and yet more swallows

Last day of June we set out for a walk on the dike at Harrison Bay....it was sunny and a little warmer (at least for the dogs) than it had seemed so didn't get too far but did notice a few interesting things...

primarily yet more swallow families....this time lined up on the wires...

mainly Tree Swallows but there is at least one Violet Green there (2nd from left) and I'm sure there were some Northern Rough Wing as well.  Saw adult Barn Swallows but no youngsters yet.

It was quite choppy out on the bay but there were this pair of...

Osprey out there.  Sadly at least one of the osprey nests has yet again not produced any young, probably due to too much human interference.

First time we've seen a Great Blue Heron over there for a while.  With no shore to speak of yet it was perched on one of the log booms.  Spotted Sandpiper could be heard calling hysterically as they tried to avoid people and dogs on the little bit of beach...with a full campground they weren't having much luck!

this Cedar Waxwing seen right at the start of the walk appears to have nesting material in its mouth.  We saw where it was going with it so will keep eyes open.  Waxwings and goldfinch are among the last species to nest although there are lots of species who will have a second or even third hatch if conditions are right.

For a while now have been keeping an eye on a solitary plant that I didn't recognize.  Today discovered a lot more of this particular plant...

this is the first time we've seen it in flower....it is, as far as we can figure an invasive, toxic plant called 'Tansy Ragwort'.  Most of the ones in flower were covered in those small red beetles you can just see in the  lower right hand corner...

then in another section we found the plants...

covered and almost completely defoliated by these caterpillars....something we'd never seen before.  After a bit of research these are the caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth and have been introduced as a control feature for these toxic plants.  These ones are obviously doing their job!  The moths are apparently red in colour.  Don't know how big but will have to watch for them.

Since we walked in an area we don't normally walk in due to the proximity of people's back yards we just happened to glimpse...

these beautiful White Water Lilies in a little pond between the bay and the dike, completely inaccessible which is probably why they have flourished!