<![CDATA[ONSHORE BIRDING - BIRD AND NATURE TOURS IN ONTARIO

<![CDATA[ONSHORE BIRDING - BIRD AND NATURE TOURS IN ONTARIO - The Blog]]>Mon, 11 May 2026 09:04:22 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Making The Most Of Winter]]>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:09:39 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/making-the-most-of-winterThe winter of 2025-2026 is shaping up to be a proper one. Since basically the start of December we have experienced below average temperatures and an abundance of snow. We haven't had much respite from the cold, other than a brief warm spell in January quickly followed by an unrelenting Arctic blast. As I write this in early February we are mired in a long stretch with temperatures oscillating between -20 and -5 degrees Celsius. Most regions of southern Ontario have several feet of snow piled on the ground, and nearly every body of water (other than parts of Lake Ontario) is frozen solid.

Spruce Bog - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

In an attempt to stave off the seasonal depression that is common with many at this time of year, I have been spending more time outside this winter. One advantage of the crisp days is that the sun is often shining. Even on a bitterly cold day, the sun feels just a little stronger now than it did a month ago. And the days are growing noticeably longer, with today's sunset scheduled for 5:36 PM; a full 50 minutes later than what we were experiencing in late December.

Red Squirrel - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

Signs of spring are popping up too, depending on your optimism and wishfulness. Over the past few days I have heard the first Black-capped Chickadees and Northern Cardinals singing; music to my ears. The local Great Horned Owls are hooting more regularly. These are just small things, but it will ramp up soon enough. We may be only a few short weeks away from the first migrant Killdeers, Red-winged Blackbirds and Turkey Vultures appearing on the scene. I can almost hear a Western Chorus Frog creaking out its song. It's not long now...

Western Chorus Frog

But while we wait for Old Man Winter to release his icy grip on the landscape, I thought I would commemorate the winter that we have had so far and post a few photo highlights from the last couple of months.

I'll start with a couple of lingering rare birds from late in November, before winter fully took hold. The first is a White-eyed Vireo found by Brian Johnson at Confederation Park in Hamilton. This is certainly a rare bird in Hamilton, especially for late November, but the autumn of 2025 saw well over a dozen White-eyed Vireos reported from southern Ontario (indeed, even I found one in late November at Rondeau Provincial Park). That being said, I had never seen a White-eyed Vireo in Hamilton before, nor had I observed one in the month of December, so I made sure to stop by Confederation Park on a few occasions to see the bird. The colours sure popped against the grays and browns of the withered vegetation from which it was attempting to glean insects.

White-eyed Vireo - Confederation Park, City of Hamilton

The Townsend's Warbler in Mississauga and the Black-throated Gray Warbler in Port Colborne both hung on well into December. I never did look for the Black-throated Gray, but I saw the Townsend's on a couple of occasions. My last observation of it was November 30, seen with Laura and good friends David Szmyr and Scott Watson while they were visiting with us for a weekend.

Townsend's Warbler - Mississauga, Peel Region

Several other rarities remained into December (and beyond, in some cases) and I managed to see and photograph them. One highlight was seeing a Summer Tanager in a suburban neighbourhood in Cambridge, just a few minutes from where I grew up. This is a bird that had eluded me locally for my whole life, while it was also a species I had never encountered in Ontario outside of the spring season. The tanager appeared alert and active, feeding frequently on bittersweet berries, but it too disappeared when the weather got too wintery. The optimist in me likes to think that it flew further south to warmer climes, even though the realist in me knows that is probably not the case. Tanagers just aren't built to survive Canadian winters.

Summer Tanager - Cambridge, Waterloo Region

Other rarities that I managed to connect with this winter include a Dickcissel from Harrisburg (Brant County), a Spotted Towhee from Brampton (Peel Region) and a Townsend's Solitaire from Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area (Halton Region).

Dickcissel - Harrisburg, Brant County

Spotted Towhee - Brampton, Peel Region

Townsend's Solitaire - Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area, Halton Region

I was able to share the Townsend's Solitaire experience with Laura, and it was a milestone bird as it was the 300th species that she has seen in Ontario. Of greater importance, it was her 4,200th world bird. The march towards 5,000 continues!

Townsend's Solitaire - Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area, Halton Region

Some of the other rarities from this winter are only rare because of the time of year. Virginia Rails breed throughout much of the province, but seeing one in December (as well as in January) is quite unusual.

A Virginia Rail attempted to overwinter at F.W.R. Dickson Wilderness Area near Cambridge. I have been visiting here ever since I was a small child and it is always nice to go back, especially now that Tufted Titmice are a regular feature (things have changed in the last 30 years!). I never did think that I would see a Virginia Rail here during the winter, though...

Virginia Rail - F.W.R. Dickson Wilderness Area, Waterloo Region

But the undisputed highlight of my winter so far occurred on December 15. That morning, New York birder Tom Kerr discovered the very first Glaucous-winged Gull for the Niagara River; a mega-rarity for eastern North America. Though Tom had found the bird on the "wrong" side of the river for Ontario birders like myself, I was keen to search for it and so Jude Szabo and I headed down the QEW to my former local birding patch from back when I lived in Niagara Falls. When we arrived at the Control Gates above Niagara Falls, we could see American birders scoping the river and presumably watching the bird, but the distance was just too great, especially when combined with the robust snowflakes that were falling and obscuring our scope views. We had been there for around an hour when I did a customary scan of the break-wall close to our position on the Ontario side of the Niagara River. To my absolute shock, there was the Glaucous-winged!

Glaucous-winged Gull (centre bird) - Niagara Falls, Niagara Region

Jude and I fired off a bunch of (mediocre) photos and admired the beast. We later read that it had flown from the New York side a few minutes prior to our observation of it in Ontario. We only watched it for around 5 minutes until all of the gulls on the break-wall were flushed by something unseen and did not return. In the coming weeks, the Glaucous-winged remained on the Niagara River but it was only observed from Ontario on two more occasions. Jude and I felt quite lucky!

Glaucous-winged Gull is one of those species that I should have seen in Ontario by now since we have five previous records, all from the last decade, and several of those birds were chase-able. However, I dipped on several chases, while I was also out of province for most of them. This redemption arc was satisfying.

Glaucous-winged Gull (centre bird) - Niagara Falls, Niagara Region

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to lead several private birding tours this winter and they have all been smashing successes. One advantage of being a local birding guide at this time of year is that these obligations "force" me outside, whether to scout locations for an upcoming tour, or to lead the tour itself. We all need a little extra motivation to go outside during the winter.

A January 4 tour of Toronto was a lot of fun. The temperatures, though cold, were reasonable enough and the birds cooperated. We started with exceptional views of a Barred Owl and several Long-eared Owls in a Toronto park. My client was quite keen on owl and hawk photography and so this was a great way to kick off the tour (and a relief for myself as the guide!).

Barred Owl - City of Toronto

Long-eared Owl - City of Toronto

Barred Owl - City of Toronto

There were many other highlights including a Northern Shrike, a high diversity of waterfowl and more Long-eared Owls. My personal favourite sighting was the two male Harlequin Ducks that we caught up with along the Mississauga shoreline. It is always a treat to see these beautiful and rugged ducks close to home.

Harlequin Ducks - Missisauga, Peel Region

I have also spent a fair bit of time at Algonquin Provincial Park this winter leading a pair of birding tours. One of these tours happened to be on the coldest day of the year, with morning temperatures of -39 degrees (Celcius or Fahrenheit, take your pick), or -44 with the windchill.

It has been a pretty slow winter for finches as the cone crops of spruces and pines is quite poor, but the Algonquin Visitor's Centre feeders have been very active. One usually has to wait only a few minutes until a boisterous group of Pine Grosbeaks descends. I think this is my favourite finch species locally and it is always wonderful to spend time with them.

Pine Grosbeak - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

Evening Grosbeaks are also around this winter, though they remain scarce in Algonquin. Fortunately, this male appeared for both of my tours. It is always appreciated when the birds cooperate for the guide!

Evening Grosbeak - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

Birds were the focus on both tours but I am always on the lookout for mammals as well. We lucked out with an amazing encounter with an American Marten during the second tour.

American Marten - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

These weasels are well-adapted to life in the boreal forest. They feel at home not only in trees, but also on the deep snowpack of the forest floor. Their footsteps sink only a couple of inches into the snow while they are also capable of traveling under the snow in tunnels. This subnivean travel protects them from the harshest cold, and makes it easier for them to hunt voles and other small rodents.

American Martens are active during both day and night, though during the coldest stretch of winter they may only be active for a few hours each day to conserve energy.

American Marten - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

No visit to Algonquin in the winter is complete without hanging out with some Canada Jays. These ones were very happy to see my client and I produce a bag of peanuts.

Canada Jay - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

Hanging out with a Canada Jay - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

Canada Jay numbers are declining in Algonquin and this is thought to be tied to climate change. Warmer winters on average mean that Canada Jay food caches are spoiling during freeze-thaw cycles, and these critical food sources are not lasting them until the spring.

I had a nice chat with Algonquin birding-legend Ron Tozer last week and he mentioned that there were only 7 pairs of Canada Jays noted along the Highway 60 corridor last year, down over 80 percent in just a few decades. Much like the Boreal Chickadee (a formerly common Algonquin species that appears to be gone), it is likely only a matter of time until Canada Jays are no longer resident in Algonquin.

Canada Jay - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District

Before signing off, I wanted to include a few photos of some owls that I have seen recently. It hasn't been the best winter for Snowy Owls locally but there are a few around and I have seen six individuals over the past week or so. I photographed this one in Perth County, not too far from Listowel.

Snowy Owl - Perth County

And this individual was in nearby Linwood, just over the county line into Waterloo Region.

Snowy Owl - Waterloo Region

This Eastern Screech Owl from Simcoe County has been frequenting a particular tree cavity for many years. It wasn't home when I stopped by with a client, but of course it was easy to see when I had no client with me. Figures...

Eastern Screech-Owl - Simcoe County, Ontario

And I'll finish the post with some photos of a Great Gray Owl. Like with Snowy Owls it isn't a big "irruption" year of Great Gray Owls but there have been a few reported south of their typical breeding range. This one was napping in the sun on a cold but relatively calm day.

Great Gray Owl - Simcoe County, Ontario

Happy winter birding, everyone! Spring won't be long, now...

]]><![CDATA[Vireos And Warblers Of Late November]]>Tue, 25 Nov 2025 16:10:47 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/vireos-and-warblers-of-late-novemberOn Thursday, November 20 fellow birder Blake Mann discovered a Warbling Vireo while he was birding along the Marsh Trail at Rondeau Provincial Park. If he had found this bird a few months earlier then it would not have caused a stir, but November 20th is a very late date for a Warbling Vireo to be present in the Great Lakes region. I believe that there are only a couple of later records for Ontario. Unfortunately, the vireo vanished before Blake could study it in detail and his photos were not in focus due to the brevity of the encounter.

However, this Warbling Vireo caught the attention of some members of the birding community for another reason. Earlier this year, the Clement's Bird Checklist (which curates the taxonomy for eBird) accepted the split of Warbling Vireo into two species - Western and Eastern. While Ontario has no official record of Western Warbling Vireo it is a species that should be looked for, as there are several valid records from the east coast of the United States, usually late in the fall or early in the winter. Given the time of year, a Western Warbling Vireo would be a distinct possibility for the Rondeau bird.

