Shell Shocked. 7-9-2020

Hey, it's vacation! Let's get up at 5 AM and drive to the Cape to see if we see any Terrapins! It's going to be super hot today, so let's get there early! We did... we got to our destination by 8:30 AM. It was already pretty hot, so we decided to trek into the woods to see if any Box Turtles were up. It wasn't exactly Box Turtle weather but it had rained in the night and... well, who knows.

The caretaker of this population, the wise and wonderful Box Turtle Tim, asked us to let him know if we saw any Boxes. He was unable to be there that day. It wasn't long before we ran into this guy.

Ya got a lil something on your face there.

This individual had a paint mark on his shell... Tim had already worked up his stats this season.

The next little guy is an interesting one...

I had first found this lil scamp back in 2016 and Tim had worked him up and given him a number. He was seen again later that year, then not again until this sighting- 4 years later. We sent Tim plenty of photos, which is nice, but I really wish we'd have had a scale and the means to measure him (it).

Still, the little one is looking very good and healthy and was very strong. We put it down and it walked behind a branch of a fallen tree. When we came back by a half hour later, it had completely disappeared under the leaves.

I was looking at some shady areas beneath bushes and trees and thought that's where I would hang out if I was a turtle. This Boxie agreed.

It was another one Tim needed specs on. We took many pics.

So, three Box Turtles on an 80+° day isn't too shabby. We went out to the trails to see if we'd have any luck with Terrapins. The Painted Turtle float wasn't present in the small fresh-water pond so we were lucky to see this one basking Painter.


A bird we usually check off in Florida, the Green Heron (#60).


Another thing we always like to see on Cape Cod; Fiddler Crabs and Willets (#61)



We made a pretty thorough search of potential places to see Diamondback Terrapins but in the end, never saw any. There were plenty of protected nests, though, which is a wonderful sign. To satisfy our chelonia needs, this Painter was swimming in the pond when we walked by again.

I'm not sure if we'll make it back to look for Terrapins this year... we might have to go without for 2020.

Andrea, in her amazing way, spied some Tinies, presumably Fowler's.


Another bird I usually get in Florida, the Purple Martin (#62). I learned that they are only recently back and breeding on the Cape.


So, that was our Cape trip. Pretty short, but it was pushing 90°, so we hit the road to head home by 11:30 AM. But, as we'd be passing through Plymouth County on the (99 mile) way home, we figured we'd swing by the National Forest to look at some spots before calling it  a day. It's at about the half way mark to home anyway.

We checked out some snake spots and, unsurprisingly, we saw none. We decided on checking to see if any Plymouth Redbellies were up on such a hot day, so we swung by the most reliable spot and, sure enough, there were two up, as well as two Painters. The Redbells are massive.



Freddy Krueger without the lame quips:


Before leaving, I added #4 to my admittedly not-doing-so-well Grasshopper Project, the Carolina Locust.


It was a lot of driving and a lot of sun but it was all worth it. Turtles... is there anything they can't do?