© Lora Denis
Jenna and Kirstin, Petrel Point Nature Reserve © Noah Cole
This summer, my team and I met with landowners, cottagers and visitors on the Bruce to dispel myths about the maligned Massasauga rattlesnake. We didn’t expect people to fall in love with rattlers, but we hoped they would come to appreciate and help protect them. After all, rattlers are as much a part of the ...
Massasauga rattlesnake © Joe Crowley
Most people try to avoid encounters with venomous reptiles, but that wasn’t the case for the team of Ontario Nature staff that I accompanied to the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula last week. These herpetologists and avid naturalists ventured fearlessly across tall-grass meadows, forest clearings and rocky beaches in search of Sistrurus catenatus, commonly known as the Massasauga ...
As an enthusiastic field biologist, I seldom pass up a chance to go exploring for unusual wildlife. So I was more than happy to assist the Nature Conservancy of Canada conduct surveys this summer for one of Ontario’s most rare, and most unique, snakes: the queen snake. These small, harmless snakes live in rivers, streams, ...
Eastern gartersnake © Tim Zurowski
As discussed in an earlier post on this blog, we get lots of questions from people asking for advice about their day-to-day encounters with nature. I joined Ontario Nature this summer and am thoroughly enjoying fielding some of those queries. Through twitter, a farmer told us that he had not seen any snakes on his ...
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority