Kilally Meadows Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) was purchased by the City of London in the early 1970s and is managed by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. It encompasses a section of the Thames River corridor, meadows and woods.
The platform in the photo above often hosts an Osprey family. This year, a Canada Goose occupied the platform early in the season. Undaunted, the Ospreys built a nest on the lights of the nearby baseball diamond. We were happy to find two juveniles (speckled wings and backs) on the nest with female adult in attendance.
We didn’t expect to see many other birds, but thought we might find butterflies. We were not disappointed!
Tawny Emperor
Question Mark – The Eastern Comma butterfly is a very similar to the Question Mark. These are know as “punctuation butterflies”. We are learning how to distinguish one from the other. The first is to count the number of dark dots on the upper wing that form a line below the largest dot at the front edge of the wing. The Question Mark has four, the Eastern Comma has only three. The butterflies get their names from the small white marks on the dark underwing. The Eastern Comma has only a C-shaped mark, whereas the Question Mark has an additional white dot next the the C.
A rather tattered Great Spangle Fritillary
Clouded Sulphur
Hickory Tussock Moth Larva
There were damselflies landing on the pebbled path. All were identified as Powdered Dancers. Apparently both male and female Powdered Dancers can be blue or brown, but distinguishing males and females can be difficult. Immature males are brown before turning blue. Older males have a powdery appearance – the source of the damselfly’s name.
Pollinators at work: Two-spotted Bumble Bee, Transverse-banded Flower Fly
Just a few wildflowers: Common Soapwort, Culleaf Coneflower, Chickory
Osprey Update
Our Ospreys have stayed on. This week, we watched as the male rearranged sticks on the low platform while the female watched from the nest. They seem to be “keeping house” despite the lack of offspring this year. It was a treat to see a nest with two offspring.
Wandering Bee Flowers
The bouquets are often aromatic as well as colourful. Last week’s bouquet contained a dill flower, this week’s has sweet basil blossoms.
Remembering Cleo Laine
We had the good fortune to see Cleo Laine and John Dankworth in London, Stratford, and Toronto. This is a recording of her famous concert in Carnegie Hall.
Here is a concert video from a performance in Montreal.