A Need for Shells. 4-2-2022

It was cool (low 50s) and breezy but the sun would be poking out a bit so we headed to our newer favorite spot in Plymouth County in hopes of seeing more turtles. We'd broken the Chelonian seal with a Spotted and a few Painters the week before and we were eager to see more. We got there late morning and hit the trail. It was cool and since this place is breezy at the best of times, it was full-on chilly. We skipped the woods and walked the bog trails first, figuring snakes would not be up.

The channels of the bog were shielded on one side from the wind and it was getting sun. That made a whole lot of Spotted Turtles super happy. We saw dozens right away but many of them either couldn't be photographed due to foliage cover or sliding into the water. But, here are some...

We broke up the Spotted streak with our very first Green Frog of the year!

A couple more Spotties...

We started transitioning into Painted Turtles!

But it was a slow transition...

We walked on for a while (I missed a shot of what would have been the first Bullfrog of the year... my only chance, too) until we got to a typically Painter-centric body of water. We'd seen many from the path but couldn't get any shots for the same reasons listed above. Finally, it opened up and I was able to photograph a few Painted Turtles.

There was a little island of sorts out in the water... I dub thee Painter Island!

A pond that presented us with some problems last year (a few dead turtles, likely that had succumbed to a temperature drop) was much better this year. The only two turtles we saw were very much alive and very Spotted.

Another early year Green Frog. Not much green showing!

We'd been hearing Peepers for much of the hike so far. We got to a part where we usually turn towards the big pond but, since it was pretty cool and windy, we didn't do that. Instead, we explored new paths. Part of this decision was made my the trilling of American Toads in the distance.

We hiked for a while along the sunny paths but never did find the toads. We ran into a nice couple who were birding and the guy said they'd seen their FOY Garter in the woods so we decided we should hit the woods on the way back. It was great to see another couple of folks who GET IT... enjoy nature while you can.

We did head towards the pond after all because that's where the new path was eventually taking us. On the way, we added another Painter.

We sat at the picnic table to rest for a bit (we'd already done around 4 1/2 miles) and a Tree Swallow (#59) swooped into the tree in front of us and struck a nice, bullet-like pose.

The walk back was still producing some nice sights for us... another Green Frog, this time actually showing a little bit of green!

On the way to the woods, we kept seeing little Painter noggins in the water. Most were too quick for me but I shot a couple.

We made it to the woods (which are the first thing there when you get in, so we were close to being done). It turns out we were wrong; we'd figured the shade of the woods would make it cooler but since the trees had been blocking the wind, it was really nice in there.

We turned to check out an inner-woods path and a large female Garter swooshed off the path. Only, when I got in front of her, I saw it wasn't a Garter, but a Ribbon! I large one, at that! Our first one of the year!

Two feet long and as chonky as a well-fed Garter gal.

That's what I call ending on a high note. This was our first official, full-on nature walk of the season (in Massachusetts) and I call it a success. Two FOYs and dozens of turtles. No complaints here.