Turtle Time

 

I have shown you the salamanders, frogs, and snakes of last weekend's walk but I have neglected to share the turtles. So here you go, some turtles on a log...

More From Sunday's Walk

Sunday yielded the first green treefrog of 2010. He was under a log down by the water's edge. We took a quick peek and left him alone...isn't he the cutest thing?

 

There were several green frogs sitting in the sun. This one jumped in the water as we passed. Treebeard saw which direction it went and plucked it out of the stream. It didn't seem to mind sitting in his warm hand for a moment.

 

As the week wears on I will be sharing a few more pictures from Sunday's walk.

Cottonmouth

 

The day has been nice and warm -- lots of critters on the move. We saw three snakes on our walk this afternoon -- all of them were cottonmouths. This one was quick to let us know it did not want to be disturbed ;)

Sunday Morning Snooze

 

Such a hard life these three have...

Saturday Afternoon Finds

Saturday afternoon found us wandering in the woods, peering into hollow trees, rolling fallen logs and prowling along the edges of pools, both permanent and temporary. My colleague from work, Scranton, was along. It is seldom that he and I have a day off together and Treebeard and I were pleased that he came by to visit and go exploring.

 

Scranton checking out the interior of a very nice beech tree. We usually find a squirrel or two in this tree - no one was home yesterday though.

 

Treebeard spotted this box turtle shell just off the trail. Strange, we were on this trail last Sunday and neither of us saw this bright bit of white then...

 

I found evidence that some critter -- most likely a raccoon -- had been dining well on crayfish. There were a number of claws and carapaces scattered about on the forest floor.

 

We rolled a number of logs and found a variety of little beings camped out beneath them. The eight-legged critter pictured above is a species of harvestman, Vonones ornata. We also found a variety of beetles, beetle larvae, dormant grasshoppers, slugs and snails.

 

But, without a doubt, our favorite finds of the day were the salamanders we found. The 'mander pictured above is a marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum. It was just one of the twenty-one of this species that we found. We also found several Atlantic coast slimy salamanders, Plethodon cholrobryonis, and an Eastern red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus.

We made sure that each log we rolled was returned to its original position before we left. If you're gonna pull the roof off of something's house, it's only right to put it back the way you found it.

Slipped Past

Man, it's sad when you miss your own blog anniversary. My week was so busy it just slipped right past me. Oh well...happy 5th to me, a few days late.

Catchin' Some Rays

Look who was out catchin' some rays on a fine January day...

A very nice northern rough green snake. Treebeard spotted it as it lounged in the afternoon sun. Such pretty snakes!

Turkey Vulture

The vultures have been working on this carcass since the end of December. There isn't much left now.

 

 

 

Remains of the Day

While we were poking about yesterday I came across two separate piles of remains in the leaf litter. Both were adjacent to the water's edge and both appeared to be from the same type of animal. Both were also relatively fresh. Hmm...our guess is frog eggs. The parts looked right and smelled right (yes, we smelled 'em -- it's what we do)and were in likely areas. No wonder the frogs were so hard to sneak up on - they were wary of becoming dinner.

 

 

 

 

Our only question was why weren't the eggs eaten? There was no evidence of any other organs or body parts, just the ovaries and ducts. Best guess is the eggs are from southern leopard frogs and to our knowledge they are not poisonous - they certainly get eaten after being laid. So why were these left behind? Anybody know?

Frogilicious Sunday

 

 

 

 

Top two photos are of one of the cricket frogs we saw today. I love cricket frogs.

The next frog is most likely a bull frog. He was a long way from me and I had the camera zoomed out to maximum. We observed him through binoculars and did not detect the presence of a lateral fold extending beyond his ear. Also, he had a big, fairly blunt head.

The last frog is a green frog. Again, the camera was zoomed out to max. I stretched out on the (WET) ground to try to get a steady shot but wasn't too successful. Oh well, I don't really care -- I just wanted to show you the frog!! :)

Outside and Happy

Didn't need gloves, didn't need a hat, didn't even need a jacket :) Finally feel a little thawed out. All of you northern types have my utmost respect -- how on earth do you stand the cold for days and weeks and months on end?!?


Our walk today yielded yet another potter wasp pot. I've seen loads of these over the past few months.

 

The millpond had more open water today. The ice is still thick in some parts, but it's patchy.

 

 

There were a fair number of insects moving today. The bluebirds were patrolling the yard and experiencing a pretty good catch rate. Sadly, my pictures of the birds didn't turn out. Instead I managed to photograph a sluggish stink bug that was meandering down the sidewalk. ;)

A Favored Tabletop

Rising from the leaf litter and topped with a cushiony layer of moss, this stump shows evidence of being a favorite place to dine for at least a couple of woodland residents.

A squirrel has used this spot to dine on pine nuts, as evidenced by the dismantled pine cones. Stumps and dead logs are often decorated in such a manner by squirrels.
The feathers, most likely from a blue-headed vireo, indicate that a hawk also found this tabletop to its liking.

 

 

The weather here continues to moderate - thank goodness! Today's highs are expected to reach the upper 50s with a good shot at 60. Our "normal" high temps for this time of year are in the upper 40s. Evidently, we aren't doing "normal" this year ;)

Warm Up!

The temperature climbed into the low 50s this afternoon. This fine female found it warm enough to fly and Treebeard and I found it warm enough to go for a nice long walk.

American Bird Grasshopper, Schistocerca americana

And these two found it warm enough to, well, you know...

I haven't looked up the identity of these little lovers ;)