The rain had filled the bogs nicely and we hoped to see some Spotted Turtles. No sooner had I said "I guess we wont see any Spotteds after all!" then I saw a pair trying to bask in the intermittent sun. One took off, but I got a lens on on the second one. Tough shot, though.
The next one wasn't much easier.
Finally, Andrea pointed out one that I hadn't seen and we got a good shot!
Up to the next bog, I was looking for a tube that usually sticks out of the water, figuring it might be submerged under the deeper-than-usual water. No, it was there and I finally saw it and scared in a Painted Turtle. Damn! BUT, this Bullfrog was resting near it so I snapped its portrait.
Due to the heavy rain earlier in the week, mushrooms were everywhere. At many points during the walk, we'd see clusters of them and call them Mushroom Farms. This is a perfect Yellow Fly Agaric 'shroom.
We weren't yet really knocking it out of the park but we were enjoying ourselves. I said something like "I've only taken six pictures or so but by the time we leave, I bet we'll have twenty or so. Umm... yes, we would. We had made it the Osprey Path and had a little sit-down. A Painted Turtle allowed us to camp there for a bit.
There weren't many perches open due to the deep water so we didn't get a lot of chances to photograph turtles. These two Painters threw us a bone.
Since we were moving slowly and taking ample rest-stops, we decided to go the long way, hoping to see some baby Water Snakes or something. This proved to be an excellent idea because not too far in along the "long way", we spied a Ribbon Snake... only our second of 2026! They used to be common but in the last decade we have seen a steep decline.
This one is a fighter. It had a stub tail and a healing scar about an inch above the vent that must have come from a doozy of an attack. Looks like it's on its way to getting better.
There were some Painted Turtles along this path too, though the lighting was tough when the sun was behind clouds.
We'd decided that we'd likely seen our last toad of the year already. They seem to tuck in earlier than a lot of other critters. But Toadflax was blossoming so that would have to do!
Walking along the path, I could see a group of women doing something just off-path up ahead and wondered what could possibly be going on. I was so intent on them that Andrea called to me... "look at what you just walked past!"... a slim Garter was crossing!
Oops! I had to pay better attention!
But we got up to the women and asked what they were picking from the tree and they said Autumn Olives and we got a quick lesson and taste test on these tart berries. An invasive plant from Asia, the berries can be used for all kinds of things. I ate plenty of them straight from the branch.
They get little silver spots on them as they get ripe. Good to know because the trees were mixed in with local berry trees that are not edible. I was chuffed to learn something new, especially about something edible! And delicious! (Andrea found them to be too tart.)
We got to another sit-down spot and too a well deserved rest. I could see some turtles from where we sat. Some Painters...
And a Red-belly sharing a spot with a Double-crested Cormorant.
Racer Rock was empty. I'd been hoping for some babies but nobody was out. It had been getting cloudier and cooler so we weren't surprised. Walking along, we saw one more Painter basking.
He started to slide into the drink as we got closer but never went all the way in, leaving us with a great opportunity to photograph it's ass in the air.
We started hearing the Cranes calling from the other side of the large pond. The way the sound travelled, it sounded like they were right next to us. I even looked at the pond-edge seeing if one was hiding there. No, they were far away. A group took to the air.
We noticed them landing on a strip of land not really far from the path and I got excited thinking I might have an opportunity to photograph them close for the first time ever. We still had about a mile to go to that spot, though. Hopefully, they'd stay. On the way, I saw this American Copper.
At first glance, I thought it was a Spotted Lanternfly and was ready to crush it. I'm glad I didn't!!
Much to our delight, the Sandhill Cranes were still on that nearby stretch of land when we got there. Nine of them. Such a magical treat for us. We watched them for a half hour or so, just enjoying their beauty and see-thru nostrils.
We've been hitting this spot since 2018. It came onto our radar because of the Cranes. I'd gotten distant or flying shots twice over that time but never had we had an opportunity like this. We know how fortunate we were.
It had become pretty cool by this time though and we said that we were unlikely to see any more cold-blooded creatures. Well, never say never. On another rest, I looked down-pond and thought I saw a turtle silhouette. Nope... it was six Painted Turtles still going for it!
At another spot I said, "remember when we had a Water Snake right here?" and looked into the brush and saw a small Pickerel Frog in there. Tough shot, but I got it!
Last call. Stone wall. My back, y'all! Between the two of us, we managed to safely photograph these two American Toads who were under a warm rock. And we said it wouldn't happen!
So WOW! What a day. Eight species of reptile and amphibian and some time spent with dinosaurs in the form of Cranes! We couldn't be happier. New food, too! Plus, raindrops started to fall the minute we were back in the car. Well played. There wont be many days like this again in 2026 and we're thankful for this one for sure. Six-plus miles of nature's beauty.
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