You can expect to see more scenes as depicted in the above photo for the duration of the week, the temperatures are expected to be in the 60s with at least one 70 thrown in. I saw six turtles out basking this morning. I expect to see more this afternoon. In fact, I expect to see many more later today. The turtles are waking up and I’m anticipating that every available perch, every rock, boulder, log, and bit of shoreline outRead more
Posts tagged: #yellow-bellied slider
It’s February
You don’t need a calendar to know that it’s February, just take a hike around the Wetlands here at the Museum. If you see two Canada Geese, it’s February. These two geese drop in every February, very often its within a few days of the first of the month. The geese are absent during summer through winter, spending only late winter and spring with us. I guesss their arrival could be termed as a harbinger of spring. It may beRead more
Turtles: The Evolution of a Project – Part 2
So, there we were, it was the end of April and we had a permit to mark aquatic turtles as they come ashore to lay eggs along the paths and trails here at the Museum. Data sheets, tools, and whatever else I need to do the job were at the ready. Now we wait on the turtles to start emerging from the water to search out nesting sites. The plan is to catch the turtles as them come ashore, notRead more
Turtle Release
Back in September of last year I reported that some of the turtle eggs that were deposited into earthen nests last spring by our wild resident semi-aquatic turtles had not hatched on time, they were well overdue. Two of the suspect nests were dug up and eight turtles were found alive within the nests, five Yellow-bellied Sliders and three Eastern Painted Turtles. All of the hatchlings were kept alive and happy over the past seven months by Animal Keeper Mikey. TheRead more
All Together Now…
In April of 2009 Eastern Redbub, Flowering Dogwood, and Wisteria were all in bloom at the same time. Typically, the sequence goes as follows, redbud, dogwood, and wisteria. Well, once again, all three are in bloom at once, this time in March! And, keeping with the theme “All Together Now…” Enjoy!Read more
Out for a walk
The turtle above was seen on the path above the Lemur House. I received a report from a visitor that they had also seen a hatchling walking along the Dinosaur trail today. Enjoy!Read more
Let’s not forget the others
With so much talk about herons lately I don’t want to forget the other residents of the Museum’s wild parts. Here’s what some of them have been up to. A few birds… Several turtles… And the heat goes on… And something left over from summer… It wouldn’t be out of the question for those eggs to have hatched. It is very much like spring on this last week of January. The Red-shouldered Hawks were up performing their aerial courtship displays,Read more
Brief Fall Update
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Northern Flickers, Winter Wrens, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets have all been seen here at the Museum. We’re still waiting to see the first White-throated Sparrow of the season. The cool weather brought in by a cold front yesterday had the local birds feeding heavily at the Bird Feeders in Catch the Wind. Even though the air was much cooler than the previous several days, the sun was intense, turtles were out taking advantage of its warming rays.Read more
What happened to the eggs, the turtles?
Above: Female yellow-bellied slider looks to see if it’s safe to come ashore to lay eggs. It was May. Aquatic turtles of various species were up and walking along the paths and woods of the Museum’s outdoor exhibits, in fact, they could be seen throughout the entire Museum grounds. They were looking for suitable nest sites. When looking for nest sites turtles most often choose sites alongside roads, paths or mulched planting beds, at least that’s where they’re most often observedRead more