Turtle Reflection

As a member of the class Reptilia turtles are cold blooded. They are often seen basking in the sun to help to raise their body temperatures. At this time of the year, at least here in the north, the turtles are all hibernating. When the water temperatures begin to drop in the fall the turtles will stop feeding. They survive the winter by burying themselves in the mud at the bottom of the pond or lake where they live. During this time their blood takes on an almost antifreeze quality. They will maintain a body temp of around 43 degrees and any oxygen that they get will be absorbed through their skin. 

Where have all the turtles gone.

Since I had the day off today and since it was relatively warm, the temps were in the high 20's I headed over to the Black Dog Lake. I was disappointed to find that Black Dog Road was closed and they were doing construction on the north waterway that connects the road to the river. Black Dog Lake is usually one of the best spots to find wildlife during the winter but with all of the construction all that I saw were a couple of eagles. Since I did not have much luck I decided to cross the river and hike around near the Bass Ponds area of the Minnesota Valley NWR. All of the ponds are all iced up and there was not much wildlife that I could see. However during the winter many animals stay in the area by hibernating. Turtles, like the one above that I photographed at the Bass Ponds in September spend their winter in a sort of suspended state at the bottom of the pond under the ice. It will still be four more months or more before we see turtles out sunning themselves like this again.

Painted Turtle

The painted turtle is a common sight at fresh waterways across North America. At home in ponds, marshes, lakes rivers and other permanent bodies of water the painted turtle is most often spotted sunning themselves on a rock or log on warm sunny days. They spend most of their time underwater, even sleeping in the mud at the bottom of the pond, lake or such. They can survive a long time underwater with out coming up to take a breathe by absorbing oxygen through the skin of their throats and near their anus. This unique way of absorbing oxygen, and their very slow metabolism, help them to survive for months buried in the mud under the water and ice during the winter.

South Padre Island Birding and Center

On our second full day in Texas we decided to visit the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center which is located on South Padre Island near the Convention Center. This is a pretty new park and facility which is associated with the World Birding Center. The center focus of the park is the visitors center which is loaded with interactive exhibits, auditoriums, classrooms, gift shop and topped off with a five story observation tower. The tower provides a great view of the entire park as well as parts of the island and the Laguna Madre. Just be careful or you might find yourself stuck like I did. I decided to go out on the balcony to get a better look only to find that no one had unlocked the doors yet, we got there right at opening, and so the door locked behind me. Thank goodness Michelle finally rescued me.

The park consists of 43 acres of various types of habitat including freshwater ponds, island scrub brush, brackish and saltwater marshes. Winding through the different habitats there is 4800 linear feet of boardwalks and paths as well as 7 different blinds.

The main subjects to photograph here were waterfowl and wading birds. We spotted six different types of herons and egrets, including the great egret, snowy egret, reddish egret, great blue heron, tricolored heron and the little blue heron, which is pictured above.

They were also some wading birds that we do not often get to see here in Minnesota such as the black-legged stilt, white ibis, endangered brown pelican, and the roseate spoonbill, which is pictured above. We were excited about the spoonbills, even though we have seen them on most of our trips to Florida, because this was the closest that we have ever been able to get to these spectacular birds.

Besides the waterfowl and waders there were also quite a few shorebirds including log-billed curlew, American wimbrel, least and semipalmated sandpiper.

However this park is not just for the birds. We spotted this turtle, which I believe is a red-eared slider swimming around one of the fresh water ponds. Red-eared sliders are often used as pets.

There were also a few predators hanging out in the park. At one point a northern harrier, sometimes referred to as a marsh hawk, flew lowly over the grass in search of prey and in the water there was an even larger predator. The American alligator often floats motionless on the top of the water, looking a lot like an old log, waiting for prey to get close enough where it can spring its trap.

Turtles at Crex Meadows

Turtles are members of the reptile family that can be recognized by their bony or cartilaginous shell. The shell of a turtle is comprised of the carapace, the upper shell, and the plastron, covering the belly, which are joined together on the sides by bony structures called bridges. Since the shell is an extension of the turtles backbone and ribs the turtle can never leave its shell, despite what you may have seen in the cartoons.

Turtles have been around a long time, the earliest known turtles roamed the earth over 200 million years ago. Today there are over 300 different types of turtles around the world. Some, like many of the large sea turtles, are endangered but others, like the painted turtles pictured here, can be found at most lakes or ponds.

Like all reptiles, turtles are ectothermic, which means that they can not regulate their own body temperature. This is the reason why you often see turtles resting on logs, rocks, or other platforms during sunny days. They use the sun to help warm up their cold blooded bodies. During the winter they will bury themselves in mud at the bottom of the lake or pond and go into a sort of dormant or state. Even though they breath air like we do turtles can survive around 5 months with out breathing while they are hibernating.

