Odonates are our friends. The deer flies, horse flies, wood ticks, and mosquitoes were plentiful so any relief afforded by a hungry dragonfly was much-welcomed!
I was snapping pics of an assortment of butterflies, nothing of note that one couldn't find in Ontario but it was nice to get the high numbers of various species along roadsides and regenerating areas.
Acadian Hairstreak?
Striped Hairstreak?
A big ole hornworm feeding on Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera).
We spotted what I think could be a Great-horned Owl fledgling, thoughts?
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), one of my favourites, could be found on and around rocky outcrops.
As could Three-toothed Cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata). This species can be found as far south as Georgia and North Carolina in grassy bald habitats.
Veiny Pea (Lathyrus venosus) can be a dominant species in the groundcover of moist forest-swamps.
Wild Calla (Calla palustris). I gotta figure out white balance on my camera.
One of a few mystery plants I'm still working on ID'ing. This species was found on rock outcrops and has the square stem and inflorescence of a mint but that's about where I left it.
I was kind of surprised to see Canada Violet (Viola canadensis) in bloom.
Spurred Gentian (Halenia deflexa) is one of the less showy gentians. I recall first seeing this species along a rich watercourse in Ayr; it's considered rare in Waterloo Region.
Some of the best botanizing to be had was along the riverbanks where species like Tuckerman's Sedges (Carex tuckermanii) could be found.
Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica) has a showy spike of flowers. I would have stayed longer for macro shots but the bugs give you about 2 seconds between swats.
Arrow-leaved Tearthumb (Polygonum sagittatum) will mess you up, or your pants at least. Check out the nasty spines in the second photo.
Arrow-leaf Sweet-coltsfoot (Petasites sagittatus) was a new one for me. Palmate-leaf Sweet-coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus) was more abundant and apparently the two can hybridize.
A Woodsia species, my guess would be Rusty Woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis) but Manitoba has 5 species in the genus and I left it at that.
A nice patch of Sweetflag (Acorus americanus) growing along one of the rivers.
I probably ate close to a quart of blueberries, raspberries, serviceberries and strawberries, but no luck on finding any fruiting Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus).
Some real nice spruce-tamarack fen with Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum), two species of blueberries and saturated moss hummocks for kilometers.
Tall Cinquefoil (Potentilla arguta) was another species found on rock outcrops. I was happy to return home and find the plants in my garden just starting to bloom.
So. Many. Blueberries. Both Low Sweet Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) and the hairier Velvet-leaved Bluberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides).
The contact I was with for the week from the Sagkeen First Nation told me all about his father collecting Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica) from his canoe on an annual basis. I tasted and ate alot of edibles and medicinals this week but sadly no wild rice.
I refer to this as Sloughgrass but I see it is also referred to as Scissor-gummed Slough Grass (Beckmannia syzigachne), what a handle. The clumpy looking spikelets and lime green tinge make this one stand out in a crowd.
I spotted this Slender Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes lacera) while hunched over gleaning blueberries.
Hooker's Orchid (Platanthera hookeri) is rare in both Ontario and Manitoba. I was lucky to come across about 15 or so plants, albeit a little bit past their prime.
A highlight for the trip occurred while down by the river (not in a van), when some spashing among the rushes and grasses turned out to be 2 Moose calves. I put my dry boots on the line clambering over deadfall to grab grass samples and these guys just plough right through the mucky banks on their way upriver.
My next post should have some Illinois/Missouri flavour, stay tuned!
Cool stuff! Makes me miss being somewhere where there's berries to pick everywhere!
ReplyDeleteI would agree with your ids for the two butterflies and the owl.
The ode looks like a Brush-tipped Emerald - not a bad species to have land on you!
Wondering if your owl could be a great gray fledgling. More likely to be seen during the day than a great horned. The UID mint - possibly giant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)? Flowers and foliage are licorice-like in scent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo-Anne, that'd be neat if it we're a great gray, I suppose that makes more sense given the time of day. I would agree with Agastache foeniculum, which I have in my yard at home, but no scent and a shinier leaf than what I'm used to. Maybe geographic variation playing out.
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