Perry Sound Update

It has been a whirlwind month between returning from Washington, D.C., to moving to Parry Sound (again) and trying to jump back onto the thesis bandwagon. Arctic blogs are on a little bit of a hold until I can find a program to restore two of my memory cards.  NAOC 2016 conference blogs....are to come!

Excited chipmunk at Killbear Provincial Park

Post-conference I have been back in Parry Sound to finish writing my thesis, however I have been getting out and about for a little bit of birding and herping.

Migrants have been slowly trickling into the Parry Sound area. This past Monday, I headed out onto Lookout Point Trail in Killbear Provincial Park to scout for a walk I was leading Thursday morning.  The trail was rather quiet with 15 species seen.  The most exciting were Red-necked Grebes off the top of the lookout! On our way back, I was surprised to hear the drumming of a grouse.  The drumming was so close by and I was able to find it, just a few steps away!

Grouse with camera flash

And then without the flash!

Further along the trail we also ran into a group of deer that consisted of a doe and her two fawns.

Thursday, while there are no photos (sorry!), we had a much better birding day at Killbear.  We had a total of 26 species!  7 of these species were Warblers and our biggest surprise was a Savannah Sparrow at the lookout! 

Mike has been working with Wildlife Preservation Canada this year in Parry Sound on their Massasauga Rattlesnake project.  On weekends, I have been helping him out with some field work and it has been such a treat seeing Massies again this year.  If you are further interested in this project...feel free to check out his portion of Wildlife Preservation Canada's Blog (http://wildlifepreservation.ca/blog/author/massasauga-rattlesnake/) and/or follow him on Twitter (@OutdoorsColley)

My first day out with him, while relatively slow on the snake front, had an exciting treat in store! We noticed a little head peaking out of the trap's coverboard and once we opened it up, out popped a long-tailed weasel!  The little guy was incredibly curious and hung around the trap long enough for us to snap a photo!

On my second day of trapping out with Mike, we caught a tiny neonate snake (snake that had been born this year). While the close-up photo makes it look like a relatively decent size, you can really tell how small it is once Mike is in the photo! 

Well!  That is my fast update for now....hopefully soon I will get a chance to post a little more about both D.C in August and a little bit more about the Arctic (so many photos to share!).

Hope everyone is enjoying the start to fall!

T