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Nature Link
RATTLESNAKES and the GARGANTUA
Friday, August 2, 2002
Massasauga Rattlesnake
This photo is taken off the front porch of the cottage. It showsWingfield
Basin, Middle Bluff (highest point on the escarpment), and the shipwreck
Gargantua. As a side note I looked up the Gargantua, and it was built in
Marine City, Mich. in 1919 of all places!
I felt that I contributed to a worthwhile organization, namely the Cabot Head Research Station. I highly recommend taking part in one of the FON's Ontario Nature Volunteers Expeditions and that is why I'm writing about it here. These are "working" holidays where one offers labour to help in some aspect of nature. Check out the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) at ontarionature.org.
When the time came, I decided to head up a day early and camp at MacGregor Point Provincial Park. I explored the trails there, and the most exciting thing was a porcupine at the top of an apple tree, eating an apple. During the night I heard several Screech Owls and a Whip-poor-will.
The next morning I got up bright and early and headed north. My first stop was Black Creek Provincial Park on the Lake Huron side west of Ferndale. This is a "non-operating" park that has some nice trails, and a decent selection of birds to see. I came across a few species of warblers, as well as a Hooded Merganser in the swamp. Along the trail I found a nice patch of Cardinal Flower.
My next stop was Dorcas Bay, the old FON nature preserve, presently part of the National Park. This is an excellent place for birds, wildflowers, and reptiles. I have seen Massasauga Rattlesnakes here in the past. I came across some butterflies, including Dorcas Copper (coincidence?), Atlantis Fritillary, and others. There is a short boardwalk onto the fen (wetland) near the parking lot.
As I walked out, I heard the call of a bird that I knew. I looked ahead, and saw a pair of White-winged Crossbills land in a Jack Pine. A decent bird for here in the summer! Not as nice, though, as the close-up view I had here of a Great Grey Owl in July 1996. By now, it was lunchtime and I headed into Tobermory to spend the rest of the afternoon.
I was due at Cabot Head about 7 p.m., so I headed south just before six. It was much farther than anticipated, but a beautiful drive along Dyer's Bay road. The last part of the drive is along the lake at the base of a bluff. Off the main road, a single lane dirt track (about 2 km) led to the destination. The station is set on a point of land at the entrance to Wingfield Basin, the only safe harbour between Tobermory and Lion's Head. The shipwreck of the wooden steamer Gargantua lies close to shore here. There are two stone cottages here, one recently restored.
The land is owned by Ontario Parks, as part of the Cabot Head Nature Reserve, and access is restricted. One of the leaders, Barbara Bahnmann, was there to greet me with the two resident bird banders, Ted Cheskey and Rod S. Others soon arrived behind me, including Kim Harris, Sally Evans, Ann Walsh, Donna Sardone, and Andrea Willman..
After a bit of socializing, we set up our tents for the night. Since the sky was crystal clear, we decided to go for a walk to the nearby fen and do some stargazing. The view was breathtaking with no city lights. Fortunately, Rod was keen on astronomy, so we learned a lot about constellations, star clusters and other things. Several falling stars were noted in anticipation of the annual Perseid meteor shower due in a few days.
Next morning after breakfast, we set to work. I helped Ted trim the net lanes all morning, and the others set to work cleaning and scraping paint on the old cottage known as the "glasshouse". About mid-morning, a very friendly reporter from the Owen Sound newspaper came to interview us. Turns out he knew my name from the Ontbirds listserve.
After lunch, I was assigned to head up the construction of a firewood shelter. I put my expertise to work, with assistance from Donna and Andrea.
About 4:30, we planned to go on a hike to middle bluff, the highest point on the escarpment. We headed out, but only got so far due to the wet trail. We did quite a bit of botany along the way. Part of the group decided to head back to the station, while Ted, Rod, Ann, Kim and myself picked up on the old Bruce Trail to head out to the lakeshore. This part of the trail was abandoned in the late 1970's.
Soon after, we came across a Massasauga Rattlesnake with its telltale rattle. These rattlesnakes are more common than you think. They are rather shy and non-aggressive and are found only on the Bruce Peninsula, Parry Sound area, Wainfleet Bog near Port Colborne, and Ojibway Prairie near Windsor. Last year one was found on Flowerpot Island (north of Tobermory) for the first time ever. The snake was in the middle of another fen, which contained a significant amount of Rubberweed (Lakeside Daisy).
All along the way we saw rocks that had been flipped, indicating the previous presence of a bear looking for edibles. The trail was soon lost due to overgrowth. I eventually found a marker, but while going towards it, I heard the rattle of yet another snake. It blocked our path, so we tried to get around it. It was then that we became side tracked, and had to bush-wack towards the boulder beach. To the west on the beach we could see the remains of an old boiler from a steamship. We then headed back along the beach, but had to head inland again due to a small cliff jutting out into the lake.
Next morning after breakfast I watched some Northern Watersnakes peaking out of their holes next to the cottage. We put the finishing touches on the wood shelter before all of us got together to erect it into place. All participants stood under the shelter for a photograph. We all then went back to work on the glasshouse, staining, caulking, or what ever needed to be done. Birds overhead included Ravens, and a Broad-winged Hawk. Lots of butterflies were about, including White Admiral, fritillaries, and duskywings. After lunch we packed our belongings, said our goodbyes and headed home.
