Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canada, September 2011

*Small post* I might do a couple over the next two days, as it seems in late 2011 to early 2012 I went on several small day trips.

One such small trip was to Oak Hammock Marsh, a wetland protected wetland about 40 minutes north of Winnipeg. Many staging and breeding waterbirds of all types can be seen here, as well as many other wetland animals.

Usally in late September the pools and lakes are filled with ducks going through "eclipse" this is when ducks grow new flight feathers, and are unable to fly for a while. Male ducks will take on the less flamboyant female colours so that they can better camouflage themselves in this vulnerable period.

Besides ducks, other waterbirds that are often present are Sandhill Cranes. The more common of the two cranes here (Whooping Crane is endangered and very rare in migration, but pops up on occasion), Sandhills gather in large flocks in grain fields and marshes to feed before leaving for the winter. They're always a neat thing to see, and often you hear their gurgling trumpeting calls long before you spot them. 

I was surprised to see that while most birds were under migration, these Barn Swallows were raising a brood of babies! Apparently this isn't uncommon, as they will raise broods, sometimes two a year, up until October. As long as flying insects stick around, so can they.

Oak Hammock Marsh always seems to hide a little surprise in its extensive network of reeds and water bodies. If you live here or ever visit Manitoba, definitely worth a visit!

Big Whiteshell, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, August 2011

The month after coming back from Brazil my family went to the lake for two weeks, which they do every year. I would come on weekends. This year we went to Big Whiteshell, on of the many lakes in Whiteshell Provincial Park. The Whiteshell is my favourite place because it is so remote, yet easily accessible from the Winnipeg area. It also has variety of habitats so it allows a lot of diffferent animal species to coexist. It offers great camping, hiking, boating, and fishing. My home away from home!

The quiet August nights with the glass lake and distant loons is probably the most relaxing thing to me.

Anyone who has been to the Whiteshell probably also knows about the ancient history as well.

In several areas of the Whiteshell, petrofroms like this can be seen. The meaning of the petroforms is uncertain, They are often in the form of animals, such as this turtle. Many of the earlier ones are thousands of years old, but some depict things from Post-Columbian times, such as one that shows a man on a horse, something that was only seen after European contact, when horses were brought to the Americas.

Aside from real scenes and creatures, some also depict things sacred to the First Nations of the area. This one is my favourite petroform, and it depicts the Thunderbird. 

The bare granite rock creates nice basking spots for snakes, and the petroforms offer shelter. I have actually found this exact same snake in the exact same spot in subsequent years, identifiable by the large scar on his head. I had no idea Red-sided Garter Snakes went to the same spot every year.

Grey Jays are ever present on the petroform site, as the regular visitors often bring food with them, and the bold birds are not beyond asking for a peanut or too. I tossed a handful in front of me and took pics while the jays hopped about me. They take the nuts and then store them, so they can have a food source to endure the long harsh Manitoba winter. They have excellent memories and can remember caches several years later.

Red Squirrels like handouts too, as did the resident Blue Jays at the cabin. On one evening at around 10 pm, when it was pitch black I noticed a squirrel eating peanuts on our deck, illuminated from the lights inside. I wondered what a Red Squirrel was doing up so late, as they're diurnal. When I went outside said squirrel glided to the tree next to the cabin. It glided! I knew what it was right away--a Northern Flying Squirrel! Unfortunately it was too dark for a picture, and the squirrel was too fast, but it was a thrilling experience! 

The next morning my dad and I woke up early and went fishing. It was gorgeous out, as the lake was misty, and dead calm.

This is still one of my favourite photos.

Granite cliffs, rocks and escarpments are a defining feature of the Canadian Shield, and there is many spectacular views in the Whiteshell with them. These are often covered in lichen and juniper, as well as cactus, some grasses and jack pines, which thrive on the bare rock. 

Hiking up these rocks was fun, the view was great!

Boreal Chickadees were around, and I spotted some on the rocks.

Fireweed is also a common plant that grows in this area.

Least Chipmunks were also common on the rocks. In Manitoba we have two chipmunk species; the larger and more common Eastern Chipmunk, and the smaller Least Chipmunk. Least Chipmunks like drier areas, such as the rock faces. These ones were eating juniper berries. 

Ravens are also common here, as they are over most of the province. Adaptable and smart, they can live pretty much anywhere.

The next day we packed up and headed home. On the way back we stopped for a hike at Alfred Hole Goose Sanctuary. This is a nice hike, but unfortunately the high rick of forest fires from dryness meant we couldn't go far. Nonetheless I was able to take some pictures!

The small lake is always filled with water lillies, providing shelter for fish and frogs. 

There were lots of flowers on land as well, such as Black-eyed Susans (top) and Daisies (bottom). Both are common wildflowers here.

And of course, the Goose Sanctuary has Canada Geese! There are loads of them here! The lake provides a breeding and staging ground for the largest subspecies of Canada Goose, which is fairly uncommon (hard to believe, I know). On subsequent trips other animals would be seen, but the closed trail only offered minimal views this time.

