Special feature - "Last Moth of the Year"...

Since I'll be away over the New Year celebrations I thought I'd introduce you to this special feature. Special? Well, only cuz it only happens once a year! And, as we all know, things that only happen once a year ARE quite special...aren't they? Anyway, this is a special moth in my mind. For starters it looks as though it has been carved out of gold...and you can't say that about many moths I can tell you. It has those crazy palps (on the front of the head) that curve gracefully upwards. It has those remarkable russet and violet squiggly lines on the wings which are totally surreal...if you are into that sort of thing...


This is Plusiodonta compressipalpis, more commonly known as the Moonseed Moth. It is very scarce in southern Ontario, where it right on the northern edge of it's range. The larvae feed on Moonseed Vine and the adult moth is on the wing throughout the mid summer period. This individual was trapped, photographed and released at South Walsingham, Ontario in July a couple of years ago. It remains the only one I've ever seen. I was lucky to obtain this photo because upon taking the tray out of the trap the moth immediately flew off! I'd had a split second view, knew what it was and was devastated that it deserted me! "Get that moth" I shouted to Mike...and, true to form, he did! I was totally amazed (and gratified) and was very careful with it thereafter!

I hope you, my faithful readers, all had a great time over Christmas (I know that some of you did!). I also hope that the new year is good to you...

Have a very Mothy Christmas...

To all my friends in the blog world and beyond I hope you all have a great time and a super new year. Hope you like the card - the bird is the Marvelous Spatuletail, isn't it nice...

Moth of the Month - The Io Moth...

The giant silkworm moths in the family Saturniidae are some of the most spectacular moths going. I've already featured a couple of species in earlier blogs but here is one of my favorites. The Io Moth is one of the smaller silkmoths but what it lacks in size in more than makes up with it's striking patten. It is fairly common in southern Ontario where reasonable tracts of woodland persist. The larvae feed on a variety of host plants, including birches, elms, maples and willows. A generalist you could say.


This is a male. A bit smaller than the female and mostly bright yellow in colour. This individual was photographed near Parry Sound, Ontario.


This is the more reddish female. This one was photographed near South Walsingham, Ontario. Don't you just love those vivid eye spots on the hind wings!

The Christmas Bird Count...

Yesterday I took part in that great North American birding tradition - The Christmas Bird Count. I do this every year, nearly always on Toronto Island. I think I was led astray on a couple of occasions and did the Durham thing, but now bow to tradition. Besides, the Islands are my local patch and there is always the lure of an elusive "patch tick".

This year it was rather pleasant and was only just below freezing - hardly needed the heated washroom at all, though, more out of tradition than anything, we did venture in for the hell of it! Birdwise it was good though unspectacular. Steady would be a good word. Best birds were two Tundra Swans, a Belted Kingfisher and an immature White-crowned Sparrow. However, the absolute highlight was four American Coots - an Island tick for me! Well, any rail or crake type of thing is tough on the Islands. Alfred was happy with his Northern Shrike! I think we ended up with 46 species in all.


A fine drake Mallard. Common, but a handsome devil nonetheless.


A male Hairy Woodpecker. We saw a few today.


A female Downy Woodpecker - always a delight on a chilly winter day...

Chocolate delight...

How could I be so stupid! Moths as dessert...certainly! This is for you FB and Stoner...


Try this lovely Chocolate Prominent to start with...


And follow it up with this mouth-watering Lemon Plagodis!

If I can find any more delicious moth recipies I'll be sure to post them here first...

Brilliant hummers...

This afternoon James and I went for a long walk through High Park and beyond to Humber Bay. Lovely weather with light snow and a gentle breeze. Not many interesting birds though so I thought I'd cast my mind back to warmer climes and more spectacular avian fare!

I've always liked hummingbirds. They are so active and animated and glitter like no other bird can. I've been lucky to see a whole pile of them over the years so here are a few videograbs to make me wanna go back to the south.


What a blocker!! This is surely one of my favourite hummingbirds, the totally brilliant and otherworldly Velvet-purple Coronet. It lives in southwest Colombia and western (mostly northwest) Ecuador, basically a choco endemic. It is never very common and is always a prized sighting. This one was visiting feeders in the garden of Barbara and Tony Nunnery in the Tandayapa valley in northwest Ecuador.


This tiny sprite is a male Rufous-crested Coquette. The coquettes are a small family of diminuative hummers in which the males are richly adorned with wonderfully colourful plumes on the head. Some species have highly patterned and elongated whiskers whereas others, as with this species, have expressive crests. All have a whitish bar on the upper tail coverts. This lovely bird was watched for some time feeding on various flowers in the garden of Amazonia Lodge in SE Peru.


