More Turtles/More Birds

 

Turtles Sunning on the Only Log in the Wetland Pond, 4/14/2021

More Turtles

As you can see in the photo above, the turtle population in the wetland has expanded since my first post on the painted turtle on March 25. I first saw the big turtle at the back of this photo on April 9th. The red marks at the side of her head, where her ears might be if she had external ears, make her easily identifiable as a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).  The three in the front of the photo you will recognize as painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), one of them probably being the one that appeared in the wetland on March 25. What about the second largest one just in front of the big red-eared slider? He is also a red-eared slider. Older sliders, and especially males, often darken with age and lose their distinctive markings becoming simply dark colored.  Compare the lack of markings on his shell with the vertical bars on the large female behind him as well.

Recall from the earlier post (3/25) that none of these turtles would have survived overwintering in the wetland since there was no water to insulate them from the freezing cold, so all of these turtles have made their way over from Homer Lake itself. Apart, perhaps, from the limited "parking" which does not so far seem to be a problem for them, there must be attractive advantages to being over in the wetland as opposed to in the lake. These turtles are unlikely to have been simply out on a stroll and gotten lost since normally the only time they will leave the water is when the female is looking for somewhere high and dry to deposit her eggs, and it's not time for that yet this year. The shallower, warmer water may be an attraction. Food-wise, both species are omnivorous though sources below indicate that the older sliders are probably more interested at this point in their lives in vegetation. For more information on these turtles see

Return of the Blue-Winged Teal... with friends, 4/19/2021

More Birds

I was surprised when I arrived at the wetland Monday 4/19 shortly after 10am to find not only a pair of Canada geese, which I haven't seen at the wetland for weeks, but also not one pair of blue-winged teal, but two pairs. The ones I'd seen and written about on April 12 seem to have returned and brought friends. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if any of these were the same as I saw on April 12.) They took off soon after I began walking the trail that encircles the wetland and meadow and I thought that was the last of them. However, about three hours later as I was standing near my car, in they came again, all four of them in tight formation. Like the turtles, they may like the semi-private dining afforded by the wetland as opposed to the much larger lake nearby.  More likely though, the shallow depth of the water and the vegetation sprouting from the bottom of the pond provides an easily accessible buffet of underwater plants. Since they feed from the surface, dabbling as opposed to diving ducks, they have to be able to reach the plants growing up from the bottom. Will they find the area suitable for nesting?  That remains to be seen. 

For more on the blue-winged teal, see https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue-winged_Teal/.

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