The first few weeks of September brought clear skies and warm temperatures without much humidity. The nights were cool causing morning mist to form.
With the end of summer on the calendar, the weather changed, bringing clouds and rain. The best part about clouds are the sunsets.
This one evolved into a Rita Letendre print.
7:20 pm7:23 pm7:27 pm7:32 pm
The Canadian Canoe Museum backs onto Little Lake, a widening in the Trent-Severn Waterway. The waterway is a 386-kilometre-long (240 mi) canal route that connects Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. According to Wikipedia, its major natural waterways include the Trent River, Otonabee River, Kawartha Lakes, Lake Simcoe, Lake Couchiching and Severn River.
On the museum property a canoe house and docks provide the opportunity to paddle the lake.
Inside the museum, the exhibits feature over 100 watercraft from across Canada and beyond. In addition, there more than 600 canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft in storage.
Outside, we enjoyed the sunshine and the trail along the lake.
There were a few birds perched in trees or foraging for seeds.
European Starling, Least Flycatcher
Song Sparrow
Canada Geese and Ring-billed Gulls on the lake
Late-blooming wildflowers included many kinds of asters. We’re still learning to identify them all….
Here are some of the short videos Susan took at the Butterfly Conservatory. They are combined into a single video.
Floral Showhouse
Because Susan’s grandparents lived for some time in Niagara Falls, her family often visited the floral displays at the Niagara Parks greenhouse, now apparently called the Floral Showhouse.
The greenhouse is still much as it has always been.
Besides the floral displays that change throughout the year, the greenhouse features orchids, succulents, and other tropical plant species.
There were only a few orchids and tropical plants in bloom.
The patterns and textures of the succulents were captivating.
In the gardens surrounding the greenhouse were “whimsical topiary-like living sculptures meticulously crafted from thousands of plants in the refined horticultural style of Mosaïculture.” This description from the website is quite apt.
This is as close as we got to the falls! Always a spectacle, even from a distance.
This week’s flowers from Wandering Bee
This is the time of year for gladiolas and dahlias.
Double White Disc 1 Side 1
The actual name of the album, The Beatles, was embossed on the all white album cover. There are so many versions of these songs on YouTube.
We went to spend time in the Butterfly Conservatory, but first, we explored the tallgrass prairie around the conservatory.
The prairie features a variety of wildflowers and grasses, including ironweed, Tall Coreopsis, New England Aster, Smooth Blue Aster, Stiff-leaved Goldenrod, and Grey-headed Coneflower.
American Goldfinches darted out from the nearby trees to harvest the grass and wildflower seeds. Here the birds are backlit by the sun. Adult males are bright yellow, but adult females and juveniles are more muted in colour.
There were Blue Jays, House Sparrows and a molting Indigo Bunting close by.
In the field, was a bee hotel. These provide nesting sites for native solitary bees and wasps that normally nest in the stems of plants.
Again, we saw only a few insects.
Western Honey BeeCommon Eastern Bumble Bee and Spotted Cucumber Beetle
When the prairie grew too hot, we repaired to the shade of the arboretum.
Dawn Redwood
Butterfly Conservatory
We had fond memories of visiting the conservatory in the past. There was much to see and photograph.
The Songs of Rubber Soul
I hope you enjoyed the songs from Revolver last week. This time only one of the songs is performed by a Beatle. The reason will be clear.
MonaLisa Twins recorded several Beatles songs.
Anne Murray said she remembers singing along to You Won’t See Me with her school friends.
Before we took a break, we walked the circular trail past the far ponds. This starts as a wooded trail along one of the ponds and then moves through an open meadow that is full of goldenrod at this time of year.
In the pond, we found two Great Egrets and three Great Blue Herons. The 12 species of birds we saw were mostly summer or longer-term residents such as Belted Kingfisher, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Grackle and the inevitable Canada Goose and Mallard. Likely only the egrets were migrants.
