Dreamy Duskywing found at Newport Forest, Wardsville

Pat and Kee Dewdney found this Dreamy Duskywing at Newport May 18, puddling at the edge of  the Thames River. 

Initially, using the Kaufman butterfly guide I thought it was a  Sleepy Duskywing.  As I have since found, Sleepy and Dreamy Duskywings are notoriously hard to tell apart. 

Dreamy vs. Sleepy

Analysis based mainly on the following resource:
http://wisconsinbutterflies.org/butterfly/species/117-dreamy-duskywing

Distinguishing Feature	Source	Pat and Kee's Specimen	Dreamy(D) or Sleepy (S)
The Dreamy has a more defined silvery light patch at the on the leading edge of the forewing, that is usually more obvious than in the Sleepy.	wisconsinbutterflies.org	Silvery patch fairly obvious	D
This darker part of the bands is not as distinct in the Dreamy as it is in the Sleepy and usually the second, inner band is also more obvious in the Sleepy Duskywing.	wisconsinbutterflies.org	Second inner band obscure	D
Dreamy Duskywings host plants are mainly willows and poplar in Wisconsin, and as such are often found in moister habitats than the Sleepy Duskywing. But they can be found, especially when they are nectaring, in many of the same drier habitats where Sleepy Duskywings are found.	wisconsinbutterflies.org	Found in river habitat - few oaks present.	D
At present, Sleepy is known to occur in only three areas of southern Ontario: Lambton County (Pinery Provincial Park area), Norfolk County (St. Williams area), and the south shore of Lake Ontario (Hamilton to Grimsby).	Butterflies of Canada	Newport Forest is not near to any known occurrence for the species.	D

If this identification is correct, it is an incredible find.  According to Kee: "There are two "official" locality records listed in Layberry (Butterflies of Canada) for Middle-sex County (neither one all that close to Skunk's Misery), and no specimens listed for Elgin County."  Nice find Pat and Kee!

Spring flowers

Since some of these plants are endangered I wont say where I was.  These were the most blissful finds.  

Yellow Puccoon

Blue-eyed Grass

Small White Lady's Slipper

Small White Lady's Slipper

Wood Betony

A single plant flowers both purple and yellow. 

Wood Betony(Pedicularis canadensis)

Trapped Oriole

This Baltimore Oriole was trapped when I found her.  A small thread was wrapped around both feet and then around vines.      As I approached she tried to fly away, but the string would not yield. She flapped wildly.   After a few seconds, her energy depleted, she was left hanging upside down.  I held her steady while I cut the thread with my teeth.  She flinched at the sight of my mouth coming towards her. I methodically worked at the thread making sure to free each toe before letting her free. I snapped a quick photo before opening my hand and letting her free.  She chirped once as she flew away.

Spring Birds at Clark Wright CA in Strathroy

There were lots of spring birds this afternoon including FOY Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and Tree Sparrows.  A hooded merganser swimming around the side pond was a surprise.  I even saw two frogs and heard an unknown sound that sounded like an amphibian call coming from the front pond. The rain tomorrow should bring more activity.

Almost forgot to mention: I also heard a Killdeer.

Clockwise from top left: Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Hooded Merganser, Canada Geese.

Newport Forest, Wardsville ON

Red-tailed hawk kept watched me as I approached
Fleming Creek.

On Sunday Kee and I enjoyed a stellar visit to Newport Forest.  Winter can be a little sleepy, but not yesterday.  We started our visit with the usual routine of weather observations and topping up the feeders. Right away there was activity - a chipmunk and cottontail made an appearance followed by a downy and red-bellied woodpecker.  A few nuthatches and chickadees soon joined the group. 

Greenside (?) Darter. 

Spurred by a curiosity to know exactly what animal life is active in Fleming Creek in the winter I cautiously crept down to the water to take a small sample.  A red-tailed hawk screeched at me as I made my way down the bank.  After a few seconds of kicking and sweeping bottom substrate a small fish appeared in the net.  Ooh.. Kee will like to see this I thought to myself.  It appeared to be a greenside darter - not too brightly coloured at this time of year.  I kicked for a few minutes while Kee and I chatted away. The water was not much more than a foot deep, so it was easy to maneuver in my rubber boots.  I peaked into my net a few times to see if there was anything squiggling ... no movement.  Oh well, I put the apparently lifeless gravel into a peanut jar for further inspection at home. I took a separate grab sample for Kee, who wanted to investigate the oligochaetes (aquatic worms). 

