Sun + Turtles = Good. May 18th, 2019

OK, temps in the 70s and sun... on a weekend!!! We had to plan carefully. So we went to a turtley place in hopes of seeing lots of turtles. We did.

We got there mid-morning and hit the shady forest trail first, thinking that if Hogs and Boxes are in this place, that's where they'd be. But it was dank and buggy and we decided to not trophy-herp, just get on with the program. So we hurried through and upon getting back out to the sun, Andrea yelled, "snake"!

Sure enough, a large female Garter on a mission was making her way across the path. We didn't get much time for a photo, much less a measurement but she must have been 30 " or so.

Andrea usually has the good hatchling eyes but I actually scored one this time... a quarter sized Painter that had just made it past the path.



Bogs are for frogs, like this pretty Green Frog. We heard a lot of Greens calling all day, sometimes in amazing quantities, but this is the only photo we got.


The bogs had frogs but they also held turtles... lots of turtles. Here's the first of many adult Painters.


The bogs were flooded and started to remind me of the Everglades.


While walking the paths around the bogs, Andrea saw a small Spotted Turtle and some Redbellied Cooters, both first timers for us here. But the camera didn't see them. Laid back Painted Turtles were easy enough, though.


We then hit a rich Bullfrog vein...




But the animal of the day was indisputably the Painted Turtle. We saw hundreds of them and it never got boring.








This little guy is giving you a back-handed salute.




I mean come on...

Sun Turtles, indeed!

We finally broke it up with our first Snapper of the day.


Of the hundreds of Painted Turtles we saw this day, it would be difficult to find a prettier one than the big guy here.


Here is some Tree Swallow hanky-panky.


I was about to put a moratorium on Painters unless we saw some spectacular sights. So here are more Painters.


I can't resist the little ones...


Almost to our turn-around point, I thought I heard a bird foraging in the brush at the edge of the pond. I realized what it was a bit too late and hemipene-blocked this poor Water Snake.

His startled BBW mate had slunk into the water, being all shy and demure.

I suspect she came back for some more lovin' after we left.

He's a solo Nerodia, hiding his noggin in the shade.


Moratorium or not, I mean come on... they were on everything, even this fallen frame.


We missed another Redbelly but this posing Spotted Turtle scratched one of out missed-it itches.


I could see a turtle foraging around just at the water's edge. At first it looked Musky, then I saw it was a small Snapper. I had decided to get a double soaker and go for it.

What a pissed-off beauty!

This stub-tailed cutie has a super pretty belly.

We'd definitely broken the Nerodia seal.

Andrea found a small Painter up on the path, heading to the pond. I thought his dramatic journey should be filmed!

He made it.


The next pair of mating Water Snakes paid me no never-mind. They were *ahem*... otherwise engaged.


This lovely Painter advised us that it was time to turn back again.


I kept an eye on the bog-side of the trail going back. As expected, it was full of turtles.


Not all Painters, either... as is proven by this Spotted.


It wasn't just Chelonian beauty out there, either.


So much for my moratorium on Painted Turtles. They're just so beautiful!


This good-sized Water Snake was hiding her noggin.

But I found it.


The next one made no effort to hide her head... it was periscoping right up.


My first Yellow Warbler (#78) in a few years.


OK... last Painter shot, I promise. But jeez... look at all those noggins!


Walking up the path back towards the car, I saw a turtle on the edge of the path. It turned out to be another young Snapper, standing tall to look threatening.

Notice that this tough guy is missing an eye.

One more Spotted...


Almost back to the parking lot, we stopped to listen to Green Frog calls, and then a weird bird called. And another. Andrea said, "those sound like Grays"... and sure enough, she was right. We stepped into the woods to poke around but of course they stopped. Even being right in the vicinity, it would be impossible to see a Gray Tree Frog on the bark of trees. Then, by a small miracle, we saw one in the crook of a tree. First of year...


That was a great end to a very successful hike. We both got sunburned to a crisp but it's all worth it. Finally, some sun and fun and some animal porn. We'll get the Red-bells next time.