Malden Park Treasures

Malden Park is an old municipal garbage dump that has been turned into a beautiful grassy, scrubby park. It has two small lakes (near the Malden Rd Parking lots) that, year after year, attracted Belted Kingfishers and Green Herons as breeders. So, during a recent walk at Malden Park I heard a Belted Kingfisher making its loud laughing call, and saw it flying from one perch to another perch on the long, narrow pond near the parking lot. I had no camera so I made a note of returning.


View Larger Map

Upon returning this last weekend with my Camera, I did not find the Kingfisher right away, but instead, found a nesting pair of Green Herons! Yes, a Green Heron sitting on a nest... Very cool! Later on, I heard, then visually found my target species, the Belted Kingfisher. I usually find Green Herons at Ojibway Park, but have not seen them there yet this season. Ojibway Park is just down the road from Malden Park.

Also, another cool West-Windsor bird has been the mating Peregrine Falcons at the Bridge. Last year, if I went to the bridge to find the Peregrine family, it seemed like it was easy to see the mother, father and the fledglings. This year, they have been low key (difficult to spot), or I am just not going at the opportune times?

This weekend, I finally saw one perched on the drain pipes under the bridge.  I'm not sure if the new Peregrine falcons have fledged. The local paper has not really followed these birds very much this year. I know these are not super-rarities, but still very nice birds for West-Windsor industrial wasteland.

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Northern Shrike at Malden Park

Click for larger view

Wow, what an exciting lifer! This beautiful bird is #214 on my life list.... spotted after 1.5 years of birding. I almost dropped my camera when I realized what I was looking at!

I learned about this bird during a Mid-Summer walk that I took with the Essex Field Naturalists group in 2009. The group leader (his name escapes me) told us that Northern Shrikes could be heard singing at Malden Park during the Winter if they 'erupt'. A local birder posted a sighting about 1-2 weeks ago and this encouraged me to come out and find it for myself.

This morning was relatively quiet at Malden Park. I saw the usual suspects: American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Downy Woodpeckers and Dark eyed Juncos. I was on my way out of the park and figured I would check a small stand of evergreens for a Saw Whet Owl. Then I heard a warbling bird call I've never heard before so I checked out a 'lump' in a nearby tree with my binoculars. Sure enough, this masked northern- butcher-watchman was perched about 50 ft from me! These are the moments that birders cherish. I'm new to birding but this just seems like a very rare bird in Windsor. How exciting!

Anyway, I used a nearby evergreen as a blind and took a bunch of photos and left him alone to continue hunting for food. Hopefully this bird overwinters here! More info on the Northern Shrike can be found here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/id (right click, open in new tab)


Good birding!
Dwayne

PS: If you stand at the top of Malden Park's hill in West Windsor and look due West, you will see "Zug Island" which is a steel refinery on the American side of the Detroit River. This along with chemical plants and Oil refineries are within 5KM of west Windsor. It dawned on me only in my 20's that these plants were positioned so that the downwind communities were Windsorites that (I'm guessing) had little input on the location of these plants. Brighton Beach is the white box in the left-bottom of this photo. The new DRIC Bridge crossing will be just to the left of Brighton Beach Power Generation offering nice views to international travellers.

Kinglet Bonanza...

Golden Crowned Kinglet showing off its incessant/ acrobatic foraging strategy

I've editted my first copy of this posting. I wrote it too quickly! My writing process should involve a  rough draft, a second and a final third draft before I post it! Basically, on Friday and Saturday this week, I visitied Holiday Beach and Ojibway Park. There were so many Kinglets... Hence the title of this posting.  Last year, I photographed only one of each (ruby & golden crowned) but at the time, I did not really know what I was looking for. I did not really know where to look.  This year, I've "calibarated" my observation skills to look for birds just slightly larger than a Hummingbird!

Speaking of Golden crowned Kinglets, it blows my mind that in the toughest, darkest depths of Winter, this bird overwinters in various woodlots in Windsor / Essex. The Ojibway birding group saw this birds in February this year at Holiday Beach! I don't even think they use feeders either! That's pretty tough for a little fluff of feathers!

Its been a while since I've had a lifer (they really slow down after 200!) but I photographed this bird (below) at the round pond of Ojibway Park. I was unsure if it was a Rusty Blackbird... but after collaborating with Blake, I think its safe to say ... Lifer #203! The Rusty Blackbird is a pretty interesting bird. It has won respect amongst birders because of some of its behaviors. It builds a sturdy nest, it has remained very rare and elusive, it is 'the' birders blackbird!!!  Its 'gestalt' helped identify it from its related blackbird cousins.  For example, I have not seen Common Grackels foraging along ponds, yet this guys was foraging like a sandpiper. Boreal Birds states of the the Rusty Blackbird: " It often searches for its prey along shorelines, much like a sandpiper, often wading, probing in soft sediments, and sometimes even plunging its entire head under water." (http://www.borealbirds.org/birdguide/bd0329_species.shtml). I wish I would have taken a better photograph, I could have ... with a little more thought and care, but I just assumed it wasn't a Rusty BB.

A weekly tradition I've started this fall is to stop by Holiday Beach after work on Fridays!  This week was no different. But, I noticed there weren't too many raptors moving, so I did a quick walk around the forested and brushy scrub along the water. Not too many surprises. White throated sparrows, field sparrows, both kinglets and Dark eyed Juncos were abundant.  I saw a Bay-Poll Warbler wearing jewelry (banded). Yellow Rumped Warblers were present... but I'm yet to add an Orange Crowned Warbler!!!   Where the heck is this guy? I just have not seen this bird yet!

