Thursday, June 4, 2009

Not just another Stinkpot!

In addition to seeing the little Stinkpot again today, there was yet another reptilian visitor to the WPWA campus, though much larger. Chelydra s. serpentina was spotted digging around the flower garden, like the stinkpot, locating a safe spot to lay her clutch.













The Sapping Turtle is common to the eastern United States west to the Rocky Mountains and south from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and into Central America. They will inhabit any permanent and many semipermanent bodies of water, both fresh and brackish. Like most turtles, they are bottom dwellers. They are almost entirely aquatic, though they will travel overland. One amazing feature of the snapper is the fact that, after breeding, sperm may remain viable in females for several years. In our region they usually lay one clutch per year, with typically 20 to 30 eggs per clutch. Hatching occurs about 90 days after egg deposition. However, nests are often destroyed by mammalian predators. DeGraff and Rudis, 1983.

Last year, at the WPWA campus, Denise and I encountered a female who seemed a little displaced. Instead of digging in the dirt, which there was evidence of, she had trapped herself up our deck which looks out onto the Wood River. Knowing that it would be best to move her closer to water, as she was looking very much overheated, we devised a plan. The aggravated turtle, who weighed close to 20 pounds, was in no mood for relocation. In order to safely move her without risking injury to ourselves we had to gently cover her face with a towel. Not knowing what was going on caused her to go along for the ride without objecting.
This years visitor created no fuss at all except for a few upturned stones in the driveway! After surveying the area she found a safe spot in the dirt and went to business. She was here and gone in the course of the morning.

Hopefully in a few months we'll be able to greet her little ones after they hatch before they make their way to the river!

Amphibians and Reptiles of New England, DeGraff and Rudis, 1983
Photos taken by Chris Fox, 6/04/09







Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Stinkpot Sighting

One of my favorite things about working at the WPWA campus is greeting a visitor. Many times throughout the spring and summer months members will stop by to say hello and renew their memberships. Other times people driving by will finally take the time to come into the office and check it out, often mentioning that they'd thought of stopping many times before. It is always a pleasure to see a friendly face and even better to see them return! Some of my favorite visitors though, are the ones that call the Wood River their home.

Today I was visited by Sternotherus odoratus, who I have not seen for almost a year to the day. However, she did not arrive by car, or by boat as many others do. She simply walked out of the water and up onto the riverbank, most likely looking for a safe spot to lay her eggs.

The Stinkpot Turtle is restricted to the Americas and is common to the Atlantic coast. Their habitat range is from Ontario down to Florida, though there are few in northern New England. They inhabit permanent bodies of water: lakes, ponds and rivers, and have even been found in reservoirs. They prefer areas with abundant aquatic vegetation and feed along the bottom for various foods, their favorite being dragonfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae (DeGraaf and Rudis, 1983).
Though they are also called the musk turtle, because of their musk glands, I do believe that name is misleading. When these little reptiles feel threatened they omit an odor quite unlike musk. Perhaps instead they could have been called the sulphur turtle, or even the burned rubber turtle. This afternoon, while Denise and I were enjoying the small visitor, I fetched a pair of gloves, which Denise happily traded me for the camera. Within seconds the familiar smell was apparent! Knowing we were interrupting a very important task Denise safely returned the stinkpot to the ground.

I know I will be fortunate enough to see another stinkpot on the grounds of the WPWA campus. However, what would really be a treat would be to witness the hatch of our visitor's clutch within the next few months!

Amphibians and Reptiles of New England, Richard M. DeGraaf & Deborah D. Rudis, 1983