Very short photo trip today as I had visitors who were more interested in other things (the good old days).  But we managed to get out to see butterflies fluttering, Dragonflies perching and a wild chive blooming on the bank of the Still River.  Here they are:

I had a but of fun with this one, feeding on Mustard, but finally tracked it down in the wonderful, ROM Field Guide to the butterflies of Ontario.  Then I went to the internet so see what it had to say about it.

The HWY 522 Pond did not fail me … yielding this fellow chewing a morsel, over and over again for at least 20 seconds.   Stephen Cresswell’s capture of these guys in flight is amazing.

And the Wild Chives are starting to bloom — this one on the river bank on Old Legion Lane.

Several days of rain are forecast so we’ll see the effects on some wildflowers, especially the Ladyslippers which are starting to bloom now.  Purple ‘slippers in the acidic bogs of the Shield and Boreal and Yellow ones on the basic fields of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island.

The many other wild orchids which we can see over the summer are listed here:   http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/group.php?id=18    Scroll down to the thumbnails of the plants’ photos so you’ll know what to look for on your treks.

This is a good example of Orchidelirium!

Here are some of the beauties we saw the last couple of days:

Wild Lily of the Valley or Canada Mayflower (and many other common names):

Two Striped Grasshopper, a very sexually active beast.

Blueberries are still blooming …

Arctic Skippers are skipping from plant to plant …

So are the Fiery Skippers …( The R.O.M. Field Guide to Butterflies of Ontario says this, “Prior to the early 1990s this was a fairly rare migrant to Ontario, with most records occurring in the fall and restricted to Southwestern Ontario.  Since then it has gradually been extending its range in the province and typically arrives earlier in the season.  In 2012, several localized colonies were observed in Prince Edward County and Ottawa.“)

When I first tried to ID this butterfly I was put off by the various statements that indicated that we were too far north for this critter.  Perhaps it is adapting and/or the winters are getting milder.

The farmers’ and gardeners’ hero(ine) the Ladybug ….

These two images are of Anja’s flowers …

A few days ago I posted an image of these two adults on their nest at Big Lake.  Here they are taking their brood for an outing on the rocks near the pond.

Better image of  Lambskill or Sheepskill Laurel than the previous.   They are not easy to get close to unless the photog uses waders (or Rooper Poots, as my Finnish friends call them).

Whiteface atop a flag …

More mature fleur … Iris versicolor …

and its close cousin … B. E. G.

Chalk fronted Corporal is having a rest ..

I had never seen a Blandings Turtle (Threatened in Ontario) in the water before.  The spots suggested a Spotted Turtle but the yellow chin and size (about a 20 cm carapace) confirmed it as a Blandings.  This one moved quickly from the side of the road to a ditch along Station Roads.

Lupin in a field off of Station Road….

The grey body enveloped by the white fluff is a Wooly aphid, unpopular with gardeners and horticulturists.

And, finally…. a colourful Yellow Pond Lily or Spatterdock  blossom, photographed last evening — just as the sun was going down.

I suspect that springtime is when we see the maximum power of the biodiversity in our natural surroundings.

We left early in the morning, hoping to see some Elk at the abandoned (1974) Burwash Prison Farm.

Neilly Lake in the morning sunlight …

Although the morning air was chilly, there were bugs out and about like this fellow.   You might have to click on the image to enlarge the image to see it.

And various species of Odonata were munching on black flies that they snagged in the air.

These species seemed to be quite common:

I first thought that this is a Spring Azure, but it is not.   What is it?  I had some difficulty getting this one photograph of it.

Nice bit of sunshine on the lichens.

There were lots of cultivars in the old townsite, including this lily of the valley:

The Canadian Tiger Swallowtails were feasting on the abundant lilacs…

This turtle took time out from its busy schedule to get some rays …

Female American Redstart was hiding in a poplar/willow thicket…

This clouded sulphur was hiding in the grass …

On the way back we detoured to the pond on Hwy 522 (between Grundy Lake PP and Pakesley CPR Crossing) where I (again) inspected the water lilies.

This water lily seemed to be shaking but I couldn’t see why.

Until I looked more carefully.

I made a movie of the phenomenon and saw a school of about a dozen minnows in a feeding fenzy.  (Accumulation of a hatch of insects under that lily pad?)

The yellow lilies are starting to bloom …

… attracting contemplaters of their beauty …

… and photographers who like Claude Monet …

Racket-tailed Emerald?

Much easier to find and photograph … starflower:

Golf ball with parachutes …

Now we know the source of the odd ends of our local blueberries …  (see the stages of development of the fruit after pollination?)

When we got home we heard, then saw, this catbird singing up a storm . . .

Listen to its song here:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/id

While we were driving very slowly, idling, along the back roads we were struck with the huge number of dragonflies plucking small insects out of the air and then stopping to masticate while perched on a branch or stalk, usually about a metre or so over the ground.  This appears to be typical behaviour.

I corresponded with an excellent bird photographer recently, Jules Gobeil of Quebec City.  His site is a bit tricky but the photos are extraordinary:

http://julesgobeil.com/photo/pages-divers/galeries/?lang=en

We stopped to listen to the family on Tuesday May 31 and were rewarded by some sneak peeks at beaks:

Mom arrived to a cacophony of eager cheeps:

After mother leaves a little one peers out with one eye…

A little further …

Then a good look outside at a guy with a long lens!

I suspect that this family is close to fledging.    We shall have to monitor the nest closely now.

We saw some interesting variety on our way back from Parry Sound May 30th.  First some Trillium grandiflorum as they gradually fade from their two-week glory.

The pink/purple colours of the fading flowers are quite variable, but very different from our other common trillium, the Trillium erectum.

Starflowers (Trientalis borealis) are starting to bloom in sun-dappled areas now…

This beauty is in a patch of violets growing in an abandoned driveway at Site 9:

This female Common Whitetail was patrolling a piece of woodland above the Shawanaga River at the Hwy 69 bridge.  As the link shows (see the wingtips?) this is a female, not an immature male.

Member of the Iris family, blue-eyed grass is starting to bloom.  Common along sides of rural roads,  Hwy 529 in this case.

Advanced a bit more …

and resplendent in full bloom:

This is the same “unidentified Butterfly/Moth” that I posted a few days ago…

I think that it is some sort of Skipper, maybe a Duskywing.  Its use of this flower’s nectar indicates a Columbine Duskywing.   No sightings have been recorded in this area for over 20 years, though.

While researching the above I came across this Ontario Butterfly Atlas — a website that I’ll spend more some time with … sometime!

We also saw this little beauty flitting along the Hwy 529 roadside:

Fritillary or Pearl Crescent??  Help!

I stopped to make a phone call at the little beach at Big (Gereaux) Lake.   The sand was covered  by a “flock” of Canadian Tiger Swallowtails, having a hard time hanging on in a brisk onshore wind.  It took me a while to see what they were doing.

Yes, they are all taking water up through their proboscis…

A beautiful example of their translucent wings…

Coincidentally, this  morning I got an email from Mary Holland advising of this post:

https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/canadian-tiger-swallowtails-puddling/

(Those emails is one of the advantages of “following” a blog!)

All the gory details:   Mud puddling.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtails do not migrate.  Instead they overwinter in their pupae stage and emerge in May to visit wild cherries and lilacs, amoungst other flowering plants.  One brood per season. Very common in this neck of the woods.