The Last Turtles and Frogs of 2020. 11-8-2020

 Another day of sun and pleasant temps was in the forecast for that Sunday, so we drove to Plymouth County to our oft-visited turtle spot. I needed a Painted Turtle, dammit! Even though we'd already had a frost the week before, I figured we'd see some noggins here and there. And we did.

In fact, our first sighting was indeed a Painter.

We knew we wouldn't be seeing a ton of animals, but we enjoyed being out in the sun in what already seemed like the middle of the winter. The trees and grass were covered with a delicate webbing. Possibly from sheet-weaver spiders (Linyphiidae)? Our shoes were covered by the time we left.

Another noggin was up. Much to our delight, this one belonged to a Spotted Turtle, definitely a November first.

We had the honor of watching him swim around for a while.

I'd been hoping for frogs, but wasn't holding my breath. Amphibians always tend to be a bit smarter dealing with the cold weather than reptiles. We were very grateful for this November Bullfrog.

An actual basking Painted Turtle.

Since we didn't get a Florida trip in this year, we figured this was the closest thing to walking the canals in the Everglades. Long, sunny paths, surrounded by water. Except no 'gators.

An extraordinary thing happened next. From the middle of the bog, a large Buck came running out, through the water and across the path about 30 yards in front of us. Ever the astute nature photographer, I turned on my camera, raised it... and realized that it had been on and I'd turned it off. Oops. Here's a photo of a hoof-mark in the path.

Still, it was an awesome sight, in the true sense of the word.

I started seeing more Painter noggins...

Hey, wait... that noggin is a Bullfrog's!

By the time we got to the big pond, the sun was getting a bit lower. Still, there were a few picta warriors.

I added a bird to my year (#69) and my life-list (#191), the ridiculously cute Pied-billed Grebe.

The Bullfrog gods were smiling down upon us.

I put quite a bit of effort into this wee Green Frog. Totally worth it.

We were realizing this was likely our last true hike of the year. Of course, we'll visit dens and do our beach walking for turtle patrol (though we haven't yet been called to do it), but this would be our last "lets go see what we can" hike. I didn't want it to end. Here are the last Painted Turtles we saw.

And that is likely it. I leave (hah!) you with a gorgeous lady and some gorgeous foliage.

We had some 20° nights since this day. Though it will be warmer again this coming weekend, we'll stick to the easy stuff or a beach walk. (Over 150 turtles have come in thus far, but we haven't been on the beach yet.)