Colombia - Day 6 (January 22, 2015): Minca, drive to the desert and La Guajira

Introduction
January 17, 2015 - Isla de Salamanca, Minca, El Dorado lodge
January 18, 2015 - Cuchilla de San Lorenzo, El Dorado lodge
January 19, 2015 - Cuchilla de San Lorenzo, El Dorado lodge
January 20 and 21, 2015 - El Dorado lodge to Minca
January 22, 2015 - Minca, drive to La Guajira Desert
January 23, 2015 - La Guajira Desert
January 24, 2015 - PNN Tayrona, fly to Andes
January 25, 2015 - Bogotá area: PNN Chingaza, Siecha wetlands
January 26, 2015 - Laguna de Pedro Palo, Payande area
January 27, 2015 - Cañón del Río Combeima, SFF Otún Quimbaya
January 28, 2015 - SFF Otún Quimbaya, drive to Montezuma Road
January 29, 2015 - Montezuma Road
January 30, 2015 - Montezuma Road, drive to Jardín
January 31, 2015 - Jardín area, Cauca Valley
February 1, 2015 - Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco
February 2, 2015 - Páramo del Ruiz near PNN Los Nevados

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We were up dark and early for one last shot at the dry forest specialties we were missing around Minca before heading back down the mountain. Our plan was to be picked up by our driver in Minca around noon, who would then be with us for the next couple of days as we planned to explore the northeast region of the country- the arid Guajira desert. 

But first things first - our morning around Minca. We walked from our hotel through the dry streets before dawn while the first few bird species started vocalizing, signalizing the imminent arrival of another new day. Most interesting to me was the Rufous Nightjar calling from somewhere near the hotel grounds. Our goal was to hike a trail near town that accessed some nice dry forest habitat while also having a great view of a nearby valley where it is sometimes possible to see Military Macaws flying to their feeding grounds from their roosting areas early in the morning, and back again in the evening. Those who have birded with me in the tropics know my disdain for parrots - most of them are all green (or occasionally with a small bit of orange, blue, yellow, red, etc mixed in), they all sound somewhat similar (usually a loud, irritating squawk), and most sightings are of individuals flying by at rapid speed, often backlit, so that it is impossible to pick out the unique orange/blue/yellow/red, etc bit that identifies them. And to make matters worse, I can never remember which parrot species I have seen, as they are all named Blue-headed this, or Red-lored that, or Yellow-crowned something else. But macaws, despite unfortunately being related to the other psitticines, I find somewhat more interesting, and Military Macaws are actually pretty cool.

But I digress - back to the morning at hand. Our progress towards where the good dry forest habitat started was briefly impeded by the discovery of this little spectacled lizard on the trail, identified as Loxopholis rugiceps.  

Loxopholis rugiceps - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

It was a typical morning weather wise - warm, humid, with the temperatures increasing quickly once the sun appeared. The dry forest around us came alive with birdsong, mostly common species like the ubiquitous Tropical Kingbird, Keel-billed Toucan, Dusky-capped Flycatcher and Pale-breasted Thrush, but also a few other interesting species including Rufous-and-white Wren, which has one of my favorite bird songs. While walking along, a couple of Yellow-headed Caracaras kept us company.

Yellow-headed Caracara - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

We lucked out with one of our main targets as we had two separate Black-backed Antshrikes. A surprise Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant was nice to see as well, as they can be a difficult species in this part of Colombia. I snapped this photo of a Smooth-billed Ani, a species familiar to anyone who birds regularly in the Caribbean, southern Central America or South America. What a prehistoric looking bird...

Smooth-billed Ani - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

As we were walking along the trail overlooking the valley just after sunrise, we suddenly heard the unmistakable loud squawking of macaws somewhere in the valley below us. Military Macaws! We frantically scanned for the birds, and eventually they burst through an opening in the foliage - a pair flying together, their green and blue plumage lit up in the morning sun. Almost as quickly as they appeared they were gone again, out of view due to the foliage surrounding us.

We were treated to a few more flybys of Military Macaw pairs. Whether they were the same birds, or different ones, we could not say for sure. I did not bother trying for photos however, as the birds were quite distant and I wanted to enjoy the brief views through binoculars that we had. The birds were often flying way down below us in the valley, more often heard than seen, so that our hillside and its respective vegetation blocked out the view.