Vocal red squirrel

Next we wanted to go check out the Thames River.  As we made our way along the trail, we noted turkey, meadow vole, and squirrel tracks. With winter dragging on, we noted the increasing effort squirrels have put into removing valuable walnuts from the frozen ground. There were a series of excavations along just off the side of the trail. At the river we saw about 20 Canada Geese, a few Mallards and some turkeys (flying across the river). We also checked three trail cameras, leaving one in place and collecting the others.

Back at the nook a vocal red squirrel greeted us with chattering calls. Emboldened by hunger, the animals took turns visiting the feeder to fill their empty winter bellies.  Even a tufted titmouse showed up.  I continued to spy birds while Kee set up a trail cam in the trailer, to hopefully capture an image of the weasel which has recently made its presence known (mostly in the form of many droppings).  A little while later Kee let me know he was packing up camp for the day.  As we drove up to the road 13 turkeys rose from the upper meadow. 

Later at home I looked through my peanut butter jar of creek water and mud to find more life than I

originally expected. A few stoneflies (taeniopterygidae and leuctridea families), craneflies, caddisflies (bright green hydropsychidae), fingernail clams, midges and worms thrashed about in the water.  I experimented a little with photographing the more interesting specimens (a completely biased selection).  John Bittorf helped me identify the Early Black Stonefly Taeniopteryx nivalis, a very common stonefly in the East.  He also gifted me a wonderful ID key, which I meant to ask if I could share here. That's a new family for the Newport forest ATBI http://www.csd.uwo.ca/faculty/akd/newport-forest/ref/ATBI.pdf.

  

Taeniopteryx nivalis 

Kee and I both enjoyed ourselves greatly.  Not only did we see lots of interesting animals, we enjoyed Pat's homemade coffee cake and sandwiches.  Hard to beat a day like that, even in spring (my favourite season).

Rhyacophilidae

Some birds from the London Christmas Bird Count

This is a short write-up, since I don't have our tally sheets or any official numbers. There was no snow, the ground was dry, and it was windy at times.  Rain held off until the end of the day (about 4 pm). The conditions were good for walking, but visibility was poor  due to a bright sky that back-lit the subjects.   The lack of snow meant that birds camouflaged well, and we could only (sometimes) see birds when they called or moved. Trains, chainsaw, tractors, airplanes, traffic and construction all seemed louder and more constant than in previous years, which also made it harder to hear birds.  Overall we found bird numbers to be low - with large stretches of what seemed to be good habitat  that were conspicuously quiet. Despite the somewhat unfavorable conditions, we found a good diversity including American Black Duck, Coopers Hawk, Wild Turkeys, and Kestrel.    Photos were mostly for identification purposes of birds too far away to see with binoculars, but give a flavor of the day.

Strathroy Sewage Lagoons Waterfowl

Thought I would see if the storm had brought anything into the Strathroy area tonight.  I want to go stay in Point Edward with my mom and dad, but by the time I got there it would be almost dark.  I decided my efforts would be better focused locally.  Tomorrow we will head out right after work to catch the action at the Point.  My parents are there holding down the fort.  Waves up to 20 feet are expected on the Southeast Shores of Lake Huron.  There is some concern that the parking garage will flood.

Here's what I saw tonight.  Images are poor due to bad lighting and very strong winds that made holding the camera still next to impossible:

Left to right clockwise: Mallard, Scaup, Gadwall, unknown, Green-winged Teal, female Ruddy Duck, male Ruddy Duck, American Coot, Gadwall, Long-tailed Duck.

The Long-tailed duck, which I am very used to seeing at on the St. Clair River in Point Edward was a surprise for the Strathroy Lagoons.


Long-tail Duck
Gadwall
American Coot
Green-Winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Bufflehead
Scaup
Mallard
Canada Goose
Crow
Grackle
Starling

Wallaceburg Butterflies and Caterpillar - Peers Wetland

I had a hard time identifying this Peck's Skipper, because according to the field guide I use adults fly from late June to late July.  When I investigated further I found that "Polites peckius flies from late June to late July in the east and early August in the west. There is one generation per year in Canada, except for a partial second brood in southern and eastern Ontario; there are three in the southern U.S." According to Butterflies and Moths of North America there are "Two to three broods from May-October."

