2025 (Part 3)

September 

On the first of the month I discovered a Striped Saddlebags that was cruising around the tip of Point Pelee National Park. This southern vagrant doesn't appear in the province every year and it was a new Ontario dragonfly for myself. Dragonflies remained a focus for the rest of the month. Though the peak of dragonfly season is from late June to early August, several species fly later in the season. I targeted a few of them and added Elusive Clubtail and Green-striped Darner to my life list. 

Laura and I enjoyed a wonderful anniversary weekend to Prince Edward County and Presqu'ile Provincial Park, filled with a heavy dose of naturalizing, of course! Other highlights from the month included an excellent mothing session at St. William's Forestry Reserve in Norfolk County and a few days well-spent exploring the biodiversity of Sudden Tract in Waterloo Region, one of my favourite places in Ontario. I am now up over 1,700 species documented here and should pass the 2,000 mark next year, if things go to plan. 

At the end of the month Laura and I flew east to Nova Scotia to spend a week with family. The weather was gorgeous and we managed to fit in quite a bit of hiking and exploring. 

Striped Saddlebags (Tramea darwini) - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Spotted Sandpiper - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Umbrella Flatsedge (Cyperus diandrus) - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County

Lixus rubellus - Sydenham River, Lambton County

Elusive Clubtail (Stylurus notatus) - Thames River, Chatham-Kent

Tufted Thyatirine Moth (Pseudothatira cymatophoroides) - St. Williams Conservation Reserve, Norfolk County

Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) - St. Williams Conservation Reserve, Norfolk County

Broad-winged Tree Cricket (Oecanthus latipennis) - St. Williams Conservation Reserve, Norfolk County

Otiocerus wolfii - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Wood Frog - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Green-striped Darner (Aeshna verticalis) - Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Northumberland County

Blackburnian Warbler - Prince Edward Point, Prince Edward County

Black-billed Cuckoo - Prince Edward Point, Prince Edward County

Labena grallator - Point Petre, Prince Edward County

Sanderling - Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Northumberland County

Pandorus Sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus) - Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Northumberland County

Hudsonian Whimbrel - Confederation Park, Hamilton

Physocephala marginata - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Broad-winged Hawk - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

American Golden-Plover - Van Wagner's Beach, Hamilton

Mink Frog - Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia

Tide-pooling at Burntcoat Provincial Park, Nova Scotia

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Moore Lake, Nova Scotia

Mottled Darner (Aeshna clepsydra) - Moore Lake, Nova Scotia

Chestnut-sided Warbler - Hartlen Point, Nova Scotia

Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita) - Pentz Lake, Hants, Nova Scotia

Common Snapping Turtle - Hants, Nova Scotia

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) - Tommy Thompson Park, Toronto

Hudsonian Godwits - Turkey Point, Norfolk County

Greater Yellowlegs - Turkey Point, Norfolk County

October 

For the first half of October I was based at home in Hamilton, and I tried to take advantage of the beautiful weather that is typical of this time of year. I had several productive mothing outings, stayed busy with some bonus fieldwork that came my way, and chased a couple of birds including a Ross's Goose that my friend Brett Fried found in Waterloo Region. 

With Laura's work schedule, her shifts are concentrated in certain weeks meaning that she has blocks of time without any shifts. We took advantage of that in October and, along with our good friend Daniel Riley, headed to the Dominican Republic for one week of herping, birding, mothing and botanizing. Visiting the Caribbean during the hurricane season is always a risky proposition; indeed, Hurricane Melissa formed south of us while we were partway through the trip, forcing us to change our plans. Even with the hurricane disruption, we were fortunate in that we weren't really affected, other than having to make a few itinerary changes. And though we missed two of the endemic birds (Golden Swallow and White-fronted Quail-Dove) because of the weather, the wet conditions meant that the herping was excellent.

In the Dominican Republic, one of the more common bird species is the Gray Kingbird. It just so happened that Paul Pratt found a Gray Kingbird back home in Ontario. Dan and I were making plans to chase this bird upon our return to the province, even while we were surrounded by numerous Gray Kingbirds on a wire. Funny the difference that a location makes! Luckily for us, the Gray Kingbird stuck around long enough and we were both able to see it the day after arriving back in Toronto. 