Jude Szabo, a friend of mine who is a fellow resident of Hamilton, was curious if I was interested in looking for the vireo the next day. Jude is in the midst of an Ontario big year and so this was an opportunity he didn't want to pass up in case the vireo was proven to be a Western Warbling Vireo. I had spent the week stuck inside working on my computer and was looking forward to a day of birding so I quickly confirmed my availability. And so before dawn the next morning, we were speeding west down the 401.

In reality, I did not expect to re-find the vireo given how big Rondeau Provincial Park is, and indeed, after a two hour search along the beginning stretch of the Marsh Trail, we had seen no vireo. The birding was good though, with many ducks and Tundra Swans on the open bay, a flyover Purple Finch, and a nice collection of passerines and other smaller birds including a late Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We decided to stretch our legs and continue walking down the Marsh Trail to see what else we could turn up. A dark morph Rough-legged Hawk hovered and hunted over the marsh. This is one of my favourite raptor species and I enjoyed watching it, even though it was rather distant.

Rough-legged Hawk - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

Though there was a brisk west wind, the sun came out and the temperatures were reasonable for late in November. And there were a lot of birds to keep us occupied. Flocks of American Tree Sparrows filled the shrubbery while Swamp Sparrows chipped from within the dense stands of cattails. At one point, a Nelson's Sparrow perched up right beside the path, providing excellent (though brief) views. Nelson's Sparrows pass through in small numbers each autumn but they have usually vacated the province by late October. Unfortunately it flushed before Jude was able to see it, but on our return walk a few hours later Jude was able to observe it at the same location. It will be worth seeing if this bird sticks it out until December as there are only a couple of prior December records in Ontario.

We reached the very southern part of the Marsh Trail and hoped that we could check the beach for shorebirds, but a muddy channel thwarted our plans. However, we spotted a couple of sandpipers in the pond just east of here - a Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitcher.

Greater Yellowlegs - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

Considering the mild weather of the last few weeks, these birds were not a total surprise as Greater Yellowlegs in particular can hang around until freeze-up and sometimes one will stay into December. The Long-billed Dowitcher was quite late though. A check of eBird shows just one December record for the province, so I would imagine birders will be out here on December 1 to see if the Long-billed Dowitcher is still hanging around.

Long-billed Dowitcher - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

Jude and I made the long walk back up the Marsh Trail, retracing our steps and re-counting the American Tree Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows. We reached a point 800 m south of the location where Blake had found the Warbling Vireo when we discovered a small flock of songbirds. We used a scolding call to attract the birds - Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens, even a Winter Wren. Suddenly Jude announced "I have the vireo!". I looked just in time to see a small songbird drop deeper into the foliage and disappear. It was a tense few minutes as we waited to see it again. Suddenly a flash of white and yellow caught my eye. Expecting it to be the Warbling Vireo, I was shocked to see it was a White-eyed Vireo!

White-eyed Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

Though White-eyed Vireos arrive in southwestern Ontario each spring, they are a rare fall bird (indeed, this was my very first fall White-eyed Vireo for the province). However, Ontario has seen a spate of White-eyed Vireo records over the past month, so it wasn't completely surprising. The White-eyed Vireo hung around for a few minutes, allowing Jude and I to take some nice photos of it.

White-eyed Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

Jude was second-guessing his quick identification of the Warbling Vireo from a few minutes earlier, now that this White-eyed Vireo had entered the fray. He was questioning how he could have mistaken these two very different species. Luckily, those fears were put to rest as I noticed the Warbling Vireo flitting over the path just a couple of minutes later. He had made the right call initially - the "two bird theory" was accurate.

Eastern Warbling Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

We made sure to document the Warbling Vireo with good photos since it can be very difficult to differentiate Eastern vs Western Warbling Vireo (even with good photos). Luckily, this was a relatively straightforward ID. I sent the photo off to some friends, and we also posted the photos to the Ontario Birds Discord server later that day. The consensus was that it is an Eastern Warbling Vireo.

Eastern Warbling Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

One key field mark is bill size, and this one has a relatively large bill that is typical for Eastern Warbling Vireo. This bird is also relatively drab with a plain crown, while Western Warbling Vireo often has a darker crown which, when combined with a smaller bill, gives an appearance somewhat like a Philadelphia Vireo. Some details of the wing moult also point to this being an Eastern Warbling Vireo.

Eastern Warbling Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

We were still pretty pleased that we had re-found the bird and helped put the question of its identification to rest. I'm sure it would have bugged Blake for a long time if the bird was never found again, given the potential of it being a first provincial record.

Eastern Warbling Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

With still a few hours of daylight remaining, Jude and I dropped in at Keith McLean Conservation Area followed by a visit to the Blenheim lagoons.

White-crowned Sparrow - Keith McLean CA, Chatham-Kent

A Western Cattle-Egret had been spending a few days at Keith McLean, picking grasshoppers off one of the dykes, and it was still working away when we arrived. This is a scarce spring and fall migrant in Ontario, but southwestern Ontario is good for a record or two each November. This one was originally found by Jacquie Montgomery on November 16.

Western Cattle-Egret - Keith McLean CA, Chatham-Kent

Our visit to Blenheim was relatively uneventful. Most interesting to me was a Snapping Turtle periscoping from one of the ponds. I can't recall ever seeing one active this late in the year before.

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) - Blenheim Lagoons, Chatham-Kent

Before finishing this blog post, I wanted to highlight one other rare bird that has appeared in the province. Yesterday morning (November 24), birders David Reid and Taya Kehler discovered a Townsend's Warbler at Lakeside Park in Mississauga and quickly got the word out to the birding community. This is a western species that is somewhat related to the Black-throated Green Warbler, which is a common migrant and breeding species in Ontario. The Townsend's, however, is quite rare. It has been documented fewer than 20 times previously in the province. Along with many others, I drove down to the Lakeside Park and after a quick 15 minute search found the Townsend's flitting around with some Black-capped Chickadees. It was difficult to see well as it was constantly moving and actively searching for insects to eat.

Townsend's Warbler - Lakeside Park, Mississauga, Peel Region

There are only two accepted records of Townsend's Warbler from the Greater Toronto area: one found at Thickson's Woods in Whitby, Durham Region in April 2000, and one banded at Tommy Thompson Park, Toronto in September 2022. There may be a couple of other records that haven't been reviewed by the Ontario Bird Records Committee. Since Lakeside Park is also located within the Hamilton Study Area (a circle with a 25 mile radius centred on Dundurn Castle, Hamilton), all of us Hamilton listers were out to see it as well. This is only the second record of Townsend's Warbler within the HSA. The only previous record was seen by just one observer in a backyard in Grismby in October 2022.

Townsend's Warbler - Lakeside Park, Mississauga, Peel Region

I timed my visit well since the Townsend's Warbler was last seen about an hour after I observed it and many later-arriving birders missed it. It hasn't been re-found yet today, either.

It was nice to see so many fellow birders at Lakeside Park, many whom I had not seen in months. My good friend Dave Szmyr had also driven down from Barrie since he had never seen a Townsend's Warbler before. It was nice to do some birding with him and then catch up over a beer afterwards.

]]><![CDATA[The Peak Of Spring Birding - Pelee Island And The Rest]]>Sun, 05 Oct 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/the-peak-of-spring-birding-pelee-island-and-the-restPelee Island is quickly becoming one of my favourite spring birding destinations in Ontario. Though situated in the middle of Lake Erie only a few kilometres southwest of the much more famous Point Pelee National Park, Pelee Island feels like it is a world away. There is a quiet way of life here. Many of the roads aren't paved, and much of the 15 km x 6 km island consists of well-drained agricultural fields. Only 200-300 people live on the island year round, and they are a resilient bunch. During the summer months the population swells to around 1,500, augmented by cottagers from mainly Ontario or Ohio. Indeed, even the author Margaret Atwood has a summer home here.

Philadelphia Vireo - Fish Point, Pelee Island

The quality of the birding on Pelee Island compares favourably with Point Pelee. However, there are some advantages of the mainland. Point Pelee National Park is a much larger protected area, whereas the best birding locations on Pelee Island take up a much smaller footprint. The southern tip of Point Pelee can provide some of the most dynamic birding on the lower Great Lakes, though Pelee Island has it's own southern peninsula jutting into Lake Erie - Fish Point - that does a pretty good approximation of Point Pelee's tip. Another advantage of the mainland is that the habitat for shorebirds, wading birds and marsh birds is more extensive and Hillman Marsh, a short drive away from Point Pelee, is a premier birding location. But thanks to work being done by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ontario Nature, Essex Region Conservation Authority and other organizations, the amount of marshland on Pelee Island is being managed and is slowly increasing.

Fox Pond - Fish Point, Pelee Island

The possibility of potentially stumbling across a rare bird drives many birders, myself included. And while more rarities are discovered each spring at Point Pelee compared to Pelee Island, this is largely a function of the search effort. Pelee Island only receives a tiny fraction of the coverage. And because there are so few birders on the island, it feels like you stand a greater chance of being the lucky individual to discover the rare species. Indeed, on my last few spring trips to Pelee Island I have been fortunate to discover a Mississippi Kite, White-winged Dove, and Worm-eating Warbler, and lesser rarities like Cerulean Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Evening Grosbeak and Summer Tanager.

Mississippi Kite - Fish Point, Pelee Island (May 12, 2022)

Worm-eating Warbler - Cooper Road, Pelee Island (May 2, 2022)

I've also been in the right place at the right time to chase rarities on Pelee Island including a Kirtland's Warbler, Piping Plover and Loggerhead Shrike. The highest number of birders I have seen attending a "rare bird twitch" on Pelee Island is no more than ten or twelve, compared to the hundreds that will descend on a rare bird at Point Pelee.

Kirtland's Warbler - Lighthouse Point, Pelee Island (May 11, 2022)

Loggerhead Shrike - Fish Point, Pelee Island (May 10, 2024)

Even apart from the true rarities, the birding quality on Pelee Island can be excellent. Some of the best fallouts I have ever experienced have been on Pelee Island. American White Pelicans are regularly viewed at Fish Point, and White-eyed Vireos are usually present in small numbers. And from a naturalist's perspective Pelee Island is home to a nice diversity of reptiles and amphibians including Eastern Fox Snake, Lake Erie Water Snake, Blanding's Turtle, and Canada's only populations of Blue Racer and Smallmouth Salamander. Quite a few interesting plants can be found on Pelee Island, many of which are quite localized in Canada.

Smallmouth Salamander (presumed ID, though genetics are required to confirm) - Pelee Island (May 3, 2022)

The quiet pace of life and relative lack of other people agrees with me as well. As much as the hustle and bustle of Point Pelee National Park during May's Festival of Birds can be fun, and it is wonderful to catch up with many friends at Point Pelee, I do enjoy slinking off to the island each spring for a few days of meditative birding and exploration.

Sunset at Fish Point, Pelee Island

Due to my busy guiding schedule this spring, I only managed a few days on the island. The birding was a bit slower this year (due to the lack of dynamic weather) and there were no fall-outs of songbirds, but it was still a very enjoyable visit. I arrived on the evening ferry on May 9 and immediately ventured down to the tip of Fish Point for an hour or two of birding before sunset. I had the entire place to myself, and in the golden rays of the evening sun I watched a medley of warblers and vireos feeding furiously on midges, gearing up for another night of migration. It felt good to be back on the island.

