Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Lanthanotus]

Haha, great find, Doug, but why didn't you grab it right behind the head?....

.. though, that would not have made such a nice story to tell

[Doug Watson]

Haha, great find, Doug, but why didn't you grab it right behind the head?....

.. though, that would not have made such a nice story to tell

Growing up I used to always catch snakes behind the head but after a hiatus from snake hunting (girls, marriage, work, etc) I started trying the Steve Irwin method of gently grabbing the snake close to the tail with a loose grip and I have found that the snakes are far less stressed this way. In the last few years since trying this method I have caught many snakes including a few six foot rat snakes and this is the first that has bit me. I kind of rushed this catch and again if I had been watching the snake instead of the bystanders the snake wouldn't have got me and I am sure it would have calmed down faster. But then again I wouldn't have the story. It is also easier to do this here since I don't encounter any seriously venomous snakes, that would be a different story.

[Newt]

Nice war wound, Doug!

A few days ago as I was heading out my driveway (which is also a farm access road) I saw a big gray ratsnake, very similar to the one in your pic but a little lighter-colored, laying in the gravel. A farm truck was coming down the driveway from the other direction, so I couldn't just drive around him as it would probably squish him. I stopped my truck and would have picked him up to move him out of the way, but I was heading to dinner with my mom and didn't want to arrive reeking of snake musk. So I tried to gently shoo him off the road with my foot. He did not appreciate this and struck at me several times, but only managed to catch my pants leg. Eventually he got the hint and crawled off the road.

It's funny how variable ratsnakes are in temperament. If you pick up a racer or a ringneck or water snake, you pretty much know what's going to happen, but ratsnakes can be calm or flighty or pugnacious.

[Doug Watson]

Nice war wound, Doug!

A few days ago as I was heading out my driveway (which is also a farm access road) I saw a big gray ratsnake, very similar to the one in your pic but a little lighter-colored, laying in the gravel. A farm truck was coming down the driveway from the other direction, so I couldn't just drive around him as it would probably squish him. I stopped my truck and would have picked him up to move him out of the way, but I was heading to dinner with my mom and didn't want to arrive reeking of snake musk. So I tried to gently shoo him off the road with my foot. He did not appreciate this and struck at me several times, but only managed to catch my pants leg. Eventually he got the hint and crawled off the road.

It's funny how variable ratsnakes are in temperament. If you pick up a racer or a ringneck or water snake, you pretty much know what's going to happen, but ratsnakes can be calm or flighty or pugnacious.

To be honest I would rather get bit than musked. I had a Rat Snake musk once and it was easily the worst I had ever smelled. Worse than Garter or Water Snake. I was lucky and didn't get any on me.

[Doug Watson]

Kayaking again at Murphy's Point, getting too cold for the snakes, last week it was close to 30 degrees celsius and now it barely breaks 15, gotta love Canada. We did spot a young Otter that caught and ate a large crayfish in front of us.

Loch Ness Monster? No just a young River Otter.


The Otter caught one of Big Rideau's big crayfish and went up on shore to much it down.


This guy got into it with some other carnivore. It had some nasty bite wounds on top of the head. Good news is it seems to be healing.


Great Blue Heron


Heron with some impressive orb weaver webs behind.


Heron taking off.


Bullfrog, I have never seen one using a rocky crevice like this. Looks like a Giant African Bullfrog.


Blue Spotted Salamander. Something bit off the end of its tail a while back.


Painted Turtle, that is one serious looking turtle.


Map Turtle


Closed Gentian

[Newt]

Gentians already? I don't expect to see them blooming here for another month. Such an intense blue on those things.

Speaking of water snakes, here's a little Midland about to shed.


We're still getting mayflies! I went down to Kentucky Lake a couple weeks ago; there was a band of mayfly rack on the shore, like you'd see a band of seaweed on a saltwater beach.


The weather thinks it's still summer, but the sweetgums know fall is coming.

[Doug Watson]

Speaking of water snakes, here's a little Midland about to shed.

Pretty little snake.

[Doug Watson]

Gentians already? I don't expect to see them blooming here for another month. Such an intense blue on those things.

Sure rub it in, this is Ca-Ca-Ca-Canada after all.

[Newt]

You'll have to show us some pics of this year's igloo! Though I guess it's hard to photograph white on white...

[Takama]

Nice day out so i took my camera out to see if i can catch something. And i did. a Little Squirrel in a Tree eating a nut

[Doug Watson]

Nice day out so i took my camera out to see if i can catch something. And i did. a Little Squirrel in a Tree eating a nut

Nice shots.

