But... the campgrounds had not yet been opened this year, thank you very much Mr. Covid 19. Plus, it was going to be in the mid-90s on this sticky Saturday so we threw caution to the wind and decided to hit the place early, before it got too hot. We got there, deep into Bristol County, before 8 AM and braced ourselves for the changes we were sure to see.
The changes weren't immediately bad, in fact our old favorite dumping ground (that had been meticulously cleaned, removing cover for at least 5 species of snakes we'd seen) had some stacks of sticks laid up and a few old boards. Thank you, Covid. Here are a handful of Fowler's Toads that were under some of the boards.
They all seemed pretty content with their lot in life.
Much to our surprise, this ready-to-shed Milk Snake was under a board that was hidden by some cleared brush on the edge of the forest-line.
He bit Andrea pretty good on the thumb.
So, we were already pleased with our decision. Nature strikes back.
Adding to our happiness was this small Garter who was prowling about on a shady trail.
Another sight on the shady trail... a Painted Turtle. Was she looking to nest here? Or was she heading to or from nesting? I dunno, but she's a cutie. Looks like she's digging.
Out on a beach-like area, we'd hoped to see some nesting but didn't get lucky. Out in the open, the sun was starting to get really hot, even though it was still before 9 AM. Some distant Painted Turtles were up basking. Check out the guy on the left... caught him yawning!
Another distant trio.
Heading back to the shaded trails, we saw another Painter up. We've seen predated nests right in this spot but it still seems like a bad place.
One of the last times we were here, we'd seen Four-toed Salamanders, a species that was new to the place for us at the time. We'd been talking about that when there was a trail detour. We took the detour, flipped a log and saw one!
Right next to that, Andrea flipped this cream-colored one. I barely saw it, even when she was pointing right at it.
And then we got to the middle pond. As we approached it, it looked like a pond in the middle of a bustling city... rocks all around the edges, a fancy-assed dam and it was very full. There used to be a path that went between two ponds but it was all underwater now, one big pond with a pavement path all around it.. The beach, which used to be great for nesting turtles, probably hadn't had a turtle on it for two years. A stone wall was just remnants now, but there was one Fowler's hiding under a rock.
One thing that really disgusted us back when they took over this beautiful pond, was thinking of the impact it would have on the turtles in it. We'd seen four species in this pond over the years and we hoped the humanizing didn't destroy all of the turtle populations. From the beach, we could see a Painter and a possible (but still un-ID'd) Musk out on a log.
The edges of the pond, along the rocks, did have some wrack-line, so I perused it and saw a few small Painters.
I hope these little nippers survive when the humans are back, which was supposed to be two days later.
On the other side of the dam's spillway, we saw a few frogs, which is good. This place used to be Frog Central! Here's a young Bull and a Pickerel.
We walked around the pond, one that we'd walked around (and through) dozens of times before but couldn't figure out where we were at times. It had changed that much. Luckily, not all of the sticks and perches out in the middle had been cleared (yet?) and there were, mercifully, a few Red-bellied Cooters out there basking.
This is a huge relief... these guys are endangered and it was clear that the shitstains that were paving over the park either didn't know they were there or didn't care.
Another pond, right behind the other one, hadn't changed too much, though the path to it is now paved. This little Fowler's stood at the edge with us, lamenting "progress".
A place where we used to sneak down to the water's edge and get great shots of Red-bellies and Painters was completely gone, the reworking of the pond had flooded it over. Still, alongside the (dirt!!!) trail going down there, Andrea found a Redback.
At another pond (I tell you, this used to be our favorite place) we cooled off by wading into the water a bit. Surprisingly, there weren't any other humans at this spot. There used to be plenty, killing turtles and fish galore. Andrea scooped up a small black Catfish, likely a Bullhead.
We used to see hundreds of these back in the middle pond when we could look through the shallow water. I'm glad to see they have found a new place to live.
Some humans came (one in a Hummer who gave me a dirty look) so we moved on. In fact, we were pretty much done here. Of course, trying to find our way out with all of the changes got us lost for a bit but it turns out that the unfamiliar path that we took was actually a shortcut back to the Milk Snake area. I checked under the board. He had returned. I gently replaced the board and went on.
One last peek into the bog next to the parking lot... a couple of small Bullfrogs.
So, between the pandemic holding up the camping season and the 95° temps, we'd actually had a great hike. A bit over six miles and at least nine species. And it was only noon. Admittedly, it was a bit painful to see what had happened to the place, the middle pond in particular, but what we saw showed us that nature can rebound, given the chance.
With another roll of the dice, we went a town over, just inside Plymouth County, to see if we could see some more turtles at another place that we had avoided so far this year. It's very small and it can get very crowded but, much to our delight, there weren't many cars in the lot when we pulled in. And better yet, not 15 feet from our parking space, this little Snapper was looking out of the water.
I love this size... about a 6" long carapace.
Going in a bit further, in a pool next to a herring run, this massive Snapper was hanging out.
Definitely one of the largest Snappers I have ever seen. We stood there watching him forage for a long time. Majestic.
There are multiple spillways along the river at this place. It used to be a mill, so it's flow is controlled. The first spillway had this adult Painter enjoying the splashing, misty water.
The next spillway had this young Painter exploring and nibbling at the plants and algae.
We watched his efforts for quite a while.
I was fruitlessly looking for Water Snakes in the cool, watery plants when Andrea called me over... one of the spillways had a Musk Turtle hanging on to a plant, almost getting caught up in the rushing water of this active spot.
He eventually let go and got whisked away in the current.
We watched out the other side of the bridge, but he never emerged. Then Andrea noticed that he had grabbed a hold of a stick that was jutting up, under the bridge.
We had the absolute joy of watching him climb up the stick and get comfortable.
We stayed for a while, watching turtles and talking with a guy who was there with his dog (who was afraid of a water Snake skin) and checked on the large Snapper before leaving. He was doing what Snappers seem to like to do... showering in a waterfall.
We drove home that day very tired and satisfied. It was hot, we were toast and we'd put in over 7 miles, seeing eleven species of reptile and amphibian (plus I finally got my bird count to 50 with a Phoebe) and we had earned the right to admit... "that was a good day".
But I doubt we'll go back any time soon.
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