Mammal and Herptile Lists of 2012

So I spent a couple hours the other day going through 2012 notes and eBird lists w/ Mark Field, which is always a kind of hilariously disjointed conversation because we always seem to falter something like as follows:

Mark: "Ok, so our Greater White-fronted Goose isn't on eBird. What date was that?"

Jeremy: "That's weird...let me search it. Oh, you're right, it's not on there. I better add it to the list so I'm not missing anything for Cochrane. Do you want me to share that day with you and Anonymous User?"

Mark: "I have some pictures I can send along w/ our report to show it wasn't the Greenland subspecies. Wait...there are a bunch of other subspecies."

Both: *incoherent rambling about scientific names of various subspecies.

Jeremy: "Yeah, when I type it into Explore Data on eBird, it comes up w/ a 'Tule' subspecies. What is that?"

Mark: "Winter Wren...did you see that?"

Jeremy: "Where did my wine go?!?!...........Oh, there it is. I really need to go through my notes to figure out all the mammals I had last year. Oh and the date was September 11."

Mark: "Oh, I spoke with David Beadle and I'm going to send that moth photo to him to identify."

Jeremy: "But so....AAAAACKKKKHHHHH.....HHHH.....CKKKKH..."

Mark: "Are you ok?"

Jeremy: "Sorry, I accidentally deleted something I didn't want to."

And it went on like this...
___

And yet, in our labyrinthine way, we somehow always manage to finish what we set out to do. And while all this discussion was happening, I went through the Ontario Mammal Atlas and the ROM Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Ontario and figured out my mammal and herptile lists for the year.

Obviously since this wasn't my priority on many of my trips, other wildlife sightings were mostly incidental so I could have seen more if I had tried or paid a bit closer attention but birds were always my top concern. Long story short, we need eMammal.

2012 Mammal List

Opossums

Virginia Possum – Saw lots of dead ones at the roadside but had one alive one at Walpole Island w/ Mark Field

Shrews and Moles

Shrew sp. (I didn't catch any to identify them by their teeth unfortunately).

     - I also don't recall seeing any moles. Gotta start paying more attention and keeping better notes. Living on the farm now w/ spring on the way, I should have no trouble finding all sorts of cool things around here.

Bats

Eastern Red Bat – A beautiful individual at Presqu’ile Provincial Park w/ MayaRicker-Wilson and Mark Field while listening for Barred Owl.

Little Brown Bat - Pelee and elsewhere

    - I know I had other bat species but I didn't identify them at the time. Anyone have any idea what bats would be in the James Bay area during early September? 

Rabbits and Hares

Eastern Cottontail

Snowshoe Hare

European Hare - Essex County w/ Marianne Reid Balkwill

Rodents

Eastern Chipmunk

    - One of my big disappointments was not remembering to look for Least Chipmunk during my trip to Rainy River.

Woodchuck - One at James Bay near the Longridge Camp was interesting. I see that there is no record of one in that region for the previous Ontario Mammal Atlas (likely due to lack of effort).

Gray Squirrel

                BlackPhase

                GrayPhase        

Red Squirrel
          - This year, I really want to get over to Pelee Island again to look for Fox Squirrel

American Beaver

Deer Mouse

Meadow Jumping Mouse - outside of Toronto during a survey

Meadow Vole

Common Muskrat

Norway Rat

House Mouse

North American Porcupine - My favourite mammal sighting of the year - w/ Mark Field. It was crossing Highway 17 in southeast of Laird.

Whales

Beluga - 3 at the James Bay coast. Another highlight.

Carnivores

Coyote

Gray Wolf - an individual that approached Mark Peck and I along the shores of James Bay. Unforgettable experience and decent photos taken.

Red Fox - including the CrossMorph at the James Bay Coast and in the Moosonee sewage lagoons. 

Black Bear

Northern Raccoon

Marten - Little Piskwamish along James Bay coast

Mink

Striped Skunk

River Otter - Algonquin Provincial Park and Wawa Sewage Lagoons

        - I'm pretty sure I saw a weasel last year as well but have no notes.

Deer

White-tailed Deer

Moose - 2 along highways in the north

Reptiles and Amphibians 2012

Frogs and Toads

American Toad

Gray Treefrog

Spring Peeper

Western Chorus Frog

Wood Frog

Northern Leopard Frog

Green Frog

American Bullfrog

Turtles

Snapping Turtle

Painted Turtle

                MidlandPainted Turtle

                WesternPainted Turtle

Northern Map Turtle

Blanding’s Turtle

Lizards

Common Five-lined Skink

Snakes

Common Gartersnake

Northern Watersnake

Dekay’s Brownsnake

Eastern Foxsnake

Not much a snake list considering how many species we have in southwestern Ontario. There are many I hope to come across this year.