Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Here is an Eastern Box Turtle that I photographed a month ago. He was out early near where I store my kayak. Mornings are usually the best time of day to find most wildlife and this is especially true of Box Turtles. This is not a hard and fast rule however. Last week I came home from dinner and found a female Box Turtle laying eggs on the lawn so you never can tell. JK
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Atka, pictured above, is a five year old arctic wolf and an absolutely beautiful animal. He is an ambassador for the Wolf Conservation Center and was a big hit at Sweetbriar Nature Center’s annual Nature and Wildlife Fair that was held this past Saturday.
It was great seeing the wolf but for me the highlight of the day was meeting Jim Fowler from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. This man has been a hero of mine nearly my whole life. Before I had baseball heroes, even before I knew about baseball really, Jim Fowler was the guy who did all the fun stuff on Wild Kingdom. My love of nature and the great outdoors is due in great part to Mr. Fowler. My whole family watched as Marlin Perkins and Jim (he didn’t need a last name) brought the wilderness into our house each Sunday night. It was a natural progression for me to explore the local woods on a regular basis. I still do that.
Here he is with a volunteer with Make Peace With Animals. MPWA is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization which concerns itself with the adoption and welfare of retired racing greyhounds. They are based in PA but they have a chapter right here on Long Island. These are very handsome dogs and friendly as well. Who knows? You could go home with a winner.
This African Grey was one of many beautiful birds that the Long Island Parrot Society had on display.
I got to see a lot of friends, old and new. This Barred Owl is a regular at Sweetbriar. There are other owls and several raptors (falcons, hawks, and eagles) on permanent display. These are birds with injuries that make it impossible for them to live in the wild, but it does give folks like you and I a chance to see them at close range. Sweetbriar is an excellent place to take the family to see many animals that one doesn’t ordinarily get to see. The grounds there also offer beautiful gardens and well groomed hiking trails.
This tortoise was a guest of Eric Powers who runs Your Connection 2 Nature. His company offers guided hikes and tours, as well as several educational programs, amongst other things.
I went as a volunteer in the morning and did my best to look busy for a couple of hours and then I grabbed my camera and walked around taking pictures. One should go with their strengths and one of mine is wandering aimlessly. The camera just makes it look good. I almost look like I know what I’m doing. JK
Thursday, June 12, 2008
From Peterson’s Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians:
Most celebrated of American turtles. Its succulent flesh, when properly (and laboriously) prepared, rates high on the gourmet’s list.
No thanks. I’ll just take the pictures. JK
Sunday, June 1, 2008
This past Wednesday morning I took a stroll through David Weld Sanctuary. I made two very cool finds at the pond. The first was a Green Frog. I had heard some the day before but hadn’t been able to locate any. As I was sitting on my haunches scanning the opposite bank, which was sunlit, for frogs I looked down and in the water right next to me was the guy (or lady, I didn’t ask) in the pic above.
After snapping pics of the frog, I started looking around to see what else might be in the vicinity. That was when I found this Eastern Box Turtle taking his morning bath. He was out about four feet from the bank. Now, I know that despite appearances, Box Turtles can swim and this is a shallow pond, but I never would have been looking for one in the pond. I was sitting there for at least ten minutes with that turtle just five feet away from me and I didn’t see him till I started really scanning the water. I could claim that I was just engrossed in my photography – my art, my passion – but the truth is that I am just plain blind. Most of the time. JK
Sunday, May 18, 2008
An eye very much like like this one saw dinosaurs. I went out for about four plus hours this morning. I found this Common Snapping Turtle just south of Terrapin Station. He and four others were pulled up along the bank. Everyone but this guy made for the river as soon as they saw me. At first this one was oblivious to my presence. He was out cold. I was even beginning to think he might be dead. And then, when he finally did raise his head to look me over, he didn’t care. I was three feet away and he just lay there eyeing me. I’m pretty sure that he is fairly old because of how smooth his shell was. Snappers are born with very keeled (jagged) shells that grow smoother as they age. Handsome brute, ain’t he? JK