The caterpillar host plant  is "Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides); probably bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and others." And the adults "Nectar from flowers including red clover, purple vetch, thistles, selfheal, New York ironweed, blue vervain, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, dogbane, and New Jersey tea." I found the adult photographed below nectaring on clover.

Peck's Skipper - This skipper is often seen on flowers, especially members of the pea family (e.g., vetch), as well as at damp areas on sandy roadsides and in wet meadows and the edge of marshes.

Least Skipper

Smartweed Caterpillar

Summer Azure

Summer Azure

Eastern Tailed Blue

Photos from today at Hawk Cliff

Hawk Cliff Butterflies - My first Common Checkered Skipper

I wonderful day today at Hawk Cliff!!!  Thanks Lisa and Bruce.

We counted 83 monarchs migrating a minute at the peak  today!!  Netting individuals for tagging was tough because the monarchs were on a mission.  No time to nectar, the wind and weather was just right for flying south.  For the most part they stayed high up in the sky.  At times, monarchs came in bursts, twenty or so flying close together in almost a flock.  We stopped in awe to watch or exclaim with delight.  The butterflies were so thick they reminded us of doves released at weddings or other celebratory events.

Monarchs tagged today were noticeably heavier and more brightly coloured than the ones I had seen last week.  There were mostly females today, whereas earlier in the migration, we were tagging mostly males.


An unexpected find today:  a Common Checkered Skipper!!!  Ann Vance, a fellow naturalist and butterfly enthusiast finally netted the Wild Indigo Skippers that have been around since my first day at the cliff. 

Dragonflies are still active, but there are less individuals than previously. 

Butterflies seen today included:

1. Common Checkered Skipper
2. Wild Indigo Skipper (3) hanging out by vetch.  Observed by E. Carroll and A. Vance.
3. Fiery Skipper - at least 3
4. Red spotted Purple
5. Great Spangled Fritillary
6. Mourning Cloak
7. Eastern Comma
8. Painted Lady
9. Crescent (couldn't get in net, so species unknown)
10. Tiger Swallowtail
11. Common Buckeye
12. Black Swallowtail
13. Orange Sulphur
14. Clouded Sulphur
15. Cabbage White
16.  Eastern Tailed Blue
17. Monarch
18. Red Admiral

Common Checkered Skipper - Normally a rarity in Southwestern Ontario

Female common green darner.

Invertebrates of Hawk Cliff Sepember 6-9 (near Port Stanley, ON)

It is hard to wake up early, but when it comes to Hawk Cliff , it is always worth it.

Morning started wet September 9, but quickly cleared.

It is difficult to spend time here not see something interesting. Most (human) visitors come to observe birds which are migrating along the shore of Lake Erie.  August 7th, we spied two adult eagles locking talons in the sky. Amazing!!! (No photos of this, sometimes you have to take in the moment).  But for our group, it is mostly about the invertebrates, specifically, Monarchs.

From left to right clockwise:  Silver-spotted Skipper, Eastern Tailed Blue, Viceroy, Ailanthus Webworm, Bluet (?), Damselfly, Orb Spider.

Preying Mantis hiding in winter wheat

Bruce Parker leads the monarch tagging effort.  Lisa Carriere  and I are lucky to assist since 2011. Our group of three looks forward to tagging all year.  I do not have many Monarch tagging photos, since when I see one it is all business. (Here is one I tagged last year).   I quickly collect the butterfly and pass it to Bruce to tag.  We do this as quickly and gently as possible so that we minimize the stress on the animal. Since Bruce started this work, about 15 years ago, 15 of his tagged butterflies have been recovered in Mexico. All the data are collected on behalf of Monarch Watch.

Not much beats this: me and a butterfly net on the cliff. Photo: Lisa Carriere

There is some concern about the status of the monarchs this year with the widespread drought: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/09/06/drought-diminishing-monarch-butterflies/  We will have to wait to see how things unfold. These things can be difficult to predict, but Bruce, our regional monarch authority, has a feeling that we will see a "protracted non-dynamic" migration this year.  By this wording, Bruce means that the monarchs are likely to migrate over a three week period, gradually building to higher number and then declining.    (I will have to double-check that I got his wording correct).

