Summer Sights

 

Just pictures of summer today. Here is an inviting path under blue sky with a fleet of clouds coming in. Click to enlarge. 

A micro world of turkey tail mushrooms, lichens, and moss. 

A painted turtle with a white water lily. 

Light shining through the bristly fringe of a resting robber fly. 

The big snapping turtle swiming in green water. 

Snapping turtle's face.  

A bumblebee on wild bergamot. 

A common whitetail dragonfly on the ground. 

And an orange sunset on the Delaware River. 

Sunday Morning Walk in the Pine Barrens

 

I took a walk in the pine barrens near Chatsworth, NJ, this morning. It was hot but lovely.

Some of the old cranberry bogs were full of fragrant white water lilies. Thousands of them. Click to enlarge.

Some of the bogs were full of clouds.

 The sky is twice as pretty that way, but it feels a little topsy-turvy. Like going through the pine barrens looking glass. 

Dead trees loom from some bogs, like the masts of sunken ships.

The working cranberry farms have red pumping stations and wide open spaces.

This gnarly old tree was up to its knees in a blue bog. Like an Ent on vacation.

Fabulous scenery.

More fabulous scenery.

And a tiny toad. I think it's a fowler's toad, one of many that were hopping along the paths today. This one is so small that it could sit on a dime and not hang over the edges!

Here's a picture with a ballpoint pen for scale. The cutest tiny toad ever, right?

And here's an eastern painted turtle. Check out its pretty orange trim. 

The New Jersey pine barrens. Close. Free. Full of beautiful and interesting things.

Pine Barrens Today

 

I had a long walk in the New Jersey pine barrens today. I was hoping to find early-blooming pink lady's slipper orchids, but it really is too early for them, so I found none.  I did find a pink dogwood tree reflected in a pond. Click to enlarge.

And I found luxurious mats of fresh green sphagnum moss.

And long dangling oak tree flowers.

This painted turtle was sitting by the path, sunning itself.

Picked it up very gently and carefully for a picture, supporting the lower shell.

Took a peek underneath. See the red details!

Then put it back where it had been. Note the sleek shiny shell.

 A pink dogwood tree and a lilac bush posed for a photo. 

Carpenter bees were humming around the lilacs.

And another typical pine barrens thing -- signs of abandoned industry. It's been a long time since the last train came down these rails.

2020 Amphibian and Reptile Review

 

I don't have the well developed sensitivity for spotting reptiles and amphibians that I have for birds, so I don't see nearly as many. Their ability to evade detection by sitting still and the use of outright camouflage probably also helps them avoid me. Exhibit one is the above photo of a deftly concealed leopard frog. Click to enlarge.

Then there are Fowler's toads that are abundant in New Jersey and that I suspect see me much more often than I see them. They blend in and sit still. Do you see one in this photo?

See it now?

Well played, hidden toad!

Adding to my roundup of amphibians and reptiles I've seen this year that haven't yet made it into a blog, I give you the red eared slider turtle. I often see them basking in the sun like those above. Basking is good for them: it helps them regulate their body temperature; make vitamin D; and dry their shells, which wards off problems with fungi, algae, and parasites.

Here's a painted turtle that I met on a sandy path in the pine barrens. I've been known to pull off a road when I see one of these trying to cross, and go back to pick it up and carry it safely to the other side.

Lastly, this week I was working in the yard on a sunny day and made a pile a leaves. When I picked up the pile later this little garden snake had crawled underneath. What a perfect spot for a snake: concealed, damp, and warmed by the sun.

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is only 25 miles from New York City in Vernon, New Jersey. It's a great place for a day of strolling and wildlife spotting. There are duck blinds, roads and trails, wildflower fields, and boardwalks over marshes.

Wood ducks and eastern bluebirds are some of the wildlife rock stars that breed in the refuge. On a recent walk I saw a mother wood duck steer her flock of seven teenage ducklings deeper into the brush and away from my prying eyes.

If you pause on the boardwalks and look carefully at the marsh vegetation, frogs, birds, snakes, and dragonflies will come into focus.

Check the lily pads for bullfrogs; there are lots. 

This bullfrog had a tail! It was in the last stages of transformation from tadpole to adult. 

A milk snake posed for a photo while being moved from a parking area to a safer place. 

Painted turtles bask by the boardwalks.