Another Place Bites the Dust. 5-20-2018

We were finally going to have decent weather, though we'd have to time it right to dodge the raindrops. We decided to (finally) get down to one of our favorite spots in Bristol County to see if it had survived the winter. We arrived late morning and while it was cloudy, it was still warm and we were raring to go.

We'd been having diminished success at this place in recent years since they have been opening it back up for humans to use. They've done clean-ups (removing my board line) and allowed boats and cars but nothing prepared us for what we saw.

On the left in my old board-line field. They flattened the hills (dens?) and cleared everything out. A few years ago, we'd see Racers, Milks, Ribbons, Garters, Ringnecks, Redbacks and Fowler's here. No more. On the right was a wonderful bramble filled field that is gone. It will all probably be paved soon. Many of the paths have been recently tarred over.

We were pretty sad to see that, so we moved past. The lake's water was super high and many of our good viewing spots were inaccessible. Luckily, plenty of birds were out and singing so we weren't completely beat. I saw a small stack of distant Painters trying to enjoy the day.


We got to a pond that we always love to look around. We poked through a small stone wall that hasn't been dismantled yet and saw a plump Fowler's Toad.


A stone high up on the beach (that hasn't been removed yet) had a stash of Fowler's under it.

Trifecta!


Sadly, the beach area has become just that... all of the wonderful grasses and sandy nesting areas have been leveled and filled in, making it an actual beach for swimming. Humans will soon have the pond, not the animals. The water level was super high... I couldn't tell if it's natural or if they're somehow filling it. At any rate, this beautiful sight of toad-poles saddens me in a way. Where will they go when they outgrow the water?


The water was too deep for us to see any of our usual basking logs. Or maybe they too were cleared out. I did manage to find out where some of the turtles had gone. While walking past a spillway, I saw a few small Painters plop into the water. Stealthily, I snuck up for this shot.


This hatchling had probably over-wintered in its nest.


All kinds of leaves and sticks had settled over in this corner, sucked over by the spillway current. Small Painted Turtles were pretty easy to find.


I said to Andrea, "I could probably just run my hands through this debris and pull up a turtle." which I then proceeded to do. Our first Musk Turtle on the year had a crooked smile and a feisty attitude.


I saw another Musk shell sticking out of the cover. I thought I could smell the asphalt paving that has been going on but realized it was the Stinkpot!

There was a small Nerodia down in this area as well but we couldn't get a photo.

So, if the level goes down and the spillway starts spilling again in earnest, what becomes of these little turtles? Ah, as long as the humans are happy, who cares, right? Damn.

Andrea was taking a path above me and saw a nice in-the-blue Garter with almost no dorsal stripe.


The far end of this pond was much quieter. Not as many filthy humans get over there. We saw some pretty Fowler's out for a hop.



We took a path out even further away from humans, though a couple of big, cool boy-men on vwoom-vwoom bikes went speeding past us. They're so neato. There were a few Painters basking out this way.



Back to the usual trail around this pond, we saw a Painter in a jai alai basket.


We saw this Red-eared Slider here last year... a big one that seems to favor precarious perches.

That's my first RES on the year. Andrea had seen one a couple of weeks ago on her lunch break.

Know what breaks my heart the most about the humanizing of this place? The ignoring of a healthy population of an endangered species, namely the Red-bellied Cooter. This shot, from a path about 30 yards above the pond, shows four Red-bellies and roughly14 Painters sharing some prime real estate.

I guess keeping the white-trash humans happy is more important than saving the habitat of these magnificent creatures.

This Painter was enjoying having a spot to himself.


We got to a spot where two Toads were jumping around. One was definitely an American. Fowler's outnumber Americans 9 to 1 here so I really wanted to get a shot. The other was a Fowler's or, possibly, a hybrid. I thought, after a collision they'd had, I had the American in focus...

Oops... wrong one and even looking at it on the computer, it's inconclusive. Possible hybrid. Oh, well.

The next area we checked had a guy fishing and two Painters basking, but they plopped in when we walked by. We finally got our orbs on a frog, though... a small, secretive Bullfrog.


I caught the Painters up when we walked back.


We walked through some destroyed habitat, past big machines ready to do more damage and piles of broken rock and saw a small toad hopping. He was dusty as hell, so we poured a little water on him, which he seemed to approve of. This, we were happy to see, was a real American Toad.


Despite the destruction, there are still a few beautiful spots that they haven't reached yet. Time will tell.


We got over to a vernal pond area and our hearts broke. The pond was still there but the entire area has been paved and they're setting up outlets and cookers and making the area ready for camping. This poor Painter will probably be homeless soon.


I thought I saw another shell... or is it a rock?

"I ain't no rock!"

Walking back, we saw plenty of trash, thanks to humans. The habitat destruction, the litter, the conveniences being set up to attract more humans... it just kills me. I do not think we will be returning here.

We went to get some food but the restaurant was too busy and we didn't feel like waiting so we departed to check out a nearby place that is always good for a Water Snake or two. On the way there, doing 45 MPH on the busy road, we saw a Painted Turtle scooting across. I swerved and missed it and watched in horror (in my rear view mirror) as it sped across, through traffic, finally making it to the white line and beyond. *whew* She took a few years off of my life.

Sure enough, even though it had clouded up and the predicted heavy rains were coming close, a few Nerodia were up, still basking. Check out the meal in the first big girl!

The smaller fella is in the blue.


Our last sighting was a Garter coil resting comfortably, also with a meal-bump.


And then the rains came. Violent and hard. I hope those snakes all made it to cover quickly! It was a huge downpour that we drove through. We got to the area where the Painter had crossed... and she was coming back!!! She made it to the middle line... just barely... and there was nobody behind me in sight as she proceeded. Hopefully, she made it.

We finally stopped to get some pizza and when we left the pizza joint, we heard Gray Tree Frogs calling from the wetlands next to the place. Dousing our plans to explore, the rains came again, hard and heavy. We headed home.

So, we have another place destroyed for the sake of greedy humans. Where will the next casualty occur?