Birds and a Few Insects - First Week of July 2025

First week of July.  Here are some photos of birds I saw.  I also saw Catbirds, Savannah Sparrows, Red-eyed Vireos, Field Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Meadowlarks, Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Sandpiper, Barn Swallows, Ospreys, Red-tailed Hawks, Song Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, Double-crested Cormorants, and Killdeers.

Grasshopper Sparrow

Northern Mockingbird

American White Pelican

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

American Goldfinch

I found a few butterflies this week....not so many dragonflies..some Common Whitetails and a couple of Halloween Pennants.

Northern Pearly-Eye

- Saw lots of Common Wood-Nymphs

Common Wood-Nymph

Clouded Sulphur

Halloween Pennant

Searching Butterflies and Dragonflies - June 2022

This week, I've been concentrating on butterflies and dragonflies.  I found a few but are hard to find.  There is not an abundance of butterflies.  By far, the Cabbage Whites are the most common.  I've seen some Monarchs but not a lot.  On June 27, 2022, I went to Komoka to see what was around.

Common Ringlet

Silver-spotted Skipper

Little Wood Satyr

Powered Dancer

There are nesting Eastern Bluebirds in the nest boxes there.  

Westminster - June 28, 2022

Yellow Warbler

Here are some scenes of Westminster Ponds.

Gray Catbird

The Coves - June 30, 2022

Blue-fronted Dancer

Little Wood Satyr

Eastern Comma

Common Wood-Nymph

Recent Outings - Final Week of June 2021

 Week of June 28, 2021

While birding as I mentioned before I'm looking for butterflies, too.  I got my first Eastern Tailed-Blue in Hyde Park.  Sulphurs are starting to appear as I saw a couple of Clouded Sulphurs.  I also saw first of the year Common Wood Nymph.  There were lots of them flying around this week.

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Silver-spotted Skipper

Cabbage White

Common Wood Nymph

I was delighted to see the Black-crowned Night Heron.  They are very hard to find in the trees behind all the leaves.  They are a smaller heron, a little bigger than a Green Heron.  They are stocky with short legs.  There are a pair at the Coves..... with one baby maybe two.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Here are some other photos I took this week.

Great Blue Heron

American Robin

Song Sparrow

Mallard with her ducklings

Midland Painted Turtle

Admiring Butterflies and Dragonflies

June 30, 2020  Wetland North London

I didn't see anything new at the wetland...was mainly looking for butterflies.

Eastern Kingbird 

July 2, 2020 - Hyde Park

It's going to be a very hot day (feel like 35c) as we are in a heat wave in Southwestern Ontario.  Trying to get out early to beat the heat.  Hyde Park is one of my favorite places to look for butterflies and dragonflies.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the weeds, flowers and grasses got cut down short this year. There are lots of Cabbage Whites around.

Eastern Phoebe

Common Whitetail

Widow Skimmer

Eastern Forktail

Eastern Tailed-Blue

July 4, 2020 - Hyde Park

I mainly looked for insects today.  It is really dry and we really need some rain.  The common dragonflies were flying around. Other butterflies I saw but no photos were Cabbage Whites, Clouded Sulphurs and an Eastern Tailed-Blue.

Common Whitetail

Eastern Pondhawk

Eastern Amberwing

Eastern Amberwing on the fly

Widow Skimmer

Violet Dancer

European Skipper

Common Ringlet

There were lots of Common Wood-Nymphs around.

Common Wood-Nymph

This coming week is going to be really hot so I will have to try to get out early in the mornings.