We decided to forgo the woods and head straight to the open trails. The bogs had plenty of water but the sun wasn't yet hitting right for the Spotted Turtles so perhaps we were too early. We didn't see a critter until nearly a mile in when this Painted Turtle let me photograph it.
That was very nice of him.
There were a lot of flowers around the bogs and they were attracting bees and butterflies. These two species were within a few feet of each other... a Viceroy:
and a Pearl Crescent.
From out of nowhere, we heard some very loud squawks and looked up to see a pair of Sandhill Cranes (#70) flying overhead. This species is what got us to this spot all those years ago and this is only the second time I've gotten a photograph. Thanks for the heads up, boids!!
The day was all about Painted Turtles. Before too long, they were everywhere.
We'd heard Bullfrogs and Green Frogs calling but it took a while before we saw an anuran. This guy was spotted from the path some 30 feet away... he's a big Bullfrog.
We turned on to the Osprey path and the adult on the nest was none too happy to see us. The water is usually heavy with duckweed there and made these two look like lucha wrestlers
and this one like it was pretending to be a Blanding's.
This little fella was climbing high to get some sun on its plastron.
A lot of Bull...
Out to the main pond... a typical shot for the area.
Is this one in back doing all it can for yoga? Yes. Yes it is.
We finally saw a Snapper. It was relaxing with a Blue Dasher on its carapace.
But, as it often is, it was all about the Painters.
A Spicebush Swallowtail with it's proboscis sticking out stopped by to say "mmmphllphmmmf".
And we ended it with, you guessed it... a string of Painters.
We didn't do the long trek this time but we did our older full hike and while we didn't see as many species as we'd have liked to, you just can't complain when there are so many turtles about. But no snakes and that just won't do.
The next day, Sunday, we slept in a little and with the late start, we needed to keep it pretty close. I suggested our Copperhead path in Norfolk County. Every once in a while, they'll come down from their hill and can be seen on or near the path. Hey, it was worth a shot.
We poked around pretty thoroughly before deciding to ascend the hill, either part-way or the whole way. Andrea hasn't been too good on hills since her broken ankle in April on 2023 and we had to go slow to work up her strength. We got to a plateau and rested for a while. I decided to go up further to do a recon... see if any snakes were at their gestation site yet. A Red-spotted Purple Butterfly posed for me on the way.
I realized that we were closer to the right spot than I'd thought and I started poking around, looking for designs in between rocks and stuff. After about 10 minutes, I'd found a Copperhead, but getting a shot was extremely tough. My camera was dead-set on focusing on the rocks. This is the best I could do.
From another angle, a blurry noggin shot.
About 10 feet from there, I lost my footing and went ass-over-teakettle down between two large rocks. The camera fell into leaves and after I stopped sliding, I checked for broken bones. None, just a skinned and scraped up arm. The camera was fine. So I continued on, a bit shaken but not stirred.
I did see another Copperhead in a bush slide under a rock while looking, one with very bright colors. When I got back to Andrea, I described everything, calling that second one "an Okeetee-looking one". I asked if she had it in her to go up a little more and see the one I'd photographed. She said yes.
We found the spot and though the snake had moved position, it was still visible. Yay! A First of Year Copperhead for both of us! I actually found the Okeetee bush and a snake was back. Hidden inside a bush (Bear Oak, I believe), a photo was almost impossible. See?
After the snake slid under the rock, I pulled back a branch to look at the space under the rock and another Copper slid into it. Moving another branch, a third Copper slid under the rock! What a bush! I haven't been so enthralled by a bush since the last Joëlle Coeur movie I saw! I will keep that spot in mind next time we're here!
We looked around some more before making our way back to the side for the descent. Andrea thought I was heading to the wrong spot, so we moved further over. Good thing we did. We saw this on the way.
She started to backtrack while I had the body in focus so I didn't get a great head shot but it's better than nothing.
We made it down pretty easily and back to the car with no fuss or muss. I'm really proud of Andrea for going the extra mile on a weekend when she wasn't feeling 100% and helping me find some critters. Doing this together is what it's all about.
So, now we've seen eleven of the state's fourteen snakes. We need Timber, Worm... and fucking Hognoses, which used to be so easy! Eh, it's still early. Isn't it?
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