After the hike, we headed home, and unpacked. It was a great trip and it is one that I won't soon forget!

Pernambuco-Algoas, Brazil, May-July, 2011

Among the most common birds in the school yard were these :

The Great Kiskadee is a common flycatcher from the southern United States to the warm parts of South America. Like most flycatchers it eat insects, but it will also eat small reptiles, amphibians, crab, and occasionally will catch small fish like a kingfisher. They live around human habitation as well, eating the various creepy crawlies that call towns home (like huge cockroaches). If you're wondering why they're called a kiskadee, search for a video of the bird's call! They are rather loud and pairs would duet every morning in several locations that I stayed.

Snakes were around too! One morning I heard a bunch of kids yelling and going crazy, when I looked out the window, I saw this Sipo slithering across the schoolyard! I grabbed it, and this 4 foot long snake repeatedly tried to climb up its own body to bite my hands. There are superstitions about this snake, that it sits in the trees and lies in wait for people to walk underneath to bite them and kill them. The sipo is however harmless, and to prevent it from being killed it was released behind the school in the mangroves.

After working at the school for a while, I took a break and stayed with a family who had a home by the beach. It was a quiet and secluded, which was good because I was sick. I felt bad for my hosts because I ended up sleeping until 11 am, which is not normal for me, as I tend to wake up around 8 am. Any later and I wake up with a headache. When I did wake up though, I usually took a walk to the beach, as this are was safe for me, being in a gated area and far away from any town or city.

Often when the tide was low like this there would be people digging in the sand for shellfish. They often found quite a few to eat. If I sifted through the sea weed I could often find small shrimp, crabs, sand dollars, sea urchins and pieces of coral. Some of these I brought back home with me. On one occasion I brought back a couple sand dollars that happened to be alive, and when I put them on a wet table on the patio (it was raining) they started to walk around!

I also got the chance to go to a reef about a kilometer offshore, where I got to see and feed lots of tropical fish. I don't know if I want to share the pictures however, as the camera man didn't really time them well and just held the button down and let it capture what ever happened XD. Some of them were taking while I was talking...and I'm also shirtless which in my 18 year old body is slightly unflattering!

This few weeks brought about a lot of exploring of the Sao Jose-Maragogi area. I stayed with several families during this period, and each in turn took me to see various sites around town. I must admit that in hindsight I don't feel i was the nicest guest, but I mostly blame this on the fact I was slightly sick all the time, didn't get much sleep (lots of mosquitoes and other bugs). My body, though having been there already for quiet some time, hadn't adjusted to the time change, even though it was only two hours ahead. I felt like i was lazy, but at the same time I understand why I didn't feel 100%. This is not to mention that i traveled to a foreign country with nobody I know, away from family and friends in Canada. I knew one person only vaguely, a minister who our churches supports with our mission down there. I had met him a few times but still barely knew him. 

That is not to say I didn't make new friends down there, some of which I still talk to often today. A few were minsters (as a side note, all the people I stayed with are from our churches in Brazil, and most know each other), one of which took me on a tour of the area, along the beach to the mouth of a river that exits right next to town (bull shark heaven), and up on a hill that over looks town, where a huge radio tower is placed. 

Miles of hilly brush country lie behind the town. On the way down there were also miles and miles of sugar cane plantations.

One of the garbage clean up crew - a Black Vulture. I saw many Black and Turkey Vultures here. They often scavenge the streets for scraps.

South of these areas lies the small town of Japaratinga, where I spent the day hiking with friends. This was the wildest area I went, saw many different animals. 

This secretive bird is a Squirrel Cuckoo. Cuckoos in the Americas generally do not parasitize other bird's nests, rather building their own. This was in a coconut plantation, and we had a coconut for a snack. It was a fresh green one, so not that pleasant. Personally I find them best after they have fallen and have been de-husked, as the meat is thick and they have milk rather than water. They meat of the fresh coconut was slimy and tasted like white glue.

A short ways up the path was this small ravine. We climbed to the top to get a good view of the area.

At the top of the hill were these three. The big guy is a black vulutre, the smaller two (bottom left branch) are a pair of Guira Cuckoos. Guira Cuckoos are common in Brazil's scrublands, they eat insects and small vertebrates. 

On the return walk we went along the beach. The reef was really close to shore here.

I went back to the  school the next day, where we finished our water tower project. 

From the top of the water tower I spotted some Common Marmosets hopping about the trees next door.

After a couple days I went back to the Recife area. One morning I jumped in with someone who was headed to the town of Caruaru for the day. Caruaru is inland, in a dry scrubby area, very different than the wet jungle/forest area I spent most of the trip in. We spent much of the day in the market in the town, 

On the way back we stopped at this mine. This picture doesn't show you how big it actually was. I'm not entirely sure what was being mined here, but the miners would break chunks of rocks off manually, then break them into squarish blocks.

 One of the canals in Recife had a Caiman in it!

The night after going to Caruaru, we had lots of rain. While eating supper a bunch of Cane Toads (highly poisonous) started showing up. Someone mentioned to me that there is a frog species native to the area that if touched can cause a burning sensation on the eyes and cause blindness.

