Tobermory time

The blog took a little break over the month of August, but things are starting to ramp back up again...

The first half of August saw Lillian and I spend at her family's cottage just outside of Tobermory. We had a great two weeks, and were able to have a good mix of relax time and checking out local hiking spots.

I was able to add in some herping and botanizing through the area, as this is a great area for both.

Got to be one of my favourites, Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

I know...it's a crappy photo, but one of the few we saw, an Alaska Rein Orchid (Piperia unalascensis)

Highly recommended...we took an evening sunset cruise out of Tobermory on a pleasant evening and even had an adult Peregrine Falcon come and roost, close to Halfway Log Dump -- they must be breeding nearby?!

What trip to Tobermory would be complete without seeing Flowerpot Island -- be aware of the crowds!

I think this was my favourtie plant from the trip: North Wind Bog Orchid (Platanthera aquilonis)

Full view of it, on Flowerpot Island.

We made it to Singing Sands (two bays south of us) and had some nice Fen Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca)

 

Halfway through our time at the cottage I left for the day...and got my Ontario lifer (long overdue!) Little Blue Heron!

I was able to do some birding too, and had a large flock of Common Nighthawks at the Tobermory Sewage Lagoons and even managed a few pics of it with my phone through my bins!

Likely the coolest birds I saw up there was this adult Red-headed Woodpecker beside Hwy. 6, just south of Tobermory feeding its young!

It's already been two weeks since we were up (couldn't go this past weekend), but we'll be back fro Thanksgiving!