Charleston Lake Provincial Park

Three of us, Dan, Nicole and I were honoured to be invited to the small gathering at Charleston Lake that was organized by Steve Marks. The main goal of the trip was to locate and photograph the elusive black rat snake.

On the way to the park on Highway 15 we spotted one loan snapping turtle nesting on the road side. Past experience has taught me that a nesting turtle is a vulnerable turtle and there are numerous egotistical individuals out there that derive some perverse pleasure from hitting turtles with their vehicles. I was the owner of one of these turtles for many years after a black SUV swerved to successfully hit the animal while it was attempting to cross the road. The vehicle almost hit us in as it swerved towards the animal regardless of the fact that there was absolutely no oncoming traffic. A few hundred dollars later, the turtle survived but its jaw and face will never be the same. But with this in mind, we stopped to watch a little of Mother Nature's work in progress. Before leaving however, we located a large rock and placed it about 1/2 a metre before the turtle so that it would be virtually impossible for a vehicle to injure the turtle.

We met with the rest of the group at the entrance of Charleston Lake Provincial Park. We paid our entrance fee and tracked down the camp site that several of the members were using that night. After tents were set up we ventured out to look for the black rat snake, a snake that Dan had yet to see in its natural habitat. We started out search by the water's edge and within five minutes, Dan had located and secured the snake! It was in the process of ecdysis and its spectacle was opaque, likely about five days from a shed. We took that opportunity to photograph the animal and our activities caught the attention of several campers. As good herpers, we relayed information about these animals and allowed a couple of children to have their pictures taken with the snake before it was finally released. Dan was enthused and disappointed at the same time. The main goal for the entire trip had just been accomplished leaving little excitement for the rest of the weekend but yet he had finally been able to see a fine specimen in its natural habitat. This, by the way, was the only black rat snake specimen found that weekend!

The guys however, did continue their herping adventures and even ventured into the swamps looking for Stinkpots (Sternotherus odoratus). I must admit, they were braver than me as I wouldn't be trotting through swamps with my skin exposed! Leeches and I are not friends and the least amount of times I need to see let alone be exposed to them is one of my goals in life! Regardless, their efforts ended up being rewarded and a fine male stinkpot was caught. As with the black rat snake, we did harass the poor animal a little as we staged a few photos for our personal albums. Lori had a high end camera and I am sure that some of her photos would be stunning. My little instant camera does an okay job but one of these days I'd love to purchase a good camera and learn how to use it properly!

Garter snakes, ribbon snakes and various frogs were found including mink frog, leopard frog, green frog and a wood frog. The trip was actually quite successful in finding most of Eastern Ontario herps. And being with a number of grad students I had the opportunity to learn about Jack-in-the-pulpit, slippery Elm tree, Pilated woodpeckers and a number of other nature facts!

We also stopped in at the Lake itself and it was crayfish breeding season. We found a few female crayfish that were carrying eggs. It is a shame that Fred Schreuler wasn't around, he has worked with crayfish for some time and I have no doubt he would be able to identify the exact species and probably provide some interesting facts about these creatures.

And talking about learning from others, that is one of the things I miss most about the death of Mike Rankin. It was always a joy for me to spend time with Mike and it was always an opportunity to learn. It was rare to Not learn some small interesting fact about reptiles when you spent time with him. And it was Mike that originally introduced me to Charleston Lake in 1989 when I had my first opportunity to hold a black rat snake.

Sushi - Dan Style 2
Originally uploaded by Herp.Haven

Dan caught a young Chub and regrettably, the fish died after photographing it. As a Herpetologist, we believe that life is precious and should not be wasted. So down the hatch!

Sushi a la Dan Style!

All in all it was a wonderful trip!