We stopped at the hotel for breakfast, adding White-lined Tanager and Baltimore Oriole to the trip list as we watched the hummingbirds and tanagers coming to the feeders. What a view!

Steely-vented Hummingbird - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

After breakfast we continued on foot through the town of Minca and towards a waterfall just up the road - evidently a popular spot for the backpackers frequenting Minca as well as the locals. Our interest lay not with falling water, but with the birds in this section of dry forest. We did quite well despite the diminished bird activity at this hour (around 9:00 AM), adding a few new trip birds or lifers, all which are fairly widespread in Central or South America. Swallow Tanager is one of the more unique tanagers; as their name implies they sometimes act like swallows, perching on horizontal branches or hydro wires, and excavating nests in muddy banks. Despite occurring frequently throughout much of South America, it was a species I was quite happy to see and photograph!

Swallow Tanager - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

This Gray-capped Cuckoo was yet another lifer that appeared in some scrub along the side of the road. Black-capped Tyrannulet was also new, though we would see many more in the Andes later in the trip. Purple Honeycreeper and Black-and-white Seedeater, my last two lifers of the morning, happened to be the only individuals of these species that we would encounter on this trip. A few new trip birds were also seen here - Sooty-capped Tyrannulet, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Barred Antshrike and Tropical Pewee among them.

Gray-capped Cuckoo - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

The birding was good but the sun was now high in the sky and we had a ride to catch, so we hurried back down the road towards town, eventually meeting up with our driver in the parking lot at the Hotel Minca.

We were a little surprised by his vehicle, a tiny four-door compact car, and fitting all of our gear inside (mainly Steve's gear - the rest of us just had a single pack) was a bit difficult, but with a bit of crafty maneuvering we made it work and were on our way. To the desert!

It was hot in the mountains, but the lowlands were really cooking and we kept the windows open the whole time as we drove, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of rural Colombia. The landscape transitioned from dry forest to farmland, to coastal mangrove interspersed with small towns, to mature dry forest, to thorny woodland and finally to sparsely vegetated desert.

We stopped for lunch near the Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, an area of mature dry forest which we would be visiting the following evening and subsequent day. The restaurant was along the bank of a lazy river, where a few new trip birds awaited - Little Blue Heron, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Green Kingfisher and my first Carib Grackles.

We finally entered the Guajira Peninsula, and the change in the landscape was immediately apparent - it was very dry, with vegetation consisting mainly of patches of thorny trees. We added some new birds, including Scaled Dove and Pale-legged Hornero, both common species in this part of the world. Despite it being mid-day, we hoped to see at least some of the specialty birds of the region even if they are much easier to find early in the morning.

Pin-tailed Pondhawk - Casa Blanca area, La Guajira Province, Colombia

Taking a small sideroad off of the main road we were excited to see some new birds for the trip, including our first of the Guajira specialties - an Orinocan Saltator. Gray Kingbird was also surprisingly a new species for me.

This Russet-throated Puffbird perched obligingly at close range. While not a Guajira specialty, the  Russet-throated Puffbird can only be found in northern Colombia and northern Venezuela reliably.

 

Russet-throated Puffbird - Casa Blanca area, La Guajira Province, Colombia

We continued the long drive after our brief diversion, arriving at Sanctuaria de Fauna y Flora Los Flamencos. Part of the protected land includes a large wetland set at the edge of the Caribbean. One of the most important wetlands in northern coastal Colombia, it hosts an impressive number of wading birds, shorebirds, and gulls. Of course all the Guajira specialty birds can be found within or very near to SFF Los Flamencos.

It was late in the day when we finally pulled up to the refuge. Out here, the only tourists that visit are the occasional group of birders, and it was pretty cool to be at an area that felt so far out of the way of the usual tourist traffic. As we scanned the shorebirds and spoonbills with our scopes, a group of local school-aged kids played soccer nearby, while other people living in the village headed out to the shallow waters to harvest crabs.

Roseate Spoonbill and Snowy Egret - SFF Los Flamencos, La Guajira Province, Colombia

We did not have too much time before sunset, but we successfully found both Kelp and Herring Gulls among all the Laughing Gulls. Both of these species are pretty rare in Colombia, though this spot has become somewhat reliable for them in recent years.

I was also happy to spot my first Scarlet Ibis here among a flock of White Ibises, along with several hybridy looking individuals that were not as bright red as they should be.

As this was our first time on the coast, a variety of species were new trip birds, including many which are common at times in Ontario! Great Egret, Sanderling, Great Blue Heron, American Golden-Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Black-bellied Plover, etc all made appearances.

