Explorations of an Ecologist: 2024 (Part 2 of 2)

June and July

I always sound like a broken record each year when discussing June and July. I was fortunate to have a lot of field work in 2024 which kept me occupied for most of these two months. But it's one of the best jobs in the world as I spend each and every day outside, surveying for birds, snakes and other wildlife.

One of my job sites was in the Blue Mountains and Laura joined me for a weekend in Collingwood; we had fun visiting the Thornbury cidery and swinging up to Wasaga Beach so that Laura could see her lifer Piping Plovers. I only managed one mothing sessions in June - late night mothing and early morning bird surveys do not go well together.

My streak of 57 consecutive days of work came to an end in mid July, and we celebrated by spending a relaxing weekend with some friends who live on a lake near Gatineau, Quebec. I set up my moth traps and had a blast sorting through the various species, some of which I don't see where I live in southern Ontario.

My work schedule remained fairly busy throughout the rest of July but I spent as much time as possible exploring on my own as well. One highlight was discovering a hybrid Viceroy x Red-spotted Admiral, a rare combo that isn't reported very often.

European Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Pawpaw Sphinx (Dolba hyloeus)

Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda)

Piping Plover chicks

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Nais Tiger Moth (Apantesis nais)

Reticulated Decantha Moth (Decantha boreasella)

Cenopis ferreana

Elasmostethus cruciatus

Two-banded Catoptria Moth (Catoptria latiradiellus)

Common Loon on a nest

Virgin Tiger Moth (Apantesis virgo)

Red-humped Caterpillar Moth (Oedemasia concinna)

Orange Bluet (Enallagma signatum)

Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia)

Dusky Dancer (Argia translata)

Otiocerus wolfii

Anotia uhleri

Harris's Three-spot (Harrisimemna trisignata)

Red-spotted Admiral (Limenitis arthemis) x Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

August

Laura and I flew to Nova Scotia for a quick trip at the beginning of the month to see her family. I love visiting Nova Scotia; the ratio of trees to people is much more acceptable there than in southern Ontario. My recent interest in dragonflies and damselflies spurred me to search for a few new species here including Martha's Pennant, while I also discovered a new population of Little Bluet. Laura and I also spent a few evenings at the moth traps which was very productive.

During the middle of the month I headed down to Chatham-Kent and Essex counties in far southwestern area to search for some localized dragonfly and damselfly species. Even though I found most of the species I was after, that wasn't the trip's highlight! It would have to be a leaf-mining moth that I found which is the first record of that species in Canada. I also found a new milkweed species for Ojibway Prairie (Green Comet Milkweed) and had a lot of fun searching for unusual plants and insects in the deep south of Canada.

Later in August, I headed north for a week-long solo road trip to far northern Ontario which included nights in Fraserdale and along the Detour Mine Road. There is almost nothing I love doing more than exploring remote corners of northern Ontario on my own. Though I was too late in the year for most of the dragonflies I was hoping to see, the trip was good for the soul. I also connected with a new butterfly for my list (Hoary Comma), spent hours tromping through beautiful bogs and fens, had a few productive mothing sessions and enjoyed quality time with American Three-toed Woodpeckers, Boreal Chickadees and other residents of the boreal forest.

American Black Duck

Olethreutes melanomesum

Great Blue Heron

Nelson's Sparrow

Draeculacephala robinsoni (blue morph)

Praeclara Underwing (Catocala praeclara)

Bald-faced Hornet Fly (Spilomyia fusca)

Wetland in Mount Uniacke, Nova Scotia

Martha's Pennant (Celithemis martha)

Little Bluet (Enallagma minusculum)

Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth (Hypoprepia miniata)

Lettered Habrosyne Moth (Habrosyne scripta)

Flag-tailed Spinyleg (Dromogomphus spoliatus)

Stream Bluets (Enallagma exsulans)

Smoky Rubyspot (Hetaerina titia)

Anarsioses aberrans leaf mine, a new species for Canada

Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)

Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora)

Great Spreadwing (Archilestes grandis)

Zabulon Skipper (Lon zabulon)

Marbled Godwit

Neotropic (left) and Double-crested Cormorants

Green Heron

Red-necked Phalarope

American Kestrel

Black Spruce skyline in Fraserdale, Cochrane District, Ontario

Gazoryctra hyperboreus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Red-eyed Vireo

Semirelict Underwing (Catocala semirelicta)

Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis)

Subarctic Darner (Aeshna subarctica)

Orange-humped Mapleworm Moth (Symmerista leucitys)

September

Laura and I traveled to southeastern Arizona with good friends Dan Riley and Nikk Huculiak in early September. Despite being limited to 5.5 days, it was a fantastic trip! We found 7 rattlesnake species along with tons of other interesting herps, birds, moths and more.

