The Turtles of Spring. March 26th, 2023

It was going to be a little bit warmish with off and on sun. Hey, we don't ask for much. Seemed like a good day to go to our Spotted Turtle place in Norfolk County and see if any knuckleheads were up yet. There were.

Now, I know this is cheating in a way... they're always here this time of year. But it's still fun to 
officially get your FOY Spotted! And more.

This skinny Garter was right there, too. We watched him crawl into a small hole in the ground and disappear. Our timing was very good... he was our only snake on the day.

A few more Spotted Turtles in the distance...
    

Walking along, we were enjoying ourselves, listening to the quacking of horny Wood Frogs at certain points. We finally got a shot of one.

A nice healthy mass of Wood Frog eggs.

Ride 'em, Cowboy!

A nice, flipped Redback made four species on the day!

We'd been hoping for a Painted Turtle or Water Snake along the walk but struck out on both. This sexy Common Grackle (#58) almost made up for it. The first we'd seen this year.

Almost back to the car, we peeked in on the area where we'd seen the first Spotteds... there were four there but only two by the time I snapped a picture.

We'd only walked a few miles so we decided to go see if any Painters were up in our local Suffolk County cemetery. When we got there, we could see distant Red-ears in the pond but I decided to hold off pictures until we got a little closer. We did see a dead Snapper and, with horror, realized it could be Whitey. The mud was far too deep for me to get out to it to try to give it a more respectful resting place. We didn't see Whitey or any live Snappers on our walk along the pond, so we're hoping he will be greeting us later in the year, happy and healthy.

Here's a big ol' Red-ear! Not the FOY as we'd seen one in February.

This is, however, the first Painted Turtle of the year! Andrea spied him.

There were two but I only got the picture of one Robin taking an adorable bath.

A Red-ear determined to bask.

This guy is likely the same Red-ear we'd seen in February. He was in the exact same spot. Yes, he was very much alive and pulled into his shell as we took pictures.

Another gorgeous Painted Turtle. Just think how impressed all of the jaded "herpers" would be if Painters were rare. They are gorgeous animals!

Two more Red-ears, one of which is deep into yoga!

We had to get going but I was glad to get this shot before leaving... a Wood Duck, a Canada Goose and two female Hooded Mergansers, likely a lesbian avian couple. Well, maybe!

I declare the 2023 Season officially under way!