That Magical Place

Took an impromptu trip to the most magical place on earth (or something like that) with a couple of friends this weekend.  We were mostly birding, but in addition to seeing plenty of birds (though nothing of exceptional note), I took the opportunity to photograph a couple of tricky reptiles (and one common one).  I also discovered that my Therm-a-rest has a hole in it, and stays inflated just long enough for me to fall asleep before losing all of its air and becoming completely ineffectual.  I am sore.  Here are the reptiles!

First, the common one:

Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata)

Lovely, but not that exciting.  On to the less common (and typically more challenging to photograph).  Northern Map Turtles are among our most skittish turtles, and are usually difficult to get close to.  Nonetheless I managed to find a few obliging ones, like this big female (whose scutes are peeling off).

Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)

And speaking of tough to photograph, Ontario's only lizard is freakin' fast!

Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

And one token bird photo, just to show there are other types of creature in this world:

American Coot (Fulica americana)

That's all for now!  Go outside!

Kyle