A few months ago (May), a portion of the female turtle population in our Wetlands was up walking about the landscape looking for suitable locations to lay their eggs. The offspring of those turtles who were successful, and whose eggs weren’t subsequently dug up and eaten by raccoons, are now walking about the Museum’s landscape searching, this time, for water. I came across two Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta) hatchlings Tuesday afternoon near the end of the day and one theRead more
Posts filed in: Herps
Highlight of a “rough” day!!
As much as I enjoy Dino Days (July 16-17) and sifting through tons of dusty, gray, ocean-bottom sediment for fossils, I have to say that the highlight of Dino Days (at least day one, Saturday) was watching a Rough Green Snake eat a dragonfly in a willow tree just off the Wetlands Overlook in Explore the Wild. It was near the end of the day, hot and tired. Ranger Kristin and I were watching for frogs from the side ofRead more
Snapper at Large
Last week a very large Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) was seen in the Black Bear Compound, and again the next day, at the Red Wolf Exhibit. Was the snapper attempting to expand its knowledge of mammalian behavior? No, I think it was probably off looking for a place to lay eggs or even a new pond to colonize. Both excursions had the turtle running into barriers, a fence the first day and the heat the next. The turtle in theseRead more
Good Morning Frog!
As I walked up to the Butterfly House this morning I saw Emily staring down at the ground near the outside entrance to the Lep Lab. She was looking at a little frog on the storm drain in front of the doors. “Good morning frog!” ” Morn’n Emily!” Relatives of Emily’s little friend are quite active now, out in the Wetlands. Besides the very vocal treefrogs that are calling on these hot, humid, and thunderstorm prone July days, there areRead more
Treefrogs Arrive!!
It’s that time of year again when we start to see newly morphed treefrogs on the vegetation surrounding the Wetlands. Yesterday (6/22/11), I was out walking the “Wild” with a group of Summer Campers. The sharp-eyed campers spotted the treefrogs pictured here on the branches of the now blooming Buttonbush which grows along the south side of the Wetlands. Gray treefrogs can be green, gray, or even brown in color, depending upon what it is that they’re resting on at theRead more
Big Bull succumbs to Big Blue
Last year around this time I saw a Great Blue Heron take a Bullfrog from the Wetlands. From capture to swallow, the whole process took approximately 13 minutes. On May 19 of this year the heron (or another just like it) took another big frog out of the water. This frog was dispatched in less than ten minutes. Just another day in the Wetlands.Read more
The Wants and Needs of a Snake
Alerted by a chaparone from one of the many school groups present that day (May 4) that a snake was swimming along the banks of the Wetlands, I saw Big Momma, a large female Northern Water Snake, swim by just a few feet off the shore. Moments later the snake had a frog in her jaws. The grip was a tenuous one as only the frog’s foot was in the snake’s mouth. Oddly, the frog didn’t struggle as much asRead more
Turtles Out A-laying
The Wetland’s turtles have been up and walking about the paths and woods of the Museum for the past few weeks. What are they doing? Why, laying eggs of course. There were many reports of turtles out and about during the past few weeks. So, with all of the turtles climbing out of the water to look for nest sites, please be careful and respectful when you see them while you navigate the paths and trails of the Museum.Read more