Pelee Island Field Trip (2003)
Here are some of the field herping activities and field trips I’ve been involved with in the past.
Pelee Island
An expedition to Pelee Island has taken place every May long weekend; I attended the trips in 2001, 2002 and 2004. I’ve posted photos from the 2002 and 2004 trips, as well as a trip report from 2002.
Mudpuppy Night
Every winter, Fred Schueler runs a weekly expedition to the dam at Oxford Mills to observe mudpuppies — possibly the only place where they can be observed during winter. I’ve posted photos from 2004 and 2005.
Murphy’s Point
In 2002, we took part in an OARA field trip to Murphy’s Point Provincial Park. Our purpose was to look for black rat snakes, but we saw a lot of terrestrial salamanders instead. I’ve posted photos from that trip.
Narcisse Snake Dens
I visited the Narcisse Snake Dens twice in one year when I was eight years old — there are pictures of me from that time here and here — but didn’t return until August 2006. I’ve posted photos from that trip and have also written an article about it.
Spotted Turtle Survey
Every spring, the spotted turtle survey takes place at or near a provincial park in Ontario, the name and location of which is kept quiet to discourage poaching. I wrote an article about it in 2001, and I have some photos from the 2003 trip.
Life List
My life list is a list of all the species of reptiles and amphibians that I’ve encountered in the wild. I include both sightings and frog calls. It’s pretty heavily weighted toward southern Ontario and Quebec at the moment, a result of my lack of travel since getting into herping.
The life list indicates the first time I have seen a species in the wild — encounters with captives don’t count! Links are to photos of my first wild encounters with each species. An asterisk indicated a frog call rather than a visual sighting; in most cases that came at a later date.
| Snakes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Racer | Coluber constrictor foxii | Ontario | May 23, 2004 |
| Eastern Fox Snake | Elaphe gloydi | Ontario | May 19, 2001 |
| Smooth Green Snake | Liochlorophis vernalis | Ontario | April 19, 2003 |
| Lake Erie Water Snake | Nerodia sipedon insularum | Ontario | May 19, 2001 |
| Northern Water Snake | Nerodia sipedon sipedon | Ontario | May 6, 2000 |
| Brown Snake | Storeria dekayi | Ontario | April 14, 2001 |
| Northern Red-bellied Snake | Storeria o. occipitomaculata | Ontario | April 20, 2003 |
| Northern Ribbon Snake | Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis | Ontario | April 14, 2001 |
| Red-sided Garter Snake | Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis | Manitoba | May 1980 |
| Eastern Garter Snake | Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis | Ontario | April 14, 2001 |
| Lizards | |||
| Northern Alligator Lizard | Elgaria principis principis | B.C. | Aug. 1993 |
| Turtles | |||
| Common Snapping Turtle | Chelydra serpentina serpentina | Ontario | April 14, 2001 |
| Western Painted Turtle | Chrysemys picta bellii | Manitoba | Early 1980s |
| Midland Painted Turtle | Chrysemys picta marginata | Ontario | April 2000 |
| Spotted Turtle | Clemmys guttata | Ontario | April 14, 2001 |
| Blanding's Turtle | Emydoidea blandingi | Ontario | May 21, 2001 |
| Frogs and Toads | |||
| American Toad | Bufo americanus americanus | Ontario | May 21, 2001 |
| Gray Treefrog | Hyla versicolor | Ontario | May 2001* |
| Northern Spring Peeper | Pseudacris crucifer crucifer | Ontario | May 2001* |
| Western Chorus Frog | Pseudacris triseriata | Quebec | May 4, 2003* |
| Bullfrog | Rana catesbeiana | Ontario | May 2001 |
| Green Frog | Rana clamitans melanota | Ontario | April 8, 2001 |
| Northern Leopard Frog | Rana pipiens | Saskatchewan | 1970s |
| Mink Frog | Rana septentrionalis | Ontario | June 10, 2001 |
| Wood Frog | Rana sylvatica | Ontario | June 16, 2002 |
| Salamanders | |||
| Blue-spotted Salamander | Ambystoma laterale | Ontario | June 16, 2002 |
| Spotted Salamander | Ambystoma maculatum | Ontario | June 16, 2002 |
| Smallmouth Salamander | Ambystoma texanum | Ontario | May 19, 2001 |
| Common Mudpuppy | Necturus maculosus | Ontario | Feb. 2000 |
| Red-spotted Newt | Notophthalmus viridiscens viridiscens | Ontario | April 20, 2003 |
| Northern Red-backed Salamander | Plethodon cinereus | Ontario | April 14, 2001 |
Last updated: November 30, 2010.