That evening we drove east to the town of Riohacha where we planned to spend the night. The following morning we would be back at SFF Los Flamencos, to meet up with our local guide for the day and hopefully see most of the bird specialties of La Guajira. Stay tuned!

Colombia - Day 4 and 5 (January 20 and 21, 2015): El Dorado lodge, Minca

Introduction
January 17, 2015 - Isla de Salamanca, Minca, El Dorado lodge
January 18, 2015 - Cuchilla de San Lorenzo, El Dorado lodge
January 19, 2015 - Cuchilla de San Lorenzo, El Dorado lodge
January 20 and 21, 2015 - El Dorado lodge to Minca
January 22, 2015 - Minca, drive to La Guajira Desert
January 23, 2015 - La Guajira Desert
January 24, 2015 - PNN Tayrona, fly to Andes
January 25, 2015 - Bogotá area: PNN Chingaza, Siecha wetlands
January 26, 2015 - Laguna de Pedro Palo, Payande area
January 27, 2015 - Cañón del Río Combeima, SFF Otún Quimbaya
January 28, 2015 - SFF Otún Quimbaya, drive to Montezuma Road
January 29, 2015 - Montezuma Road
January 30, 2015 - Montezuma Road, drive to Jardín
January 31, 2015 - Jardín area, Cauca Valley
February 1, 2015 - Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco
February 2, 2015 - Páramo del Ruiz near PNN Los Nevados

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Our plan for the morning was to hike down the road for several kilometers to lower elevation forests. A small village here called Palo Alto sometimes hosts one or more Santa Marta Blossomcrowns, one of the two remaining endemic bird species we had yet to find. 

Band-tailed Guan - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena Province, Colombia

My camera spent the night in a ziploc bag with some of Steve's silica packs, and by the morning I did not see any condensation visible through the viewfinder. I tried turning it on, and surprisingly it worked! I guess the silica packs really do work. My macro lens was also OK, but the flash appeared to be dead. It was turned on when the camera setup was submerged and appeared to be fried. 

I decided to take my camera with me, though after an hour or so of hiking in the high humidity with the temperature increasing I noticed a significant amount of condensation in the viewfinder and the top display panel, so that shut down my photography for the day. I just did not want to risk anything. The plan would be to lay the camera out in the hot sun later that afternoon with hopes of removing any lingering condensation. 

The birding was pretty decent on the walk down, though we had to work hard at times for new species. New trip birds appeared occasionally - Long-billed Hermit, Blue-headed Parrot, Bright-rumped Attila, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo. Common neotropical species that we had seen before, but interesting all the same. 

After an hour or two, we heard a Rusty-breasted Antpitta calling down a slope, our third (of four) antpitta species that are found in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The fourth, Scaled, is a widespread Central American and Andean species that we would miss on the trip. The Rusty-breasted would tease us occasionally with a song, then refuse to show itself in typical antpitta fashion! 

A small flock of Blue-capped Tanagers appeared in a little mixed flock, our second and final life bird for the day. We walked the several kilometers down the to Palo Alto and searched for Blossomcrowns at the recommended garden, but struck out. This bird was starting to get annoying...Our other target, the Santa Marta Antbird was also a no-show on the day. Their preferred habitat, forest edges and second growth at low to middle elevations, was a little too far down the mountain past where we had hiked to. Our plan would be to try to find it one our drive out the following morning.

The sun was rising in the sky and bird activity was slipping, so we decided on retracing our steps up the road towards El Dorado for the afternoon. I was anxious to continue drying my camera in the sun and with few bird targets where we were situated we could relax around the lodge for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

We encountered a group of 5 Black-fronted Wood-Quails along the road, improving on our views of this scarce species which we had briefly observed two days earlier. And as we arrived back at the lodge, one of the guys located this awesome little Anadia species. It is hard to find photos online of the various Anadia lizards, but I believe this one is A. pulchella, endemic to the Santa Marta mountains. 

Anadia pulchella - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena Province, Colombia

That afternoon we mostly relaxed around the lodge as the previous few days had involved a lot of walking. The Sierra Nevada Brushfinch made another appearance at the compost pile, our first excellent looks at one. Of course more fun was had with our friend Juan as well...

