A Walk in Central Park

Last week I led a nature walk in Central Park for the American Museum of Natural History's Membership Department. Even though I got rained on twice, there was a lot to see. Here are some of the wild creatures that were in the park on Wednesday.

Turtles were basking in The Lake. Red-eared sliders are the most commonly seen.  Click to enlarge.

Scanning the waters there often turns up a Chinese softshell turtle like this one. 

This ladybug pupa was in the bushes near the Ladies Pavilion. An adult  Asian multi-colored ladybug will emerge. The light-colored spines at the upper left are diagnostic for the species; I hear they are the remnants of the spiky skin of the last larval stage. 

This raccoon was hanging around the Oak Bridge. 

A pair of Paria beetles was mating on a leaf. 

An ant-mimic spider lurked. 

This Isodontia wasp glittered in the fleeting sunshine. 

A green Agapostemon bee posed on a pink rose. 

And the Shakespeare Garden was full of blossoms. 

You never know what you will find when you  take a walk in the park, but... John Muir once said: "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

Turtle Day

Yesterday, May 23rd, was World Turtle Day, a day for celebrating turtles and tortoises, to raise awareness of them, and to help protect their disappearing habitats. I am reposting photos from all the blogs I've written about turtles. This one is an Eastern box turtle from New Jersey. Click here to read my blog about it. Or just click to enlarge. 

This common snapping turtle was sunning on the shore of the Reservoir in Central Park in Manhattan.  Click here for the blog. 

I saw this lovely painted turtle in Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in  Vernon, New Jersey. Click here to read about the refuge and other interesting animals you can see there. 

These red-eared slider turtles were sunning on rocks in Central Park in Manhattan, a great place to raise your turtle awareness. There are lots of red-eared sliders and quite a few other nice turtles to see there. Click here to read the original blog about a nature walk I led there last year. That blog also mentions the pair of eastern spiny softshell turtles pictured below. 

Chinese softshell turtles. Note the turtle necks. 

The big turtle on the left in this photo is a red-eared slider. The little one of the right is a yellow-bellied slider.  They are sharing a log in Central Park. Click here to read more.   

World Turtle Day. May 23rd. My awareness was raised enough to notice this guy holding up a lamp in front of my bank.

A turtle haiku from Kobayashi Issa, 1825

"short summer night --
in the field turtles
cavort"

A New Turtle

Red-eared slider left. Yellow-bellied slider right. The size difference is probably due to their different ages; when I first saw them I thought they were parent and offspring. Click to enlarge.

I saw a yellow-bellied slider turtle, Trachemys scripta scripta, in the lake in Central Park last week. I have never seen one there before. I see red-eared sliders, Trachemys scripta elegans, every time I pass the lake from spring through autumn; red-eared sliders are common and widespread. The two turtles are conspecific subspecies, close relatives of the same genus and species.

Neither are native to this part of the country but are native to the southeastern states. They are both popular pets, though, and consequently show up in unexpected places. Humans probably released these turtles or their ancestors into the lake. The turtles seem right at home and are basking contentedly now. 

A Walk in the Park

Central Park is full of pleasant spring sights right now. 

American robin, Turdus migratorius. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Raccoon, Procyon lotor. 

Red-eared slider turtles, Trachemys scripta.

Male wood duck, Aix sponsa. 

"It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart." Rainier Maria Rilke

Offline...

I am on vacation and, remarkably, away from an easy internet connection. Just enough time to upload a photo of handsome turtles from the last wifi cafe -- and then on into the wilderness.

Red-eared sliders, Trachemys scripta, in the Central Park Pond.