This week I saw a number of Mudpuppies at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park. My only previous sighting was one caught in a minnow trap on the Mattawa River just west of this park, so it was great to see this fully aquatic salamander again. This is by far my most exciting recent sighting, but some other cool creatures are pictured below.
A moderately sized Mudpuppy. A hint of the yellow stripes of the larvae is still visible.
Silvery Checkerspot on my lunch break today - only my second ever.
Harlequin Darner - this uniquely marked dragonfly is hard to find. It is interesting in that it seems to be a habitat generalist - found in streams, rivers, bogs, marshes and ponds - but is still fairly rare.
The most common dragonfly right now by a long way is Chalk-fronted Corporal, with large numbers resting in the sun on gravel roads, fallen logs and rocks.
Lured by an easy meal, these Turkey Vultures were among about 50 roosting at the Whitney Dump.
Pink Lady's Slipper is a beautiful orchid commonly found in June.
We're seeing more Eastern Swallowtails in our backyard here in Toronto then ever before. Not sure if it's something in our bird garden they like, as they never seem to land, or it's just a good year for them, but we're enjoying them!
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