northeast-flora-and-fauna

Do you ever see turtles that appear to be waving at you? Or at least that's what it looks like in a picture, though there wasn't really much movement to the wave? Given that turtles are somewhat fearful of us and they probably haven't studied anthropological greetings, you can assume they're not just being friendly.  Presumably this is done to increase sun exposure . Turtles are out in the open basking in the sun to regulate their body temperature, and having a leg in the shade of their shell doesn't help the process. By sticking limbs out away from their body, they can warm themselves up a little faster. But just in case they were trying to be friendly, it wouldn't hurt to wave back. 😀 March 21, 2022 at Duke Island Park

Back in June I saw these two animal types in the same neighborhood. A Great Blue Heron is foraging along the shore, and a group of turtles (some are Eastern Painted Turtles , though I'm getting more of a Northern Red-bellied Cooter vibe from a couple of them) basking a short distance offshore. It's fairly common to see herons and turtles around one another. Although I'm told that Great Blue Herons will eat just about any animal they can swallow, I suspect that once a turtle reaches a certain size, both they and the herons know that the heron won't be able to swallow them shell-and-all. This is probably the reason the turtles tolerated the presence of the heron at a distance where they'd almost certainly have dived into the water if I were there instead of the heron. The turtles would be more at risk from a Bald Eagle. Eagles have the beak and talons to get around the shell problem by tearing the turtle apart. And I don't know why a Red-tailed Hawk couldn't...

Here are a group of Eastern Painted Turtles I met. I talked about identification a little earlier; the scute alignment (if you can see the carapace well) is a good identifier here in New Jersey. Of the turtles I see basking on logs, rocks, and the banks of waterways, this might be the most common turtle I encounter. It sounds like the Red-eared Slider is more aggressive and so might eventually muscle them out, but right now they're pretty well represented around here. There is some sexual dimorphism in these turtles. The females are a little bigger than the males and have a more domed carapace while the males have longer foreclaws. Still, I suspect these clues work well if you have a male and female right in front of you. In most of my pictures I don't think the differences are great enough to allow more than an educated guess as to the sex of these turtles. They are omnivorous, and will eat small fish and arthropods in addition to vegetation. Juveniles are more vulnerable tha...

Being able to identify the types of turtles we have is something I don't consider myself to be especially good at. My primary reference is something I think I bought at a NJ Audubon branch: Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Jersey . (Since this only documents herptiles of NJ, it theoretically prevents me from seeing a picture of a turtle, thinking it's a very good match for my turtle, only to read that the turtle only lives in Madagascar.) The other resource that I use kicks in when I'm submitting my sightings to iNaturalist . They let you type the name of the species, but clicking in the field prompts iNaturalist to give suggestions, frequently of various species though sometimes the best they can do is suggest a genus, family, order, etc. I'm not sure what percentage of the time iNaturalist is correct, though clearly distinctive plants/animals with no similar ones living in the area greatly improves their success. Poor photo quality can also hurt its effe...

This is the time of year when our turtle neighbors emerge from their winter brumation . (Though hibernation is officially dormancy in mammals, sometimes it'll be used for reptiles, insects, or even plants. Brumation is the term that applies specifically to reptiles and (probably) amphibians.) I suspect that logs/rocks sticking out of the water are a favorite of turtles for various reasons: These places are less likely to be shady, so the turtles get more benefit from the sun. Some predators won't even try to swim out to attack them. On the shore, if a predator shows up they have to amble into the water to escape. On logs all they have to do is fall in the water to be safe. As ectotherms , turtles need the sun to properly regulate their body temperatures. Many of them will do like these guys and climb out of the water to bask , but some prefer to be slightly underwater. April 13, 2021 at the Delaware/Raritan Canal