Black Bee Fly (Anthrax analis) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Hammock Spider (Pityohyphantes costatus) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Ross's Goose - New Hamburg, Waterloo Region

Burdock Stem Borer Moth (Papaipema cataphracta) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Turtlehead Borer Moth (Papaipema nepheleptena) - Sudden Tract, Waterloo Region

Ashy-faced Owls - Caño Hondo, Dominican Republic

Eulepidotis hebe - Caño Hondo, Dominican Republic

Gonatista major - Caño Hondo, Dominican Republic

Atteva siderea - Caño Hondo, Dominican Republic

West Indian Whistling-Duck - Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, Dominican Republic

Bark Anole (Anolis distichus) - Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, Dominican Republic

Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) - Camino de la Hoz, Dominican Republic

Narrow-billed Tody - Camino de la Hoz, Dominican Republic

Cope's Antilles Snake (Hypsirhynchus parvifrons) - Rabo de Gato, Dominican Republic

Ethmia abraxasella - Villa Barrancoli Ecolodge, Dominican Republic

Hieroglyphic Moth (Diphthera festiva) - Villa Barrancoli Ecolodge, Dominican Republic

Bay-breasted Cuckoo - Naranjos, Dominican Republic

Hispaniolan Nightjar - Zapotén, Dominican Republic

Hispaniolan Ground Iguana (Cyclura ricordii) - Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic

Haitian Dwarf Boa (Tropidophis haetianus) - Rabo de Gato, Dominican Republic

Hispaniolan Boa (Chilabothrus striatus) - Rabo de Gato, Dominican Republic

Synclera jarbusalis - Villa Barrancoli Ecolodge, Dominican Republic

Eunomia colombina - Villa Barrancoli Ecolodge, Dominican Republic

Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura cornuta) - Salinas de Baní, Dominican Republic

Greater Antillean Bullfinch - Salinas de Baní, Dominican Republic

Clapper Rail - Salinas de Baní, Dominican Republic

Calisto grannus - Constanza area, Dominican Republic

Hispaniolan Common Tree Frog (Osteopilus dominicensis)

Pointed Snake (Uromacer oxyrhynchus) - Dominicus, Dominican Republic

Village Weaver - Dominicus, Dominican Republic

Scaly-breasted Munia - Dominicus, Dominican Republic

Smooth-billed Anis - Dominicus, Dominican Republic

Gray Kingbird - St. Clair NWA, Chatham-Kent

November 

In early November I had the opportunity to lead a trip to The Gambia for Quest Nature Tours. It was my first time in west Africa  and it was absolutely incredible. The bird diversity was high and we succeeded with many reptiles and mammals as well. Some personal highlights from this trip included a photoshoot with Egyptian Plovers, coming across many of the Sahel bird species including Northern Anteater-Chat, Sahel Paradise-Whydah, Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle and Gosling's Bunting, observing the antics of Guinea Baboons (as well as finding other west African primates like Green Vervet Monkey and Western Red Colobus), seeing a West African Banded Cobra, and spending quality time with various bird families that I had never seen before (the turacos were as awesome as I thought they would be!). I also reached a major birding milestone - the Goliath Heron we found on November 7 was the 5,000th bird species on my life list. I'm already looking forward to my next Quest tour to The Gambia which is likely to be scheduled in November 2027. 

I returned to Canada for the second half of the month and managed to get out birding on a few occasions. Jude Szabo and I had a productive day at Rondeau on November 21, finding a White-eyed Vireo, Nelson's Sparrow and Long-billed Dowitcher, as well as seeing the Eastern Warbling Vireo that Blake Mann had found the day before (one of the latest records of this species in Ontario). I also found a Bohemian Waxwing in Toronto and chased a few species such as a Townsend's Warbler in Mississauga and White-eyed Vireo in Hamilton. 

