Blenheim Sewage Lagoons and Rondeau Provincial Park

Chris is photographing plants instead of birds?!

While visiting Chris in Chatham we took the chance to look at the birds around the Blenheim sewage lagoons. We left early in the morning and had a romantic walk around the sewage lagoons. Yes that sounds like an oxymoron and almost impossible but it happened.  There was a lot of activity in the first pool at the lagoons.




Greater scaup
Rudy duck
Wood duck
Canvasback
Great egret
Lesser yellowlegs

Lesser yellowlegs

Least sandpiper
Killdeer
Tree swallow
Barn swallow
Eastern kingbirds
Cedar waxwings
American black duck
Semipalmated plover

Semipalmated plovers

Despite not seeing the red-necked phalarope we were both hoping for it was a nice walk around the lagoons. As well as birds, there were a lot of butterflies around the wildflowers at the lagoon;
Skipper butterflies
Buckeye

Mating pair of buckeye on sweet white clover

Painted lady

Painted lady on a yellow flower

Cabbage white are very common butterflies in Ontario and a few of them were frequenting flowers around the lagoons.

Cabbage white

Black swallowtail

Later in the afternoon we stopped by Rondeau Provincial Park to help with the turtle project and to find some of our own herps in the wild. We found three five lined skinks. Two were adults and we were even lucky enough to find a juvenile with a bright blue tail characteristic of the species. Two blue-spotted salamanders surprised us when they were in an unexpectedly dry areas by the beach. 

Two blue-spotted swallowtails

Many wildflowers such as swamp rose mallow, queen Anne's lace, butterflyweed and jewelweed were blooming and attracted tiger swallowtails and red admirals.

Jewelweed/ spotted touch me not (Imatiens capensis)

Impatiens capensis

Close up of jewelweed flower

Jewelweed or the spotted touch me not is an annual succulent plant that has bright orange flowers with a hooked conical spur at behind the lobes. These bright flowers turn into hanging seed pods that explode o touch. Well you aren't going to get blown to bits here but it does help with seed dispersal and they are so much fun to pop! My first memory of discovering this plant was seeing a springer spaniel dog running through it in early fall. All of the seed pods sprung up into the air right after the dog raced by.

Queen Anne's Lace/ Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)

Queen Anne's Lace is one of the most common roadside wildflowers that I can think of. It has brilliant white flowers which resemble lace. These flowers often get it confused with its toxic relative wild parsnip which has tall yellow flowers and produces a rash when touched.  

Anemone

Anemone

Swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) on a floating mat

 The pink flowers poked out of the marsh shielded from view by cattails swaying in the wind. These large showy pink flowers resemble the cultivated hibiscus plants people might be more familiar with but unlike the cultivars these bright flowers are in much less hospitable places than your living room. These shrubs grow in amidst cattails on the floating mats and mudflats of marshes. Swamp rose mallow is a species at risk with a restricted habitat of wetland habitats in southern Ontario.

Butterflyweed

The brilliant orange flowers of butterflyweed really do hold it to it's name. This plant is great for attracting pollinators including butterflies and has played a large part in the restoration of natural habitats in southern Ontario. This attractive plant is one that many people have chosen to plant when they desire butterfly gardens or to plant with native species.

Tiger swallowtail on the beach

And last but not least... some parting advice for all who visit Rondeau Provincial Park: As you are leaving the park there will be a small store on your left.... STOP THERE FOR ICE CREAM!