A very, very good friend of mine Steve Marks does a lot of field work every year and this summer he is mapping reptiles at risk in Southern Ontario. It's been a couple of years since I've been able to get out in the field in any seriousness but I was able to join him for a few days last week. On my way up to meet Steve, I stopped in to check out ChromaChameleons new digs. What an impressive set-up he's got now and a beautiful collection of pardalis to boot. A big thanks again to Harry and Jane for their hospitality, you guys are great! Here is a small sampling of Harry's collection:

Male Ambilobe:



Male Nosy Be:



Female Nosy Be:



Female Furcifer lateralis major (one of my F2's):



Male Furcifer lateralis major (one of my F2's unrelated to the female):



That evening Steve and I did some road cruising and found a female Black Widow Spider and her egg case. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this species is endemic to Ontario!



Northern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsi)



Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)



American Toad (Bufo americanus)



Green Frog (Rana clamitans)

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Here is a sampling of the next days finds. I was hoping to find some Massasauga Rattlesnakes (that's a lifer for me) but we were skunked on those. I should also point out that I WILL NOT reveal publicly or privately the location(s) of these species. There is far too much poaching already of our endangered flora and fauna for me to be telling people exactly were to go to find these animals.

Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum). This guy gets props for the best imitation of a rattlesnake. He was grumpy!



Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta belli).



Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)



Five Lined Skink (Eumeces fasciatus)



And some of the habitat we worked in: I might turn into a country gal yet!









Who brings a vacuum cleaner to the middle of nowhere? UGH. This wasn't the only trash we found sadly.



We also found Map Turtles, Garter Snakes, a DOR Smooth Green Snake and a bevy of frogs. All in all a great few days. Thanks again Steve for taking me along. I want your job next year.

And for those of you that know me truly well, I LIVE for carnival and try to get to as many as I can during the season. This past weekend I was jumping and waving and wining at Toronto's Caribana. Got some lifers there too; Maximus Dan, Roy Cape, Hunter, Bunji Garlin. No Jamesy P though.







Hope you enjoyed some of Ontario's reptile and amphibian species.
Cheers,
t

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Awesome Trace...Thanks for sharing!...That little Ringneck is incredible...Very nice shots! Thanks Again!

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Fantastic pics, but, uh....where's the snow? Seriously though, I really liked the turtle shots!. Great timing, eh. And Harry's got some excellent pards too!

Looks like you had a great time. Those pics are beautiful!!! If you want to see a timber rattler come on down. There are prime spots all over the Appalachian mountains. The Appalachian trail runs basically right behind my house and you can go right up there and find one. Steve Erwin was around my territory hunting for them. Cant remember if it was in Virginia but pretty close. A guy was bit not to long ago from one on the trail that he tried to move also. Personally, I love snakes but im not going looking for a rattler hahahaha

Awesome shots! You need to post more! Where have you been as of late!??!?! You are not around as much! I miss you! Did you see what Nick M. has for sale?

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Chameleons ~ Supplies ~ Dragons

~~~Tiki Tiki Reptiles~~~

Great pics. Thank you for sharing with us. Looks like you had a lot of fun.

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Wildlife photography and wild life photography.

The landscape, the snapping turtle, and five-lined could all have been photo'd right here, by my house! I need to share my desktop pic- who wandered into my yard last month.

Neat pix!

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Kristina Francis
http://www.melleridiscovery.com/

"The human mind treats a new idea the same way the
body treats a strange protein; it rejects it."
- Peter B. Medawar
Nobel Prize-winning immunologist