Chillin' with Juan the Guan - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena Province, Colombia

Chillin' with Juan the Guan - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena Province, Colombia

Band-tailed Guan - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena Province, Colombia

January 21, 2015

The following morning Pedro picked us up to drive us back down to Minca. We tried again for Santa Marta Blossomcrown, this time at a new location that had hosted birds in the past. Extensive gardens in the backyard provide excellent habitat for tanagers, hummingbirds, warblers, flowerpiercers, thrushes and more.

While walking around the grounds behind the house our luck finally came through in the form of a Blossomcrown! It did not stay long, but I think the other guys managed ok photos. We also encountered our first male Coppery Emerald here, a sharp looking little hummer, as well as our first Black-headed Tanagers, Rusty Flowerpiercers, and a One-colored Becard. It was nice to finally see a few lifers in a row, considering we had only two in the previous day.

With our main target acquired we continued our drive down the mountain towards Minca, stopping several times in appropriate looking habitat for the Santa Marta Antbird. Eventually the forest gave way to more fincas interspersed with forests and other cleared areas, providing what looked like suitable antbird habitat. We were in luck once again and came across at least two birds, near the village of Cincinati. Their skulked in the undergrowth and remaining hidden at first, but eventually popped out and allowed the guys with functioning camera to take a few record shots.

With all of our main targets now in the bag, we completed the drive to Minca where a few cold beers on the terrace of the hotel/restaurant were in order!

Interestingly enough, the typical lager of much of Colombia, known as Aguila, uses a picture of a Bald Eagle on their label. Bald Eagles are not found in Colombia, and there is a vast array of amazing eagle species native to Colombia that they could have picked instead - Harpy Eagle, Black-and-Chestnut Eagle, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Solitary Eagle, etc.

After another hour of drying in the sun while we were having lunch, my camera's rise from the dead was complete. I was a little nervous turning it on and taking the first few photos but everything seemed to be working just perfectly! I lucked out this time.

White-vented Plumeleteer - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

White-necked Jacobin - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

Steely-vented Hummingbird - Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird -Minca, Magdalena Province, Colombia

Following a quick photography session with the same common hummingbird species at the feeders we decided to go for an afternoon walk in the dry forest and scrubby areas around the periphery of the town. While we had observed all the possible endemic bird species, there were a handful of lower elevation, dry forest specialties to look for. While the timing of our hike wasn't the best, we encountered a surprising number of birds including a few new ones for the trip - Blue Ground-Dove, Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant, Masked Tityra, Cinnamon Becard, etc. White-bearded Manakin and Swallow Tanager were lifers; I was surprised that it had taken us this long to find our first Swallow Tanagers since they are supposedly common in the area.

We stayed in Minca for the night which gave us one more shot at Black-backed Antshrike and Military Macaw in the morning, two specialties of the area. From there we would be meeting up with our driver who would take us east along the coast to the Guajira desert with its suite of new bird species.

Herping trip to Georgian Bay - Day 2 of 2

The weather on day two was quite cool early in the morning; assuming it would be better herping if we waited until it warmed up a little, Todd and I decided to pack up camp right away, giving us maximum hiking time later.

By 7:00 AM or so we were on our way. The first snake did not take long to be discovered - I spotted this Eastern Gartersnake stretched out near a crevice where it had presumably spent the night (we had seen it crawl into there last night). This was the same location that Todd had located the Eastern Milksnake yesterday, so evidently it provided ideal habitat.

Eastern Gartersnake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Only a few minutes later, a quick buzz brought our attention to this beautiful Eastern Massasauga on the granite bedrock, only a few dozen meters from where we had camped the last two nights.Somehow we did not encounter this snake in the previous days despite walking right past this area frequently. While snakes tend to stick to a home range, they often move about within this range in search of food, sex or better thermoregulating opportunities.

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

No matter how many rattlesnakes I see, I can`t help but stop to observe and photograph each one. Rattlesnakes are just such impressive animals, with many unique adaptations that enable them to hunt the prey they do and eke out an existence in this world. Finding Eastern Massasaugas certainly never gets old...

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

We worked over a new area this morning as we had covered many of our other favorite spots on the island on the Saturday. In one particular clearing we cleaned up (well, Todd did). We flipped a few rocks with Todd discovering a Ring-necked Snake, several Red-bellied Snakes and an Eastern Gartersnake; meanwhile under my rocks I found nothing but ants! Todd also discovered our fourth rattlesnake of the weekend here, a snake showing a slightly different colour scheme than the three previous. This one had a slate gray background colour with olive/brown dorsal blotches, and dark gray blotches laterally. It was a little smaller than the previous ones too, though still a mature adult. Look at how many rattle segments are present. As snakes shed their skins, a new rattle segment is added each time. This isn't however a reliable way to tell a snake's approximate age since these segments will fall off over time. This snake exhibited a decently large rattle (for a Massasauga).