Western Palm Warbler - Fish Point, Pelee Island

Black-and-white Warbler - Fish Point, Pelee Island

The next day, May 10th, was a busy but excellent day. I had a private birding tour scheduled with my friends Tricia and Kieran. For three years straight we have scheduled a day of birding together, at Rondeau in 2023, Pelee Island in 2024 and Pelee Island again this year. And I have to say, today's tour was pretty amazing. The birds cooperated and when it was all said and done we tallied over 100 species. I found an Eastern Foxsnake and even managed to convince Kieran to hold his first ever snake. Minutes later, I found Kieran his lifer White-eyed Vireo, so it was quite a way to finish off a memorable day!

Yours truly with an Eastern Foxsnake - Florian Diamante wetlands, Pelee Island

White-eyed Vireo - Florian Diamante wetlands, Pelee Island

Earlier in the day, the three of us had been birding from the blind overlooking the Florian Diamante wetlands. Kieran asked me what was the rarest bird that I had ever seen at this spot. I thought for a minute and said that it was probably the Black Tern from a few years ago, but I mentioned that this spot is always worth checking as it has very high rarity potential.

A few minutes later I trained my scope on a few cormorants that were sitting on a distant log. One of the cormorants looked "interesting" through binoculars, and the scope views confirmed that I had found a rarity. I casually mentioned to Kieran that my previous answer of Black Tern was not accurate, as I had just found something rarer. He was pretty excited to look in the scope and see the Neotropic Cormorant, only the third record for Pelee Island.

Neotropic Cormorant (on right) - Florian Diamante wetlands, Pelee Island

Soon the Neotropic Cormorant took flight and disappeared to the north, but not before we managed some flight photos. Interestingly, it was carrying a stick as if it was attempting to build a nest somewhere. Neotropic Cormorants are slowly pushing northward but there hasn't been a documented nesting attempt in the province yet, as far as I am aware.

Neotropic Cormorant - Florian Diamante wetlands, Pelee Island

May 21 was another memorable day on Pelee Island. I led a private tour for two ladies from Toronto and the birds came through for us. Our morning at Fish Point was fantastic. We found a cooperative Olive-sided Flycatcher and heard a Hooded Warbler near the parking area, managed spectacular views of a Prothonotary Warbler, discovered a migrant Northern Mockingbird at the tip, found a roosting Nelson's Gull (hybrid Great Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull), and scored obligatory White-eyed Vireos and American White Pelicans. The shorebirding was excellent as well.

Ruddy Turnstone - Fish Point, Pelee Island

We ventured up to Lighthouse Point at the northeast corner of the island and one of the first birds we found was a singing male Prothonotary Warbler. Though a small colony of them nest at Fish Point, it is unusual to find migrant Prothonotary Warblers elsewhere on the island.

Prothonotary Warbler - Lighthouse Point, Pelee Island

Our next stop was the Florian Diamante wetlands and I re-found the Neotropic Cormorant! It had gone undetected since May 10, but here it was, in the exact same location, a week and a half later. As far as I am aware, these were the only two sightings of this individual. When it was all said and done the three of us finished with well over 100 species on the day.

Tree Swallow - Fish Point, Pelee Island

Fish Point is a dynamic birding spot early in the mornings, but I made an extra effort this year to venture down there each evening as well. Often, I was the only birder (or person) present. Warblers, flycatchers, vireos and other songbirds frequently forage down low on the west side of the point, while a large contingent of gulls, terns and shorebirds often roost on the tip or offshore sandbar.

Eastern Kingbirds - Fish Point, Pelee Island

One evening, I watched a Black Tern join a foraging flock of Bonaparte's Gulls, lit up beautifully in the evening sun. American White Pelicans often fly past, and the chance of a rarity remains sky-high, though I did not find one this spring. Still, those evenings at Fish Point were hard to beat.

Looking south towards Ohio - Fish Point, Pelee Island

Sanderlings - Fish Point, Pelee Island

Philadelphia Vireo - Fish Point, Pelee Island

American White Pelican - Fish Point, Pelee Island

Accommodations are limited on Pelee Island. There are several cottages for rent, while The Wandering Dog Inn also has rooms (they come highly recommended from me; I've stayed where while leading tours for Quest in the past). I typically stay at the East Park Campground where one can fall asleep to the sounds of Great Horned and Eastern Screech Owls. This year I set up my moth light at my campsite one evening. The mothing was a bit slow and I did not keep it running late enough to attract more biodiversity.

Mothing at East Park Campground, Pelee Island

Small-eyed Sphinx (Paonias myops) - East Park Campground, Pelee Island

I spent some time driving around the back roads of Pelee Island, hoping for a lucky Gray Fox sighting. I have lucked into seeing this species in the past, though I struck out in 2025. This is the only place in southern Ontario where Gray Foxes can be found.

When driving along these roads, Ring-necked Pheasants and Wild Turkeys are both common sightings. The pheasants are stocked on the island each year and pheasant hunting is big business.

Ring-necked Pheasant - Stone Road Alvar, Pelee Island

Driving these back roads is a great way to encounter snakes as well. Most will inevitably be Eastern Garter Snakes and a healthy proportion of them will be of the all-black "melanistic" form which makes up over 30 % of the garter snake population on Pelee Island. If you are lucky, you may find a Blue Racer or Eastern Foxsnake crossing the road as well. I found this Eastern Foxsnake when returning to the campground one evening.

Eastern Foxsnake - Pelee Island

I think I will end this post here. I am already looking forward to my inevitable visit to Pelee Island next spring! Please do reach out if you are interested in a private tour for the spring of 2026; I think you will fall in love with Pelee Island.

Eastern Foxsnake - Pelee Island

]]><![CDATA[Bugging Out In Northern Ontario, Part 6: One Final Run Up To Detour]]>Thu, 04 Sep 2025 14:09:48 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/bugging-out-in-northern-ontario-part-6-one-final-run-up-to-detourI drove south towards Smooth Rock Falls and then east to Cochrane after a fantastic day of naturalizing in Fraserdale, the subject of the previous blog post. Originally, my plan had been as follows. 1: Drive part of the way back home in the evening, maybe reaching the New Liskeard area. 2: Find a good spot to set up the moth sheets. 3: Complete the drive home the next day with some birding and dragonflying stops along the way. But after missing out on my main dragonfly targets earlier in the trip along the Detour Mine Road, I wanted a chance at redemption.

When I reached Cochrane, instead of turning right and following Highway 11 to the south, I instead meandered through Cochrane headed for the Detour Mine Road. My new plan was to drive most of the Detour Mine Road this evening, sleep in my car, have an earlier start and hike into the fen in the morning (targeting Quebec Emerald, Whitehouse's Emerald and Canada Whiteface), and complete the long 11 hour drive home afterwards.

It is best to be vigilant when driving along the Detour Mine Road, especially at dawn or dusk. This is not necessarily because of other traffic (there is almost none) or difficult road conditions. But rather, it is because there is always the possibility of discovering mammals like Gray Wolf, Black Bear, Moose, or even Canada Lynx; species that seem to come out of the woodwork when light levels are dim, as day turns to night or vise versa.

And this drive was a good one. Just before dusk a gangly teenager Black Bear loped across the road, my first one of the trip. And just a few minutes later, I noticed a smaller mammalian shape crouched on the shoulder. It was a Canada Lynx. I pulled the car to a stop just a few dozen meters from the cat. It stared at me, then returned its focus to something unseen in the ditch. Then, just like that, it exploded forward with front paws extended and disappeared into the vegetation. I exited the car and heard some rustling, but I never saw the lynx or its prey again. Hopefully, it had a successful hunt. To give you an idea, here is a photo of a Canada Lynx in a similar situation that I photographed in Thunder Bay District many years ago. That one cooperated for a memorable photoshoot.

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) - White River area, Algoma District (October 2015)

For the first time all trip I refrained from setting up the moth sheets even though the conditions were decent. Six nights of mothing had tired me out and I wasn't exactly enthused to deal with the hundreds of mosquitoes once more. Also, I wanted a reasonable bedtime to facilitate an earlier start in the fen the next morning. I fell asleep as aurora borealis flickered with greens and whites to the north. Not a bad way to drift off to sleep.

I awoke to a clear, cool and sunny morning. Arriving at the fen, the first dragonfly of the day was an emerald cruising around which I managed to net. Another Lake Emerald.

Lake Emerald (Somatochlora cingulata) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I made my way down the overgrown track, through the Black Spruce forest, and into the open peatlands in record time. I did not stop for any of the Arctic Fritillaries, nor did I photograph any plants. I wanted to maximize the hours spent in the patterned fen. The day was warming quickly and a few darners and emeralds were cruising around. It was a nice change from the breezy and hazy conditions from a few days earlier.

Bogbean-lined creek - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I focused on the smaller bogbean-choked pools away from the main channel as these are apparently the preferred microhabitats for Quebec and Whitehouse's Emeralds. I noted a couple of different emeralds patrolling these pools and positioned myself along the route of one. Perhaps it was nerves or excitement but I missed with my first few swings. It disappeared, and I moved on.

Eventually, I managed to take a few distant record photos of one of the cruising emeralds. The set of photos seemed to point to this being a Quebec Emerald. But I wanted a much better look, of course!

Quebec Emerald (Somatochlora brevicincta) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

After a few more misses, I finally connected with one of my swings and I had an emerald in the hand. Upon close inspection it appeared to a male Quebec Emerald!

Quebec Emerald (Somatochlora brevicincta) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Emerald identification is challenging, but some of the field marks that point to this being a Quebec Emerald include: "pincer" type male appendage (not really visible in this photo), the shape of the single anterior thoracic spot, faint whitish marks along the edge of each abdominal segment (but not usually complete whitish rings), and the details of the coloration at the base of the wings. All very subtle stuff that is best appreciated when the dragon is in hand. Habitat and behaviour is a big clue as well. Quebec Emeralds patrol these very specific bogbean pools (flarks) located within patterned fens, though several other emerald species also use these habitats.

Quebec Emerald (Somatochlora brevicincta) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I spent another hour or so in this area and was unable to catch any other emeralds. At times they would disappear for 20 minutes or more so it was a game of patience. But it was a beautiful day and I savoured my time in the fen knowing that soon I would be traveling on a highway back to civilization and it may be another year until I can explore a similar remote wetland again.

I slogged my way further north for a few hundred meters to an area I had never explored. I flushed a family of Sharp-tailed Grouse from a raised section within the fen and managed some nice recordings of them afterwards. Shortly after, a small whiteface caught my attention. I was on alert for whitefaces, since the localized Canada Whiteface has been recorded here in the past. However, I worried that I was a little late in the year for them. This is by far the rarest of our six species of whitefaces and the only one that I had never seen before. Unfortunately, it flew away before I could get a swing off or take an identifiable photo. But I soon found a second one. I made sure to photograph it extensively as I approached.

Canada Whiteface (Leucorrhinia patricia) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

It also flew before I could catch it. But the photos portray a female Canada Whiteface. This is another species that is best identified by the specific wing venation. The off-white, creamy face and small overall size are also good clues as to its identification.

Canada Whiteface (Leucorrhinia patricia) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

And with that, it was time to slog my way back out of the wetland and back to the car. I took my time on the walk, pausing a few times along the bogbean-lined creek in hopes for a last-minute Whitehouse's Emerald but it was not to be. The only other odonates I noted were several Canada Darners, a Zigzag Darner, a Brush-tipped Emerald, a Black Meadowhawk and some Sedge Sprites.

Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I flushed several Eastern Gartersnakes on the walk along the track back to where I had parked, the first (and only) snakes of the trip. And a few minutes later I was back in my car, motoring south to civilization. Other than a couple of gas and food stops I drove straight home, arriving through the door just before 1 AM. It had been a very long day but I was satisfied with my decision to have one final run up the Detour Mine Road.