Soon enough someone spotted this large tree frog, which I quickly grabbed. I let it go on some palms in the yard, and washed my hands. Later I Skyped my family, and started to notice my eyes hurt. Before long my eyes started burning. I ran to find someone to help me. Everything in that area started to get swollen, and apparently the whites of my eyes turned red. I wasn't able to open my eyes or close them at all, so they were stuck slightly open. It was the most painful thing I've endured to date. I ended up going to the hospital, where they gave me special drops for my eyes. After a couple hours the pain and swelling went away. Pretty soon everyone in both the Recife and Winnipeg communities knew about it. 

A week later I went home. Perhaps I will go back one day if it works out. I miss it from time to time, and though parts of it weren't enjoyable, after time you begin to forget those parts and remember the good ones. In the end, definitely worth it!

Pernambuco-Algoas, Brazil, May July,2011.

The year after graduation left me with a couple options. I could just work, find something to go to university for (so many things I liked), or travel. I talked to my family about it and they convinced me to travel somewhere, because if I ended up going to university I wouldn't have that opportunity for a long time. Originally I had made arrangements to stay with a relative who is a missionary in Papua New Guinea. I was excited about this, ever since I was a kid the Oceania region has fascinated me. I couldn't wait.

Well that sorta fell through. Turns out there had been some conflict between rival groups, and the location would be fairly unsafe, and I would have ended up being alone a lot. This opened the way for other options, soon to follow was a possible Belize trip, which also didn't work out. South Africa was too costly, and I didn't know anyone there. This made Brazil the best option, as a trip would be easily arrangeable, though somewhat expensive. Soon though I was on the long flight to Sao Paulo.

 Aerial view of a tiny part of Sao Paulo.

After about an hour in Sau Paulo, I jumped on a plane...trouble is the Frenchman who directed me to my gate directed me to the wrong gate and I almost ended up in Brasilia rather than Recife!! Luckily an attendant alerted me to this and got me on the proper flight right before it took off.

After two hours I arrived in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. I stayed in a somewhat dangerous suburb, the yards all had high concrete walls around them, and they all had automatic gates. All the windows had bars. Despite not being allowed to go anywhere (extremely dangerous for and English-speaking white foreigner), there were still interesting things to see.

Termites are common in hot climates, this nest was on the tree right outside the window.

I also saw quite a few bird species. This one is a Masked Water-Tyrant. These birds are American flycatchers, related to kingbirds, pewees, phoebes, etc. They are often found around water bodies, as their name suggests, and eat small insects.

Also along the canal that I spotted the Masked Water-Tyrant was this Swallow-tailed Hummingbird. The South American tropics are the true home of the hummingbirds. There hundreds of different species, this was only one of several members of this New World family that I would see. These birds were fairly common, and like all hummingbirds it feeds on nectar.

On the same tree I also spotted this little guy- Olivaceous Woodcreeper. The woodcreepers are an interesting bird family. They all gather most of their food from the trunks and branches of trees, prying insects from the bark. Like the hummingbirds and flycatchers they are strictly American, but unlike they are only found in the Neotropics.

Several days later, back at home, a big rainstorm hit us. A thing to note about this region is, being so close to the equator, it rains very often, sometimes everyday. I was however there during the "dry season"; where it still rains, but less often. One such rainstorm drove this lizard to come through the window. This is a species in the Tropidurus genus, but I am unsure of its name. These lizards are everywhere, they eat insects around human habitation and live and breed on the buildings. 

After staying in Recife for two weeks, I headed over to the towns of Sao Jose da Coroa Grande and Maragogi, in the state of Algoas. Most of my trip was spent here, and this was by far my favourite place.

I stayed at a school that the mission and our churches have been working in for many years, using the teacher resource room as my temporary bed room. 

It was during the first of three nights there that i found this little guy. This is a House Gecko, a common lizard throught many warm regions of the worlds, but it in fact originates from Asia.

Early the next morning me a couple of the teachers started setting up a fun scavenger hunt activity for the students, in a huge lot next to several coconut plantations, which had miles of trails through both scrub and rainforest pockets.

Some of the views of the surrounding area were amazing!

We even managed to spot wildlife during the set up and subsequent scavenger hunt, including this Pygmy Marmoset (top center). These little monkeys were so hard to capture on camera, especially on a little point and shoot. I did manage this blurry image of one jumping.

After these events were done and the days of games and fun were over, I went to stay at one of the teacher's houses. Upon returning to the school there were other projects for me to do.

Such as converting a classroom ceiling from this...

...to this. They got me to do a lot of these jobs, as i had experience with it.

Saturday offered a chance to relax, and several people and myself went for a swim in the ocean. This was the first time I swam in an ocean, and it was great! 

That's not to say the school area didn't have good views either. Immediately beside and behind the school were a river, which was surrounded by this mangrove swamp. Ever day it would fill up and drain from the tide, as this was right next to the ocean. There were many water birds here, as well as snakes and massive land crabs, which also burrowed in the back reaches of the school yard.

Part 1