Above: After successfully laying eggs, a yellow-bellied slider heads back into the pond. 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 Ornithopter one May morning). Museum staff often encounter Yellow-bellied Turtles walking downRead more
Posts tagged: #American Toad
A New Amphibian Song and other Herp News
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 pavement and massing on the north side of the water amongst the willows and rushes. Once the toads reach the water the males find aRead more
Fish Crows (w/audio this time) and Herp and Ode Updates
Fish Crows continued to fly over on Tuesday (3/9). I searched my personal audio library that I keep for video soundtracks and found a file that contains the nasal calls of the Fish Crows as they wing by. Have a listen here: [audio:/wp-content/files/2/2010/03/fishcrow.mp3|titles=fishcrow] The same day, Spring Peepers, Upland Chorus Frogs, (The chorus frogs are the ones that sound like someone running their finger down a comb, the peepers are the higher pitched single notes heard)[audio:/wp-content/files/2/2010/03/chorus_peeper.mp3|titles=chorus_peeper] Pickerel Frogs, [audio:/wp-content/files/2/2010/03/pickerel-frog.mp3|titles=pickerel frog]andRead more
Egg-laying Turtles, new Toads, and Treefrog Time!
I spotted two Yellow-bellied Turtles out of the water and hiking the paths around the Wetlands looking for a place to lay eggs. One of these large females was in the process of digging a hole for the eggs when I came upon her. If you happen to see a tiny brown-gray creature hopping along the path in Explore the Wild or Catch the Wind, take a closer look. The offspring of the American Toads that bred in the WetlandsRead more
Snakes, and a Toad Reprise
At least one Black Racer was reported by one of the Museum staff during the final weekend of the month, and the first Northern Water Snake was spotted on the 29th from the circular platform midway down the boardwalk that leads into the Wetlands. The large snake was sunning, coiled up on a tangle of branches just below the platform. After shutting down their breeding campaigns following the cold rains of the middle of March, American Toads regrouped behind theRead more
Basking Sites at a Premium, Amphibs Exploit the Season
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) was lucky enough to find a perch all to itself on a piece of flotsam too small for other, larger turtles to climb onto. TheRead more