[Doug Watson]

Kayaking at Murphy's Point ended last weekend with the closing of the Park for the season so we took advantage of some decent weather and went Friday and Monday. Friday was + 25 celsius and Monday was + 9 celsius so Friday was shorts and Monday was long pants and a jacket.

On Friday I had two more sightings of Musk Turtles also known as a Stinkpot Turtle. This one was my third sighting this fall and also only the third time I had seen this species in my life. This was the first time I was able to get photographic proof.


Great Blue Heron


Osprey, this was on Monday and there are no other Ospreys around so I suspect it may have been born this year. Hopefully it figured out it had to fly South.




A couple of Whitetail Deer does.

[Lanthanotus]

Nice shots Doug, as usual, you're lucky you got some wast and healthy environment in Canada. Are those Blue Herons really blue(ish) in Canada, it looks very much like the European Heron which is called "Graureiher" (Grey Heron) in Germany for the reaosn it's grey, never seen any blue spots or hues on them and they are plenty here.

[Doug Watson]

Nice shots Doug, as usual, you're lucky you got some wast and healthy environment in Canada. Are those Blue Herons really blue(ish) in Canada, it looks very much like the European Heron which is called "Graureiher" (Grey Heron) in Germany for the reaosn it's grey, never seen any blue spots or hues on them and they are plenty here.

They really should be called a Great Grey Heron because as you noted they are really grey. Sometimes in the right light their backs and wings appear bluish from a distance but up close they are grey.

[Halichoeres]

Great shots, as usual. One of my favorite wildlife photos ever came from a guy I ran into in Minnesota, who had photographed an osprey at a distance with what was unmistakably the handle of a leash dangling from whatever was in its talons.

[Doug Watson]

Great shots, as usual. One of my favorite wildlife photos ever came from a guy I ran into in Minnesota, who had photographed an osprey at a distance with what was unmistakably the handle of a leash dangling from whatever was in its talons.

As a dog lover that is just plain disturbing. I have only ever witnessed them catching and feeding on fish, but apparently they do take the odd small mammal. Hopefully they use a different strike than they do with fish or it must really hurt when they smack the ground, 

[Simon]

Great shots, as usual. One of my favorite wildlife photos ever came from a guy I ran into in Minnesota, who had photographed an osprey at a distance with what was unmistakably the handle of a leash dangling from whatever was in its talons.

As a dog lover that is just plain disturbing. I have only ever witnessed them catching and feeding on fish, but apparently they do take the odd small mammal. Hopefully they use a different strike than they do with fish or it must really hurt when they smack the ground, 

There are many videos on yoube that appear to be real - this one looks a bit too slick to be real, but ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQWrgCOUEfE

[Simon]

About 16 years ago I was driving along a highway in San Antonio, Texas, left hand lane, medium speed, when a hawk "dropped" from the sky into the bush just ahead and to the left of the road.  As we drove past it had started up again and I could see the tail of the field mouse it had caught sticking out of its talons - an amazing sight ...

[stargatedalek]

I've seen bald eagles snatch fish from the water alongside the boat I was on, must have been no more than 5 meters away. But they were baited in with fish prior to that one catching one of its own.

[Doug Watson]

There are many videos on yoube that appear to be real - this one looks a bit too slick to be real, but ...

Yes, I think that one is fake, mind you once you get up into eagle territory a dog like that would be no problem at all. In fact I have seen the smaller Osprey lift fish out of the water that were way bigger than that dog.

About 16 years ago I was driving along a highway in San Antonio, Texas, left hand lane, medium speed, when a hawk "dropped" from the sky into the bush just ahead and to the left of the road.  As we drove past it had started up again and I could see the tail of the field mouse it had caught sticking out of its talons - an amazing sight ...

Isn't that cool! I have been lucky three times with similar incidents but all three were with me on a bike. Two were in Gatineau Park in Quebec, first a Red-Tailed Hawk swooped down to the edge of the road in front of me and flew away with a Garter Snake in its talons, second was a Raven that did the same thing except it grabbed the snake in its beak and flew off. The third time was much more recent when my wife and I were on rented bikes in Shark Valley Everglades Park in Florida and a Red-Shouldered Hawk dropped out of the sky and grabbed an unidentified snake in its talons and flew off.

I've seen bald eagles snatch fish from the water alongside the boat I was on, must have been no more than 5 meters away. But they were baited in with fish prior to that one catching one of its own.

That would be something to see. Once while I was fishing on the Ottawa River I watched an aerial battle between a Bald Eagle and an Osprey with a fish. The eagle would fly in with its outstretched talons forcing the Osprey to counter. Eventually the Osprey let go of the fish and the eagle immediately swooped down grabbing the fish as it was still in the air. Then the eagle just flew off with its easy meal.