Not only has the warm weather brought back many bird species at record early dates, reptiles and amphibians are also emerging earlier than normal. In the early bird department, I found a roadkill American Bittern at Long Point on March 20th - a record early date. It was pretty smushed so I didn't take any photos. Earlier that day while doing some work in our greenhouse, my brother Matt found a small Hog-nosed Snake amongst the leaf litter. We removed it from the greenhouse out of harms way, took a few photos, and then released it into some nearby wood chips where it hid rather quickly and easily. The Hog-nosed Snake is a threatened species in Ontario but can still be found in good numbers at several sandy sites in Norfolk County. Notice the flat nose and head that it uses for digging. Smelling us with its tongue and looking for an escape route. Rather camouflaged against the twigs and mulch.
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