Yesterday afternoon, London had a fierce thunderstorms with hail and torrential rain. By evening, the storm had moved on and the skies had cleared.
This is the first report of our long weekend in Prince Edward County.
We were eager to visit the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory to see all the changes since we had last visited. PEPtBO is where I became hooked on birds in 2016.
But just before the entrance to the park, we were forced to turn back by road construction. The fallback was Little Bluff Conservation Area, on the way back to Picton where we were staying.
There are trails along a 20-metre high limestone bluff overlooking a view of Prince Edward Bay. The conservation area also includes a cobble stone beach, known as a barrier beach, which protects a significant wetland from the waters of Lake Ontario.
We did hear birds in the park, but the only birds we saw were on the water, a Double-crested Cormorant and a Herring Gull.
There were dragonflies flying high at the edge of the bluff that were fun to photograph. I used my camera’s eye-detect feature to capture some photos of the larger ones flying quickly and several feet overhead. The camera’s auto-focus could lock on to dragonflies in a clear sky.
But the real beauty of the dragonflies is best seen when they are at rest. We found several species along a wooded trail that offered patches of sunlight.
Wildflowers and other insects:
Great Golden Digger Wasp on Common Milkweed, Leafcutter bee, Two-spotted Bumblebee, Eastern Pondhawk (beauty shot), Herb Robert, Viper’s Bugloss, Margined Calligrapher on Sulphur Cinquefoil, Staghorn Sumac fruit, Deptford Pink, Red Baneberry, Virginia Strawberry.
A bonus was to see some large insects digging in the sand by the parking lot. I noticed a few holes before I saw that wasps were doing the digging. Through my telephoto lens, I could see wasps use their front legs to furiously flick sand between their legs. Different species may prefer different prey, but the general idea is to capture another insect and then lay eggs near or inside the prey to provide sustenance for the larvae when they hatch.
Music Videos
Foxes & Fossils is a group that I have featured only on few times. But it has done enough to merit special recognition. Some of their early recordings were of live performances on a noisy restaurant patio. In addition to some newer live performances indoors, they have made several studio recordings.
This duet stopped me in my tracks and reminded me of how much I used to enjoy Emmylou Harris when she sang with Gram Parsons.
If you want to go to the source, here are two concert videos. The band changed over the years. Rodney Crowell is replaced by Rick Skaggs in the second video. I prefer the second video because it shows how much fun everyone is having.