Great Weekend on the Island

I was on Pelee Island this past weekend with a bunch of co-workers and had a great time as per usual (we've been going every May for a few years now).  I didn't tally any bird lists but needless to say my year count certainly got a boost.

Lighthouse Point yielded a good assortment of warblers including this Black-throated Blue.

Plenty of Red Admiral across the island.

As well as my first American Lady of the year.

 

The similar Painted Lady which lacks the blue centers in the spots on the hindwing and has 'sharper' forewings.

 

Herping yielded some good results including this Dekay's Brown

 A camera-shy Blue-spotted Salamander.  The rare Small-mouthed Salamander is also present on the island and somewhat resembles the Blue-spotted but has a stout head and slight differences in colouration.

Walking along the rocky shoreline I was happy to come across this big ole Foxsnake.

 

 

While unsuccessfully trying to find an access point to the Verbeek Savanna (in search of Yellow Corydalis and generally wanting to see the site which I've read about), I did spot this Lake Erie Watersnake.

 

 

Squatting my way through some Prickly Ash thickets at Stone Road Alvar I got a close up with this melanistic Eastern Gartersnake.

 

A tonne of Painted Turtles were out basking at Lighthouse Point.  No Blanding's for the weekend (although co-workers did find some).  Alyssa may have spotted a Snapping Turtle but I spotted a Margaret Atwood at Fish Point for the win.

 

Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata) flowers along the beach.

Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) is pretty common on the island and added a dash of tennis ball green to the forest edges and alvars.

I all but gave up on photographing the jittery warblers with my point and shoot...by the time I'd zoomed in or focused I often found myself looking at an empty branch.  Northern Mockingbird unobstructed and content to peck at the ground on the beach, I got this.

This House Wren had a nice spot picked out; we heard/saw it within 20m of this tree on all 3 days.

 

Palm Warbler

The green lores (patches extending from beak to eye) of this Great Egret show up each year during the breeding period.

Soooo many Tree Swallows!

As well as a few bird houses chock full of Purple Martins.

A Veery waiting for me in the parking lot at Lighthouse Point.

Alum-root (Heuchera americana), a rare species found throughout Stone Road Alvar.

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) in the early stages of sending up a flowering stalk.

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) contrasts the lush herbaceous greenery in savannas, woodlands and thickets on the island.

Downy Juneberry (Amelanchier arborea) blooms were quite active with bees, flies and the occasional butterfly. 

Although maybe not as busy as this Wild Crabapple (Malus coronaria), wow!

 

Violets and strawberries comprise most of the blooms in the open habitats at this time of the year.

The rare Miami Mist (Phacelia purshii) not yet in bloom.  This species carpeted some areas of the Smokies in white during my trip a few weeks back.

A large patch of Northern Bedstraw (Galium boreale) in an area of open alvar.

One of my favourite spots, off the beaten track is a glade comprised of Big Blustem (Andropogon gerardii), Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata), Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginica) and a few hundred of the plant below, White Camas (Anticlea elegans), otherwise known as Death Camas.

That's a nice alvar.

Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense) is starting to sprout up.

Rock Sandwort (Sabulina michauxii) can be found in some of the gravelly limestone pavements.

 As with many plants on the island, Florida Lettuce (Lactuca floridana) is vulnerable in Essex County.  The deeply lobed leaves help distinguish it from other species of the genus in Ontario.

Scratch-and-sniff, here are the early leaves of Yellow Hyssop (Agastache nepetoides).  The tall forked seed heads from the previous can often be seen at a distance.

Purple Cress (Cardamine douglassii)

I am fairly certain this is Sartwell's Sedge (Carex sartwellii) which grew in abundance at the edge of Stone Road in the shallow pooled water over limestone.

Tonnes of it in bloom, I turned my hiking boots a shade of yellow throughout the day from all the pollen.

 Virginina Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica).

While the Dutchman's Breeches at Fish Point have passed their prime, the White Trillium (Trillium granndiflorum) and Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) were still pretty spectacular over the weekend.