A quick 30 minute Saturday (today) walk had more Kinglets, and Eastern Towhee, Red bellied Woodpecker, and some close views of a Cooper's hawk. I also saw a Tufted Titmouse as well.... my first in a while. It too seems to be more easily seen during the winter months.


Birds I would like to see (add to my  life list) before years end (that everyone else seems to be seeing):
Orange Crowned Warbler
Wilson's Snipe
Pine Siskin
Purple Finch
Common Redpoll
Winter Wren
Northern Shrike
Saw Whet Owl (late October hopefully!)
Golden Eagle (late October hopefully!)
Rough legged Hawk (late October hopefully!)
Red shouldered Hawk


I end this posting with a few more photos from my birding travails at Ojibway Park in Windsor. This park just keeps giving to me. I love it so much! The Ruby crowned Kinglets are less acrobatic but still extremely difficult to photograph, as anyone reading "nerdy for birdy" already would know. I just feel the need to share these photos because they would otherwise be buried and lost.

Red eared Slider (not Painted Turtles)

Good Birding!
Dwayne

Birding Hillman Marsh

I'm dying to add American Bitterns and/or Least Bitterns to my life list... But these are really difficult birds to spot. I've been to St Clair NWA once last year, and for a few minutes this year, and I did not really see anything either time. I contacted someone from ebird.com that posts in the Essex county area and he liked Hillman Marsh as a place to possibly see them.

So last night, I went to Hillman Marsh to see what I could see in the Marsh area. I was hoping to also go to Point Pelee, but there was just not enough time. That's the funny thing about birding and being from Windsor. If you want to go birding in the Leamington area, St Clair, or Rondeau, you have at least 2 hours of driving time (round trip). And its a huge gamble because sometimes, you do not end up seeing much! I recall going to Point Pelee in March and thinking that I typically see more at Ojibway. Whats the point of going outside of peak migration times?


Upon arriving, I met a wildlife photographer, named Brad who pointed out a perched Kingfisher nearby.

I continued past the Hillman Marsh main entrance to the side road just past HMCA, with the famed bridge over a side marsh. I was hoping to surprise an American Bittern there but not this time.
I then went into the HMCA area and parked and walked a little. As I walked, I kept upsetting a Killdeer that made it very apparent that a human was walking around! I did get a chance to get a close up look at a Least Spotted Sandpiper (Juvies). I think these guys did not realize I was there on the muddy beach, because they came within 8' of me!  (Great link for southbound shorebird identification http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/southboundshorebirds.php )

I then did a quick walk on the wooden boardwalk on mainly saw Wood Duck Families scrambling to get away. I did see some flycatchers, (I'll say they were least flycatchers). I did not walk much farther than 25m each way on the dyke. From fhat location though, I did see some Common Moorhens and Black Crowned Night Herons, both mature and immature which hints that they might be breeding at HMCA.

A quick summarized list is:
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Crowned Night Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Least Sandpiper
Killdeer
Common Moorhen
Wood Duck
Least Flycatcher

I would appreciate any advice on seeing Least/American Bitterns. Is it too late this summer to even bother seeing them?

Good Birding, Butterflying and Herping!

Kayaking Point Pelee National Park ... two new lifers?

Today, I was off work and decided to go Kayaking the Marsh at Point Pelee. I also did a walk on Anders Pathway near the Delaurier Homestead area.

Walking near the Homestead buldings, I noticed many wildflowers on either side of the pathway and many large butterflies flying around! So I snapped a few shots... Monarch, Red Admiral, Great Spangled Fritillary and some Hairstreak butterflies were easily seen. I've never seen butterflies acting so aggresively. The Monarch and the Red Admiral were constantly attacking each other when they would land on various flowers!

  I walked Anders Path hoping to find Eastern Bluebirds but did not see any. I saw many starlings, grackels and Red winged Blackbirds. I saw a Common Yellowthroat in the fields adjacent to the path. I also saw that I think  might be my first Yellow Breasted Chat... although... I might be mistaken. Whatever this bird was, it was making alot of noise, chasing a Baltimore Oriole. If it was indeed a Yellow Breasted Chat, that would be a lifer (#177). Please contest me or correct me if you disagree... Its difficult to see any white eyerings on this bird, but I'm pretty confident by its sounds, and skulky behavior that is was indeed a YBC.

I also saw an Orchard Oriold and its woven hanging nest right above the Anders Path trailhead. I then went to the Marsh area and proceeded to Kayak to West Cranberry Pond. There was not much to see until you kayaked to the little peatmoss islands that attract shorebirds.  I did see some basic expected marsh birds such as Black Terns and Common Yellowthroats as well as numerous RWB's. I was very happy to see a Black Bellied Plover (Lifer... #177) & Spotted Sandpiper. I also thought I saw a little Sanderling but it flew away before I could photograph it.

Before I left Leamington, I stopped by the dock to see if the Red Headed Woodpeckers were still there. Yes they were! Today was a little sunnier, so it was nice to see a better view of them with their blue-ish sheen on their black feathers. Also, I even heard the call of the Northern Mockingbird right where I parked my car...

Good Birding and Butterflying!
Dwayne