Red-cheeked Cordonbleu - Brufut Woods, The Gambia

Northern Puffback - Brufut Woods, The Gambia

Rainbow Agama (Agama agama) - Brufut Woods, The Gambia

Yellow-billed Kite - Fajara, The Gambia

Northern Red Bishop - Farasuto Forest, The Gambia

Dark Chanting Goshawk - Farasuto Forest, The Gambia

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus) - Farasuto Forest, The Gambia

Atlantic Mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus) - Tendaba Camp, The Gambia

Double-spurred Spurfowl - Tendaba mangroves, The Gambia

Mouse-brown Sunbirds - Tendaba mangroves, The Gambia

Green Vervet Monkey - Tendaba mangroves, The Gambia

White-throated Bee-eaters - Tendaba mangroves, The Gambia

Reed Cormorant - Tendaba mangroves, The Gambia

African Sacred Ibis - Tendaba mangroves, The Gambia

Hamerkop - Soma saltmarshes, The Gambia

Scarlet-chested Sunbird - Kundang area, The Gambia

Beautiful Sunbird - Kundang area, The Gambia

African Green Bee-eater - Kundang area, The Gambia

Pearl-spotted Owlet - Kundang area, The Gambia

Yellow-bearded Greenbul - Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Red-billed Firefinch - Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Palm-nut Vulture - west of Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Gray Kestrel - west of Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Western Red Colobus - west of Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Rüppell's Griffon - west of Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Western Chimpanzee - west of Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Yellow-crowned Gonolek - Janjanbureh, The Gambia

Red-throated Bee-eaters - Wassu Quarry, The Gambia

Red-throated Bee-eater - Wassu Quarry, The Gambia

Egyptian Plovers - Njauri Reservoir, The Gambia

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl - Njauri Reservoir, The Gambia

Greater Blue-eared Starling - Kauur, The Gambia

Philotheria descellei - Morgan Kunda Lodge, The Gambia

Oplerclanis boisduvali - Morgan Kunda Lodge, The Gambia

Sagittalata sp. - Morgan Kunda Lodge, The Gambia

Earias cupreoviridis - Morgan Kunda Lodge, The Gambia

Northern Anteater-Chat - No-Kunda area, The Gambia

Black-headed Lapwing - Konti Kunda area, The Gambia

Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus) - Mandina Lodge, The Gambia

Elegant Acraea (Rubraea egina) - Mandina Lodge, The Gambia

Gray-headed Bristlebill - Makasuto Forest, The Gambia

Guinea Turaco - Makasuto Forest, The Gambia

Senegambian Wall Gecko (Tarentola senegambiae) - Mandina Lodge, The Gambia

Orange-cheeked Waxbills - Mandina Salaam, The Gambia

White-fronted Plover - Kartong Beach, The Gambia

Goliath Heron - northwestern Senegal near The Gambia border

West African, Sandwich, and Caspian Terns - northwestern Senegal near The Gambia border

Gray-hooded Gull - Tanji Beach, The Gambia

African Caper (Belenois creona) - Brufut Woods, The Gambia

Long-tailed Nightjar - Brufut Woods, The Gambia

Guinea Baboon - Makasuto Forest, The Gambia

Guinea Baboons - Makasuto Forest, The Gambia

Rufous Hummingbird - Stoney Creek, Hamilton

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

Eastern Warbling Vireo - Rondeau Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent

Western Cattle-Egret - Keith McLean Conservation Area, Chatham-Kent

Bohemian Waxwing - Rouge Urban National Park, City of Toronto

White-eyed Vireo - Confederation Park, Hamilton

Townsend's Warbler - Mississauga, Peel Region

December

I probably took fewer photos in December than any other month of the year, simply because I didn't get out as much due to the wintery weather and work commitments. The month's highlight came on December 15. Jude Szabo and I teamed up once again, this time to drive to Niagara Falls to search for a Glaucous-winged Gull that was found by Tom Kerr on the New York side of the river. This was a species that I had missed in Ontario previously since Laura and I were out of the country every time that one was around. Jude and I got very lucky as we found the Glaucous-winged on a breakwall quite close to us, and very clearly on the Ontario side of the river. This was the third species I added to my Ontario list in 2025, along with Spotted Redshank and Gray Kingbird.

Other highlights from the month included chasing a Summer Tanager in Cambridge, a Virginia Rail in North Dumfries, an Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler in Oakville, and a Dickcissel in Brant County. As I write this, I am currently sitting next to a frozen lake in Hants County, Nova Scotia with family. The Evening Grosbeaks are occasionally coming to the feeders; a treat to see on a cold winter's day. 

Summer Tanager - Cambridge, Waterloo Region

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

Dickcissel (on right) - Harrisburg, Brant County

Wishing everyone health and happiness in 2026!