Frosted Whiteface

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

White Admiral

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

Whatever was in this scat, the butterflies really seemed to be enjoying. Being in shit doesn't always mean you're in trouble.

Check out this posting at Bootstrap Analysis for more on Lepidoptera and scat. Thanks to Norene for the link!

Suillus granulatus

Algonquin Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

This was growing beside the path in some moss. The roots were anchored to the rootlet of a coniferous tree. The cap was 7.5 cm. The stem was 8 cm. The flesh inside the cap is white. The brown skin peels off easily to reveal the white flesh.
Identifying almost any mushroom can be very difficult. In this case one look at the pore surface tells you that it is a Bolete. The two subgroups, Boletus and Tylopilus usually have stalks that are covered with a network of veins (i.e. are reticulate). In the subgroup Leccinum the stalk is always Scabrous. In the subgroup Suillus the stalk frequently has these speckled, glabrous, dots. All of this I determined from looking at "Mushrooms Demystified" by David Arora. I then went to the key in "Mushrooms of Northeastern North America" by Bessette, Bessette, and Fischer and looked at the key for Suillus. This guide is my first choice because it deals only with mushrooms of the Northeastern area. The description and picture of S. granulatus best met the mushroom that I was looking at.

Ant-like Insect on mushroom

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

These strange insects were about the size of an ant. They were living in tunnels in a dead log. I believe they were eating this mushroom. They were crawling all over it and the gills appeared to have been eaten in places.

Small prehistoric looking beetle

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006
On Shelf fungus

Crimson-Ringed Whiteface

Leucorrhinia glacialis
Algonquin Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

Dunkle says that it is impossible to tell the male Crimson-Ringed Whiteface from the male red form Red-Waisted Whiteface. I have opted for my identification on the basis of some circumstantial evidence. Dunkle says that males from Ontario eastward are mostly White Form. Crimson-Ringed and Red-Waisted both frequent boggy, marshy, habitat and from May to August or September.

Algonquin Provincial Park: Bat Lake

A view from the Bat Lake hiking trail
25 June, 2006

I took my son back to Algonquin for his second summer working as a Park Naturalist. After I dropped him off I hiked the 5.6 km Bat Lake trail. It was overcast most of the time so not the best for odes. I photographed a few interesting mushrooms and some insects. Because the brush was so dense most of the time there was little to see. I understand Bat Lake is a good spot for odeing because there are no fish in the Lake. I did see a few different species: the ubiquitous Chalk-fronted Corporal, a couple of Widow Skimmers, and many White-face.

Lycogala epidendrum

Wolf's-milk Slime
Frontenac Provincial Park
27 May 2006

Just to give you an idea of how difficult identification of mushrooms can be - I checked five guides and found this mushroom in only one guide, even though that guide listed it as widely distributed in North America.

Peziza phyllogena

Common Brown Cup
(a.k.a. Peziza badio-confusa)
Frontenac Provincial Park
27 May, 2006

Polyporus squamosus

Dryad's Saddle
Frontenac Provincial Park
May 27, 2006

Amherst Island

Baby Long-eared Owl in nest

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Ruddy Turnstone

Osprey

Baby Long-eared Owl

Northern Watersnake

Beetles on plant

Black-crowned Nightheron

Opinicon Road: 28 May, 2006

Snapping Turtle

Birding and Odonating at the same time
(Indingo Bunting and Dragonfly)

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Great-Crested Flycatcher

Frontenac Park Odonates: May 27, 2006

Stream Cruiser

Racket-tailed Emerald

Racket-tailed Emerald

Horned Clubtail
(I originally identified this as a Lilypad Clubtail but changed my id based on size of the specimen and shape of the abdomen)

Harlequin Darner

This was an important find as the Harlequin Darner is not listed in the Odonate Database as having been seen in Frontenac County.

Harlequin Darner

Four-spotted Skimmer

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Common Whitetail (female)

Common Whitetail (male)

Chalk-fronted Corporal

Chalk-fronted Corporal

Ashy or Dusky Clubtail

Ashy or Dusky Clubtail

Eastern Forktail

Amberwing Spreadwing

Amberwinged Spreadwing

Frontenac Park: May 27, 2006

Wood Thrush

This was a new bird for my list. He was quite high up but I was able to scope him. Notice the bold white eyering and bold black spots on white underside.

Parasitoid Wasp

This wasp had paralyzed its prey and was taking it to who knows where. We watched it for quite a while as it dragged this spider along the ground. At times he would abandon it and fly a short distance away but soon came back and began to drag it again. I don't know if he ever got it to his destination.

Blandings Turtle

The Blandings is common in certain locations in the Park. We found these turtles on two different ponds on this trip. It is under study in the Park because of its troubled status in the Province.

This was mainly a dragonfly outing and we were not disappointed. We found many different species including the Harlequin Darner, which does not have an official record in Frontenac County according to the Odonate Database.