Upon returning to Ontario, my September was pretty open work-wise and I went on a few overnight trips to locations in southwestern Ontario, including a few days at Point Pelee to twitch a rare butterfly, the Southern Dogface. I also spent a night mothing and searching for rare leaf-mining moths in Norfolk County. There are often a few rare birds kicking around at this time of year and I successfully chased a few of them, including a Marbled Godwit at Bellwood Lake, a Glossy Ibis in Cambridge and a Cinnamon Teal in Grimsby.

Regal Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma solare)

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Five-striped Sparrow

Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

Chrysoecia atrolinea on Equisetum hyemale

Canyon Wren

Gambel's Quail

Western Screech-Owl

Chihuahuan Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis knoblochi)

Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

Lucifer Hummingbird

Couch's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii)

Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)

Black-throated Sparrow

Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei)

Mexican Spotted Owl

Lythrodes radiatus

Loxostege albiceralis

Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis splendida)

Laura and I in Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)

Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)

Tiger Rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris)

Marsh Wren

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia)

Large Tolype Moth (Tolype velleda)

White-throated Sparrow

October

In early October, Laura and I traveled to Sabah, Malaysia which is located on the island of Borneo, as I was leading a trip for Quest Nature Tours. It was Laura's first time on the island and many of the species we found were new to her. This is one of my favourite tours that I lead and it was extra special to share so many incredible moments with Laura. We also spent a few days before and after the tour to do our own explorations in Sabah. We visited hides for two rare pheasants - the Bulwer's Pheasant and Bornean Peacock-Pheasant - while we also experienced the best mothing of our lives at the Trus Madi Entomology Camp. On our way home, we had a long layover in Seoul, South Korea and got out of the airport for some very productive birding in a new corner of the world for us.

Blue-eared Kingfisher

Bornean Mountain Ground-Squirrel (Sundasciurus everetti)

Mocquard's Eyebrow Lizard (Pelturagonia cephalum)

Yellow-breasted Warbler

Odontolabus sommeri

Long-tailed Semi-slug (Ibycus rachelae)

Black-sided Flowerpecker

Whitehead's Spiderhunter

Laura and I at Kinabalu Park

Whitehead's Trogon

Wallace's Hawk-Eagle

Horse-tailed Squirrel (Sundasciurus hippurus)

Horsfield's Tarsier (Cephalopachus bancanus)

Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus)

Storm's Stork

Stork-billed Kingfisher and Glyphodes sp.

Southern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina)

Quest Nature Tours: Borneo 2024 Group

Striped Wren-Babbler

Moonrat (Echinosorex gymnurus)

Sunda Leopard Cat (Prionailurus javanensis)

Bornean Pygmy Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis)

Blunthead Slug Snake (Aplopeltura boa)

Sumatra Pit Viper (Trimeresurus sumatranus)

Bornean Forest Dragon (Gonocephalus bornensis)

Lyssa menoetius

Black-and-yellow Broadbill

Oriental Whipsnake (Ahaetulla prasina)

Common Mock Viper (Psammodynastes pulverulentus)

Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)

Red-tailed Green Ratsnake (Gonyosoma oxycephalum)

Bulwer's Pheasant

Dayak Blue Flycatcher

Crimson-headed Partridge

Black-throated Wren-Babbler

Orange-headed Thrush

Sinna calospila

Xylocopa tumida

Barsine lucibilis

Sunrise at Trus Madi Entomology Camp

Oriental Whipsnake (Ahaetulla prasina)

Malayan Night Heron

Bornean Peacock-Pheasant

Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher

Red-bearded Bee-eater

Fruit-hunter

Pale-faced Bulbul

Bornean Forktail

Orange-backed Woodpecker

Yellow-billed Grosbeak

Vinous-throated Parrotbill

November and December

I am not going to lie, I had a hard time finding any motivation at all to go exploring in Ontario after returning home from Borneo, and so my photo highlights for these months are much reduced compared to previous months. It was nice to have some quiet time at home and work away at various projects, while also catch up with friends and family.

A few moments do stand out, such as the photoshoots I had with Cave Swallows in Toronto, with a Cattle Egret in Haldimand County, and with Purple Sandpipers at Rock Point Provincial Park. I added a few birds to my Ontario "winter list" including Red Phalarope, Black-and-white Warbler and American Redstart. In mid-December I visited Jeremy Bensette in Leamington and we had a very productive couple of days of birding, finding Northern Saw-whet, Short-eared and Long-eared Owls, and a surprise adult Black-legged Kittiwake at Wheatley Harbour.

On Christmas Day Laura had to work and so I had a very quiet Christmas on my own. An afternoon walk in search of owls did not turn up any, but I discovered a bright Pine Warbler at a local park which helped brighten the day. And as I write this now, I am in Nova Scotia visiting family and getting ready to ring in the New Year.

Thanks to everyone who has followed the blog over the year; I hope you all got something out of it. Wishing everyone health and happiness in 2025!