On August 24, with Derek Dunnett and Sophie Roy as our leaders, we took a leisurely walk through over 3km of easy trails at Stony Swamp, encountering 22 bird species, 9 herp species, along with numerous interesting insects and plants.
Some of the bird highlights : A Barred Owl posed very close to the trail for photos; a beautiful pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds sat out in the sunlight, showing their amazing colours; a pair of Scarlet Tanagers posed in a bare tree; a Baltimore Oriole sat near the trail; 4 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (both male and female adults and juveniles) gave closeup views and a Broad-winged Hawk soared overhead.
As we went along, we searched under fallen logs and stones and along the sides of the trail for snakes and salamanders. We were assisted to a great extent by our Young Mac, Will, in this adventure. Thanks Will for adding so many critters to our list!
The Herps we observed: 2 Wood Frogs, 2 Leopard Frogs, 1Painted Turtle, 1 Snapping turtle, 4 Eastern Newts, all adult form, 5 garter Snakes, I Northern Water Snake, 1 Milk Snake.
A few other interesting things:
Thanks to Derek and Sophie for leading and to everyone else for sharing. Thanks also to Karine Scott for some of the pictures.