So, it was still in the low 60s (if that) when we hit the trails a little after 10:30 AM. We were so surprised to see a medium sized Garter jetting off a cool, shadowy path that we didn't get a picture nor were we able to catch it. He seemed a bit more warmed up than we were. But our boards were (more or less) intact and one of them was covering this sleepy lil in-the-blue baby Garter.
He never knew we were there.
Another board produced another wee Garter.
Since this one was sleeping with ants, we decided to move him over to his blue-eyed buddy's board.
He blew us a kiss of thanks.
Another set of odd bedfellows... this Redback was cuddled up with a massive slug.
We had limited time... I'd hoped to make it to the middle pond to see if any turtles were up. It was cool but it was clear and sunny. The chilly woods didn't give us much more in the way of animals. In fact, reliable toad spots were toad-free. This worried me. With the nights getting cooler, have the toads packed it in for the year? That would suck. Andrea finally scored an anuran, in the form of a sleek Pickerel Frog, whose blotches almost formed stripes.
We reached the pond, though at the same time, we got word from Sārah that they had arrived. Poop... we were a half hour's hike from the front. My fault entirely. Naturally, the distant logs were studded with Painted Turtles... for the first time in a long time. My zoom went to work before we turned back.
At the top of a dry hill on the way out, I flipped a stone and this shiny Pickerel hopped out... not what I'd expected to see.
We were briskly walking back, nomming on granola bars, when a slim Garter jetted across the path, almost as if it was warmish... I made a one-handed grab without dropping my treat.
Super cute.
Crossing a short bridge, this Bullfrog was sitting in the murky water. He hadn't been there on the way in.
Both of our bladders were pretty full by now, too. The gentleman in me told Andrea that she could use the filthy porta-toidy in the parking area... I headed off trail, towards the pond to "look for Wood Frogs". Oddly enough, about three feet from my chosen "Wood Frog" area, this Bullfrog was sitting in the sun, wondering why it sensed water both in front and behind it.
So we went to the front and met up with Sārah and Charles. While awaiting our arrival, she had spent her time picking up trash from the shore of the pond, because she is an awesome person in that way. We all hopped into our cars and headed off to their secret Musk spot. It was a surprisingly twisty-turny route that we could never have found on our own. When we got there, there was a chilly breeze coming off of the big bodies of water. Sārah was worried that we wouldn't find anything because of the temps. She needn't have worried.
We approached a dam, we were told that Musks are always around there. We could actually see some moving black shapes in the deep bowl of sand near the wall. Sure enough, they were Musk Turtles. I got this shot and was all excited.
"Look, look! I got a shot! Totally ID-able as a Musk!"
Um, yeah.
My enthusiasm now reminds me of the time, about a decade ago, that Andrea and I went to Shark Valley in the Everglades. While paying our entrance fee, I asked the guy there if there were any Gators here. He said, "Um, yeah." Of course, we saw hundreds of Gators that day. I imagine that's what Sārah and Charles thought when I showed them the picture.
So, yeah... this place was filthy with Musks. I started poking through the weeds at the edge and hatchling Musks (Musklings?) were plentiful. As I moved the cover, six, seven... eight hatchlings scooted down the sandy bowl into the depths. I got a few out for photos.
That's a dime, Sylvester.
This floating weed pile was also home to some brand newly formed Bull Frogs. This guy was super-cooperative.
It wasn't just Musk hatchlings there, either... midsized and adults were seen skittering along the sandy bottom.
We decided to check other spots along the shore. Since the water level was so low, it afforded us access to see angles that wouldn't normally be visible. Sadly, it also reduced the number of animals... seems like many had moved to other spots to make it through the drought. Sārah was taking us to a spot that was reliable for toads and since I had started to worry about a taodless Autumn, I was happy when Andrea spotted a small Fowler's.
I didn't get a shot of it, but this guy's back right foot was gone and the wound was still pink. Fairly recent damage. He still hopped well enough to elude my camera for a while.