The Woodstars are another group of tiny, insect-like hummingbirds. This is the Purple-throated Woodstar which, like the Coronet above, is a choco endemic. The woodstars are not as spectacular as the coquettes but nonetheless have characters all of their own. This energetic waife was seen in the Tandayapa valley in Ecuador.


There can be few south American birds as enigmatic as the almost unbelievable Sword-billed Hummingbird! I'll never forget my first, admittedly brief, sighting on my first trip to Ecuador many moons ago. It was just outside of the village of Papallacta on the east slope. We had staked out a Datura bush in the hopes of seeing this bird. We waited a long time...and then, suddenly, there it was! And then it was gone! I had to wait a long time before I saw another. Now of course all you have to do is stand in front of a feeder! This fantastic bird (a female) was seen at Yanacocha, just outside of Quito in Ecuador.


Some hummingbirds can appear rather dull...that is until the sunlight catches them! Then they can be transformed into the most wonderful of Christmas tree decorations. Of course, in some places the sun rarely shines. Such is the case where this beautiful little hummingbird lives, Bosque Unchog in the Carpish mountains of central Peru. This is the Coppery Metaltail. It is endemic to Peru and is highly local, though is quite common at Unchog. When seen in reasonable light - it is often dull and misty at Unchog - this lovely bird glows with a brilliant coppery-russet colour I've not seen on any other hummingbird.

I hope you, my faithful readers, enjoy these birds. Where are you all anyway...I'm missing you're comments. If I get positive feedback I'll show you some more hummingbirds treats...

Hooked on hooktips...

In Ontario we have four very different hooktip species. The hooktips belong in the family drepanidae. They are superficially similar to the geometrid moths but are generally stouter-bodied and some actually do have strongly hooked tips to the forwings.


This is Oreta rosea or the Rose Hooktip. It is probably my favourite hooktip and is certainly the most colourful species that occurs in Ontario. It is fairly common throughout the summer months and the larvae feed on birches and viburnums. The adults are quite variable. This example is typical though some are mostly reddish-brown.


This is Deprana arcuata or the Arched Hooktip. It is the most common hooktip in Ontario and often features in my catches in mid summer, sometimes in good numbers. I like this one because of the extreme hooked tips to the forewings and the subtle pattern. The larvae feed on alders and birches.


This one is Deprana bilineata or the Two-lined Hooktip. This distinctive species has a smaller hook than the preceeding pair and has a wavy edge to the forewing. It is less common the the above species in my experience though can be locally numerous. The larvae feed on alders, birches and elms. Note the distinctive resting posture, very different from the "flatness" of the other three hooktips.


Finally we have Eudeilinea herminiata or the Northern Eudeilinea. This is the least "hooktip-like" of the bunch and could easily be mistaken for one of the various white geometrid moths. The larvae feed on dogwoods. For some reason I've rarely encountered this species though it may be locally common.

So there you have it, a fascinating bunch of distinctive-looking moths. Who said moths are boring...

Meet the Prominents...

The Notodontoidea or Prominents are a diverse group of moths with a worldwide distribution. There are about 2600 species out of which we have about 50 or more in Ontario. They are often beautifully marked and quite robust-looking, though most of them are not large. Many prominents are remarkable for their strange-looking and usually well camouflaged caterpillars. I have to say that the prominents are my favourite moth family. I still enjoy seeing species I've caught many times before and am always striving to obtain better photos. Amazingly, after all this time, there are a couple of Ontario species which elude me still...


This is Oligocentria lignicolor, the White-streaked Prominent. This moth, along with several other prominents, rolls it's wings slightly so as to resemble a broken twig. They often sit at a 45 degree angle to their resting surface. They are amazingly well camouflaged whilst passing the daylight hours on a branch. This super moth is quite common in southern Ontario in the summer months.


This boldly marked prominent is Pheosia rimosa, the Black-rimmed Prominent. On first glance the striking, predominately black-and-white, markings on the wings suggest this moth would be an easy target. However, as you can see, when resting on the bark of a tree the moth actually blends into the background rather well. It is common in southern Ontario throughout the summer.


This complex-looking prominent is Hyperaeschra georgica, the Georgian Prominent. Again, the pattern on the wings ensures the moth is well camouflaged whilst resting on a branch or trunk of a tree and therefore relatively safe from predators. This lovely moth is uncommon, though still regular in southern Ontario through the summer months.