Eastern Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Here are a few numbers about the trip, for those of you interested in these things.

- 53 species of Odonata (48 photographed) of which 17 were new for me
- 31 species of butterflies (29 photographed) of which 2 were new for me
-811 total species photographed, including 272 plants, 468 total insects, 239 moths, 31 vertebrates, and 29 fungi

Everything I documented on the trip can be found in this iNaturalist project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/josh-vandermeulen-northern-trip-2025?tab=species

]]><![CDATA[Bugging Out In Northern Ontario, Part 5: Fraserdale]]>Mon, 25 Aug 2025 16:50:18 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/bugging-out-in-northern-ontario-part-5-fraserdaleThe vast majority of Ontarians have never heard of Fraserdale. This is not surprising, as Fraserdale is nothing more than a train stop along the Cochrane to Moosonee route, about 45 minutes north of Smooth Rock Falls along a pot-holed road. But Fraserdale is well-known among a very small subset of people, those being birders, moth-ers, and other naturalist types who love exploring northeastern Ontario. Fraserdale is one of easiest places to access high quality peatlands in northeast Ontario, and it is home to a high diversity of species that are difficult or impossible to find further south. Indeed, it is only about an eight hour drive from where I live (Hamilton) to Fraserdale!

Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I've been to Fraserdale on many occasions, with my first visit in 2012. These early visits were bird-finding missions on my way to Moosonee, as the nearby Abititi Dam is a rare bird magnet and Fraserdale a convenient stop to take the train to Moosonee. Though I never found any mega-rarities during these early Fraserdale expeditions, it was always a good place to find specialty birds like Spruce Grouse, LeConte's Sparrow, American Three-toed Woodpecker and much more.

Spruce Grouse - Fraserdale, Cochrane District (September 2012)

LeConte's Sparrow - Fraserdale, Cochrane District (September 2014)

American Three-toed Woodpecker family - Fraserdale, Cochrane District (June 2020)

I have returned to Fraserdale in the years since on insect hunting expeditions, first in June 2020 and again in August 2024. It is one of those places that I could return to over and over again and never get bored, though I may tire of the mosquitoes eventually.

Taiga Alpine (Erebia mancinus) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District (June 2020)

Now back to the present. I did not have really high hopes for a productive Fraserdale visit this time around, mainly due to the weather. The smoky haze had not lifted as I drove north from Smooth Rock Falls, and the following day had lots of rain in the forecast. But the day after that was supposed to be clear and sunny, so I hoped that the forecast for the final day would hold.

Abitibi River boat launch, road to Fraserdale, Cochrane District

As it was late in the day I only had time for one stop; a boat launch for the Abitibi River. I waited around for a bit but other than a presumed Shadow Darner, there were no dragonflies to speak of here and so I continued north to Fraserdale.

Mothing in Fraserdale, Cochrane District

As dusk fell I set up my lights at a familiar spot just south of Fraserdale. I hoped that the light breeze would subside by sunset, but the weather gods had other plans. The warm evening temperatures were a nice change and a boon for moth diversity, but the breeze picked up throughout the course of the evening. I had to weigh the sheets down with rocks but the continuous movement of the sheets made photography difficult, especially with any insect that was fairly small.

Lettered Habrosyne Moth (Habrosyne scripta) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Hairy Pine Borer (Tragosoma harrisii) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Rose Plume Moth (Cnaemidophorus rhododactyla) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Draeculacephala angulifera - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Still, I came away with a number of great sightings. In total I photographed around 60 species of moths of which seven were new for me. Below are a few of the new ones.

Hanham's Owlet (Phalaenostola hanhami) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Tufted Sedge Moth (Hypocoena inquinata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Hypenodes palustris - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Frigid Owlet (Nycteola frigidana) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Spruce Needleworm Moth (Hypsopygia thymetusalis) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

And below are a few more photos of some of the eye-catching species of moths (and a bonus crane fly).

Canadian Owlet (Calyptra canadensis) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Parthenice Tiger Moth (Apantesis parthenice) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Tipula metacomet - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Rose Hooktip (Oreta rosea) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The next day was a complete right off and the definitive low point of the trip. I awoke to heavy cloud cover, hazy skies and a fresh breeze, though the wind was not quite strong enough to deter the voracious black flies and mosquitoes. The poor weather conditions provided a silver lining as they allowed a longer sleep-in followed by a leisurely breakfast of my usual scrambled eggs and instant coffee. Eventually, I grabbed my net and camera and headed out to see what I could find. My hopes were low, but maybe I would get lucky with a few dragonflies.

Fraserdale, Cochrane District

This was not the case. After two hours I had not observed a single odonate or butterfly. At least the birds were active, and I contented myself by watching several active Olive-sided Flycatchers and a Black-backed Woodpecker. A Red Crossbill was a somewhat surprising discovery while I also found a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Canada Jay.

Olive-sided Flycatcher - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The weather conditions deteriorated further as the noon-hour came and went. I spent much of the afternoon hanging out in my car, watching the rain on the windshield. At one point I came across a family of Ruffed Grouse on the road who cooperated for a photoshoot.

Ruffed Grouse - road to Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Finally, around 6 PM the last band of rain seemed to pass and a few feeble rays of sun weekly shone through the tips of the Black Spruce trees. Too little, too late. I saw my one and only odonate of the day, a Shadow Darner that I was able to net just before sunset at the boat launch from the previous evening.

Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) - Abitibi River boat launch, road to Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The skies cleared at dusk and the temperatures plummeted. I set up my mothing gear at a new site for me near Homuth Lake.

Sharp-lined Yellow (Sicya macularia) - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

This ended up being the slowest night of mothing of the trip with just 36 species photographed, none of which were new for me. Still, as is always the case, there were a few interesting moths!

Herald Moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

My Moth Of The Night was probably the above species, called the Herald Moth. It seems to be an uncommon moth that I have only observed three times before, and it is quite attractive. Another highlight was this tortricid moth called Notocelia culminana, which is a rare species that I had observed just once previously.

Notocelia culminana - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

Here are a few other odds and ends from the evening.

Ypsolopha canariella - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

Spruce Coneworm Moth (Dioryctria reniculelloides) - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

Two-lined Hooktip (Falcaria bilineata) - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

Syngrapha epigaea - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

I found this sphinx moth caterpillar on my car as I was packing up for the evening. I am not positive on the species identification, but it may be Small-eyed Sphinx (Paonias myops).

Small-eyed Sphinx (Paonias myops) - Homuth Lake, Cochrane District (tentative identification)

I awoke to a cool morning with clear skies. It appeared that the wildfire smoke had finally drifted on; a perfect day for exploring! Having been cooped up in my car during yesterday's persistent rain, I was feeling a little restless and looking forward to a nice long hike. Even the black flies didn't seem as bothersome today.

Arctic Fritillary (Boloria chariclea) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I set off on a raised track wide enough for a truck that heads west from the main road, just south of Fraserdale. This track eventually crosses the railroad tracks and continues on to the southwest for a number of kilometres.

The butterflies also seemed restless after yesterday's rainout and the trail was littered with them. The vast majority were Arctic Fritillaries and I'm sure that I crossed paths with over 100 of them over the course of the morning. Last year, I visited this location in similar weather conditions on August 21 and could not find even one. Amazing the difference that a couple of weeks makes with butterflies.

Arctic Fritillaries (Boloria chariclea) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Mixed in with the Arctic Fritillaries were a number of other species including American Branded Skipper, Long Dash, Dorcas Copper, Aphrodite and Atlantis Fritillaries, three species of sulphurs and Green Comma.

Dorcas Copper (Tharsalea dorcas) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Aphrodite Fritillary (Argynnis aphrodite) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I tried not to get too distracted by the many butterflies as my main goal was to locate several northern dragonflies. Though I had found a couple of lifer Somatochlora emeralds a few days earlier along the Detour Mine Road (Brush-tipped and Lake Emeralds), there were still several other possibilities here. Forcipate and Ringed Emeralds in particular were high on my target list.

Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The first Somatochlora of the day appeared over the ditch. My swing was accurate and I heard the satisfying swish of a dragonfly trapped in the netting. A male Brush-tipped Emerald. Not a lifer, but my first views of a male with that distinctive brushy appendage.

Brush-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora walshii) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Anticipation was high as the weather conditions were nearly perfect, if a touch cool, and the Somatochlora were flying. A few minutes later I saw another emerald patrolling the ditch. I missed with my first swing and I worried that I had blown my chances. But, a few minutes later, it buzzed past again and this time I connected. And it was one of my targets - a Forcipate Emerald!

Forcipate Emerald (Somatochlora forcipata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

As you can see, many of the Somatochlora emeralds appear very similar to each other, so a close look is often required to identify them. Additionally, they rarely perch in view where photos can be taken, so netting them is absolutely essential for identification.

Forcipate Emerald (Somatochlora forcipata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The insect activity continued unabated as the morning turned to afternoon. Even a wispy layer of clouds would not deter them, and I took hundreds of photos. Below are a few random odds and ends from my stroll.

Dorcadion Bee Fly (Exoprosopa dorcadion) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Yellow Velvet Beetle (Lepturobosca chrysocoma) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Crackling Forest Grasshopper (Trimerotropis verruculata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Black-shouldered Drone Fly (Eristalis dimidiata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I reached the railway tracks and walked south along them for a few hundred meters. Various goldenrods and other asters were in bloom and insect activity was quite high. A small, bluish butterfly caught my eye. I followed it with my binoculars and, after an eternity, it landed. A Northern Blue!

Northern Blue (Plebejus idas) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

This was a new photographed species for me (I had seen one in July, 2012 on the train to Moosonee, while the train was stopped). This butterfly, while rarely common, occurs widely across the far north in Ontario but I figured that I was too late in the year to find one. Guess not! Unfortunately, it vanished before I could manage better quality photos.

Northern Blue (Plebejus idas) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I crossed the tracks and continued to the southwest with my destination being a boggy lake that I had scouted on satellite imagery. It took a few hundred metres of bog-slogging through hummocky, Black Spruce forest but eventually I reached the shores. I am not sure how frequently this lake gets checked by naturalists although I know that a friend of mine, Bill Lamond, has stopped here before to look for dragonflies.

Unnamed lake near Fraserdale, Cochrane District

A female Ring-necked Duck watched me nervously as I set out to explore the boggy edge. The birding was actually pretty good here as I found an American Three-toed Woodpecker and a family of Canada Jays while listening to a soundtrack of yodeling Common Loons, nasal Pine Siskins, and chittering White-winged Crossbills.

Canada Jay - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Bog Sedge (Carex oligosperma) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I quickly found a new dragonfly for me here as dozens of Crimson-ringed Whitefaces occupied the boggy fringe. This species is more closely tied to these boggy environs than the similar Hudsonian Whiteface which is more of a generalist. The whitefaces were quite wary and I was unable to net any for a closer look. However, I managed some photos that show the distinctive wing venation, a key field mark for this species.

Crimson-ringed Whiteface (Leucorrhinia glacialis) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The other potential lifer dragonfly that I hoped to find here was the Sedge Darner. I photographed several patrolling darners but they all turned out to be either Canada or Lake Darner.

Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The walk back to the car was more of the same - hundreds of butterflies flitting along, and many other insects to look at. I netted another Brush-tipped Emerald and also found a Forcipate Emerald perched along the ditch. I also saw a Four-spotted Skimmer which was my 49th species of odonate for this trip.

