I first saw the snake in the photo as it was swimming in the shade of the willows at the edge of the Wetlands. It slowly crawled out of the water and onto one of the trees. Up it went until it found a limb to its liking and proceeded to follow it out to its end. I assume it was looking for bird nests in the willows, there’s much catbird activity in the area. Apparently finding no nest inRead more
Posts tagged: #slider
Turtles: The Evolution of a Project – Part 1
We have many turtles living in our Wetlands of at least five different species. This is the time of year when we see some of those turtles up on dry land hiking about the landscape. There are at least three reasons for aquatic turtles to crawl out of the relative safety of their watery habitat, to bask in the sun, to seek out a new stream, lake, or pond to live in, or to lay eggs. We see some ofRead more
Turtle Tracks
The low water in the Wetlands is making it more difficult for the resident turtles to make their way around their old stomping grounds. It also makes it easier to see where they’ve been and where they were going by those who observe such things. Read more
Snakes!
March 10th was the day! A little after noon I spotted the first-of-the-season Northern Water Snake coiled up under a Baldcypress at the bottom of the boardwalk in the Wetlands. The same day, Lead Animal Keeper Kristen spied a Copperhead along the path in Explore the Wild. And today, Lead Horticulturists Joe found several Rough Earth Snakes (Virginia striatula) and a Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) under some debri at one of the Museum’s storage areas. Both of these snakes areRead more
Late Season Herps
The first couple of weeks in October were rather cloudy and wet. Whenever the sun did show itself, the turtles of the Wetlands took advantage of it by hauling out and basking in its warm rays. Young and old alike were out on all available perches. Mostly Yellow-bellied Turtles, but even a large snapper was spotted enjoying the brief bit of sun. The last few days of September and first couple of days of October brought many young treefrogs emergingRead more