This year I’m determined to look for the migrating Monarchs at the Point Pelee Tip, so I went to talk to the Park naturalist, to get myself a plan. The naturalist gave me some valuable pointers about how and when to increase my chances of seeing the butterflies. He said the upcoming weather and temperature forecasts indicate when we might have roosting Monarchs. So I’ll be heading out this week with my bins (7x10 and 8x50) and camera accordingly. Wish me luck!
In the meantime, here’s couple of shots from my fact-finding visit. There are at least 5 species of turtles in Point Pelee, including the common snapper, painted, Blanding’s, and the Stinkpot (a musk turtle -surprise!) so there’s no way of knowing what nest is whose. The Park staff patrol the two-lane road every summer as turtles come up from the marsh and woods to the sandy, clear roadsides to lay their eggs. They look for signs of a nest, and then quick put these predator-proof cages over them. The little darlings are hatching now, so the warning sign above is right at the Park gate. I didn’t see a
ny turtle toddlers on my visit, but did catch a glimpse of this sweet little mink, calmly have lunch on some unidentified substance in the middle of the road. Not a good shot, just stuck the camera out the window. Good thing; s/he took off seconds later, with very elegant moves.Point Pelee National Park
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6 comments:
Hope you have good luck catching the monarchs. It's a wonderful sight.
wish me luck too.
The mink ws pretty cute.
What a cute little guy! I wish both you and Bobbi lots of luck catching the monarchs! Can't wait to see the pictures!
What a nice surprise! I have never seen a mink before this picture. He looks well in his coat.
I marvel at the effort people go to in order to see or care for turtles. It's exciting, a cause for hope.
The predator cages are a good idea to protect the turtle eggs!! We have monitored Snapping Turtle nests for several years now and were getting rather confident thinking that nothing would disturb the nest sites. However this year we have found several nests dug up and destroyed. We also know that a Red Fox and two young have been living in the area this summer within the distance of half a city block from the sites which have been destroyed. Eight years ago yesterday we were fortunate to be able to watch and document the hatching of young Snapping Turtles.
This sounds like a place I would like to visit as well! Good luck sleuthing with your camera. BTW, our crickets have stopped chirping at night; I guess because of the cold temps. how about your porch guests?
Wow! What fun and how interesting!
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