Hellbent... Hellbent for Painters. 7-7-2020

We took Monday off for reasons of sleeping in and relaxing all day. Tuesday was going to be hot and sunny and we went to a favorite spot in Plymouth County, getting there early. We headed into the woods first, as is our way. Andrea found some tiny Peepers before we decided that the 'skeeters weren't worth staying in the woods.


Now, I'm going to make this blog post very easy on myself. I missed a photo of a Spotted Turtle early on but got dozens of photos of Painted Turtles and Bullfrogs. Rather than give a blow by blow ("then, we saw another Painter. Further up the path, a Painter..."), here are a bunch of photos of those two species.
















Sorry to interrupt. Here are some baby Mallards.


OK, now where were we?







Here's a shot that pretty much sums up the day... a Painter and a Bull!


OK, more Painters, but on the far left... a Plymouth Redbelly.

Though he appears to have a Painter head growing out of his back.


I also spent way too much time being frustrated by my Annual Avian Adversary, the Marsh Wren. This blurry shot will have to suffice for #59.


Andrea finally found us a big, foraging Snapper.


OK, so... back to the theme of Painted Turtles and Bullfrogs.







Hey, wait a minute... this guy is a Green Frog! We'd heard them calling all day but this is the first we actually saw!


So, that was six species on the day. That's respectable. Let me say, if you think I'm bored by seeing so many Painted Turtles and Bullffrogs, think again. They are both beautiful and (obviously) extremely successful. Surviving in a tough world out there on their own. With all of the turtle nest predation we see, it's amazing that anything survives. But we saw hundreds of Painters on this walk (and dozens of Bulls) and each one is a treasure. It seems fitting that our last animal on this hike was a Painted Turtle strolling across the path as we were leaving. We watched her slowly make her way into the brush next to the path and disappear.