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

We flipped a few more snakes under flat rocks throughout the morning, including several more Red-bellied and Ring-necked Snakes and our only Dekay's Brownsnake of the trip.

Red-bellied Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

No surprise, this Ring-necked Snake was "in the blue", meaning it will undergo ecdysis (shedding) soon. Snakes in the blue seem to make up a rather large percentage of the snakes I find under rocks and other cover objects.

Ring-necked Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Todd scored this two-for one deal of Red-bellied Snakes; one of each colour morph! I seem to encounter these two colour morphs in roughly equal amounts; sometimes the slate gray individuals will be so dark they are almost black.

Red-bellied Snakes are closely associated with forests across their range, though they are often easier to find at the edges of woodlands and in clearings. Rarely growing larger than 30 cm, Red-bellied Snakes are inoffensive little snakes that prefer to dine on slugs. While it is quite rare to see Ring-necked Snakes out in the open, both Red-bellied Snakes and their cousins, the Dekay's Brownsnakes will both frequently travel in the open during the day, particularly during spring in fall or after a rain.

Red-bellied Snakes - Georgian Bay Islands NP

With our watches ticking closer to noon Todd and I made the decision to walk back to the boat and head over to the mainland. While the sun had been out all morning, some clouds were rolling in, the wind was picking up and it wasn't shaping out to be an ideal afternoon on the islands.

One last surprise was in order, however. While walking along a trail passing through a sandier area characterized by Eastern White Pine and smaller amounts of deciduous tree species, I thought I heard a snake slither as we walked by. Todd and I stopped and scanned for it, without any luck unfortunately. Just as we were about to continue onwards, I spotted the culprit - a beautiful little Eastern Hog-nosed Snake!

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

We were thrilled with this find - hoggies can be very difficult to encounter, as I mentioned in my previous post. To find one just cruising through the forest away from rock piles or cover objects is always fun, and this individual had a really unique dorsal pattern which I have not seen on any individual hoggie before. It was almost coloured just like the previous Eastern Massasauga from earlier in this post.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

It does not take much for an Eastern Hog-nosed Snake to get riled up. They flatten their head and body to appear larger, hiss, and will even play dead if the aggressor does not leave. Our presence was enough for it to start the flattening process, as you can see below.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

We left the little snake after a few minutes, wishing him the best of luck and many nice juicy toads in his future.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

As these trips always are, it was over much too soon. Todd and I were both lucky to get away for a full weekend anyways as we are both quite busy this time of year completing breeding bird surveys for our respective companies. I can't wait for the next trip to the islands - the Georgian Bay population of Eastern Foxsnake has still managed to elude me.

Herping trip to Georgian Bay - Day 1 of 2

Last weekend, Todd Hagedorn and I headed north for our third annual summer herping trip in Georgian Bay. Two years ago we explored Georgian Bay Islands National Park, last year was a night at my go-to Massasauga spot further east on the mainland, and this year we decided to return to Georgian Bay Islands National Park.

Located less than an hour north of Barrie, but only accessible by boat, the islands are simultaneously easy and difficult to access. The drive up from southern Ontario isn't too long (as long as you can avoid the weekend cottage traffic heading north from Toronto), however since you have to take a boat to access the islands there are rarely large numbers of other campers on the islands. Todd and I took a water taxi on our last visit to the islands, but this year saved a bit of money by taking Todd's dad's boat.

While there were several yachts and sailboats anchored offshore our chosen island, we were the only ones actually camping on the mainland. As this is a national park, camping fees were actually quite reasonable - about 15$ a night. A nice change from the 40$ a night at provincial parks!

Todd and I both worked on Friday, and combined with the weekend traffic and a gravel spill on Highway 400, our arrival was a bit later than we had hoped. However, the boat was in the water an hour before sunset and we made our way through the channels between the islands until arriving at our destination.

We heard a few Gray Treefrogs and American Bullfrogs that evening, but they stopped vocalizing as the wind picked up in the late evening. There was a "Special Weather Statement" for the area, which ended up materializing as an hour or two of hard rain during the middle of the night. Fortunately we were dry in the tent, as we had set up under a gazebo near our campsite!

