Snapping Turtle Soaks in the Rain

Ever since Hurricane Matthew swept through in early October we have been bone dry. Nearly two months of dry air. Today we had a light rain come for a visit for a while which was needed. It seems it was fairly welcome to some of the wildlife including an unusual sight just outside our office door. A Common Snapping Turtle.



I grabbed my camera from the car and spent some time circling the beast and 'snapping' photos. The rain was barely a mist but the turtle seemed to be trying to soak it all up.



Not sure where this Common Snapping Turtle came from. It was headed toward the canal below a steep drop off but that algae on its shell suggests it has been resting in water nearby. Trouble is, besides that canal there is not much standing water close by. Odd.



It was not a large specimen. Probably had a shell around football size. I has seen then many time large in local marshes.



I love getting close to Common Snapping Turtles. You tend to forget all the spikes they possess all over their heads. I especially love the chin whiskers!



We never saw where this modern dinosaur ended up but he moved on shortly after I headed back inside. Not too long after that, the rain was gone as well. Sigh.

Before I Forget

I had a few observations I wanted to post but they keep getting lost in the mix. So busy these days. Plus, they are not bird sightings but fun, nonetheless.

I had to check on the banding site the other day after dropping off poles after our Orlando Wetlands Festival gig. When I got to the end of the net lanes I was greeted by this thing at the last bridge.



A very impressive Common Snapping Turtle! I was so taken by those spikes on the head that I didn't even notice that they retract until I processed all the photos. Pretty cool that it can raise and lower them.



My first thought was that this was an Alligator Snapping Turtle but folks have helped me track it down as a Common. Still a new addition to my Lake Lotus checklist. I made sure to get a shot of the tail as it moved back into the marsh. At 3-feet-long, it was an amazing site to behold.



On the mammal side, many of us were concerned about our local Coyote. We were used to seeing for a year or so and then someone saw a group of men apparently hunting for it after an article in the local paper concerning the increase of Coyote in the region. It had been weeks since a sighting but I found her again the other day.



She was still there the next day, panting in the sunshine, as I made my way home.



We miss the foxes that were breeding here, and possibly killed or displaced by the Coyote, but several of us are adjusting to, and enjoying, our new resident. Would be a shame to see some vigilante hunters kill her off 'just 'cause'. I will watch and record.