Botany, Birds and Bikes on Pelee Island

Last weekend I joined my co-workers for a trip to Pelee Island.  Nathan posted some great pictures on his blog.  With bikes, bins and botany books packed up we ferried across on Friday for a 2 night stay.

I find it hard not to flip the odd cover object.  This Eastern Foxsnake (thanks for pointing that out Reuven) was actually the only SAR herp I saw all weekend, but then again my effort in that department was lacking in favour of birding and checking out some new (to me) botanical spots.

Wild Phlox (Phlox divaricata) is an awesome sight at this time of year.  I just purchased a pot of it from Nith River Native Plants in hopes of getting a patch going in my backyard.  All of the other species/varieties of Phlox in Ontario are rare or exotic.  That said, I generally associate this species with somewhat decent habitats. 

Another wildflower that creates sprawling colonies is False Mermaid (Floerkea proserpinacoides).  Not very showy at all; there are about 9 flowers in this photo, and although they are all facing away from the camera, you'd hardly notice them if they were front and centre.

An obligate Dutchman's Breeches shot.  This was off of a trail at Browns Road, but Fish Point takes the prize for the sheer spectacle of thousands upon thousands of plants.

Wooly Blue Violet (Viola sororia).  They may be a dime a dozen but they are great pollinator plants early in the season.

 Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) blooms in what I would describe as a Hop-tree thicket off of Harris Garno Road.

The Saturday morning crew at the tip.  A bit of a slow morning, we sure saw alot of Baltimore Orioles (and a few American White Pelicans on Middle Island).

The leaves of the rare Miami Mist (Phacelia purshii) at the Stone Road Alvar.

 Low Juneberry (Amelanchier spicata) grows about 2m high on the thin alvar soils.

 The similarly striking white flowers of Common Plum (Prunus domestica) growing on the side of the Stone Road.

Small clumps of Long-hairy Chickweed (Cerastium velutinum), an S2-ranked species that was new to me that weekend.

Giant Chickweed (Myosoton aquaticum) is a native of Eurasia.  It can be found in wet meadows

 
The basal leaves give Kidney-leaved Buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus) it's name.

An opening full of White Camas (Zigadenus elegans) had a couple of Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense) seed pods containing golden seeds.

The jury is out on this sedge, I have a feeling it is Mead's Sedge (Carex meadii), another S2 species, but this species is quite hard to distinguish from Rigid Sedge (Carex tetanica).  There are records of Mead's from the alvar, so maybe a trip at a later time will shed some light on this.

Record shot of Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) in it's most earliest stage of development - close inspection of the thin, grass-like leaves and the remains of last years' plant offer some hints for ID.

Paging through Mary Celestino's  book Wildflowers of the Canadian Erie Islands on the ferry ride over, Andrew wanted to see Parlin's Pussytoes (Antennaria parlinii).  Bam!

A few butterflies were out, including this Clouded Sulphur and a good number of Red Admirals passing through.

My co-worker Christy pointed out this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, seems a bit early to me!

 The Bald Eagle nest in the central part of the island is now hoe to owlets but there were still a few Bald Eagles to be found, this one at Middle Point.

There's a Blue-headed Vireo in there.  I enjoyed putting my new binoculars to the test, a solid investment for years of fun.

Wild Licorice (Galium circaezans) along the edge of the trail on the NCC Ivey Property.

Cleavers (Galium aparine) is a pesky relative of Wild Licorice, often found attached to clothing with it's sharp barbs.

Braving some gusty winds, Alyssa and I did some exploring and came upon a massive swath of Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides).  The couple populations I know of in Waterloo Region are maybe 2x2m, this area was in the range of 50x50m, intermixed with Phlox, May-apple and Short's Aster.

 Neat things to be found at the edges of pavements include Flat-stemmed Spikerush (Eleocharis compressa).  We looked high and low for Cliff Conobea (Leucospora multifida) with no luck, I'm guessing early May is not the time for it.  For another time!

Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata) with it's sharp, 4-sided branches.

The pollen-carrying stamens of Early Meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioicum) hang down like tiny chandeliers.

 The seed head and early leaves of presumably Catnip Giant Hyssop (Agastache nepetoides).

A tiny Twice-stabbed Lady Beetle (Chilochoris stigma) crawling up a shrub.  So much to see on Pelee Island!