the Way of the Turtle

3.2 Mile Walk at Five Rivers EEC
Sunday, July 12, 2009

We wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous weather to spend some time outdoors before Ann had to head home, and Five Rivers is almost always good for both beautiful scenery and all sorts of critters. Today definitely didn't disappoint...

We started out going down to the Beaver Pond and walked out on the bridge. Ann spotted the first snapping turtle, a medium-sized one floating in the plants covering the surface of the water near shore. While we watched, another medium-sized turtle came swimming up... and two large ones as well! And then a smaller one came up out of the water onto the shore near the far side of the bridge... I've seen two snappers there at one time before, but never five. Given the way they headed for the bridge when we showed up and the lack of concern they showed about our being their - I suspect someone feeds them from the bridge on a regular basis. There were also a few small painted turtles sunning themselves, but the snapping turtles were definitely the main attraction.

We walked around the pond, then crossed the road and walked along the Heron Pond - no herons in evidence, but we did spot a few more turtles. We briefly considered walking along the stream but Ann wanted to get rid of her jacket and get something to drink, so we headed back to the car instead. On the way we passed someone whom I'm pretty sure was Ward Stone, NYS Wildlife Pathologist for the DEC and a local champion for living things and the environment. His weekly radio program In Our Backyard on WAMC is always great listening.

From there we headed through the old orchard and out to the various ponds in the fields. At the sunfish pond we watched a bunch of large toadpoles sunning themselves; several were almost completely grown into frogs, with only the broad tail giving them away. Along the paths we spotted several deer, a fairly bold rabbit that let me get pretty darn close before darting into the bushes, and a flock of geese with mostly-grown goslings relaxing near one of the picnic pavilions.
And along the way there were more birds and butterflies than I could keep track of...

Unfortunately by then it was time to head back home - lunch was calling and Ann had a long drive ahead of her.

JMH