Reptiles at Risk

Day Nine: Central Manitoba- after a day at the beach with the chicks!

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on July 16, 2008 at 12:30 PM

We're in central Manitoba, on our way to Hecla Provincial Park. Our show at Grand Beach went very well- we had about 350 people turnout despite the hordes of mosquitos! This was our biggest program yet, but it was made easier by the help of nine of the park staff with the hands-on part of the program. We stayed an extra day at Grand Beach, for our first day off of the trip, and we were happy to sleep in a bit, go for a swim, and then walk some trails and the beach. The sun even came out to shine for most of the day, which was a nice change.

We saw some painted turtles, and also lots of tiny toads that had just transformed. Toads are one of the fastest Canadian amphibians when it comes to the tadpoles growing legs and leaving the water for their terrestrial life. When they all come out around the same time, it can sometimes look like the ground is crawling with baby toads!

We were also happy to see white pelicans, and one of Canada's rarest birds, the piping plover. A few pairs nest at Grand Beach, and the park goes to great lengths to protect them, with a fenced area to keep people away and a rotating staff of Plover Guardians to watch over the chicks. We watched the chicks for a while through binoculars, and then kept going down the beach. We were surprised to then see another chick, with an adult male keeping an eye on it. These guys were out of their fenced area, so it was pretty cool to see them as well.

Later today we'll stop at the famous snake pits of Narcisse, but at this time of year we don't expect to see many snakes. We'll let you know how it goes in a future update!

Overall, things are going great. Everyone's getting along exceedingly well, the programs are working out nicely, and aside from some minor vehicle issues we haven't had to address any serious mechanical problems yet. Let's hope things stay that way!

Jeff