Mitchell Meanderings

Summer always seems to be a busy time for me and as a result my blog posts are few and far between.  However I manged to make time to slip out to the West Perth Wetlands and I wanted to post some of the pictures of my afternoon.  The water level in many of the cells has really dropped and as a result, there were plenty of shorebirds available.  Among some of the most common were killdeer.

I also managed to pick out several semipalmated plovers.

Lesser yellowlegs were also very plentiful along with a mix of other shorebirds not unusual for this time of year.



Most of the waterfowl is still in non-breeding eclipse plumage including most of the mallards and blue winged teal.

Blue-winged teal

I managed to pick out three american wigeon starting to show some signs of breeding colour.

Wigeon trio

Lots of monarchs were present, a sign that migration is beginning for them.

The only other butterfly of note was a black swallowtail.  I haven't seen a lot this year so it was great to spot.

Not long after I got home, I recieved a rarity email from eBird stating that wilson's phalarope and clay coloured sparrow had been seen at the lagoons that morning.  I didn't see either one, but it was a great day nonetheless.

Manitoulin Island

 I have just returned from a very enjoyable trip up through Ontario's Bruce Peninsula and onto stunning Manitoulin Island.  It has been a few years since I last visited the island and it was great to be back.  There was plenty of time for hiking, fishing and of course birding.

Crossing on the Chi Cheemaun ferry was a great way to start off the trip.  We took the earliest crossing at 7 am. 

Partway across to the island, an announcement came on that the ship was going to go through a man overboard drill.  It was interesting to watch the small rescue boat lowered down and then head off to make its 'rescue'.

Arriving in South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island, the first plan was to check into the rented cottage on Lake Mindemoya.  Large numbers of sandhill cranes were seen in the fields as we drove.  While watching the cranes, I noticed a small falcon sitting on the power lines.  It was a merlin, my first sighting of one.

The cottage on Lake Mindemoya had an excellent view over the water making it a great place to set up the scope and scan the area.

A normal sight on many northern lakes, these common loons would often swim by in the morning.  Even if I didn't see them, I could often hear them.

Although not photographed, I also had the thrill of watching a swarm of common nighthawks feeding on insects over the lake.  This species is very common on the island during the summer months.

It's always fun when on the island to visit Providence Bay and walk the boardwalk along the water.  Although quite common, ring-billed gulls are relatively tame and easy to photograph.

I also saw this little shorebird scurrying along around the waves.  My shorebird identification skills still have a way to go.  Any thoughts are welcome.

Overall it was a great trip with several new life species.  The island is definitely
worth a visit if you are in the area.

Return to West Perth Wetlands

This extremely hot weather lately makes it hard to get out and bird as much as I would like.  On top of that, it's summer and birding hasn't turned up much unusual lately since spring migration is long past and fall migration has barely started.  However I still enjoy getting out when I can and today I visited the West Perth Wetlands later on in the day when the heat had eased off a little bit.  It was also a great opportunity to try out my latest purchase, a spotting scope and tripod. 

You can see that I got caught in a brief shower.

It allowed me much closer views which were not possible with my binoculars.


There were many birds about today.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Eastern Kingbird

Wood ducks

Canada Goose

Goldfinch in thistle.

Overall, a good time in West Perth.

Muskrat

An Afternoon of Birds and Butterflies

I was glad to have a free afternoon and good weather on the same day and decided to walk a route around the farm.  Birds were my primary focus, but many species of butterflies and dragonflies also quickly caught my interest.  For the most part, it was the insects that were the most co-operative for photos.

With monarchs being relatively scarce this year I was surprised to find this individual hanging around a patch of milkweed.  I plan to return to this spot and check for eggs.

Common whitetail dragonflies were the dominant dragonfly of the afternoon.

Continuing on down the lane, I passed several wet patches that proved to be excellent buffets for the butterflies.

 

It was at one of these wet holes that I spotted my only mourning cloak of the day.

The tall grass also held numerous insects.

Skipper butterfly.  I don't know this family well enough to say what kind of skipper.

The mosquitoes were not so bad today, but the deer flies were out in full force and they all seemed to want a taste of me.  Finally leaving the deer flies behind, I had a chance to taste some of the many black raspberries currently in season.

I saw and heard a wide variety of bird species today, but only got one half decent photo, a young wood duck.

Milkweed Visitors

I took some time this morning to observe the insect visitors around one of our patches of milkweed plants.  Most of the milkweed that I checked today was starting to flower.  Milkweed can really be an attractive native plant to have around, both in looks and butterfly friendliness.  Now that it has been removed from the noxious weed list here in Ontario, hopefully more gardeners and nature lovers can see the potential of this native species.

Likely when you think of milkweed, the monarch is the first insect that you would associate with it.  However many other bugs take advantage of the plant as well.

Ctenucha moth

Red Admiral

Comma Butterfly

Northern Pearly Eye

Red Milkweed Beetle

Other insect life that I saw but did not photograph included mourning cloak, cabbage butterflies and common whitetail, our most regularly seen dragonfly around here.

The monarchs themselves have been rather scarce so far this year.  I have seen only one adult, but  have seen several eggs.  Each year I raise some monarchs, usually starting them from whatever eggs I can find.  The  two I have are doing well.

Scenes of Summer

Summertime on the farm means a busy schedule and it is sometimes harder to to fit in birding.  During my free time, I am often exploring around the farm or some other birding hotspot in the area.  No special rarities around our area lately. The last one for me was a drake northern pintail at the Mitchel Sewage Lagoons, somewhat unusual for this time of year.

Regardless of rarities or not, birding is still enjoyable and I thought I would share some recent pictures taken over the past week.

Many swallows around home have left the nest, but this tree swallow was still in residence at the Mitchel Sewage Lagoons.

Lots of eastern kingbirds around.

Plenty of great-crested flycatchers as well.

The resident bobolinks have been quite active.

And of course nice days like this are a great opportunity to catch up on some preening.

Birds n Bugs, Some Recent Observations

A casual check of a patch of milkweed near our house revealed what I have been looking forward to for a long time.

Monarch butterfly sightings are beginning to dot the map in Ontario, but this is my first sighting this year.  I know an egg means an adult butterfly passed through here.  I have experience raising monarchs in the past and this year hope to purchase monarch tags from monarch watch in time for fall migration.

A few other recent pictures:

Ebony jewelwing female.  Jewelwings are common this time of year.

Ebony jewelwing male.

Savannah sparrow, there are many of them nesting on our farm.

Another common sight, our ponds raise big batches of Canada geese each year.

It's a great time of year to be outdoors.