Brush-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora walshii) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Black Meadowhawk (Sympetrum danae) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly wolfed down lunch and made my way over to a nearby boggy lake that can be easily accessed from the roadside just east of Fraserdale. My friend Jon Pleizier had been there a week earlier and netted a Sedge Darner. This was one of my remaining targets for the Fraserdale area.

White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The odonates were flying. I caught a male bluet which upon close inspection was my first Boreal Bluet. Another target in the bag, and my 50th odonate of the trip! I turned my attention to the darners and tallied three species - Subarctic, Canada, and Lake - but no Sedge Darner.

Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

The afternoon was getting on and I still had one more place to check. I pulled myself away from this productive spot, photographing a few day-flying moths on my walk back out to the car.

Manchester Treble-bar Moth (Carsia sororiata) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

This small boggy lake, near the much larger Homuth Lake, is found about halfway between Smooth Rock Falls and Fraserdale. Several hundred meters of bog-slogging is required to access it but the trouble is worth it for the view alone.

Unnamed lake near Homuth Lake, Cochrane District

Mustard White (Pieris oleracea) - Homuth Lake area, Cochrane District

Northern Spreadwings (Lestes disjunctus) - Homuth Lake area, Cochrane District

Finally, my luck with the Sedge Darner turned as one was patrolling the lake with a handful of other darner species. The relatively straight, thick thoracic stripes are easy to pick out with the binoculars. Despite my best efforts I was unable to photograph it in flight, while I was also 0 for 1 swinging at it with my net. It never gave me a second opportunity. Of course I had no trouble catching several Canada Darners.

Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis) - Homuth Lake area, Cochrane District

I took a closer look at the bluets and managed some better photos with my macro lens of a male Boreal Bluet as well.

Boreal Bluet (Enallagma boreale) - Homuth Lake area, Cochrane District

And with the sun slinking lower in the sky, I hopped back in my car and drove south towards Smooth Rock Falls. It had been a fantastic day with innumerable highlights. And though I had been unable to photograph any Sedge Darners, that is just a reason to return next year. As if I need any excuse to revisit this extraordinary region.

]]><![CDATA[Bugging Out In Northern Ontario, Part 4: Detour Bog to Fraserdale]]>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:40:49 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/bugging-out-in-northern-ontario-part-4-detour-bog-to-fraserdaleBogs and fens are some of my favourite haunts to explore as a naturalist. These peatlands hold a diverse array of plant species adapted to the acidic or alkaline conditions. And with these plant species come the associated insects, and the birds, and all the rest. Today's goal was to explore a patterned fen near the end of the Detour Mine road, just a few kilometres before the mine itself.

Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

This particular fen has been put on the radar due to a number of interesting dragonfly and damselfly species that reside here. Several years ago intrepid dragonfly hunters targeted this area, presumably because it is relatively easy to access from the paved Detour Mine Road. And by relatively easy to access, I mean it only takes about a kilometre of slogging through thick peat moss interspersed with prickly Black Spruce bows protruding at every angle. It is not for the faint of heart, but I've spent many hours in similar habitats during my career as a field biologist, so I don't mind.

Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Last year I spent a day tromping around this very wetland near the end of August. I was a little too late in the year to have a reasonable shot at two rare Somatochlora emeralds - the Quebec and Whitehouse's Emeralds - both species with a limited range in northern Ontario. I also struck out with another northern rarity, the Canada Whiteface. But that is why I returned this year.

My visit in 2024 had not been totally in vain, as I found two other big targets of mine - the Subarctic Darner and Zigzag Darner.

Subarctic Darner (Aeshna subarctica) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

While I had been blessed with sunny conditions last year, this would not be the case today. Heavy smoke from wildfires further west in Canada had drifted eastwards into northern Ontario, casting a heavy haze over the landscape. Though clouds were not present, the thick smoke really cut down on the solar radiation, and I worried that dragonflies wouldn't be too active. The temperatures were also rather cool in the morning. It was around noon when I finally began my trek down the overgrown logging road.

Logging road leading to Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Butterflies were active along the entrance path, including Atlantis and Silver-bordered Fritillaries, Pink-edged Sulphur, several skippers and Dorcas Copper.

Pink-edged Sulphur (Colias interior) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Dorcas Copper (Tharsalea dorcas) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Atlantis Fritillaries (Argynnis atlantis) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Reaching the end of the logging road, I punched through the stand of shrubby trees to access the more open peatlands. Hiking was no easier here. Though I did not have to contend with dense tree growth, the ground was hummocky with deep holes that were difficult to avoid, and protruding black spruce boughs still pricked at me. The plant life was interesting in this area and I stopped frequently to photograph the bounty.

White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Great Sundew (Drosera anglica) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Bog Goldenrod (Solidago uliginosa) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I noticed four species of orchids of which my favourite was this Green Adder's Mouth, simply because of its excellent name.

Green Adder's Mouth (Malaxis unifolia) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Hooded Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

This species is the Rough Wood Aster, and in Ontario it appears to be restricted to the northeast corner of the province just south of James Bay. There are only a couple of records on iNaturalist for the province, but it seems to be a relatively common species in this fen. Last year it was seeding, but I caught them early enough this year to see them in flower.

Rough Wood Aster (Eurybia radula) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Some small orange butterflies grabbed my attention and moments later, I was staring at my first Arctic Fritillaries! This was a long time coming for me and so I savoured the excellent views of one.

Arctic Fritillary (Boloria chariclea) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Even with the hazy conditions there was just enough power behind the sun, and butterflies and many other insects were flying. Dragonflies were conspicuously absent, however. I hoped that this would change once I reached the patterned fen where my three main dragonfly targets resided.

Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I paid close attention to any moth that was flying, as there was a good chance that it was a species that I "needed". This was productive as I added three lifer moths over the course of my time in the peatlands here.

Phiaris turfosana - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Sulphur Angle (Macaria sulphurea) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Despite the various distractions, I eventually I slogged my way to the patterned fen, where a bogbean-lined creek cut a channel to the north. Here, everything drains towards the Arctic Ocean.

Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

For the next three hours I waded around in my rubber boots, taking care to avoid certain areas where it is very easy to punch through the floating mat of vegetation. I was successful in this regard, unlike last year where I had a nervous moment waist-deep in the fen.

Horned Bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Dragonfly-wise, it was slow going. The high winds were certainly not helping matters, either. Several darners patrolled the bogbean-lined creek and I identified Subarctic, Zigzag and Canada Darner. I noticed a few meadowhawks and some Sedge Sprites, but that was it. Finally, around 5 PM, a Somatochlora emerald began patrolling the creek, but it remained out of range of my net and I did not even get a swing off. Needless to say, I was pretty frustrated with my second Somatochlora-free visit to this particular fen.

Sedge Sprite (Nehalennia irene) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

The deerflies were rather persistent all afternoon. I photographed a few of them, and tallied two species: Benign Deer Fly and Bothersome Deer Fly. I thought they were all bothersome? Though I can confirm, that species in particular is rather bothersome...

Benign Deer Fly (Chrysops mitis) - Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

I took this photo near the beginning of my bog slog, before the crushing defeat of not finding any Somatochlora set in.

Selfie in the Detour Lake peatlands, Cochrane District

Though it had been a somewhat disappointing afternoon, I still came away with a lifer butterfly and many other great sightings. But I will have to return once more for my target dragonflies. That is how it goes sometimes.

That evening, I found a different gravel pit to set up my moth light, only a kilometre or so from where I had set up the previous evening. In the end I should have just returned to the first location. Though the conditions were much better tonight with overnight lows of 15 degrees (versus 9 the previous night), the clearing was a lot smaller which may have impacted how many moths were attracted to the light. I photographed many fewer species. But there were a few highlights, of course!

Finnish Dart (Actebia fennica) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Four-spotted Ghost Moth (Sthenopis purpurascens) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Pelochrista argentialbana - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Though moth diversity was lower than the previous evening, the total biomass of moths was likely higher. This was entirely due to the White Eulithis Moths, of which many hundreds flooded the sheets. There was scarcely any room for anything else.

White Eulithis Moths (Eulithis explanata) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

If my identification is correct, than this moth (Dysstroma suspectata) is one of the better finds for the night as there are just a handful of observations on iNaturalist and just a couple for Ontario. Again, this is another example of something appearing rare because of the limited coverage up here.

Dysstroma suspectata - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

A long overdue lifer for me was this species, the Simple Wave (Scopula junctaria).

Simple Wave (Scopula junctaria) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

One of the more unusual species of moth was this tortricid which I have tentatively identified as Epinotia madderana.

Epinotia madderana (tentative ID) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Some high pitched squeaks coming from the top of a spruce piqued my interest as there could only be one culprit - a Northern Flying Squirrel. I watched the little guy with my flashlight for a moment or two. No photos, though, as I had my macro lens on my camera for the mothing.

Brown Pine Looper Moth (Caripeta angustiorata) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

This Xestia mixta was another big highlight for me, as this noctuid moth seems to be rarely reported. All of the previous Ontario records on iNaturalist are from this corner of the province.

Xestia mixta - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Below are a few more photos from the evening. The warmer temperatures enticed me to stay at the sheets until nearly 2 AM, and there were still new moths appearing when I finally shut down the lights.

Mint-loving Pyrausta Moth (Pyrausta acrionalis) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Formosa Looper Moth (Chrysanympha formosa) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Sharp-lined Yellow (Sicya macularia) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Great Brown Dart (Eurois astricta) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

The late night of mothing necessitated a relaxed start to the day, followed by a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs on a toasted bagel and coffee, thanks to the utility of my one-burner stove. It was another hazy day. I debated heading back into the patterned fen from yesterday but in the end, cut my losses and began heading south. As I was packing up breakfast, I noticed a moth stuck inside my car and flying against the window. It was another new one for me, the Drab Angle. And then, just as I was about to depart, a Somatochlora emerald began flying around my car! Thinking quickly, I grabbed my net out of the back seat and made an accurate swing. Success.

Lake Emerald (Somatochlora cingulata) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

This is a Lake Emerald, one of the larger emeralds and one of just a couple of species that show complete white rings around the border of each abdominal segment. My first Somatochlora of the trip in hand, and a lifer at that! Though this is a widespread species in the north, you never forget your first, and it took away some of the sting of yesterday's Somatochlora-free hike.

Lake Emerald (Somatochlora cingulata) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

During my 2024 trip I spent some time at a beautiful watercourse called the Floodwood River, one of the few along the Detour Mine Road that has any significant flow. A nice array of dragonfly species reside here including two, the Riffle Snaketail and Boreal Snaketail, that love the faster-flowing water. I decided that I would enjoy a swim here while also trying my hand at netting snaketails.

Floodwood River - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

It only took a few minutes until I noticed the first snaketail zipping over the river. It appeared to be a female who was ovipositing into the water. I managed a few poor photos while led me to believe it was a Boreal Snaketail, but I wanted a better view. My patience along the shore was unrewarded as she never came within swinging range. About the only odonate I was seeing here were numerous River Jewelwings.

River Jewelwing (Calopteryx aequabilis) - Floodwood River, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

My strategy shifted to wading in the river. On my walk back to the car to change into my swimming trunks I noticed a Somatochlora cruising over a wet ditch. It landed near the water's surface and I came down quickly with my net. Just like that, I had my first Brush-tipped Emerald in the hand.

Brush-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora walshii) - Floodwood River, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

My river-wading strategy brought me closer to several snaketails, but none of my swings were successful. These things are so dang fast! It was a game of patience, as I often had to wait ten or fifteen minutes after an unsuccessful swing until the next snaketail appeared.