As we have noticed all summer, there were fewer insects than expected. We’ve had reports that Alberta is overrun with wasps this year due the hot, dry conditions there. We wonder if the abundant rain we’ve had this year has suppressed the insect population. Although we didn’t see many insects, we did see a wide variety of them.
We have not seen the adolescent or the adult male Osprey for almost two weeks. After our last post, we saw each of them once, not at the same time. We have to believe that the adolescent is now able to feed itself, perhaps spending a little more time here perfecting its fishing skills before heading south. Still, we have to face the harsh reality that 50% of Ospreys do not survive their first year. After that, the mortality rate is much lower – between 19% and 19%. Ospreys can live for 15 to 20 years, sometimes much longer.
Ospreys reach sexual maturity when they are three years old or older. When our first year bird reaches the wintering grounds, it will not migrate north next spring. About 30% to 50% of two-year-old birds return in the spring to the area where they were hatched, but they do not nest. Only after they reach sexual maturity at three years of age or later will the young birds return to their hatching sites to breed.
This Week’s Flowers
Revolver by The Beatles
A young friend was excited to show me his purchase of this album when it first came out. I found it strange at first. The songs were not meant for live performance.
We owe it to ourselves to listen to Revolver every few years to remind ourselves what an achievement it was.
There is a 2022 remastered version on Apple Music. The original tracks were de-mixed and then remixed to give a cleaner sound.
Doing some background research, I learned that “Here There and Everywhere” and “For No One” are about the same relationship.
After a few days of relief from the sweltering heat, the humidity began to climb. On Tuesday, a thunderstorm rolled in just before sunset.
You can see in the photos above, and the one below, that some trees have already started to fade from green to yellow and others are turning red. We are told by arborists that our wet summer contributed to this early colour change in the leaves.
There is much to see in our walks along the river and through the community allotment garden.
Mourning Doves often perch on overhead wires. As unlikely as it seems, Great Blue Herons often perch in trees overlooking the river.
On sunny days, turtles bask in the sun, on rocks, or just below the surface.
Spiny Softshell turtles and Map turtles.
Again, we have seen few insects on the plants we inspected. We’ve had few insects on our balcony as well, but a moth landed on the screen recently.
unidentified bee on Field MustardCanadian Petrophila on sow thistleEastern Carpenter BeeBittersweet NightshadeWhite-marked Tussock Moth
There – Royal Botanical Garden, Hamilton, Ontario
Thanks to dear friends, we were introduced to some of the many gardens that comprise the Royal Botanical Garden. Amidst our time to chat and stroll the gardens, Susan took a few photos.
We explored some of the more formal gardens and a woodland trail a short way into the ravine.
We particularly enjoyed the Rock Garden in a former quarry with its lily pond and hidden waterfalls trickling down rocky steps.
The water lilies and other exotic blossoms and foliage caught our attention.
Although there weren’t many insects in evidence, we were happy to see a few butterflies. Monarchs flitted around a Butterfly Bush and Glenn later spotted a swallowtail at a distance. This Wild Indigo Duskywing stayed put long enough for photos, as did this Eastern Carpenter Bee.
This week’s flowers
Osprey Update
On our Sunday walk, Glenn spotted two Ospreys being chased by a third. We assumed that the male Osprey from Labatt Park was chasing intruders. We had seen the juvenile Osprey on the nest earlier that morning. Since Monday, we have have seen little of the juvenile or adult male, perhaps because we have not been as vigilant as usual this week. Today, the adult male was consuming a fish on a light tower and the youngster was perched on the nest. No fish was delivered to the juvenile before it left the nest. We later saw the juvenile on the low platform without a fish.
We are wondering whether the adult male is withholding fish to encourage the youngster to fish. The old TV commercial, “Stop feeding them cheese!” came to mind. (The premise of this advertisement for cheese was that when adult offspring continued to live at home, it was because parents fed them cheese. Thus, parents were admonished to “Stop feeding them cheese!”)
