Sunday, December 16, 2012
Some birds from the London Christmas Bird Count
Monday, October 29, 2012
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:
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
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
Monday, September 17, 2012
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.
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.
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| 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. |
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| Least Skipper |
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| Smartweed Caterpillar |
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| Summer Azure |
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| Summer Azure |
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| Eastern Tailed Blue |
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
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:
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:
- Common Checkered Skipper
- Wild Indigo Skipper (3) hanging out by vetch. Observed by E. Carroll and A. Vance.
- Fiery Skipper - at least 3
- Red spotted Purple
- Great Spangled Fritillary
- Mourning Cloak
- Eastern Comma
- Painted Lady
- Crescent (couldn't get in net, so species unknown)
- Tiger Swallowtail
- Common Buckeye
- Black Swallowtail
- Orange Sulphur
- Clouded Sulphur
- Cabbage White
- Eastern Tailed Blue
- Monarch
- Red Admiral
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| Common Checkered Skipper - Normally a rarity in Southwestern Ontario |
 |
| Female common green darner. |
Saturday, September 08, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Butterflies
(Select) Moths
+ Reported on Ontario Birds
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.
 |
| Morning started wet September 9, but quickly cleared. |
 |
| 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 |
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 |
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. |
- Eastern Tailed Blue (many)
- Viceroy (More than we normally observe at this location)
- Cabbage White (many)
- Great Spangled Fritillary
- Monarch
- Painted Lady (Many)
- Northern (?) Crescent - Erin observed, thought probable Northern Crescent
- Black Swallowtail (5 fresh, September 9)
- Orange Sulphur
- Common Buckeye (Many, again this year)
- Red Admiral (few)
- Fiery Skipper - (3 - September 9)
- American Snout (September 6)
- Silver-spotted Skipper (3 - September 8)
- Summer Azure +
- Clouded Sulphur
- Mourning Cloak
- Sachem (September 9)
 |
| Female Eastern Tailed Blue. Many of these were seen each day. |
(Select) Moths
- Ailanthus Webworm
- Tussock Moth (caterpillar)
- Arctiid moths (caterpillar)
- Black Saddlebags
- Red-mantled Saddlebags (September 8) *
- Green Darner
- Twelve-spotted Skimmer
- Lance-tipped Darner+
- Carolina Darner +
- Widow Skimmer
- Shadow Darner
- Eastern Pondhawk (female)
+ 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
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.
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
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Quebec's Jacques Cartier National Park
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Butterflies of Newport Forest, Wardsville (Part of Skunks Misery)
I was surprised at the diversity of butterflies that I saw at Newport Forest today in just a couple hours. I have included photos of all my dubious identifications, and welcome input as I am just learning many of the species. I have made tenuous guesses on a couple of species to start.
My list for today was pretty good:
Kee Dewdney has written a much more colourful report of this day that should soon be available at the following site: http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~akd/newport-forest/
My list for today was pretty good:
- Monarch
- Eastern Tiger
- Swallowtail Black Swallowtail
- Northern Crescent
- Orange Sulphur
- Cabbage White
- Clouded Sulphur
- Eastern Tailed Blue
- Wild Indigo Duskywing
- Fiery Skipper
- Variegated Fritillary
- Common Buckeye
- Inornate Ringlet
- Painted Lady
 |
| Variegated Fritillary |
 |
| Left to Right Clockwise: Common Buckeye, Eastern Tailed Blue, Painted Lady |
 |
| Fiery Skipper |
 |
| Wild Indigo Duskywing |
 |
| From left to right clockwise: Northern Crecent, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Black Swallowtail, Clouded Sulphur, Inornate Ringlet, Variegated Fritallary |
 |
| Little jumping spider |
Sunday, August 05, 2012
Another Trip to the Strathroy Sewage Lagoons - American Avocet
Thanks to Blake Mann for putting me on to the American Avocet:
It was pouring rain this morning, so my plans got changed and I made a last minute decision to stop at Strathroy lagoons.
Good choice as there were lots of shorebirds including a lone American Avocet! It still had some colour and was probably a male due to curvature of the bill.
I would have stayed longer, but the pouring rain turned me away.
The lagoons are on the east side of Pike Rd. on the west edge of Strathroy.
Cheers,
Blake A. Mann
Wallaceburg."
and
Hi all,
Touring around, I stopped in at Strathroy sewage lagoons this morning. A good number of shorebirds was present, including an AMERICAN AVOCET.
It was father back on the mudflat in the north lagoon.
It was pouring rain, so I did not linger!
Directions:
The lagoons are on the east side of Pike Rd. on the west side of Strathroy. Exit hwy 402 (#65) at Victoria Rd and go south to Napperton Dr. Turn right (west) and go a short distance to Pike Rd. (south). After a kilometre or so there is a parking area on the left of Pike Rd.
Cheers,
Blake A. Mann
Wallaceburg, Chatham-Kent
boatmannATkentDOTnet
Blog: www.burgbirder.blogspot.com
I just found this article, thanks to a link on Dave Skinner`s blog. A great write-up on the Strathroy Lagoons and the birds that are found this time of year: http://www.lfpress.com/travel/2012/07/17/19997826.html
It was pouring rain this morning, so my plans got changed and I made a last minute decision to stop at Strathroy lagoons.
Good choice as there were lots of shorebirds including a lone American Avocet! It still had some colour and was probably a male due to curvature of the bill.
I would have stayed longer, but the pouring rain turned me away.
The lagoons are on the east side of Pike Rd. on the west edge of Strathroy.
Cheers,
Blake A. Mann
Wallaceburg."
and
Hi all,
Touring around, I stopped in at Strathroy sewage lagoons this morning. A good number of shorebirds was present, including an AMERICAN AVOCET.
It was father back on the mudflat in the north lagoon.
It was pouring rain, so I did not linger!
Directions:
The lagoons are on the east side of Pike Rd. on the west side of Strathroy. Exit hwy 402 (#65) at Victoria Rd and go south to Napperton Dr. Turn right (west) and go a short distance to Pike Rd. (south). After a kilometre or so there is a parking area on the left of Pike Rd.
Cheers,
Blake A. Mann
Wallaceburg, Chatham-Kent
boatmannATkentDOTnet
Blog: www.burgbirder.blogspot.com
 |
| American Avocet at the Strathroy Sewage Lagoons |
I just found this article, thanks to a link on Dave Skinner`s blog. A great write-up on the Strathroy Lagoons and the birds that are found this time of year: http://www.lfpress.com/travel/2012/07/17/19997826.html
Saturday, August 04, 2012
More Strathroy Sewage Lagoon Birds and Butterflies
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| From left to right: Tree Swallow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow |
 |
| Red-breasted Grosbeak |
 |
| Clockwise left to right: Barn Swallow, Barn Swallow, Purple Martins |
 |
| Green Heron |
 |
| From top left clockwise: Common Buckeye, Northern Crecent, Orange Sulphur, Viceroy, Monarch |
 |
| Painted Lady |
- Viceroy
- Monarch
- Painted Lady
- American Lady
- Red-spotted Purple
- Orange Sulphur
- Cabbage White
- Tiger Swallowtail
- Black Swallowtail
- Common Buckeye
- Northern Crescent
- Inornate Ringlet
- Red Admiral
- Eastern Comma
- Skipper
Other animals:
- Common Snapper
- Painted Turtle
- Rabbit
- Eastern Gartersnake
- Leopard Frog (dead - no sign of injury?)
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