ERS 346 Outing #1

Time and Date: 19/09/28 16:45
Duration: 40 minutes
Location: McCrae Lake, Georgian Bay, ON
Weather: Sunny, 18 degrees, 0% cloud cover
Habitat: Edge of lake at a cliff, and on top of the cliff in temperate forest

I was at McCrae Lake to camp and climb for the weekend. As I spent a lot of time at the cliff for climbing, this is where I did my observations. There were 6 people at the base of the cliff at the time and probably around 50 along the lake camping.

The most interesting observations I made were of the Grey Treefrog and of the Mapleleaf Viburnum.

The Grey Treefrog was basking half way up the side of the cliff and almost perfectly camouflaged into the rock around it. When looking online trying to ID the frog, I found that this frog was much better camouflaged than the photos online, it matched the granite perfectly around it. Maybe the frog was basking on the side of the cliff to take advantage of the long hours of direct sunlight it can get. Since this location could be dangerous for the frog (as it could easily be plucked up by a bird), it likely needed to develop perfect camouflage in order to be hidden in such an open spot.
I was climbing and reached up and felt something slimy... I accidentally put my hand on the frog and pulled it off the wall, it fell about 40 feet to the ground and seemed completely unharmed. Maybe if there was a predator about to catch the frog, it uses its location of being high on the cliff to jump off and quickly travel a long distance to get away from the predator.

The Snake also seemed to be basking in the sunlight at the base of the cliff, it slithered away quickly and I cannot be sure of the species. Since the snake was very close to the water and it has a dark grey brown colour, I am guessing it was a Northern Water Snake.

I initially thought the Mapleleaf Viburnum was a small red maple, due to the U-shapes between the lobes and the 3 large lobes. I thought the maple may have a fungus or bacteria turing it purple. After looking online, it seems more likely that it was a Mapleleaf Viburnum, which can turn bright purple in the fall, though I did not see the fruits common with this plant. The shape of the leaves and purple do seem to match though. The berries could very well have been already foraged by some of the animals in the forest.

The bright orange stripes on the millipede seem to match those of the American Giant Millipede. It was traversing a rock quickly, potentially in search of food.

The Striped Fishing Spider only moved once within a 10 minute period of watching it, and just to the other side of the leaf. It was likely waiting for prey to get caught in its net.

Publicado el octubre 2, 2019 10:31 TARDE por jlpolgar jlpolgar

Observaciones

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Rana Arbórea Gris (Hyla versicolor)

Observ.

jlpolgar

Fecha

Septiembre 28, 2019 a las 04:56 TARDE EDT

Descripción

Found basking half way up the cliff. Very well camouflaged on the granite.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jlpolgar

Fecha

Septiembre 28, 2019 a las 05:25 TARDE EDT

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Observ.

jlpolgar

Fecha

Septiembre 28, 2019 a las 05:00 TARDE EDT

Descripción

Due to the snakes close proximity to the water - about a meter away - and it's dark colours, from the brief look I had of it, I believe it was a Norther Water Snake.

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jlpolgar

Fecha

Septiembre 28, 2019 a las 04:45 TARDE EDT

Descripción

The bright purple colour seems to only match that of the Mapleleaf Viburnum, though I did not see any berries. The shape of the leaf also seemed to match the Mapleleaf Viburnum (U-shapes between lobes, only 3 lobes).

Fotos / Sonidos

Observ.

jlpolgar

Fecha

Septiembre 28, 2019 a las 05:10 TARDE EDT

Descripción

The size and distinct W pattern on the abdomen make me think this is a stupid fishing spider. It was found in a small birch tree just next to the water.

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