In support of this theory, we did see later the juvenile perched on a set of lights where he could overlook the river. From there, he was staring intently at the water and waggling his head to see below the surface. This is the first indication of hunting behaviour we have witnessed. We hope to see more…
Intruders flying over the river
Drivin’ in my Car
Yes, the heading is from the opening of “Fire” by Bruce Springsteen. The song was a hit for The Pointer Sisters. I enjoyed several versions on YouTube.
After the rain on Sunday cleared the heat and humidity, we’ve had cooler weather with temperatures as low as 8 degrees C at night. Good weather for sleeping.
A few early migrating warblers had been reported at Kilally Meadows Environmentally Significant Area. There is always much to see there, whether we spotted any warblers or not. Of the 14 bird species we identified, the only warbler was a Black-and-white Warbler we heard.
Song SparrowNorthern Cardinal feeding on Wild GrapesField Sparrow with avian poxField Sparrow
We lingered on sunny paths through the meadows where we saw a few butterflies and damselflies. We moved quickly through the shaded paths to avoid being swarmed by mosquitoes.
Many have noticed that there are fewer insects than usual this summer. At Kilally, we also saw very few insects at work.
Western Honey Bee on knapweedCommon Aerial YellowjacketCommon Eastern Bumble Bee on Bladder CampionCanadian Petrophila moth on ChicoryAsian Lady BeetleWestern Honey Bee
Wildflowers and other living things.
Pale JewelweedCommon ToadflaxYellow FoxtailBird’s-foot TrefoilViolet-toothed PolyporeRed CloverWild CumcumberVirgin’s-BowerCommon YarrowChicory (in decline)Bladder Campion (in decline)Smooth Blue Aster
Despite seeing few insects on the ground, we were happy to see several Chimney Swifts circling high over the meadow, foraging for airborne insects. It’s hard to capture these fast-flying birds in flight! We are currently monitoring chimneys in London and beyond more frequently to identify large roosts of Chimney Swifts where young hand-reared swifts can be released later this month.
As we neared the parking lot at the end of our walk, we heard the familiar cry of an Osprey. Above were two birds flying and alighting on three different nesting sites at that end of the park. The one crying was clearly a juvenile wanting to be fed by an adult. Juveniles have white edges on their feathers that make them appear speckled. This juvenile appears to be about the same age as the one we watch at Labatt park.
Osprey Update
Our juvenile Osprey is not yet self-sufficient. It is not clear to us how the adults and young manage to meet at the same time for the delivery of fish. Although we are not able to observe every interaction, we often saw the juvenile on the nest or low platform this week, apparently waiting or calling for food. Sometimes, we saw the male perched at the park and calling, but the juvenile was not around. Last Saturday, both the adult male and female were perched together on a set of lights. The male was calling as two other Ospreys circled the river. Sometimes we see the juvenile consuming fish and know there has been a delivery, but once we saw the male eating a fish. The juvenile was nowhere to be seen. Today, Friday, the juvenile has often been on the nest waiting and preening. Somehow, the youngster is surviving!
This week’s flowers
We’re happy with our balcony flowers and those from Wandering Bee.
Songs About Clothes
Making this list was fun because there are so many songs with good versions that I could leave out annoying ones.
Our weather has been warm, but less humid. An evening stroll along the river is even more welcome as the day cools.
Constructed wetlands are now a common feature of new housing developments in London. These act as stormwater retention ponds to temporarily store rainfall and surface runoff. They are meant to allow sediment and contaminants to settle out before water is released into a natural watercourse.
The settlement pond at Uplands North often attracts a variety of birds including migrating egrets and shorebirds. Although a couple of shorebirds had been reported there in the morning, there were none in the afternoon.
The Great Egret and Great Blue Heron spotted in the morning were still there.
In all, we counted 14 species of birds, mostly summer residents such as Song Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Turkey Vulture, Cedar Waxwing and Red-winged Blackbird.
The area has been planted with a wide variety of native trees, shrubs, reeds, grasses and other plants.
Pods of Black Locust treeCommon JewelweedIndian GrassStarry RosinweedGoldenrodAlder/Glossy BuckthornStaghorn SumacRed Osier DogwoodWild TeaselSpotted Joe-Pye WeedCanada MintCommon Ninebark
The ecosystem of the pond includes a variety of insects.