This crinkle-edged beauty is Datana ministra or the Yellow-necked Caterpillar Moth. It is one of six datana species which are regularly encountered in southern Ontario throughout the summer months. All are rather similar and require care to tell them apart. This is one of the more commonly seen species.


This is the somewhat odd-looking Clostera albosigma, the Sigmoid Prominent. All clostera species have the same general look about them, what with the upward pointing tuft on the tip of the abdomen and the blunt, sharply demarcated black patch on the front of the head. What a brilliant looking beast it is! This is probably our most common clostera species in southern Ontario.

So, there you have it, a very brief introduction to this fascinating family of moths. At a later stage I'll show you a few more...they are all striking in their own ways.

Another painting...

Since I've been working I really don't have too much to report...well, nothing really. So, as they say on the British cooking shows "here's one I prepared earlier"! This is a painting of a Boreal Owl that I completed a few winters back. This bird spent most of the winter in the woods on the other side of the road from Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Durham county. I loved it's favored perch, what with the yellow birch backdrop and the tangle of vines and took a few photos. Then, of course, I thought - "this would make a nice painting" - so there you go.


I hope you like this offering. Maybe one or two will show up over the next week or two to pad out the old winter list!

A stroll in the park...

After an amusing and enjoyable morning watching jousting and sword fights I thought it a great way to unwind to weave my way through High Park to add a few winter birds to the old list. It was pretty late by the time I got there so it was rather quiet...very few people as well which was nice. The absolute highlight was watching as many as 90 Northern Shovellers doing their thing in a tight ball at the north end of Grenadier Pond and wishing I'd had my camera with me. All different plumages. As well, I located the Red Fox Sparrow in the SE corner exactly where it had been seen on the first. It responded immediately to pishing, as did a Song Sparrow...but no Swamp Sparrow. Mothwise, I spotted one Fall Cankerworm Moth clinging to a tree trunk.


Deciding to push on rather than retrace my steps I walked down to Sunnyside to check out the gull situation. Not much and no Double Crested Cormorant either. There were some nice Redheads and Greater Scaup (above) to look at though. Thinking I might as well proceed I trudged west to Humber Bay East in the dim hopes of seeing the Pied-billed Grebe. Nothing doing but I did see a lovely male Northern Pintail and a solitary American Coot amongst the puddle ducks. A bracing walk into a biting west wind...quite a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon really...

Let the winter list begin...

The first day of December traditionally heralds the start of the "winter list". Growing up, as I did, in UK this was a totally new concept for me when when I moved over here. The listing period runs 'til the end of February. Still, it's not a bad idea and at least gets you out there looking for birds when one would normally be huddled at home...or better still in the pub! I did it once, seriously, and got to about 118 species in the GTA. A pretty good total by anyone's standards. However, after spending hours looking for, and ultimately dipping on, a Chipping Sparrow it suddenly hit home that it was a horrendous waste of time! Having said that I still start out with good intentions on the first of the month...but by Christmas I've sort of run out of steam and I give up. Still, it's all good fun isn't it?

Anyway, this particular first of December I decided to bird on Toronto Islands - my favorite place to bird in the city. After swimming, which wasn't particulary successful due to my badly sprained wrist, and ticking off my faithful pair of Mockingbirds at me back yard berries I made my way down to the terminal, having to run the final bit due to thinking I was late! I wasn't! It turned out to be rather quiet on the islands overall but there were one or two highlights.

Hanlans Point was almost devoid of birds though I did flush up a nice flock of 11 American Pipits from the edge of the airstrip. Offshore there were Long-tailed Ducks everywhere, and everywhere you could hear them calling away...quite atmospheric in the flat calm and overcast conditions. I was feeling a bit jaded by the time I got to Gibraltar Point but my mood swiftly changed when I spotted a lovely Lincoln's Sparrow lurking by the washrooms...Let's get it straight, was the sparrow that was lurking, NOT me...OK. Whatever, this is a good winter bird and a new one for my list.


After basking in some glory for a while, whilst waiting for the non-existant Gannet to suddenly drift by I spotted a moth fluttering around. Was a Fall Cankerwom Moth (above), probably the only moth one could reasonably expect on this late date. I've actually seen them a few times on the first over the years.


Otherwise I saw a lone Horned Grebe offshore from the pier on Centre Island, a couple of White-throated and one Song Sparrow in the sancuary and a pair of furtive Carolina Wrens skulking in the Japanese Cane on the edge of the boardwalk en route to Wards. There were thousands of Long-tailed Ducks (above) along the boardwalk affording excellent views. I must have seen about 50 Hooded Mergansers too. All in all a most enjoyable outing to this great place...and no people.