It had stopped raining by dawn and Todd and I set out, eager to see what we could find. These islands provide habitat for a rather large proportion of the reptiles and amphibian species native to Ontario. Five of the eight turtle species, eleven of fifteen snakes, and the only lizard in Ontario can be found here, along with six salamanders and ten frog/toad species. That is a total of 33 species, out of 47 found in the province.

The ground was saturated in areas and the sun was hidden behind a dense wall of clouds, preventing many reptiles from basking out in the open where they would be easier to find. We ended up hiking around all morning, carefully flipping the occasional rock and scanning rock piles, shrubby areas with juniper, and edge habitats in hopes of encountering a snake.

Somehow we managed to go the entire morning without seeing a single snake - something that is really hard to do here during June! However, there were many other things to keep up the interest level. As we walked through the more heavily wooded areas we had to watch our step to avoid these colorful little gems.

Eastern Newt - Georgian Bay Islands NP

While hiking through a rock barren characterized by Red and White Oak, Eastern White Pine, Red Maple and American Elm, we came across this beautiful Blanding's Turtle, plodding her way through the barrens in search of a suitable nesting site.

Blanding's Turtle - Georgian Bay Islands NP

As you can see, this individual had suffered a wound some years ago to her carapace, likely caused by the propeller of a boat (the area has a large amount of boat traffic). She had survived the injury and each year makes the long and somewhat awkward trek, likely over a km in length, over rocks and through woodlands and wetlands to find the perfect spot to lay her eggs. One has to admire the resiliency of these turtles, some which have been known to live for over 80 years.

Blanding's Turtle - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Categorized as a Threatened Species in Ontario and Canada, Blanding's Turtles have been declining due to a combination of factors - road and boat mortality, habitat loss, and egg predation by raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes among other species. It was pretty special to observe this individual, doing what Blanding's Turtles have done for millions of years.

Blanding's Turtle - Georgian Bay Islands NP

The Blanding's was not the only turtle with a damaged shell that we found - Todd located this girl digging a "test hole" in some shallow soil on the bedrock near the shoreline. Like the Blanding's Turtle, it also exhibited an old propeller wound.

Snapping Turtle - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Snapping Turtle - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Our luck with snakes finally changed around lunch time. Todd discovered the first snake of the trip, an Eastern Milksnake, along with an Eastern Gartersnake.

The sun finally broke through the clouds in the early afternoon. After an hour or so of hiking, I happened to spot an Eastern Massasauga coiled amongst some rocks at the edge of a clearing.

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

While we were photographing the first individual, a second buzzed off from a few meters away, hidden under some juniper branches. We spent the next little while photographing the first rattlesnake as it lay quietly on the dead leaves and moss. It was a pretty thick individual and my guess is that it is a pregnant female. For much of the next 5-7 weeks she will bask in the sun, ensuring quick development of the embryos inside of her.

Eastern Massasauga - Georgian Bay Islands NP

We continued on to let the 'saugas thermoregulate in peace, and happened upon this Eastern Gartersnake stretched out across the trail. It tolerated my slow but steady approach until my camera lens was only six inches from it. Often if you move slowly snakes have a difficult time of detecting the movement and become more approachable.

Eastern Gartersnake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

When exploring the rocky barrens and maple, elm and oak forests, we couldn't help but notice other, less obvious species. This was especially true when we weren't finding any snakes!

I spotted this jumping spider with its unfortunate victim in a brush pile along the edge of an open area.

Jumping spider sp. and prey - Georgian Bay Islands NP

The excitement for the day wasn't over as we returned to camp around 6 PM. After grabbing some refreshments, Todd and I set out to explore the shoreline near our campsite. I was happy to spot a huge Eastern Hog-nosed Snake around 50 meters away from where we were camping. We had a lot of fun taking photos of this impressive snake!

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes are one of my favorite species found in Ontario. They can appear in a variety of patterns and colours, incorporating yellows, reds, oranges, browns, and blacks. Hoggies are toad specialists, and prefer areas of sandy soils for which they can excavate their nests. The next photo shows the shovel-shaped snout evolved for this purpose.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

This individual had blueish eyes, an easily observable sign that it will be shedding its skin, likely within a week's time. Often when snakes are "in the blue" they hide under cover more frequently, perhaps because of their reduced vision during this time or to help facilitate ideal shedding conditions by being somewhere warm and humid. Usually a couple days to a week before ecdysis, the eyes become clear once again.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes are uncommon and sparsely distributed in Ontario, though they can be locally common in a few select areas. I rarely encounter this species, having observed 13 individuals in the decade or so that I have been herping in Ontario.