Further up, this Pickerel was having a beach day.
Just before we cut through the woods to hit the other side, we saw this face among the rocks.
Turns out that there was a whole Fowler's Toad attached to it. Coulda fooled me.
The wooded path gave us new opportunities and, though it was pretty dry, an idyllic pond next to the trail still had water in it. There were frog noggins poking through the duckweed, like this small Bully.
A flip produced two Two-lined Salamanders, one of which stayed put for a photo.
I was very happy with this flip because A.) we hadn't seen one in a while and B.) it was Sārah's photograph lifer.
We got to the other side and decided to cut through those woods, too, and hit the beach on that side. The water was choppier there (it was much windier) and the "beach" was really just lots of rocks that are usually submerged. It was much tougher going. Still, those rocks held some surprises... Sārah saw a Nerodia slither under a fairly large rock, but I was able to lift it far enough for her to reach in and procure it for pictures.
Now, dats a pretty Water Snake.
We had pretty much reached the end of our hike... the beach more or less stopped and the surrounding land was private property. We took 5 before heading back. I explored some puddles that had some small Bull Frogs in them.
Bullfrogs weren't contained to just the puddles. On the way back up the beach, Andrea spied this big, beautiful Bully in his jammies, taking a pounding in the waves of the choppy water.
He didn't seem to care at all.
A couple of Greater Yellowlegs were picking at things in the surf... my 99th bird on the year.
We all knew where we wanted to go back to... Musk Dam. The sun, which had been off and on while we were hiking, was on and the turtles were welcoming us back. Musks of all sizes.
^ dime
We were knee-deep in Musks when Charles came up to us with a small turtle... "uumm... is this what I think it is?"
Ho-lee crap! He had just made a very important and exciting discovery. Red-bellied Cooters are endangered up here, and have been the subject of headstarting programs for decades. Finding a hatchling in the wild isn't only rare, but an amazing discovery... at least one nest that researchers didn't know about was successful!! The little guy didn't seem to know how special he is.
Look at that shell!
Andrea took the wee one and databased it, recorded this and that (it will be reported this week) while Sārah and I looked for Musks. She said, "if you can bend your head down to look into this hole, there's six of them in there." I peeked, and though I'm not too limber, I saw a shell. I couldn't resist...
I lowered the camera down to the hole, which was just above the water line. Three more were visible, as well as some snake skins.
This place is now officially my favorite place on earth.
Andrea and Sārah were fussing with the Red-belly while, not three feet away from them, these adult Musks were hanging out.
One last peek at the Cooter...
... and off he swam.
We all sat there, just watching the water for a while. At any given time, Musk Turtles would climb the damn wall, then swim back down to the depths... it was amazing. This guy, with maybe a 6" carapace, was the biggest one I saw.
Andrea watched "the log" for quite a while, watching Musks come and go.
Charles and I were looking at the collected plants on the far side of the dam and we saw some turtle action. I went and felt along the edges but started to slide in. I saw some bubbles rise from a spot, reached in, and pulled out this old-timer. The shell almost looks notched, it's so scarred.
The bubbles, in fact, continued, telling me that it wasn't the turtle causing the bubbles, but the area is so filled with Musks that there just so happened to be one there where I reached in.
It was getting late and we were all hungry (and we had plans to meet some other friends later on, social butterflies that we are) so we had to end this remarkable day. Charles showed me one last Musk hatchling to end the day on a cute note.
What an extraordinary place, this is. Seriously, my new favorite place on the planet. Musks aren't many people's favorite turtles, but I think it's safe to say that the four of us put them way up there at the top. This place is very special. I can't thank Sārah and Charles enough for introducing us to Stinkpot Utopia. It was also, between the two places, Andrea and my first 10 species day in Massachusetts in a long time. And on our first herping trip officially in the Fall of 2016.
As the year winds down, it's nice to know that there can still be some magic.
<3 sigh
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