I was a little worried our first day out, September 6, since we saw less than 20 monarch total.  Bruce assured me, numbers will continue to pick up until the peak.  August 8, Bruce conducted a count at the Cliff and reported 75 Monarchs headed west in his location between 12:15 and 12:45 PM (EST); however, many other monarchs could be seen crossing the field from the mound all the way up to the ravine. We tagged 11 total on the 8th, which was more than the 7th (I think we got less than 10) and the day before (3 or 4).  On the 9th things slowed again, unexpectedly.  The weather was good, and other butterflies were around.  We tagged less than 5 and observed less than 20 monarchs.  Things should start to really pick up around the 11th if the weather co-operates.  At this point, I am somewhat concerned that this year we are experiencing a smaller migration than previous year.

Bruce's September 9 report (you may have to be Bruce's facebook friend to view this):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151215315130808

 Other observations: 
The milkweed a little yellow and weathered, but in otherwise decent shape.  We have found a few 3rd instar caterpillars over the last two days.  Bruce collects these caterpillars and raises them at home.

Another highlight for me is the beautiful Fringed Gentian.  Sadly, this year, it isn't around.

Milkweed, host of the monarch caterpillar, is still in decent shape.

There are times on the cliff when monarchs can't be found.  We pass those periods looking for spiders, dragonflies, butterflies etc.  With three sets of eyes we continually find interesting things to examine.  Lisa has a keen eye for raptors and was the one to alert us to bald eagle locking talons yesterday.  September 8 and 9, we saw hundreds of black saddlebag dragonflies. We were amazing by the numbers, stopping a couple times just to take it all in.  According to Dennis Paulson's Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, Black saddlebags dragonflies are highly migratory.  Ha, that explains the high numbers. Here is a link to an article that explains how little we know about dragonfly migration.

Black Saddlebags

Green Darners and Twelve-spotted Skimmers, also seen on the cliff, are known to be migratory too.  Today, a surprise, an unfamiliar reddish coloured dragonfly.  I asked Bruce "are female black saddlebags lightly coloured?"  He whipped out his Photo Field Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of Southwestern Ontario and showed me the Red-mantled Saddlebags Dragonfly.  How exciting a new dragonfly for me and only an occasional immigrant to Southwestern Ontario, according to the guide.  My other reference further describes Red-mantleds "often feeding in swarms of Black Saddlebags."   For comparison sake here are some links to Carolina Dragonfly images:

Photos of black on section 8 and 9 stretching around the abdomen and smaller male hamules of Carolina Saddlebags

Red-mantled Saddlebags Photos

Red-mantled Saddlebags -  An occasional immigrant to southwestern Ontario.
Note that the spots on section 8 and 9 do not stretch around the abdomen.

Hard to see, but the arrow points at the longer pointier male hamule that distinguishes Red-mantled from Carolina Saddlebags.

From Left to Right clockwise: Red-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Great Spangled,  Fritillary, Red Admiral, Flycatcher, Banded Argiope 

It is certainly a strange year for butterflies. September 9 I found a Sachem at Hawk Cliff.  According to Butterflies and Moths of North America the range of this species is: Southern United States from Virginia west to California; south through Mexico and Central America to Brazil. Strays and colonizes north to central North Dakota, southern Michigan, Manitoba, and northern Pennsylvania.  Well then what is is doing here?  According for the Photo Guide to Butterflies of Southern Ontario is very rare and erratic.

Here is an interesting article by Bob Bowles of The Orillia Packet and Times (or Kids for Turtles as I know him) on the topic:
 http://www.orilliapacket.com/2012/08/24/local-science-and-nature

I have cut and paste a portion of the article:

I think 2012 will be remembered as the year of the sachems since in August I would estimate we may have had up to a dozen on Pelee Island during the weekend of the count and there have been up to two dozen reports for Point Pelee and along the north shore of Lake Erie and as far east as Hamilton.

