Rath Family Nature Log
Christopher Rath
Over the past few years, I have been noting encounters with snakes and the odd other unusual animal on bits of paper and through photographs. This log is a consolidation of those notes. Photographs have been included where they exist.
Unless otherwise specified, the photos shown are the actual animal we observed.
Unless specifically identified, where this log identifies a Garter Snake, it may either be an Common Garter Snake or an Eastern Ribbon Snake; as I am not always sure myself which type of snake I have in hand. A helpful guide to telling these two snakes apart is available from GarterSnake.Info. If I am sure of the specific species observed, I have noted it; otherwise, the term Garter Snake as been generically used.
An excellent, and free, journal of herpetology recently began publication: Herpetological Conservation and Biology. This journal is published via the web and is freely downloadable. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in nature.
Date | Location | Animal | Size | Details |
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1997-08-04 @ 1000h | Lake Dalhousie, ON | Garter Snake | 71 cm | Found dead on Shore Rd. (north shore of lake). |
Garter Snake | 74 cm | Found dead on lake road at bottom of Toad Hill on 9th Concession B Rd. | ||
1997-08-06 @ 1200h | Lake Dalhousie, ON | Garter Snake | 33 cm | Caught near Rath cottage on Sugar Bush Hill Rd. Note, my parents have since sold the cottage. |
1997-08-10 @ 1530h | McDonald's Corners Dump | Garter Snake | 46 cm | Found dead at dump-site. |
1997-08-30 @ midday | Near Lac Papineau, QC | Garter Snake | 58 cm | Caught near the Steele's shack at a small lake near Lac Papineau. |
Northern Water Snake | <30 cm | Sighted in water. | ||
Garter Snake | ~15 cm | Two sighted in grass. | ||
Garter Snake | 48 cm | Caught at lake shore. | ||
Garter Snake | ~30 cm | Sighted near lake. | ||
2003-08-11 @ 1400h | Basin Head Provincial Park | Maritime Garter Snake | ~45 cm | Caught along the shore of the stream that empties onto the ocean. |
2006-08-19 @ 0730h | Orleans, ON | Praying Mantis (Unidentified) | ~7 cm |
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2006-09-01 @ 1300h | Orleans, ON | Cross Spider / Garden Spider | ~1.5 cm |
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2006-09-02 @ midday | Lac Philippe, QC | Bumble Bee | ~1.5 cm |
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Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar | ~4 cm |
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Leopard Frog | ~5 cm |
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Northern Red Bellied Snake | ~30 cm |
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Turtle (Unidentified) | >20 cm |
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Caterpillar (Unidentified) | ~2 cm |
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Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar | ~1.2 cm |
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2006-09-06 @ 1700h | Ottawa River Bicycle Path, Ottawa East, ON | Snapping Turtle Hatchling | ~4 cm | Caught on bicycle path. Dark charcoal in colour (even its belly), the shell was not shiny, about 4 cm in diameter, its tail (which it kept wrapped tightly against itself) extended about 1/5 of the way around the circumference of the shell. |
2006-09-07 @ 1600h | Ottawa River Bicycle Path, Ottawa East, ON | Painted Turtle | ~5 cm | Caught on bicycle path. |
2006-09-08 @ 1530h | Ottawa River Bicycle Path, Ottawa East, ON | Garter Snake | ~30 cm |
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Garter Snake | ~30 cm |
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2006-09-15 @ 1300h | Our home in Orleans, ON | Garden Spider | ~1.5 cm |
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Garden Spider | ~0.75 to 1.5 cm |
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2006-10-17 @ 1700h | Our home in Orleans, ON | Woodpecker (unidentified) | ~30 cm |
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2011-10-05 @ 1745h | Ned Brown Preserve, Schaumburg IL -- near the 7 mile marker of the Busse Woods Bicycle Trail | Red Bellied Snake | ~20 cm | The largest red bellied snake I have ever seen. It was sunning itself on the paved pathway and would shortly have been road kill (lots of bicycles out that afternoon) if I hadn't moved it back into the forest. |
2011-11-12 @ 1100h. | Warsaw Caves Conservation Area and Campground | Garter Snake | ~30 cm |
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