Western Honey Bee on sunflowerEastern PondhawkClouded Plant Bugs on Common Evening-PrimroseTwelve-spotted SkimmerBrown-lipped Snails on Common MilkweedCommon WhitetailLarge Milkweed Bug on Common MilkweedSmall Milkweed BugLarge Milkweed Bug on Common MilkweedOleander Aphids on Common MilkweedGreen Stink BugEastern Carpenter Bee on Wild BergamotBand-winged Meadowhawk on Purple LoosestrifeMonarch on Field Thistle
Osprey Update
In the past week, we have seen our young Osprey at some point almost every day, usually waiting on the nest or nearby for a delivery of fish. It seems that the youngster is still somewhat dependent on adult support. We haven’t see the adult female lately, so perhaps she finally is on her way south.
On Monday this week, there was an unexpected visitor to the nest – another juvenile Osprey that landed alongside our juvenile and our adult male. Neither juvenile or adult seemed at all concerned by the presence of the visitor. Perhaps this was because there was no food to share. After a few minutes, the male departed and then the visitor did too.
Wandering Bee flowers
A bouquet made fragrant by purple basil.
Music with Audience Involvement
Some of the most uplifting song performances involve audience participation. The first three songs elicited a joyful noise from the audience.
Bruce Springsteen accompanies Pete Seegers at Obama’s inauguration.
The Live Aid performance was something very special. Queen’s performance at Wembley Stadium was being broadcast worldwide, especially to the US concert location. Queen had perfected the art of “stadium rock” and both the local and remote audiences joined in clapping and singing.
Sometimes, the attendees at a sporting event will join in. They need no prompting to sing along lustily.
Bruce Springsteen continues Queen’s tradition of involving the audience. He does it playfully. To solicit an invitation to sing more, he asked his audience in Argentina, “Estas cansado?” (Are you tired?). He may have shouted “Estoy cansado?” (Am I tired?). Either way, the answer was “NO!!!!”
Finally, Rod Stewart is like some artists whose fans come to sing along to his songs. Sometimes, they start singing before he does.
The rain and hot, humid weather continued throughout the week, but started to clear on Tuesday evening.
On holiday Monday, August 5th, we headed to Western University in the morning to walk before the heat and humidity became unbearable. It was already too late for that, but we persevered.
First we tried a shady wooded trail along the river, but were quickly driven back to the car by the mosquitoes that were out in force after the rain. We then tried the more open trail near the stadium. There, the mosquitoes were also voracious, except on the open lawn.
Late-blooming wildflowers grow along the riverbank.
White SnakerootWhite SnakerootWild BasilGoldenrodCommon St. John’s Wort
The advantage of the stadium trail is the chance to check the Osprey nest there. When the stadium was renovated, the university installed a nesting platform above the set of lights where Ospreys had nested in prior years. As soon as the platform was completed, Ospreys returned and, since 2022, have filled it with sticks and young Ospreys.
This year, there are two young on the nest at the Western stadium. We saw the older juvenile take a short flight over the football field before returning to the nest. The younger juvenile was not yet flying. After an adult delivered a fish, the younger juvenile cried when its older sibling took possession of the fish. The bottom photos show the older juvenile mantling over the fish and the nesting platform high above the lights.
Just for Fun
On a neighbourhood walk recently we came across this impressive orange tabby. The house has a plaque that describes its date of construction and original owner.
Also in the neighbourhood, we checked on the Barn Swallows nesting under the bridge and found an adult feeding four young.
Osprey Update
The Labatt Ospreys are not around much of the time. Both adults are still present from time to time. Until recently, the juvenile has stayed in the vicinity of the stadium where the male continues to deliver fish. More often now, the juvenile is absent from view for longer periods of time. We hope that it is learning to catch fish!
Hank Williams wrote and recorded several classic country songs. I prefer newer versions of his songs sung by better singers who show reverence for the intended styles and messages. I liked all of these songs before I knew they were all by the same composer.