Butterflies have been moving north in recent years, but an even better indicator of the northern movements as warming continues is the dragonflies. Southern species, like comet darners, great blue skimmers, painted skimmers, variegated meadowhawks, red saddlebags, Carolina saddlebags and striped saddlebags, are being found in southern Ontario. This year, the Pelee Island dragonfly count recorded the second Ontario record for blue-faced meadowhawk. This species was first discovered in Canada at Point Pelee National Park by Corbet on Sept. 9, 1964. Species like eastern amberwings, unicorn clubtails, spatterdock darners and Halloween pennants are now being found more often in our area. I recorded the first Halloween pennant on Cameron Ranch for Carden Alvar in 2002 during the count. Five were reported during the 2008 count, 31 during the 2011 count and this year, we recorded the amazing high number of 86 Halloween pennants. This species appears to be now firmly established in the area. Eastern pondhawks have recently been reported in Muskoka and this year, blue dasher was reported in Muskoka.
I could give many other examples of dragonfly species moving north, but if we had not been recording these counts every year at these locations, we would not have been aware of these movements. What will happen to the truly boreal species as these new southern species move north? Will they recede or will climate change cause the decline of lily pad clubtail, boghaunters and emeralds? We will continue to conduct the counts each year at these locations and watch for new species arriving from the south and to see if any of our present species decline in number as the temperatures increase.

Thanks AGAIN to Blake Mann for confirming that this butterfly is indeed a Sachem

Same individual, showing bordered underwing, which isn't present in the Fiery.

Butterflies

1.  Eastern Tailed Blue (many)
2. Viceroy (More than we normally observe at this location)
3. Cabbage White (many)
4. Great Spangled Fritillary
5. Monarch
6. Painted Lady (Many)
7. Northern (?) Crescent - Erin observed, thought probable Northern Crescent
8. Black Swallowtail (5 fresh, September 9)
9. Orange Sulphur
10. Common Buckeye (Many, again this year)
11. Red Admiral (few)
12. Fiery Skipper  -  (3 - September 9)
13. American Snout (September 6)
14. Silver-spotted Skipper (3 - September 8)
15. Summer Azure +
16. Clouded Sulphur
17. Mourning Cloak
18. Sachem (September 9)

Female Eastern Tailed Blue.  Many of these were seen each day. 

 (Select) Moths

• Ailanthus Webworm
• Tussock Moth (caterpillar)
• Arctiid moths (caterpillar)

Dragonflies

1. Black Saddlebags
2. Red-mantled Saddlebags (September 8) *
3. Green Darner
4. Twelve-spotted Skimmer
5. Lance-tipped Darner+
6. Carolina Darner +
7. Widow Skimmer 
8. Shadow Darner
9.  Eastern Pondhawk (female)

*There have been a few reports of Carolina Saddlebags on the cliff.. Red-mantled and Carolina Saddlebags  are difficult to tell apart without inspecting closely.  Based on the spots on segments 8 and 9 and the long shape of  the male hamules, I believe the species I've observed on the cliff have been Red-mantled.  There may also be Carolina's mixed in the swarm.

+ Reported on Ontario Birds

Male Shadow Darner - These dragonflies are known to defend territory on small ponds.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

More about Hawk Cliff:
 http://www.lfpress.com/2012/08/31/hawk-watchers-welcome-raptors-back-to-erie-cliff

And for those interested in Raptor Counts:
http://hawkcount.org/day_summary.php?rsite=392&rmonth=09&ryear=2012&rday=06

Just a side note: this area is private land. Please respect property boundaries and keep the area tidy. Here are some of my pictures, but I will make an effort to write-up a more thorough report.

Thames Talbot Land Trust (TTLT) Work Days

For anyone who has followed my blog and read about my sightings at various TTLT properties, and become curious, here is your chance to visit.

If you have never been to a workday, you should know that we work at an enjoyable pace, stopping to note wildlife and sharing our recent finds.  Generally we work for a few hours, then share treats in a shady spot.  Some of us will go for hikes once the work part of the day is complete.

I will lead the Newport Forest day, so if anyone has questions regarding that event, please contact me.  Hope to see you there.

Newport Forest Links
http://www.ttlt.ca/newport.html
http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~akd/conservation/Newport.html

From my blog:
http://erintown.blogspot.ca/2012/08/butterflies-of-newport-forest.html
http://erintown.blogspot.ca/2012/06/newport-forest-draft.html
http://erintown.blogspot.ca/2012/05/wildlfower-walk-newport-forest.html
http://erintown.blogspot.ca/2012/04/newport-forest-wardsville-work-day.html

Quebec's Jacques Cartier National Park

This post is from the road, so not much time, just a few photos for now.