One of the many stormwater holding areas in London is on the edge of town, soon to be surrounded by development. But for now, this large area has a few ponds and large puddles that support a lot of wildlife.
Being close to Fanshawe Lake (man-made by the construction of Fanshawe Dam) there are several Osprey nests nearby. This nest is just north of the wetland. We could see an adult and a juvenile on a high communications tower.
There may have been nests for Canada Geese on the shores and islands of the ponds.
Although the most common butterfly was the Cabbage White, they rarely stopped moving. Meanwhile, we saw a few Northern Crescent butterflies that landed long enough for photos.
We felt lucky when a battered Viceroy butterfly appeared. It was moving slowly enough that we could see a dark arc on each wing, like an echo of the wide black-and-white band on the edge. This is an essential detail that confirms it is NOT a Monarch.
We hear a few bird sounds, but few of them were close to the path. Given how still and scruffy this Rose-breasted Grosbeak was, we believe it is a juvenile.
The paths beside the ponds were overgrown with shrubs and wildflowers. These were visited by a variety of bees, wasps and other pollinators. In the blustery wind, this Goldenrod Leaf Beetle is the only insect photographed.
Music Videos
One long-running Netflix show is Grace and Frankie. We gave up on it during its final season, but always found it good for a laugh. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin attracted a great supporting cast. Grace Potter sings the main title theme song, “Stuck in the Middle with You”. The song was first performed by Steeler’s Wheel in 1972 is a style that was a bit like Bob Dylan.
Margot Cotton’s video is multi-tracked with her as the only performer. I enjoyed her careful attention to the arrangement.
Margot recorded some videos of Dylan songs.
She even created a parody of “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blue Again”.