Watery Wednesday: Turtle Dance Party

So have you ever wondered what goes on in the ponds and lakes when there are no people around?
The turtles all get together and have a dance party. I was lucky enough to stumble across one of these raves at Wood Lake while I was out birding. Being a good member of nature's paparazzi I stopped to snap, no pun intended, some pics. It is difficult to tell in the picture above but these turtles are really party animals.

Then there were some turtles that partied just a bit too much. Remember that partying and driving don't mix. It looked like he could probably use a tow but I figured that I would just let him sleep it off.

Of coarse where ever you find a party you will usually find a minor trying to sneak in.

Woodlake Turtles

One of the big threats to dragonfly and damselfly comes from the turtles that live in the shallow waters of Wood Lake.
Fossil records indicate that the earliest know turtles existed around 215 million years, making turtles one of the oldest existing species on earth. Today there are about 300 different species of turtles in the world and they range in size from the spekled padloper tortoise, 3 inches long and weighing 5 oz, to the leatherback sea turtle, 80 inches long and weighing 2000lbs. Of the 300 different species of turtles in the world there are approximately 60 or so different types of turtles in North America. In Minnesota we only have around 10 types. The turtles in these pictures are the most common type that we see in Minnesota, the painted turtle.
The painted turtle, sometimes called a "mud Turtle" in my neck of the woods, is named for the bright colored pattern on the belly, otherwise called a plastron, of the turtle. They are semi-aquatic, spending most of their time in the waters of ponds, lakes, or slow moving rivers with muddy bottoms, although they can frequently be seen sitting on floating logs or rocks in the sun. This behavior is called basking and it is a way for the turtles to generate heat because they are cold blooded and can not regulate their own body temperatures internally. Turtles are omnivores and will eat almost anything that they can get into their mouths. This includes insects like our friends the dragonflies.

Common Snapper at Carlos Avery

I also found another big common snapping turtle in Carlos Avery.
Since she was on the side of the road, in a wildlife management area, and was not being hassled, like the turtle that I helped out the week before at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge, I decided it was best not to move her.I am pretty sure that this was a female because she appeared to be finishing the process of laying her eggs. Mating can take place any time between April and November, however the females typically lay their eggs in May or June. The females can store sperm for future use, so that they can lay eggs fertilized by sperm from the summer before if they do not mate early in the year. When it is time to lay her eggs the female will leave the water in search of a place to dig a nest. She is looking for a place with soft soil that she can dig in, preferably close to water so the offspring have somewhere to go once they have hatched. Once she finds her spot she moistens the soil with her urine and then digs it out with her back legs. After the eggs are laid she fills the hole back in and then smoothes it over by sliding over it repeatedly. This is what she appeared to be doing when I found her.Unlike many other turtles, the snapping turtles large head is too big for it to draw it completely into its shell. So the snapping turtle relies on snapping jaws for protection. When threatened while on land the snapper will stand up high on all four legs, a feat since the average weight of an adult is 30 to 60 pounds, and hiss and snap. Underwater they will typically hide from danger.
Snappers spend much of their time under water. They usually live in slow moving rivers or streams, shallow lakes, or stagnant ponds. They are omnivores and will eat anything that they can swallow, including plants, carrion, frogs, snakes, fish, small birds and other turtles.

Further on down the road I came across a different turtle nest that had been raided, probably by a raccoon, fox or weasel. There were not very many eggs around the nest, females typically lay from 2o to 80 eggs in a clutch. The eggs incubate for about 60 to 125 days. The temperature of the eggs determines what sex the young turtles will be when they are born, although many will not survive. The young turtle must avoid predators as they head towards the nearest water. Once they reach the water life is still dangerous for the young turtles as they hide from predators such as fish, birds and larger turtles in the shallows. If they make it through their youth then the snapper can live for 30 years or more.

Big Ol' Snapper at Old Cedar

It was not only birds and bugs that I found at Old Cedar in June. On my way out of the park I spotted a couple of guys tormenting this poor snapping turtle on the road. The turtle had its back to a high curb, the curb was taller then the turtle, and was facing the guys striking at a stick that one of them kept placing in front of it.
Since I did not want to leave the turtle there to be tormented or worse yet hit by a car and since I was not sure it could make it up the high curb all by itself I waited until the turtle turned to face the guy with the stick and then I picked it up and placed it in the grass on the side of the road. With the no curb to block its way the turtle moved into the brush towards the nearby pond.

After I moved the turtle I read a post on birdchick.blog about female turtle holding water to soften soil when they lay their eggs. I do not know if this was a male or female but since males rarely leave the water I am guessing that it was a female, although when I picked it up it did not spill any water. Perhaps it had already laid its eggs and was trying to return to the water, I am not sure. I tried to find more info about female carrying water to moisten the soil but I could not find anything. Sharon had gotten this information from a biologist. Are there any other biologists or turtle experts out there that can shed some more light on this?