I did, however, manage to get a few photos of some interesting happenings out on the Outdoor Exhibits trails…

Parasaurolophus with a new snow cap

The Wetlands covered with ice and snow.

The snow that covered the ice of the Wetlands is a great place to look for animal tracks. Here, a Raccoon walked across the ice and back.

These tracks are a mix of Raccoon (bottom left) and River Otter. The otter, or otters, made several passes.

A close view of the otter tracks, note the five toes.

Finding tracks in the snow is fun, but it’s fleeting. The snow that these tracks were left in are now mush, washed away by the rain.

There were many tracks in the snow on Tuesday morning (Feb 2), tracks of birds, feral cats, Gray Fox, as well as the animals depicted here in the photos. Just a few short hours later, they were all gone, vanished, as if the creatures that made them had never been there.

It’s often tracks left in the snow that alerts you to the animals in the area, their passings never being discovered if not for the snow.

The swamp between Catch the Wind and Explore the Wild.

The Groundhog which made an appearance on January 13th also came out of hiding on Groundhog Day.

Living near the edge of the swamp above, our early rising Groundhog apparently made an appearance on Groundhog Day as well (Its tracks are visible near the center/right of the photo.)

A close view of the Groundhog's tracks at the entrance of its burrow.

Enjoy the snow while it lasts!

There have been 12 species of frogs and toads heard or seen since January around the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind Loop. The Wetlands is full of the tadpoles of most, if not all, of those twelve species – a tadpole stew.

I noticed several small Pickerel Frogs in the Wetlands that were still wearing tadpole tails. Pickerel Frogs bred earlier this year in late winter/early spring. These “tailed” frogs are the offspring of that earlier breeding and are now ready to become full-fledged frogs.

In the previous journal entry (5/15-5/31) I made note of the Museum’s turtles leaving the water to lay eggs. I discovered two of their nests this past week. Both were dug up, the eggs left broken alongside the nest. Presumably, Raccoon. The nests can still be seen. One is at the main entrance to Explore the Wild, a small hole dug in the bare soil just to the right of the entrance. The other is about 30 feet further up the path towards Catch the Wind.