Murphy's Point Provincial Park

On Labour Day weekend Marc Lachaine organized a field trip to Murphy's Point in hopes of seeing some black rat snakes (Pantherophis obsoletus [a.k.a.Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta]) as they were heading to their hibernaculums. The trip began by gathering at Anthony's place for coffee and then carpooling out to the site.

It was an ideal day for herping, the sun was shining but it wasn't overly warm. We all packed lunches and spent a fair bit of time trecking through the bush along the water's edge. Most of the herping time was spent along a small stream that was inhabited by various crayfish, watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) and garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis).

There was about a dozen of us in the group and it was the youngest of us all that was the fearless herper. Connor was the one that had absolutely no reservations about being bit. Here he is holding the two ribbon snakes (Thamnophis sauritus) he caught. He has an eye of a hawk and the speed needed to easily secure these snakes. Several pictures were taken by various members of the group over the course of about 1/2 an hour and eventually the two poor souls finish paying their due and were released. Excellent work Connor!

At one point we did stop and enjoy a small break. We dined on our box lunches and took a few pics of the scenery. Anthony enjoyed the opportunity to grab a few snapshots of the surrounding area and the activity. Andrew Mott also found a small colony of millipedes and several photographs of these were also taken. Personally, I had no idea that they obtained those sizes! Sometimes it is amazing what you can find by simply turning over an old stump or log.

After the break we continued our excursion and eventually ended up at the old homestead. It is a beautifully constructed log cabin dating back at least a 100 years. Though it was secure from the public, we could see into the windows and it appeared that most of it was retained in its original form. It would have been interesting to check the dwelling out.

It was here that we saw the only sign of the elusive black rat snake! On the storage building next the the main dwelling, there was a shed from the black rat. So we were not 100% successful in locating one of these but at least we did see recent evidence that they snakes were about.

All in all it was a pleasant afternoon well worth the venture out!