Last weekend we spent the day at the above park. It's one of the smallest National Parks in Canada, only 15 square kms or so, and it's mostly marsh and woodland habitats.

It is also the home of the most southern point of mainland Canada, but there are some islands that are a bit further South. Here you can see we are at the 42nd parallel N:



As the sign says, same as places like Rome and Barcelona Spain, and also about the same as the very Northern most part of California:



We started with the marsh walk, and yes lots of wetlands here:







We saw quite a few Green Frogs here:



Jewel weed:



Boardwalk through the marsh:



Hard to identify these with any certainty without very close views of the back of their heads as many of these Bluets look the same at a distance, but I'm going to say this is a Hagens Bluet Damselfy:



In addition to the Damselfies, we had Dragonflies too, this is a female Eastern Pondhawk:



And two shots of males of the same variety:





There was a Blue Herron out in the marsh as well:



Next on our tour was a trip to the Tip of Canada, and this is the "point" of Point Pelee that juts out into Lake Erie:



We didn't stay long because the stable flies were biting like crazy, and no repellents work to keep them away, so it was a quick trip just for a picture...

We then walked a few of the woodland trails, and some had dense vegetation, and some with meadows, so a good mix for photos...





Always interesting flowers along the trails:



Even some wild grapes growing in the area - there are quite a few wineries around this part of Canada as well:



Here is an American Goldfinch - we see these often in our back yard as well, but Point Pelee is a major stop along the migratory route of many bird species, and also for butterflies, specifically the Monarchs:



Speaking of Monarchs, here is the only one we saw the whole day:





They winter in Mexico, and last winter the populations there were down a huge amount compared to previous years. Where they normally see 350 million Monarchs, this last winter there were only 60 million. What used to be the most common butterfly I'd see in daily life here, I have not seen one this year other than this one. I've seen some other types around our property, but Monarchs have been conspicuously absent. The crash is due to changes in climate and habitat, and not sure they will rebound....

We did see other butterflies though, so this is a Cabbage White, and probably the most common I've seen this year:



And another shot of one from the back:



And here is an Orange Sulphur:



And the last one I got a good shot of was this Giant Swallowtail:



Found yet another Green Frog on one trail:



And the only lizard that is native to Ontario is the Five Lined Skink, and we saw a bunch of those, but they are very shy, so getting photos was not easy - required some stalking:



This is a mature one, so the colours tend to fade out of their tails:



Anyway, hope you enjoyed a visit to Point Pelee.

Cheers, Al

 

Lovely photos Al.

 

I've always wondered if somebody mixed up two or three consonants when writing 'butterfly'. I think 'flutterby' is a more accurate name.

 

Very beautiful Al....... I always attracted more to nature environment rather than in glitzy city life.

 

What an eye you have, really beautiful Al!

 

Respectable Member Archer

Excellent photography and you know what to take.

As one born in the year of the monkey, according to the Chinese calendar, I surely love such a natural, serene and untouched environment but not in the Canadian cold.

Thank-you.

 

Glad you enjoyed the photos. And to Seamonster, although you may think Canada is always cold, today it will be 35 degrees C here, and with the humidity it will feel like 45 C. Yes in the winter it's cold, but we normally don't have too many days below say -25 C.

Cheers, Al

 

It's gonna be warm enough to take the boat out one last time this summer. Maybe too warm,

 

Pffft, no way! Don't you have air conditioning? (Full throttle )


Man, I wish I could find that picture of us fishing for stripers in the inlet while it was snowing.

 

Went out and checked. Yep, too warm. Next week will be just fine.

 

Respectable Member Archer

It is good to know that Canada is not cold all year round and on some days, you have gorgeous weather. As one born on an island close to the equator, I love the heat and humidity. Though not as bad as yours, I just cannot take the winter in Sydney. I cannot blame the weather. Age is catching up and there is nothing much, I can do.

Thank-you.

 

There are two seasons in Canada - hockey season and construction season.

 

I thought there are Hockey season and Quiet season......... Construction season is close enough, though.......

 

I'm finding Chicago is like this as well. Especially recently...Go Hawks!