Several other dragonflies were enjoying the weather. Various darners cruised along the shoreline including one that appeared to be either a Fawn or Ocellated Darner. Eventually it landed on a mid-river log and began laying eggs in the water, allowing me to take some distant photos. My first Fawn Darner!

Fawn Darner (Boyeria vinosa) - Floodwood River, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

I took a few swings at several of the larger and more colourful Aeshna darners, procuring my long-overdue lifer Lake Darner.

Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita) - Floodwood River, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Earlier on I had observed a huge black and yellow dragonfly dragging along an unfortunate River Jewelwing. Surely it was a Dragonhunter, one of our largest species which often predates other odonates. Soon I noticed one resting on stream-side vegetation, and just like that I had a Dragonhunter in hand.

Dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) - Floodwood River, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Satisfied with my morning, I began assembling my gear to head back up to the roadside when a beautiful dragonfly alighted on a mid-river rock. It was a male Boreal Snaketail! I bent down and picked up my camera very slowly and carefully to avoid flushing the dragonfly. It didn't seem to mind my presence and I managed quite a few very nice photos of this uncommon species.

Boreal Snaketail (Ophiogomphus colubrinus) - Floodwood River, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

I stopped at several other river crossings on my way south back to Cochrane. The wind was picking up and clouds filtered over the sun on occasion, causing the insect activity to scale back some. But I still added a few species to the trip list including Chalk-fronted Corporal, Shadow Darner, Belted Whiteface and Hagen's Bluet.

Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) - unnamed lake, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Belted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia proxima) - unnamed lake, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Hagen's Bluet (Enallagma hageni) - unnamed lake, Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

And by dinnertime I arrived back in Cochrane, where I refuelled with gasoline, drinking water and ice for my cooler. It was time to head west towards Smooth Rock Falls and then north to Fraserdale and Abitibi Canyon. That will be subject of my next post.

]]><![CDATA[Bugging Out In Northern Ontario, Part 3: Tilden Lake To The Detour Road]]>Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:05:47 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/bugging-out-in-northern-ontario-part-3-tilden-lake-to-the-detour-roadOne of the first birds I observed this morning as I ate my scrambled eggs and sipped my coffee was an adult American Goshawk that blasted past my makeshift campsite. It had been several years since I had been graced by the presence of an American Goshawk. It was going to be a good day!

I packed up my one-burner stove and camp chair and hit the open road. Today would include a lot of driving as I made my way up to Cochrane and beyond. But I love driving in northern Ontario, passing millions of Black Spruces and keeping an eye out for Black Bears or Moose.

I didn't linger too long in Timiskaming District. Typically, I make a number of birding stops - the New Liskeard Lagoons, Thornloe Lagoons, Hilliardton Marsh and Englehart Lagoons are some of my usual haunts - but today I wanted to save time so I could look for insects at a site further afield.

Compton Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis l-album) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

The driving took up the entire morning and I rolled into Iroquois Falls in the early afternoon. I visited a little know track west of town called Berlinghoff Road. I first stopped here last year on a car-camping trip in late August and was happy to return, as some of my target insects had been reported here in the past.

Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

The deep puddles necessitated rubber boots but I came prepared. I grabbed my net and set off down the track, passing through boggy Black Spruce-dominated habitats. The cool morning had given way to a warm and sunny afternoon, though large fluffy clouds periodically paused the insect activity for a few minutes until they passed.

Berlinghoff Rd - Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Butterflies were quite active here and included quite a few new ones for my trip list: Tawny-edged, Long Dash and Dun Skippers, Compton Tortoiseshell, White Admiral and Pink-edged Sulphur to name a few. I kept an eye out for Arctic Fritillary, my main butterfly target for this trip, but I could only turn up a few of the larger Atlantis Fritillary.

Green Comma (Polygonia faunus) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Long Dash (Polites mystic) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Alongside the dirt track were many flowering plants - Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Sweet-clover, Lindley's Aster, Pearly Everlasting, several goldenrods and Ox-eye Daisy. The Joe Pye Weed and various goldenrods in particular were buzzing with innumerable bees, wasps, flies and more. I photographed as many of them as I could; quite a few were species I had never identified before.

Cylindromyia intermedia - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Yellow-banded Bumble Bee (Bombus terricola) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Golden-tailed Leafcutter Bee (Megachile relativa) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Shamrock Orbweaver (Araneus trifolium) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

I find I am often overwhelmed when in nature, especially if I am visiting a site for the first time or a place where I rarely travel. It was like that here. Ostensively I was here to look for dragonflies, but I kept getting distracted by all the different wasps and flies. And there were small roving bands of birds in the trees, demanding a glance with the binoculars. Dozens of skippers were flitting along the path - I have a soft spot for them and love the challenges of their identification. Meanwhile, the sedge diversity appeared to be quite high, and so I had to stop and identify a few of them, too (sedges have become an interest of mine this summer). And while crouched down, looking at a sedge, I noticed an unusual moss that I have never seen before, which diverts my attention once again. And so it goes! If I'm not careful, an entire afternoon will fly by while I cover scarcely a few hundred meters of road...

Pale Sedge (Carex pallescens) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Tawny-edged Skipper (Polites themistocles) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

But really, I was here for the dragonflies and damselflies. In the past, odonate enthusiasts had turned up several species of Somatochlora emeralds at this site. These tricky dragonflies were one of the main reasons why I embarked on this trip in the first place, and so I kept an eye out for emeralds as I walked.

White-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum) - Berlinghoff Rd, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Several different types of spreadwing damselfly were resting in the sedges along some of the deeper pools along the dirt track. With some careful study both in hand and with photos, I was satisfied that some of them were my lifer Sweetflag Spreadwing! This is not a particularly rare species, nor is it one that is confined to the north. But it had eluded me up to this point.

Sweetflag Spreadwing (Lestes forcipatus) - Berlinghoff Road, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

Emerald and Northern Spreadwings were also present along the dirt track.

Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas) - Berlinghoff Road, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

While the damselflies were fun (and easy to catch), I aimed to change my admittedly poor luck with emeralds. Unfortunately, despite spending over two hours here, I did not see a single one. Would this be the theme for the whole trip? I sure hope not...

I did have some success with netting dragonflies, as I caught a Canada Darner and a Variable Darner. The Variable was nice since it is a species that I have only seen on a couple of prior occasions.

Variable Darner (Aeshna interrupta) - Berlinghoff Road, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane District

By the late afternoon it was time to hit the road. I stopped briefly in the town of Cochrane to refuel, and then it was time to drive up the Detour Mine Road. This has become one of my favourite roads to explore in Ontario in recent years. It is paved with only a few potholes, and it travels east and then north from Cochrane towards the Detour gold mine. By the time that you approach the mine, you are about as close to James Bay as you are to Cochrane. The road passes through immensely beautiful northern forests and peatlands. It is not uncommon to spot species like Northern Hawk-Owl, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Gray Wolf or Canada Lynx from the roadside; I've seen all of these species here in the past. In recent years, cell towers have been added and so those who have a Rogers plan can have full cell service along the entire road. Pretty remarkable for an area that appears so remote on the surface.

There wasn't any time for me to stop and naturalize in any of these beautiful habitats as I hoped to make it as far up the road as possible, though a brief roadside stop at the Floodwood River produced a new thistle species for me, the Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre).

Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre) - Floodwood River, Cochrane District

As sunset neared, I turned off the main road and drove up to an old gravel pit. The eerie cries of Common Loons were only drowned out by the buzz of mosquitoes as I set up my moth lights. The bug jacket came in handy tonight.

This particular location for my moth escapades was a site where fellow moth-ers Dave Beadle and Mike King have set up in the past. I chose an area where my lights would shine across the open gravel pit to wetlands and forests on the other side. There were several strategically located trees between which I could string up my sheets with lots of space to walk around. As dusk fell, there was not a hint of a breeze. Perfect.

The only problem was the air temperature. As the sun set, my thermometer read 16 degrees, and it would be dropping to 9 or 10 degrees overnight. In general, warmer is better for mothing. But my hope was that these northern moths are used to cooler temperatures and it wouldn't impact diversity too poorly. While waiting for the waning light in the western sky to diminish, I had a nice chat with Laura on the phone. Now dark out, I approached the two sheets. I couldn't believe my eyes. They were popping off!

Red-washed Prominent (Oedemasia semirufescens)) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Rusty Pine Cone Moth (Dioryctria disclusa) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Blueberry Sallow (Sympistis dentata) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Back home in southern Ontario where I have mothed many dozens or even hundreds of times, I can pretty much predict which species will be the most common ones at the sheet. If 100 moth species show up in an evening, probably 98-99 of them are ones that I am familiar with, and many evenings pass where I don't find a single lifer. Here, close to 1/3 of all of the moths appeared to be new ones for me. I was in heaven.

White Cutworm Moth (Euxoa scandens) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Sallow Argent (Argyresthia pygmaeella) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

In Ontario, we have four species of ghost moths (Sthenopis sp.), and up to this point I had seen just one of those species. These moths are rather large and attractive and generally not very common, so they are highly sought after by moth-ers. I knew that the odds were good that I would add a new ghost moth to my life list as the Four-spotted Ghost Moth is commonly reported in the north. It was one of the first moths that I photographed this evening. Each of my two sheets hosted a single individual. These two had quite different patterns and colours, showcasing the variability of the species.

Four-spotted Ghost Moth (Sthenopis purpurascens) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

The Williams' Tiger Moth was a species near the top of my target list. Ontario has 14 species of Apantesis tiger moths on its checklist of which I had seen half of. These are also highly sought-after as they are large and beautiful with strikingly colourful hindwings. Early on, a worn Williams' Tiger Moth appeared at the sheet. I did not know this at the time, but this would be the only one I would see for the duration of my northern trip.

Williams' Tiger Moth (Apantesis williamsii) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

This species of Virbia is currently un-named, but it is in the process of getting described as a new species.

Virbia sp. - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Some of the moths I was most looking forward to on this trip were some of the northern loopers in the family Noctuidae. A nice variety of them appeared over the course of the evening; they were all new to me!

Syngrapha epigaea - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Syngrapha octoscripta - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

This is either Syngrapha viridisigma or S. selecta, two species that probably can't be told apart by their wing patterns.

Syngrapha viridisigma complex - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Unfortunately, this Putnam's Looper vanished after I managed this one poor photo. It is still the only individual that I have seen.

Putnam's Looper (Plusia putnami) - Detour Miner Road, Cochrane District

This is another somewhat rare noctuid moth called Euxoa quebecensis. There are only a couple of previous Ontario records on iNaturalist so I was pleased with this one.

Euxoa quebecensis - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

As is usually the case, some of the rarest moths were on the smaller side. This next one, the Sandhill Knot-horn, is a type of pyralid moth that is widespread but quite rare.

Sandhill Knot-horn (Anerastia lotella) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Another scarce northern species was this one, Lozotaenia costinotana with just a couple of known records from the province. I found this species on two different occasions during my trip. Often, these species may be perceived as rare simply because there is no one looking for them when they are likely widespread species in the north.

Lozotaenia costinotana - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

The next two species were probably the rarest to appear on the sheets. The first, a tortricid moth called Phtheochroa fulviplicana, has two iNaturalist records from Ontario while the second, a grass-veneer called Agriphila biarmicus, has just one previous record. Again, more extensive sampling in the far north would surely boost these numbers.

