Tag Archives: Painted Turtle
At this time of year many turtles are moving up to dry land to lay eggs. They turn up in the most peculiar of places in their quest for the perfect spot in which to dig a hole and lay their eggs (According to Ornithopter Operator, John Hammons, a Yellow-bellied Slider was found on the [...]
Without question, American Toads (Bufo americanus) have taken the lead in the chorus of amphibian songsters. Peepers, chorus frogs and Pickerel Frogs have nearly completed their seasonal breeding and are now less frequently heard or seen. The toads began to move down into the Wetlands in numbers during the last week in March, crossing the [...]
Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians, Spring | Also tagged Acris crepitans, American Toad, Black Racer, Bufo americanus, Bullfrog, Chrysemys picta, Coluber constrictor, constrictor, Northern Cricket Frog, snake
Spring is wound up and ready to pop! Sure, it was colder than usual the first two months of this year. And, it seems as though it has snowed more this year than within memory. It’s predicted to snow today! But, there’s much evidence pointing to a new season springing forth. The days are getting [...]
Posted in Birds, Flora, Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians, Winter | Also tagged Birds, blackbird, Cedar Waxwing, nest material, nuthatch, Pine Warbler, Purple Martin, Spring, yellow-bellied slider
I’ve not seen a Northern Water Snake in the Wetlands since the first week in May. Yellow-bellied Turtles continue to come ashore to lay eggs. The one pictured was alongside the path in front of the Lemur House. Following the downpours on Memorial Day, a Painted Turtle was spied crossing the paved path headed towards [...]
By the end of the first week of this period the Wetland’s turtles, frogs, and toads were out in numbers. Yellow-bellied Turtles and Painted Turtles were basking on logs, rocks and any other object projecting from the water, with little room to spare. The young Yellow-bellied Turtle in the image at left (perhaps a two-year-old) [...]
With the return of more seasonal temperatures during the latter half of February the only reptiles or amphibians in evidence were the occasional Painted or Yellow-bellied Turtle out basking in the Wetlands and Spring Peepers which sporadically break out in song wherever there is water (image at left). The peeper activity should pick up in [...]
One Painted Turtle and 2 Yellow-bellied Turtles were out basking on the 7th of February; many more joined them later in the period. I thought I heard a Gray Treefrog calling early in this period and positively heard Spring Peepers and at least one Upland Chorus Frog sing out as things heated up. At least [...]
Frogs persist in the Wetlands. Besides the BullFrogs being harvested by the Red-shouldered Hawk in the small swamp adjacent to the Wetlands Overlook, a Pickerel Frog was seen busily hopping along the grass near the restrooms in Explore the Wild on the relatively warm day of 24 January. Where it was going, and the reason [...]
With the closing of the year it’s perhaps time to look back and see what we’ve observed on the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Below, in the appropriate segments, I give totals for some of the species seen since January of last year. Following a week of relatively warm, cloudy, misty, and drizzly weather, [...]
Seen on the last day of the previous period (November 15th) but too late to make the presses were Northern Brown Snake, Yellow-bellied Turtle, Painted Turtle, Spring Peeper (heard only), Pickerel Frog, and Bullfrog. The 15th was a warm and humid day with strong southwest winds. Two Northern Brown Snakes were seen in two different [...]
May Herpetological Happenings