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake - Georgian Bay Islands NP

My next post will cover the following day on the island, including photos of a few more impressive snakes.

Summer Tanager and Neotropic Cormorant at Point Pelee - May 13, 2016

I returned to my home away from home, Point Pelee, during the wee hours of the morning on Friday, May 13. After an all-too-brief sleep in my car I entered the park around 5:30 AM, with a plan to ride the early tram at 6:00 AM down to the Tip.

It was a full tram and all the eager birders piled off and headed south to the furthest south point of mainland Canada, scouring the woods for whatever new migrants had dropped in overnight. I cut off on a side trail to the east side of the Tip to escape from the crowds, and had the entire beach to myself! Not two minutes later my attention was grabbed by a medium-sized songbird perched in the open along the trees lining the beach. Even in the pre-dawn lighting, its shape looked somewhat Summer Tanager like, and a brief check with my binoculars confirmed my suspicions. Cool!

Summer Tanager - Point Pelee National Park

I sent out an alert and within a few minutes a large contingent of birders made their way back up the beach to where I was located, happy to lay eyes on their first Summer Tanager of the year. The bird was very hungry and actively foraging for insects quite successfully, replenishish its fat stores after a night of migrating.

Summer Tanager stakeout - Point Pelee National Park

It can be identified as a young male Summer Tanager due to the interesting combination of red, yellow, and green plumage. Much of its head and body feathers had been replaced with the red feathers characteristic of adult male Summer Tanagers, while its wings, tail and some of its underparts still retained the green and orange tones from its first basic plumage. Adult males are completely red, while females can range from orange to greenish overall.

Summer Tanager - Point Pelee National Park

Summer Tanager - Point Pelee National Park

Summer Tanagers are a rare but regular spring overshoot in southern Ontario and generally 10-15 are reported each year in the province. I have observed 12 Summer Tanagers in Ontario in my ~8 years of birding, of which this was the 5th one that I have found.

Summer Tanager - Point Pelee National Park

Summer Tanager - Point Pelee National Park

The bird remained pretty reliable throughout the rest of the day and hundreds of birders came by to check it out. It was still around later that evening when I went on a long walk down to the Tip and back.

Summer Tanager twitch - Point Pelee National Park

Another highlight of the day occurred only an hour after the Summer Tanager excitement. I was standing on the east side of the tip with a group of 8 or 10 birders, alternating between watching the skies for "reverse migrants" flying south off the tip, and scanning the open lake for whatever might fly by. Rob Waldhuber suddenly called out a small cormorant flying by, and within seconds the rest of us were on it. The tiny size (about half as large as the Double-crested Cormorants trailing it) and long tail identified this bird as a Neotropic Cormorant.

Neotropic Cormorant (lead bird) with Double-crested Cormorants - Point Pelee National Park

The first Neotropic Cormorant for Ontario was a bird that Dave Milsom and Ron Tozer found at Wheatley Harbour on May 3, 2005. The bird hung around for a couple of days, allowing hundreds of birders in the Pelee area (and from further afield) to add it to their Ontario list. The second Neotropic was found in Muddy Creek near Wheatley Harbour on April 24, 2011 by Brandon Holden - it remained there until the 27th of April. I was lucky to see the bird twenty minutes after Brandon found it as I was not far away at the time.

Neotropic Cormorant (lead bird) with Double-crested Cormorants - Point Pelee National Park

Since those initial sightings, Neotropic Cormorants have been seen at least 2-4 times a year in the province. This is probably due to a combination of factors - increased awareness of the species, a range extension to the north, and the constant study of cormorants by Brandon, who has found around half of them!

Neotropic Cormorant (lead bird) with Double-crested Cormorants - Point Pelee National Park

Unfortunately the sighting of this particular Neotropic Cormorant was fairly short-lived - eventually the small group of cormorants it was with disappeared into the haze to the north. I wish I had my spotting scope with me since it was too distant to view well with binoculars. Even with blowing up the photos I can't really tell the age of the bird. Regardless, it was an exciting morning of birding at one of my favorite locations in the province!