Up on the path to the mill, I found a small Garter in a rolled up tarp.
Evidently, I broke the seal on Purple Martins last week. Here is a matched pair that was on a wire with a long chorus-line of Tree and Barn Swallows.
Walking towards a spillway next to the mill ruins, we heard a massive splash. Evidently, a turtle (or gigantic frog) was sunning in the grass and took a 5 foot leap of faith into the water below. Luckily, it didn't land on this small Bullfrog.
We flipped a snoozing Garter. We replaced the board without it ever waking up.
This Garter was very much awake upon flipping. It musked and pooped on me.
Hey- triangle head... must be pozzniss!
This guy shocked me. For a Bullfrog, it was massive. But when I noticed it was a Green Frog my mind was blown. Gotta be the biggest Green I'd ever seen.
Large Bulls were representing as well.
This small Painted Turtle represents the species for the day. Our only specimen.
From there, we went across the street to look for Musks and Water Snakes. I'd made the mistake of saying, "I feel pretty good about seeing Water Snakes." So, we saw none. We did, however, notice that the water was filled with small River Herring that were in schools all along the edges. Looking down at them, we noticed a colony of freshwater bryozoans, the closest thing to coral we have around here.
White Perch were going nuts over the Herring but a few Musk Turtles were poking up around the edge of the dam. Too damn cute.
White Perch on the hunt...
A Musk was foraging under a sea of Herring.
Finally got his head up for me...
On the other side of the dam, there were no small Herring and it was all much quieter. These two adults were there, however, and they were swimming in a tight circle. I have been told this is a breeding behavior but since it is so out of season, I'm wondering if they are just confused.
Back up on the path, I was attracted by an Eastern Red-cedar Tree's "berries". They're actually tightly packed cones and a treat for birds.
A lovely Bull in a bog.
The last shot from this stop is a young Bull that looks like a muppet.
From there, we drove to a place a few miles away, again in hopes of a Water Snake. Nope. But we did have a snapperiffic time there. First, we saw this behemoth of a Snapper walking against the tide toward the open water. I'd never seen one so black before. It almost doesn't look real.
In a duck-weed covered, still-water spot, another Snapper was relaxing in privacy.
Looking down from a boardwalk, we could see two Snappers under the water. This is the best I could do on one of them. Luckily, it's skin was lighter and looked orange so I could see it.
While I was struggling with that shot, Andrea had stayed put, looking down from a different bridge. I knew she had something. She sure did!
You really never see Snappers in this small size, maybe a 3" long carapace. We watched as he slid into the drink.
So, at this point we'd seen four or five Snappers, a half dozen Musks and one Painted Turtle. Weird.
We got some pizza before heading over to our last stop in Bristol County. Yes, we were weary but since we were there, we might as well go for it. Our plan was to go flip some picnic tables and see if anyone was home. When we got towards the spot, we started seeing more Tinies. This well-fed Tiny is likely a Fowler's, which 95% of the toads at this place are.
I confessed my weariness but if you need photographic proof... here it is. The Garter is quicker than my reflexes.
That was our last snake. Heading back to the parking lot, we saw dozens of Tiny Toads hopping off the path. One was very dark. Could it be? YES! A new translucent Black-eyed Toad!
We're so happy to see that this gene is still being passed around this population! They'd been absent for a few years, then we saw a few two years ago. We'd love to find an adult one again!
Our last sighting (as we dragged our tired legs towards the car) was a Bullfrog in a puddle.
That's a pretty fair way to end a pretty darn good trip. A Happy Monday.
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