Driving home on Neuman Road, a distance of about 2 miles, (around 8:00pm) I counted 5 snakes. Two were crossing the road and two were already killed by cars and one was lying in the middle of the road when I past by but I was too late to make a rescue before another car behind me killed it Most appeared to be black rat snakes except for one which may have been a large garter snake.
Mike and I started the day of f at 8:00 am birding at Cabels Mill. A Baltimore Oriole and some Flickers were the more interesting types of birds we encountered on this trip. After our brief hike around the meadow trail we headed over to the Walney Pond to prepare for our Pond Life program. While scouting and planing my route I noticed a huge shadow just under the surface of the pond (towards the shallow end). I expected to see a beaver but instead turned out to be a gigantic Carp which we now dubbed the Walney Pond Monster. Mike and I both agree it had to be close to three feet long. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any closer to get a better shot with my cannon point and shoot camera.
Carp are nothing more than giant minnows and are completey harmless (they don’t attack humans) but they can, at least some species, be detrimental to an aquatic ecosystem in particular to aquatic vegetation.
Above a young Hickory tree along the meadow/woodland edge -one of our most abundant hardwoods at Walney
Golden Rod and Cardinal flower . A colorful combination we see this time year at Walney
Box Turtle under a snake board. This completely caught me by surprise. I either expects a Water Snake or a Meadow Vole or nothing at all-But a Box Turtle? Another Box turtle was found completely submerged within the shore line of the pond. It is the same turtle the other Naturalist have reported seeing in that location for the past week.
Only a portion of the fungal diversity I have encountered this year. I wish I knew more about identifying these organisms. 2010 has definitely been an optimal year for fungi
Clifton 8 Acre Park
Clifton 8 Acre Park
Yatesford Road Near Hemlock Overlook (above and below)
Below Beaver Creek Road
Beaver Creek Road
Above Wykland Road and Kincheloe
Wolf Run Shoals (below)
Wolf Run Shoals (below)
Wykland and Kincheloe Road
I found this female Sternotherus odoratus (Stinkpot) while exploring Big Rocky Run near Cabell’s Mill in Centerville.
Although one of our more common turtles, it is seldom seen do to it’s habit of staying on the bottom of bodies of water.
The Stinkpot gets it name from it’s ability to secrete a musk when handled.
Tonight Mike Gregory and I conducted a Night time Creek Walk through Big Rocky Run. The program was intended to give families a chance to explore, with their kids, a local stream and the animals that live there.
Mike found this eastern snapping turtle lurking in a shallow pool along the stream. Overall we had a great program. Most of the people got into the stream with us. In fact the majority of the snakes we saw were spotted by our guests but the job of catching them was left to us.
Below: Northern Water Snake we encountered 5 of them on this trip. Seems like I am a magnet for these animals.
