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What have you seen lately?

I’ve had spotted and snappers lay eggs in my garden and all over the hood. When ever I see turtles in the road I give then a lift to the pond. I think this guy was a painted turtle that I got pretty close to for the picture.
 
Red fox on the hill in my yard. What a beautiful animal. i hope it gets all the chipmunks, mice, voles, moles, etc. We used to have grey fox too, but haven't seen them in a couple of years.
 
new guy said:
Do these things only walk around on land (i.e. where we can get at them) during a part of the year, when they're laying eggs or something?
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Middle to late May to late June is egg laying time for turtles. They usually hatch in early Sept. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the average ambient temperature.

bob king said:
When ever I see turtles in the road I give then a lift to the pond.
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Don't put them towards the water or take them to water, they may be going away to lay eggs. Always move them to the direction they were going to just get them off the road.
 
bob king said:
the babies have a better chance in the water than on the road
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Unless they are woods turtles.

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
eastern-box-turtle-c-joy-marzolf_medium.jpg

Terrestrial, wandering forest floors, fields, marsh edges, and many other habitats, the eastern box turtle is primarily found in the warmer parts of the state. It eats many plant and small animal species. In the late afternoon, it builds a domelike structure from grasses or leaves—called a form—in which to spend the night.

Status
A Species of Special Concern under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. It’s illegal to kill, harass, collect, or possess this turtle.

Wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta)
wood-turtle-c-chris-ruggiero_medium.jpg

The wood turtle spends most of its time on land. It feeds both on land and in the water, eating animals such as insects and earthworms, and plant foods such as algae and grass. It grows up to 8” long. It has a shell that resembles carved wood, and its neck and part of its legs are bright orange.

Status
A Species of Special Concern under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. It’s illegal to kill, harass, collect, or possess this turtle.
 
2 nights ago my wife and daughter were in our bedroom. Heard some strange noise that my wife thought was daughter's computer in teh other room. They opened the back window. Fox pups yipping up a storm. They recorded it. It was funny stuff to listen to. I don't have the recording.
 
On my front porch I get a lot of ants, and the lizards come out in the morning to eat the ants, and then the roadrunners come and eat the lizards.

It's a veritable circle of life on my front porch.

In the arroyos behind my apartment building are bear and mountain lion that come down from the mountain at night to raid the garbage containers.

And rattlesnakes...…..lots of rattlesnakes!
 
djbradles said:
It’s a northern map turtle
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Could be, I didn't think their range came this far south except for some in Penn. Need a better look at the head. If it's got the red slash on it, it's a red eared.

Red Ears are taking over MA ponds and lakes replacing Painteds. The Orientals release store bough turtles into lakes and ponds for good luck. The Red Ears have totally overtaken quite a few places in MA.
 
smokey-seven said:
Could be, I didn't think their range came this far south except for some in Penn. Need a better look at the head. If it's got the red slash on it, it's a red eared.

Red Ears are taking over MA ponds and lakes replacing Painteds. The Orientals release store bough turtles into lakes and ponds for good luck. The Red Ears have totally overtaken quite a few places in MA.
Click to expand...
This was in the Thousand Islands, NY. The range of the Northern Map turtle extends up that far and mingles with the Midland painted turtle (which at first I thought it was). They are not found in MA.

I have read that the red eared slider is taking over many areas.
 
Recently saw big horn sheep, mountain goats, bald eagles, marmots, a pine marten and watched a young male Grizzly Bear freaking excavate a marmot den and then eat the marmots like they were hot dogs........It was awesome!!...Pics from trip to Glacier National Park to follow here and on the Trip to GNP thread....:)
 
D3567753-5279-493C-ABA1-EE75E98C8706.jpeg So the loons they released in Assawompset took and are having babies. This is this years brood.

*edit - LOONS. Frickin spellcheck. Yeah, there are looms in the lake. And a pile of grannies knitting sweaters. Sheesh!
 
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Dragonflies mating. I was trying to finish sheathing the south side of the barn and they kept getting in my way. I was quite impressed as their mating session lasted over an hour. IMG_20190903_130420.jpg
I hope this doesn't get me banned.
 

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