May
As usual May flew by for me and I was able to get out and about on most days. I made it down to Point Pelee for every weekend (and managed to make most of them long weekends). While there weren't any "mega" finds at Point Pelee this spring, it is always fun catching up with friends and birding from before dawn to after dusk each day. Probably the most memorable Pelee bird for me was the Black-billed Magpie that delighted many a birder during the middle part of the month. Spending a weekend there with Laura and my parents was one of the year's highlights for me and is a tradition I hope we can continue for many years.
Locally in Niagara I managed to go birding most days that I was around and it paid off with a few great finds. A male Cerulean Warbler at Morgan's Point was extremely cooperative, singing away at eye-level. Topping that was a male Bell's Vireo, the second record for Niagara, that I found at Port Weller on May 10. It was extremely skulky but eventually I managed to sight the bird and take some record photos. Several others were able to catch up with the bird later that day as well.
Towards the end of the month I focused on searching for a few butterfly species that I had never encountered before. A few hours between work surveys at Sandy Lake Road in Peterborough County was highly productive, with sightings of Brown Elfin, Hoary Elfin, Henry's Elfin and Eastern Pine Elfin.
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| White-eyed Vireo - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Scarlet Tanager - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Raccoon - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Hooded Warbler - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Eastern Gartersnake - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Sedge Wren - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Baltimore Oriole - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Black-billed Magpie - Point Pelee National Park, Essex County |
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| Northern Parula - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Cerulean Warbler - Morgan's Point Conservation Area, Niagara Region |
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| Bell's Vireo - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Eastern Cottontail - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Magnolia Warbler - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Double-crested Cormorants - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Cedar Waxwing - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Eastern Whip-poor-will - Bronte Harbour, Halton Region |
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| Laura with an Eastern Milksnake - near Port Colborne, Niagara Region |
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| Henry's Elfin - Sandy Lake Road, Peterborough County |
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| Brant - Oakville, Halton Region |
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| Clay-colored Sparrow - Short Hills Provincial Park, Niagara Region |
June and July
This year I had no extended work trips to northern Ontario but I was no less busy. I worked most days during the month, criss-crossing the province to complete bird surveys, but I managed to incorporate lots of birding, herping, butterflying, mammaling and even tiger beetling on the side.
The biggest highlight was finally encountering my first Wood Turtles, Northern Dusky Salamanders and Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamanders with a friend, which completed my Ontario reptile and amphibian list. It had been a long time coming and had been a goal of mine for many years.
Butterflies in particular also became a priority of mine during the year. June and July were quite successful in that regard as I saw a number of species for the first time - Chryxus and Macoun's Arctic, Columbine Duskywing, Aphrodite Fritillary, Mulberry Wing, Black Dash and Striped Hairstreak.
For the most part birding took a backseat for me during the summer, other than the surveys for work, of course. I twitched a Snowy Egret in Fort Erie, found a Great Gray Owl on a study site near North Bay, and enjoyed the boreal species during a brief trip to Kenora.
As the summer progressed I really began taking an interest in botany as well. I have a long way to go before I consider myself a competent botanist but I made good headway in 2018 and am excited to continue this in 2019.
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| Wood Turtle - Ontario |
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| Wood Turtle - Ontario |
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| Northern Dusky Salamander - Niagara River, Niagara Region |
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| Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander - Niagara River, Niagara Region |
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| Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander - Niagara River, Niagara Region |
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| Northern Dusky Salamander - Niagara River, Niagara Region |
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| Oblique-lined Tiger Beetle - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District |
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| Arctic Skipper - Scanlon Creek Conservation Area, Simcoe County |
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| Chryxus Arctic - near North Bay, Nipissing District |
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| Northern Two-lined Salamander - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District |
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| Mink Frog - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District |
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| Twin-spotted Spiketail - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District |
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| Macoun's Arctic - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District |
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| American Bittern - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing Park |
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| Marsh Blue Violet - Algonquin Provincial Park, Nipissing District |
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| Eastern Milksnake - Muskoka District |
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| Indian Skipper - Muskoka District |
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| Eastern Red-backed Salamander - Queenston, Niagara Region |
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| Mink Frog - Luther Marsh, Dufferin County |
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| Watermilfoil Leafcutter Moth - Luther Marsh, Dufferin County |
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| Snowy Egret - Fort Erie, Niagara Region |
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| Blue-fronted Dancer - Mohawk Lake, Brantford, Brant County |
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| American Goldfinch - Scanlon Creek Conservation Area, Simcoe County |
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| Grasshopper Sparrow - Brechin, Simcoe County |
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| Columbine Duskywing - Brechin, Simcoe County |
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| Halloween Pennant - Brechin, Simcoe County |
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| Aphrodite Fritillary - Brechin, Simcoe County |
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| Goldenrod Crab Spider - Brechin, Simcoe County |
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| Eastern Kingbird - Brechin, Simcoe County |
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| Baltimore Checkerspot - Turner Tract, Halton Region |
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| Mulberry Wing - Fletcher Creek Ecological Preserve, Wellington County |
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| Striped Hairstreak - Wainfleet Bog, Niagara Region |
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| Eremnophila aureonotata - Norfolk County |
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| Smooth Greensnake - Norfolk County |
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| Spoon-leaved Sundew - North Bay, Nipissing District |
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| Monarch - North Bay, Nipissing District |
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| Silver-bordered Fritillary - North Bay, Nipissing District |
August
August was an exciting month in the Ontario birding community with several rarities out and about. The ones I chased included a Little Blue Heron in Oxford County, several Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, a cooperative adult Long-tailed Jaeger at Confederation Park in Hamilton, a Swallow-tailed Kite in Simcoe County, and the province's first ever Reddish Egret in Oliphant, Bruce County - a great find by Alfred Raab and Kiah Jasper.
Other highlights during the month included an excellent weekend at the Bruce Peninsula and Muskoka District with several friends, a few family camping weekends at Port Burwell and Turkey Point, and regular forays to Port Weller and other places in my "local patch".
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| Long-tailed Jaeger - Confederation Park, City of Hamilton |
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| Reddish Egret - Oliphant, Bruce County |
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| Swallow-tailed Kite - near Wasaga Beach, Simcoe County |
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| Brewer's Blackbird - Edenhurst, Bruce County |
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| Shrubby Cinquefoil - Bruce County |
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| Dorcas Copper - Bruce County |
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| Horned Bladderwort - Bruce County |
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| Smooth Greensnake - Muskoka District |
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| Eastern Chipmunk - Muskoka District |
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| Incurvate Emerald - Muskoka District |
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| Eastern Gartersnake consuming American Toad - Muskoka District |
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| Achemon Sphinx Moth - Port Burwell Provincial Park, Elgin County |
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| Neotibicen sp. - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Yellow Garden Spider - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Great Blue Heron - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| American Mink - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Ruddy Turnstone - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus - Morgan's Point Conservation Area, Niagara Region |
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| Eastern Milksnake - Wainfleet, Niagara Region |
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| Harvester - Port Weller, Niagara Region |
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| Orange Mint Moth - Short Hills Provincial Park, Niagara Region |
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| Viceroy - Short Hills Provincial Park, Niagara Region |
The final four months of the year will be summarized in Part 3.