I should clarify that Hank never expect someone like Tony Bennet to record any of his songs. But he was very happy with the resulting royalties.
We’ve had a few sunny days with little humidity. Perfect summer weather! Now the heat and humidity have built up and thunderstorms have arrived.
On a clear, hot, sunny day last week, we went to Hawk Cliff where we thought we might find some butterflies and other pollinators in the open field and the wildflower garden.
We were happy to see a few different butterflies.
Summer Azures were sipping nectar from Sweet White Clover blossoms. When they landed, their wings closed, hiding their pale blue upper wings. We usually see Red-spotted Purples on the ground where they soak up the heat from the sun. These are a subspecies of the White Admiral; together they are sometimes referred to as Red-spotted Admirals.
We have often seen Red Admirals since early spring. They are a different species from Red-spotted Purples/Admirals. Monarchs and Viceroys look very similar but are not closely related. Viceroys are Monarch mimics. Since predators avoid Monarchs because they are toxic, Viceroys have evolved to adopt similar colouration to Monarchs in a bid to avoid predation.
Summer AzureRed-spotted PurpleRed-spotted Purple with red spots showing on underwingRed AdmiralMonarchViceroy
There was a variety of insects on some of the flowers.
Small carpenter bee on Chicory Margined CalligrapherBlack-eyed SusanSweat beeNorthern Evening-PrimroseCommon Selfheal
Insects comprise about 65 percent of all known species on the planet. Although they are are integral to the health of all ecosystems and life on Earth, they are under-valued and unloved. Insects are near the base of food chains that support birds, bats, reptiles, amphibians and others. They play vital roles in decomposition, pollination, pest control, medical discoveries, and much else.
Carolina Grasshoppers come in a variety of colours. They flew up from the path as we walked along. We looked for Monarch larvae on Common Milkweed leaves, but only found the larvae of the Milkweed Tussock Moth. A Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar was crawling across the road.
On Queen Anne’s Lace, we came across a small spider we hadn’t seen before. It was white with pink “racing stripes” on the sides of its abdomen. It was perfectly camouflaged on the white blossom where it had captured a small bee. For those who would like to avoid this photo, we have placed it at the end of this post!
Salthaven
Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre had a booth at the Saturday Covent Garden farmers’ market. Brian Salt, the founder of the centre was there with Chankar, a Lagger Falcon (a non-native species from the Indian subcontinent), to bring attention to the centre’s work.
Wandering Bee Flowers
It was too hard to choose between these bouquets, so we ended up with both:-=)).
Osprey Update
On Sunday, July 28th, the male Osprey delivered a fish to the nest where the female and the youngster were waiting. After the female took charge of the fish, she eventually flew off with it without any attempt to eat or share it with her offspring. Her departure prompted a good deal of wing flapping by the youngster during which it managed to bunny hop and gain a few inches of height.
Our friends thought this was a clever tactic by the female parent to motivate flight and independence. Once young Ospreys have fledged, the female parent departs for the journey south while the male adult remains to provide food until the young learn to fish and have gained the flight skills needed for migration.
We thought it would still take time for the youngster to fledge given that we had not seen it exercising its wings very often. To our surprise, Wednesday morning, July 31st, we found the adolescent perched beside the female on the tower adjacent to the nest! When we looked a while later, it was perched on one of the other light towers at the park. How quickly they grow up!
Later that morning, the female and her offspring were on a light tower when the male Osprey delivered a fish to the nest. The youngster immediately flew to the nest to consume the fish while the female stayed on the light tower.
On Thursday, August 1st, we saw the young Osprey consuming a fish on the low platform while the female perched on a light tower. Throughout the rest of the day, we saw the young one perched or moving between the stadium lights and low platform, but the female was nowhere in sight. The youngster’s flights and landings were almost always steady and accurate. We wonder if this is the last we will see of the female before she returns next year.
This list came to me quickly while thinking about “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. I avoided corny pop songs and limited myself to only two country songs and two Beatles songs.
