Painted Turtle Nest

Top Photo: eastern painted turtle. Thanks to the vigilance of Animal Keeper Sarah, with an assist from Keeper Kent, we now have a turtle’s nest to monitor. On June 21, Keeper Sarah spotted an eastern painted turtle laying eggs next to the gravel driveway that leads to the Red Wolf Enclosure.     I placed a cage over the nest site to keep predators, such as raccoons, from digging up and eating the eggs. There are numerous sites throughout ourRead more

Hot Summer Sights

Even though it’s blistering hot outside, it’s still worth the trip outdoors to see what’s going on. Here’s proof. Some dragonflies.             A trio of butterflies.         A fly.       And turtle news.           Parting shot.    Read more

Baby Turtles at the Lemur House?

As I walked up to the Lemur House on a very busy Wednesday afternoon, I noticed several people looking down at the ground just off the entrance path. All involved were smiling, with looks of wonder and amazement on their faces. I knew that a female Yellow-bellied Slider had laid eggs very close to where everyone’s attention was focused. I rushed over to see if my hunch was correct. Sure enough, there in the pine needles that were spread across theRead more

288 Days Later!

As I walked past the northeast corner of the Wetlands, the area near the Red Wolf Enclosure, I noticed a small hole in the ground a foot or so off the path. I pass this area numerous times during a typical day and I always look down at this same spot. Why? Because last June a Yellow-bellied Slider that I’m familiar with was seen laying eggs on this very bit of landscape. As some of you know, I catch andRead more

Getting ready!

It’s that time again, spring time. It’s time to spruce up the bluebird nest boxes, do any mantainance that needs to be done on the Wood Duck/merganser nest boxes, and start thinking about turtles. All of our bluebird nest boxes (6), are being cleaned, repaired if necessary, and new data sheets printed up and ready to go. I’m a bit anxious and excited to see what happens this year. I discovered the first eggs of the season last year onRead more