May Day

It's the first day of May, and the start of a month of great birding and five months of great natural activity. Tomorrow I head to Rondeau Provincial Park where I'll be leading birding hikes for much of May, and I'm very excited! For now, here's a few recent sightings from Mississauga and Etobicoke:

This Red-tailed Hawk was not happy about the American Crow dive-bombing it shortly after dawn this morning. Although crows mobbing hawks is a common sight, I've never seen a hawk quite so agitated.

Unlike the rest of our tiger beetles, Six-spotted Tiger Beetle is common in a diverse array of habitats, including open woods and this suburban lawn. 

 I've now seen nine species of warblers this spring, including two individuals of the distinctly un-warbler-like Ovenbird. Unlike many songbirds, the Ovenbird walks instead of hops along the ground.

 Mourning Cloaks are still the only butterfly I've seen this year, but a number of other species should be present soon if they aren't already.

The forest floor is now covered in the blooms of wildflowers, including the White Trout Lily, much less common in Ontario than the Yellow Trout Lily.

Many insects, including this wasp, have been enjoying the flowers of Marsh Marigold.