It was still pretty cool but the sun was up and the birds were singing. I added a Prairie Warbler (#45) to the year's count right away.
We took the Spotted Turtle path, but the sun wasn't hitting a lot of it yet. By the end of the trail, we stated to see a few.
This Viceroy butterfly was a shock of red in the path.
Onto the main path, we could see a Snapper up in the distance. Make a run for it? Nah, it was the better part of a quarter mile away. But it was still there when we got up to it. Female looking to nest? Male crossing between waters? I can't tell.
I startled a good-sized Water Snake and this is the best I could do for a photo after it fled.
Whereas the week before, we'd had a symphony of Green Frogs, this week it was a Bullfrog chorus. They were calling everywhere and it was awesome. Here are a few big guys...
We finally started to get our Painted Turtle on.
Another large Bull. This guy was calling.
We ran into a lady that didn't like snakes or Snappers but told us of a trail where she sees both all of the time. We were suspicious, but decided to check out the marshy trail anyway. It wasn't the greatest trail but we did see a skinny Garter that I had to catch for a photo. He musked me good for my efforts.
Back on the main trail, we saw a Male Kingbird that refused to budge. We saw why... his wife was on-nest.
We got to the main pond. There was a kid's fishing derby going on and we suspected that we'd see absolutely nothing. There were cars and trucks parked along the trail. But the local turtles in the distance didn't care. It was sunny and they were fabulous. Some big Red-bellies were up with some Painters.
We were talking to a parking attendant over by a concrete slab that we know Racers like. Still need a Racer on the year. I got down low and swear I saw a smooth, scaly black tail among the sticks. When I moved closer, it was gone. Definitely a Racer. I went into the grass to see if anyone was basking. No Racers, but a brown, tanniny Water Snake was there. I picked her up to teach the guy a little about the local snakes. No bites, no musk. She was very sweet.
More distant turtles... a line of Painters:
A pair of way-out Redbells.
Needless to say, we saw no nesting turtles along the path while it was busy with humans fishing. I did hear the most revolting thing I've heard in a while, though. A man teaching his kid to bait a hook with a minnow... "see the eye? Go in behind that. It's important with live bait because you don't want to pierce the brain so it can't move." {{{shudder}}}
We got back to more or less privacy and started photographing Painters again.
This guy had so much tannin stain that I thought he was a Red-belly!
Andrea was looking at the bog side and spotted this immense Snapper! That shell has to be 18" from tip to tip!
When there's no more logs in the pond, the Painters will bask on lilypads. (paraphrasing Dawn of the Dead, 1978).
For a change of pace, here's a Main Pond Spotted!
A hidden Water Snake, scales only.
Our last sight was the one we had come for... a female Painted Turtle who had just nested. Note the dirty butt.
And the best part? We'd hiked 6ish miles in four hours and it was only just noon! Even after errands, there was plenty of nap time! Win win!
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