Phtheochroa fulviplicana - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Agriphila biarmicus - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

And here are some photos of some other odds and ends from the evening. When it was all said and done I photographed around 86 different species of moth, of which 23 were completely new for me. What a night! I begrudgingly took the sheets down at 1:30 AM even though new moths were still arriving by the minute. It was already shaping up to be a late start to the next day, and I had plans on doing some extensive bog-slogging in search of dragonflies. Before heading to bed that night, I killed about 20 mosquitoes that were buzzing around the interior of my car. Such is life in the north.

Two-banded Catoptria Moth (Catoptria latiradiellus) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Unidentified leafhopper (Populicerus sp.) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Sparganothis boweri - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Orange-headed Monopis (Monopis spilotella) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Unidentified wasp (Ophion sp.) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Dysstroma suspectata - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Gray Midget Moth (Nycteola cinereana) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Pine Needle Sheathminer (Zelleria haimbachi) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

Celypha Moth (Celypha cespitana) - Detour Mine Road, Cochrane District

]]><![CDATA[Bugging Out In Northern Ontario, Part 2: Parry Sound To Tilden Lake]]>Thu, 14 Aug 2025 12:39:13 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/bugging-out-in-northern-ontario-part-2-parry-sound-to-tilden-lakeI woke to a warm and hazy morning at Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve. I had several goals for the day. 1: Spend a couple of hours exploring Horseshoe Lake; 2: put in a solid search for a quite localized damselfly called the Alkali Bluet in North Bay; and 3: find somewhere secluded with decent habitat for car-camping and mothing in the evening.

Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

The deer flies were quite eager to accompany me as personal guides that I neither asked for nor wanted. But I'll take deer flies over black flies or mosquitoes any time! In just a couple of days I would be dealing with all three, so fending off a few pesky deer flies this morning was no trouble at all.

Mountain Deer Fly (Chrysops montanus) - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

Despite the hazy and overcast conditions, the air temperature was high enough and the sun had enough vigour that instigate decent insect activity. I quickly added several odonates to the trip list including Sedge Sprite, Frosted Whiteface and Common Whitetail.

Frosted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia frigida) - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

Sedge Sprite (Nehalennia irene) - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

On a couple of occasions, some splashing from the nearby wetland caused me to look up from the insects nectaring on the boneset and yarrow. First was a family group of Hooded Mergansers eyeing me suspiciously.

Hooded Merganser - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

The other distraction from my insect photography session was caused by a family of North American River Otters! They were rather curious of me and one of them swam a bit closer, grunting and snorting at me. Eventually, their curiosity satisfied, they slunk away and vanished around a bend in the lake.

North American River Otters - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

North American River Otter - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

The drive up to North Bay went well and by early afternoon I passed the village of Powassan. As is tradition, I stopped in at the Powassan lagoons to look for birds and bugs. I have had some success birding here in the past, finding species like Nelson's Sparrow, Brant, American Golden-Plover and Baird's Sandpiper on past visits. You never know what will drop in!

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) - Powassan Lagoons, Parry Sound District

My luck at Powassan continued; this time, it was an Upland Sandpiper flying high overhead and vocalizing regularly. This can be a tricky species to find in migration; most of my records are from July and early August and several of them have been at night. This species has distinctive vocalizations in flight which makes detecting one a bit easier.

Otherwise, the birding at the Powassan lagoons was relatively slow. The water levels in one of the cells was very high, while the other cell had almost no water, so there wasn't much habitat for shorebirds. A few warblers in the spruces to the south included a Tennessee, one of our earlier migrants. But mostly, I photographed bugs and plants.

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) - Powassan Lagoons, Parry Sound District

Cherry-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum internum) - Powassan Lagoons, Parry Sound District

From here, it was on to North Bay and a search for a rare bluet. The Alkali Bluet is a bit of an enigma in Ontario. Though it is a common species out west, there are only a handful of sites in Ontario where it has been recorded. One reason for this is because it doesn't really stand out from the other bluets - the field marks are subtle to say the least. Lake Nipissing seems to have a reasonable population of them, and Sunset Park in North Bay is the site of many of the recent records. Even still, it is not recorded every year, mainly because there are not that many people searching for it.

Tule Bluet (Enallagma carunculatum) - Sunset Park, North Bay, Nipissing District

I was happy to see numbers of bluets flying around the rocky shoreline of Sunset Park, mostly oblivious to the people out enjoying the beautiful afternoon. The bluet in the above photo can be identified as a Tule Bluet, in part due to the relatively high percentage of black on each of the abdominal segments. My quarry, the Alkali, has a little more blue on the some of the anterior and middle segments.

Eventually I found a couple of suspicious bluets that seemed to have the correct ratio of blue to black on the abdominal segments, and I photographed one extensively. After much time spent poring over my field guide, I am reasonably confident that this individual is an Alkali Bluet. Success.

Alkali Bluet (Enallagma clausum) - Sunset Park, North Bay, Nipissing District

I left North Bay behind and continued driving north. Instead of trying to make up a lot of ground, I decided to set up my moth sheets and car camp at a site I've stayed at before, just half an hour north of North Bay. While waiting for sunset, I patrolled the dirt road for insects. The temperature was dropping quickly and not much was flying, but there is always something interesting for a naturalist to find, especially if you don't limit yourself to just birds, for example.

Tricolored Bumble Bee (Bombus ternarius) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

American Branded Skipper (Hesperia colorado) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Other than a few Ebony Jewelwings, there weren't many odonates at all; the cooler temperatures and hazy conditions were not conducive to finding these solar-powered predators. Eventually I noticed a darner cruising low over the road and a quick swing with my net produced the first Canada Darner of the trip. This is probably the most common darner I see in Ontario, but any darner in hand is a good one!

Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

I made myself a quick dinner of a ham, salami, and Swiss cheese wrap along with an apple, and then it was time for the evening's main event.

Mothing at Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

As I had anticipated, the cooler temperatures somewhat limited the diversity of moths and other insects. But that doesn't mean it was a slow night. Out of the 48 species of moths that I tallied, two were lifers and several others were species that I hadn't seen many times before.

Bicolored Moth (Manulea bicolor) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Hologram Moth (Diachrysia balluca) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Hulda impudens - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Scallop Shell Moth (Hydria sp.) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

This was certainly the showiest species of the night, a Great Tiger Moth. I had to move it onto the nearby vegetation for some additional photos.

Great Tiger Moth (Arctic caja) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Great Tiger Moth (Arctia caja) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Often, a moth will appear that stumps me. This is one of them. It is likely in the genus Cenopis, but all of the similar appearing ones are from much further south. Perhaps it is an unusual variant of a common species like Cenopis pettitana.

Cenopis sp. (tentative ID) - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Both of these next insects, a midge and a rove beetle, were new species for me.

Stenochironomus pulchripennis - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

Deleaster dichrous - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

The Moth Of The Night was this rare species called Epinotia corylana. There are just a handful of records on iNaturalist, of which only one was from Ontario. As is typical, the most interesting moths are often the drabbest!

Epinotia corylana - Tilden Lake, Nipissing District

]]><![CDATA[Bugging Out In Northern Ontario, Part 1: Hamilton To Parry Sound]]>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 13:26:47 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/bugging-out-in-northern-ontario-part-1-hamilton-to-parry-soundThere is something about northern Ontario that I can't get enough of. I was born and raised in densely-populated southwestern Ontario where most of our natural areas have been turned into subdivisions, aggregate pits and soybean fields. However, I have always had a longing for wilderness areas, where people are few and far between and where forests, wetlands and wildlife dominate. Fortunately, I can reach places like this with just a "short" eight-hour drive to the north. Yes, most of the vast swaths of trees in central and northern Ontario are semi-regularly logged, and towns and cities still dot the landscape. But by turning off the highway and driving down a logging road one can get away from the sound of traffic, people and the busyness of the world. Not quite wilderness, but good enough for me.

Black Spruce skyline - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

During most of the previous 13 years of my life, my job as an ecologist has brought me to various sites in northern Ontario. I've surveyed islands in the Albany River along the James Bay coast, beautiful prairies and aspen stands in Rainy River District, and endless forests throughout Thunder Bay and Cochrane Districts. I've counted Whip-poor-wills and Blanding's Turtles outside of Sudbury, surveyed for Red Knots along the James Bay coast, and found subarctic plants and butterflies 250 kilometres north of Pickle Lake, which is the furthest north that one can drive on an all-season road in Ontario. In hindsight these have been some of my fondest moments as an ecologist, especially since the din of the mosquitoes and the bites of the blackflies fade in my memory, leaving only the positive recollections.

Arctic Fritillaries (Boloria chariclea) on Hairy Goldenrod (Solidago hispida) - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

In 2025, my work sites were all limited to southern Ontario. I still had an excellent field season but I was missing the north. I hoped that once the field work slowed, an opportunity for a solo car-camping trip to northern Ontario would materialize. There were a couple of butterfly species I needed, plus I was getting into odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) and their diversity is very high along the rivers and spruce bogs of northern Ontario. I itched to do some mothing in a part of the province that I had only surveyed a scant few times before. But mostly, I looked forward to the peace and solitude, with nothing but the open road ahead and countless habitats to explore.

Dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus) - Floodwood River, Cochrane District

I had July 29th in my calendar as the departure date. This would be towards the tail end of the best window for dragonfly hunting, as the first half of July would likely be more productive, but it was the best I could manage with my work schedule. The weather forecast was looking iffy, with some cooler days and overnight lows in the high single digits for part of the trip. But there was little rain in the forecast so I was sure that I would have a chance at most of my insect targets. And so it was, that on the morning of July 29th I packed up my car and began driving north.

Black Spruce wetlands - Fraserdale, Cochrane District

I planned eight full days for this trip which would give me plenty of time to roam around, take my time and check out some new areas for me. And my first planned stop wasn’t even that far from home – it was Puslinch Tract Conservation Area, just northeast of Cambridge. I hoped to find my first Double-striped Bluets or Slender Bluets here with chances for one or two other lifer odonates. The sun baked down on the landscape as I pulled up.

Puslinch Tract Conservation Area, Wellington County

Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

Quickly, I tallied the first few butterflies and odonates of the trip; mostly common species like Wild Indigo Duskywing, Widow Skimmer and Eastern Pondhawk. A Prince Baskettail skimmed over the open pond and Variable Dancers were quite active with many paired up.

Variable Dancers (Argia fumipennis) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

I encountered my first Double-striped Bluets after just a few minutes of searching. First, I found a few lone females in pond-side vegetation, and soon I was watching several couples flying about.

Double-striped Bluet (Enallagma basidens) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

The bluets (genus Enallagma) are a notoriously difficult genus of damselfly to identify. However, this is one of the easiest species to tell apart, as both males and females show an extra pale stripe which divides the black stripe on the sides of the thorax.

Double-striped Bluets (Enallagma basidens) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

I was on the board with another new odonate a few minutes later as I rustled up a couple of Swamp Spreadwings. This is one that I have seen before in Nova Scotia, but it was new for my Ontario list.

Swamp Spreadwing (Lestes vigilax) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

My final target, the Slender Bluet, was a no-show. Perhaps I was a week or so too late. Finding dragonflies and damselflies is all about timing. With many species, the majority of a population will emerge around the same time with numbers dwindling in subsequent days or weeks. If you time it just right you may see hundreds, though if you are late, finding even one can be a challenge.

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

Prior to embarking on this trip, I created an iNaturalist project to collect all of the observations I submitted over the course of my eight days. As such, I was interested in photographing more than just butterflies or odonates, and I took effort to identify as many organisms as possible, whether they leaped, flew, slithered, or grew. Here are a few other odds and ends from Puslinch Tract Conservation Area.

Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

For those interested, here is a link to that iNaturalist project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/josh-vandermeulen-northern-trip-2025. At the time of this writing I have over 700 species documented for the trip, but I still have quite a few photos to edit and upload. I have to say, iNaturalist is the perfect "drug" for those of us afflicted with the addiction of needing to document biodiversity.

Aspen Serpentine Leafminer Moth (Phyllocnistis populiella) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemys pitta marginata) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

Thistle Stem Gall Fly (Urophora cardui) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

Green-striped Grasshopper (Chortophaga viridifasciata) - Puslinch Tract CA, Wellington County

I tallied fifteen species of odonates and nine butterflies in my two hours at Puslinch Tract Conservation Area. And I hit the road, trying to squeeze through the Greater Toronto Area before the traffic got really bad, a difficult proposition these days. I made it through relatively unscathed and soon I was motoring up Highway 400 towards Barrie and beyond.

I planned to visit my friend Jon Pleizier at his cottage just outside of Parry Sound for a few hours. Jon is an avid dragonfly watcher and he promised a couple of potential lifers for me in his yard. Both species are active around sunset, so I killed a few hours by having a drink with Jon and a friend of his who was visiting, and then I went for a wander down his road to see what I could turn up.

Sumac Gall Aphid (Melaphis rhois) on Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) - Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound District

I was not expecting a new species of moth, but there on an Ox-eye Daisy was an Inverness Twitcher. Moths in this family (Choreutidae) are often found nectaring on flowers during the day. My apologies for the bad photo, it is a heavy crop of an iPhone picture.

Inverness Twitcher (Choreutis diana) - Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound District

As the sun slunk lower in the sky, Jon and I hopped in his boat and he took me for a quick tour of the shoreline. It took no time at all to find our first target, the Vesper Bluet.

Vesper Bluet (Enallagma vesperum) - Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound District

These damselflies are not necessarily rare, but they are unusual in that they prefer to be active around dusk and so they are not as frequently detected by naturalists, as most of us are out looking during the middle parts of the day. Jon and I saw quite a few Vesper Bluets resting on emergent vegetation around the shoreline of Horseshoe Lake.

Vesper Bluet (Enallagma vesperum) - Horseshore Lake, Parry Sound District

Soon, the sun was setting and it was time for my other target odonate.

Jon predicted that an Ocellated Darner would begin patrolling the shoreline as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon and that was exactly what happened. I missed with my first swing of the net, but it was back a couple of minutes later and I connected. There is nothing like hearing a dragonfly's wings rustling in the net; the sound of victory!

Ocellated Darner (Boyeria grafiana) - Horseshoe Lake, Parry Sound

After releasing the Ocellated Darner I bid farewell to Jon and his family and continued on my way. He had suggested a potential area where I could set up my moth lights without being bothered by anyone and so I raced off to Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve. The nightly low was 19 degrees Celsius - by far the warmest evening forecasted for the upcoming week - and so I was eager for a good showing of moths.

Red-washed Prominent (Oedemasia semirufescens) - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

Typically, peak mothing season is from mid June to mid July and it was clear that we were past the peak this evening. Though diversity was still pretty good, I only tallied around 60 moth species, while I would have expected double that earlier in July. Still, there were a lot to pick through!

Argyresthia caliphates - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound

Just one of the moths was a new one for me, and it was a flashy one. This is the Linden Bark Borer Moth which is a species introduced from the Old World.

Linden Bark Borer Moth (Chrysoclista linneella) - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

This was an interesting little midge that I didn't think much of at the time. However, since uploading the photo to iNaturalist, an expert has identified it as Dziedzickia sp, which is the first observation of this genus on iNaturalist.

Dziedzickia sp. - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

I stopped to photograph this mushroom at one point during the evening. This is a type of Amanita, though it is difficult to identify to species from just a photo. But it is possible that this is one of the deadly species, often referred to as a Destroying Angel. Definitely not one to fry up with my eggs in the morning!

Amanita sp. - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area, Parry Sound District

And here are a few other photos from the course of the evening. Day 1 of my northern trip was complete, but I still had a full week remaining. I was excited for the possibilities that awaited.

Empoa venusta - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

Hemerobius humulinus - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

Maple Dagger (Acronicta retardata) caterpillar - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

Tylozygus bifidus - Horseshoe Lake Conservation Reserve, Parry Sound District

]]><![CDATA[The Peak Of Spring Birding: Point Pelee Edition]]>Sat, 12 Jul 2025 18:59:55 GMThttps://www.onshorebirding.com/the-blog/the-peak-of-spring-birding-point-pelee-editionOn the evening of April 27, 2025 I pointed my car in the direction of Essex County and made the long drive to the far southwest corner of the province. It was time for another spring session at one of my favourite regions in the country, Point Pelee and Pelee Island.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

In previous springs I have spent anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks in the Point Pelee area between late April and early June. However, with the huge influx of birders visiting Point Pelee each spring with numbers that seem to grow exponentially by the year, it is getting more difficult to find quiet trails and to escape the crowds, so I haven't been visiting as often in recent years. This spring, I aimed to split my time evenly between Point Pelee and the offshore island of Pelee Island.

Cliff Swallow - Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, Essex County

That being said, I still very much enjoy visiting Point Pelee during the Festival Of Birds which runs for about the first three weeks of May. Birding at the Tip is always dynamic and the chance of a rarity landing on the Tip or flying past is always quite high. It is also a fantastic opportunity to catch up with birding friends from all over the province and beyond. It has definitely become more of a social opportunity than anything else!

Rusty Blackbird - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

My friend, Jeremy Bensette is a fellow birding guide who lives just outside of Leamington on the east side of the peninsula. He graciously hosted me for a few days in late April. He had a tour planned for the next day, April 28, and so I was on my own to explore the park. The birding was a little slow (not unexpected for late April) but there were still interesting sightings to be had, including an Eastern Meadowlark at Sparrow Field, a fly-by Red-throated Loon along the West Beach, a Louisiana Waterthrush in Tilden's Woods and an Olive-sided Flycatcher that someone else found early in the morning at Sparrow Field. This was an extraordinary early record of Olive-sided Flycatcher, one of very few April records for Ontario. Olive-sided Flycatchers are long-distance migrants from South America and most arrive in the second half of May.

Olive-sided Flycatcher - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Dominic Cormier had the better part of a week planned at Point Pelee in late April with his partner Melissa. Dom and I have known each other since our University of Guelph days. We don't see each other often, but whenever we do it is as if no time has passed us by. Sometimes we connect in Nova Scotia (where he resides), or occasionally here in Ontario when he is visiting family, and it is always a great time!

His week at Point Pelee coincided with a big push of warm air from the south and a rush of Neotropical migrants arrived about a week ahead of time. And while the park was busy with people, the crowds were a far cry from what they would be once the calendar flipped to May and the Festival Of Birds began. After birding on my own on April 28, I had plans to meet up with Dom and Melissa on April 29.

Black-throated Green WarblerScissor-tailed Flycatcher - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Our first morning was a good one. Arriving at the Tip, one of the first birds we trained our binoculars on was an American Avocet. Two minutes later it took off, never to return. Though American Avocets are a regular rarity at Hillman Marsh in late April, this was the first one I had observed within the confines of the national park. It was a bit distant for photos, especially given the heat haze.

American Avocet - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

I spotted a Willet on the Tip about a minute later. This one stuck around for the better part of the morning.

It was a fantastic morning of late April birding and Dom and I both added numerous species to our April lists (yes, we keep month lists!). One highlight was an Eastern Whip-poor-will that some photographers were watching near Sparrow Field.

Eastern Whip-poor-will - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Some of the other highlights from an excellent morning of birding included a self-found Yellow-breasted Chat in Cactus Field, a White-eyed Vireo in Tilden's Woods, an Eastern Screech-Owl, and many early records of species such as Red-eyed Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Swainson's Thrush and Bobolink. That afternoon, I found a Ruddy Turnstone at Wheatley Harbour, another usual April record and the first one reported in the province this year.

Swainson's Thrush - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

The following day, April 30 was another good one for early records. Jeremy was hosting a White-eyed Vireo in his yard, one of four I would see that day. Dom, Melissa and I met up in the park again and found decent April birds such as Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided and Blackburnian Warblers, while we also found two more White-eyed Vireos and chased a Cerulean Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat. And in the afternoon I went for a walk at Kopegaron Woods with Jeremy Bensette and Chris Gaffan. I heard the distinctive song of yet another White-eyed Vireo and this one came in close for photos.

White-eyed Vireo - Kopegaron Woods, Essex County

Sometimes, one bird is all it takes to transform a non-memorable day of birding into a great one. This sentiment held true on May 1. I birded with Dom and Melissa once again and we had an enjoyable if unremarkable morning of birding. We found a pair of White-eyed Vireos at the Marsh Boardwalk parking lot, while our walk in the north end of the park produced at least five Blue-winged Warblers and a late Pine Warbler. Nice birds, but nothing to write home about. Then the message came through the Discord and WhatsApp alerts - a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher had just been found by my friend Richard Carr at the Tip. Though it wasn't a new Point Pelee bird for me (we had one fly off the tip in May of 2014), it was a nice bird to see anyways, so the three of us took the tram to the Tip to look for it.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (being harassed by a Tree Swallow) - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher cooperated and we enjoyed the rarity along with over 100 other birders. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers typically nest in the south-central United States and Mexico, wintering further south in Central America. Almost every year, one or more individuals are discovered in Ontario, though many times they are one-day-wonders and difficult to chase.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher pandemonium - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

As we were standing around on the Tip, I heard Jeff Skevington (who was standing next to me) declare that one of the gulls in the mixed flock standing on the sand had a pinkish breast. This piqued my interest and I turned to see an adult Franklin's Gull! A bit far for good views and photos, but a nice bird to see at Point Pelee. This was the first of two Franklin's Gull I would see at Point Pelee this spring. On May 7 I found a different one on the Tip, though it only hung around for a minute or so before departing to the northeast.

Franklin's Gull - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Meanwhile, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher worked its way up the west beach where it hunted for insects from low driftwood perches, proving to be quite photogenic in the process.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

After May 1 I only spent a few more days at Point Pelee, instead visiting Pelee Island, Long Point and completing a few guided birding tours elsewhere in southern Ontario. The birding continued to be good on these remaining days at Point Pelee (though without any truly exceptional days), and for some reason I barely took any photos at all, instead preferring to just watch the birds through the binoculars. But there is one more sighting I want to highlight.

I stood on the tip on the morning of May 14 with Dan Riley and a few others when I noticed two small bats flying in off the lake, always a strange sighting during the day. They landed on the southernmost trees, allowing Dan and I (and others present that morning) to photograph them extensively.

Unidentified vesper bat sp. (subfamily Vespertilioninae) - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

We all assumed that these were Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus), a commonly found species in southern Ontario. However, after circulating the photos online, some experts weighed in, expressing opinions that these may be Evening Bats (Nycticeius humeralis), a species typically found further south. There is one published record of Evening Bat in Canada, from Pelee Island in 1911. However, other expects feel that these are likely the expected Big Brown Bat. Unfortunately, without measurements or better views of key field marks that are not visible in these photos, it will likely be impossible to confirm to species. At any rate, it was an interesting discovery and a great exercise in bat identification.

Unidentified vesper bat sp. (subfamily Vespertilioninae) - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

That is all I've got from Point Pelee this spring. My next post will cover my remaining birding adventures in May, mainly at Pelee Island.

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