The Most Elusive of them All

Elusive Clubtail

When I awoke on Sunday, August 3rd, I was happy to see the gorgeous sunshine outside. I couldn’t wait to get out and see what was happening at the river, so I headed out to Andrew Haydon Park around 8:30 to look for waterbirds. There are some mudflats developing along the edge of the river, and I started my outing scanning the mucky areas of the western marsh for shorebirds. A few migrants had trickled in and were feeding among the vegetation there, including two Spotted Sandpipers, three Solitary Sandpipers and one Lesser Yellowlegs. One Wood Duck, three Hooded Mergansers, and a Great Egret were also present in the bay. I spotted a Halloween Pennant flying around the marsh, which I think is a first for me at this park.

Fledglings and Nestlings

Common Yellowthroat

Although many birders consider the breeding season to be rather slow, I enjoy going out in June and July as many of our breeding birds are still singing, and there is always a chance of finding an active nest or some newly fledged birds being fed or taking their first flights under the watchful eyes of their parents. These months are also good for seeing butterflies and dragonflies, so even if I don’t find any baby birds, there is always something interesting to catch my attention!

I was still on vacation on Friday, July 25th and went to Mud Lake with the hope of seeing some interesting odonates. I came up with a good list, including Northern Spreadwing, Marsh Bluet, Hagen’s Bluet, Powdered Dancer, Eastern Forktail, Common Green Darner, Eastern Pondhawk, Dot-tailed Whiteface, White-faced Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Widow Skimmer, and Common Whitetail. I did not see any clubtails.

Odonate Emergence

Black-shouldered Spinyleg

On June 28th Chris Lewis, Mike Tate and I spent some time searching for dragonflies at Bruce Pit and Mud Lake. Mike and I arrived at the Bruce Pit first, and when we heard an Indigo Bunting singing in the trees south of the parking lot we went to get a closer look. Not only did we see the beautiful blue male Indigo Bunting, we also found our first White-faced Meadowhawk of the year. This was a bit of a surprise as the meadowhawks are late-season odes that fly well into September and October….it seemed a bit wrong to find one in June! Chris arrived shortly after this discovery and from there we made our way down into the pit. Cattails had grown up along the southwest corner of the pond, making it difficult to navigate. The Marsh Wrens, however, loved this new habitat…we heard at least four of them singing in the reeds.

Blue Dashers Emerge!

Blue Dasher

On June 16th I visited Petrie Island to look for birds and bugs. While the birds were my primary focus this outing, I was curious as to whether any Blue Dashers were present. I was hoping that last year’s colony had successfully reproduced, and given that my Algonquin field guide indicates they fly in June, this seemed as good a time as any to check.

A Beetle-ful Day

On the last day of July Bob Bracken, Chris Lewis, Mike Tate and I went out to do some dragon-hunting. We started off at the Bill Mason Center where the birds seemed to be more plentiful than the odonates. We found robins, waxwings, Swamp Sparrows, Song Sparrows, one Yellow Warbler, at least half a dozen Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, a Northern Flicker and an Alder Flycatcher in the marsh; in the woods we heard a Veery, a Hermit Thrush and an Eastern Wood-pewee. The best bird of the day, however, was a juvenile Marsh Wren which responded to Bob’s pishing by hopping onto the boardwalk rail!

A Visit to Roger’s Pond – Part I

The first day of the Victoria Day long weekend was warm and sunny and gorgeous; it felt more like a day in mid-summer than late spring. I took my insect net out for the first time this season and headed over to the Cedar Grove Nature Trail in Marlborough Forest to see what I could find. Although I knew many of the butterflies and dragonflies unique to Marlborough Forest would not have emerged yet, I still had hopes of finding some interesting reptiles and amphibians. I was also curious as to whether I would find any interesting birds there, as I had never been there before during migration.