Andrea has some time off, including last Friday. The weather was supposed to be decent so we planned a hike. We actually flipped a coin and decided to go to a spot in Bristol County that has all but been ruined by its return to human activity and camping, but we figured we'd be beating much of the crowd.
We got a late start, as we often do these days, but got there noonish and hit the trails. Right away I redeemed myself for my shitty Oriole picture from a few weeks ago with this decent portrait of a female.
Down by the water, we startled two Pickerel Frogs, a species we'd not yet photographed on the year. Some small Bulls hung out to make us feel better.
My tenacity (stupidity?) finally paid off and I saw a small Pickerel head pop out of the water. Bingo! First of Year Pickerel Frog!
This place used to be wonderful for all kinds of snakes but after a clean up, some species have been tough to find. Still, a picnic table graveyard that was cleaned up a few years ago is starting to get a board or two back. But it held nothing for us. Earlier it might have, but it was warming up pretty good by now.
Out on the water, Painted Turtles were enjoying the sun.
Here's a couple of Painters and an absolute behemoth of a Red-belly.
Look at that!
A distant sandbar had quite a lot of shell on it... there's at least 25 Painters here.
It's nice to see Lady Slippers back... (Cypripedium acaule, I believe).
A beach area that will be filled with human garbage before too long was a good spot to flip our First of Year Fowler's Toad!
The pond, that will also be filled with human garbage before too long, was filled with good sized Bullfrog tadpoles.
Remember that Lost in Space episode where Will Robinson falls into a machine and it gives him Dr. Smith's face? And he's walking around like a miniature Dr. Smith? I think of that episode every time I see a Least Sandpiper. Perfectly formed, but tiny! This is #74 on the year.
We were walking along the pond's edge looking for turtles that might be in the wrack. I saw this and thought it was a Musk.
It was too far out to pick up but I tried to pull it closer with a stick. It was then that I knew... it was a Musk Turtle. It swam away. Sometimes, they bask while still in the water with just a bit of shell out. The next example of that was closer to the shore and we pulled him up for photos.
Further along, I was still squawking about how much I loved Musk Turtles when I saw this guy popping out of the water and giving us a great big smile.
The far side of the pond had plenty of Painted Turtles up.
I don't remember where or when I took this shot but I wish I'd have taken more... Way out there was a couple of big Redbellies and some Painters. Not sure I even noticed them at the time.
Walking back through the woods, we were surprised with an American Toad. It is 10 to 1 Fowler's at this place so this was a welcome surprise.
One of the things that was done to make this place more human-enticing was to flood out this middle pond for more swimming. While it took away some of our favorite spots to look for critters, it looks like most have adapted. This perch is where dry land used to be. These two don't look too upset.
We were heading back by now, just about done, when we saw this gal starting to dig a nest ahead of us.
We went past the old picnic table graveyard again and figured we'd take a quick peek under a few boards. Andrea flipped this massive cow-flop of a Fowler's.
I finally earned my keep when I flipped a resting and digesting, stripeless garter.
'Bout time we saw a snake, and what a stunner!
Our last stop before the car was a quick peek into the cranberry bogs. I'm glad we did. We added our 9th species of the day with this pretty Green Frog.
This bruiser of a Bull was also in there.
Our last sight of the day was another lovely Green.
If only every Friday could be like this one. It was good to get through the park before the throngs come in for camping and Summer polluting. There were a few campers there already. We obviously won't be going back until around October.
But I'm glad we (or the coin) chose it this day.
No comments:
Post a Comment