Barred Owls and Boardwalks

Construction of the new boardwalk got underway this week just in time for all the stormy weather. Posts from the previous boardwalk had to be removed before construction of the new walk could begin. The crew from Golf Construction seem to be having plenty of fun slogging about in the thick of it to get the job done.

Rumbling through the Back Woods on the GATOR utility vehicle is not always the best way to catch sight of wildlife. Unless you are satisfied with glimpse of their rear ends dashing away from the awful rattle the gator makes. I startled this beautiful Barred Owl out of a tree as I rumbled under its perch along the trail. Fortunately for me, after swooping right over my head, this owl took a moment to catch a glimpse of me before silently flying off to some other spot in the canopy. What a cutie!! The Barred Owl should be right at home in our little forest, preferring a mature canopy and tolerant of urban areas. The habitat improvements we are making, including opening up the understory, should improve the habitat even more for the  Barred Owls.

Oh boy, this Saturday December 19th is going to be some down and dirty fun. About a dozen intrepid volunteers have signed up to help us pull up the old plastic Geoblock underlayment from the nature trail. Fortunately for us, it looks like the rain will let up just in time for the work to start tomorrow morning. The chilly temperatures expected might just be perfect for the heavy load of the day, pulling up nearly a 1/3 mile of plastic panels all screwed together and full of  rock.   I am excited to see the trail with out the Geoblock which has been exposed and damaged for a number of years. The short experimental stretch that volunteer Shayna and I pulled up yesterday looks really good. If you are free we could always use a couple of extra hands. Volunteers are meeting in the far southeast parking lot of the museum at 7:45 am, see ya there!! :-)

Snapping Turtle Tease

Man am I a sucker for critters. There is not a one out there I cannot be induced to coo over (well except maybe Huntsman spiders). Here is my latest coo.

This little snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) was making his or her way out of the stormwater retention to the wetland this morning. This is the time of year we might see aquatic turtles moving in and out of wetland areas to find mates.

It may be a little early (but it seems like a lot of things are happening early this year) but this animal may have been moving out of the wetland looking for a nesting area to lay eggs.

A note on the photo quality. Sadly, my (personal) Nikon Coolpix 4500 has suffered some sort of malfunction. Borrowing a later generation coolpix from the museum exhibits department has been disappointing. Of course the question is…is it the user or the equipment…I’ll definitely take part of the blame in needing to get up to speed with a new camera but, the lens on this later model does not produce the color and clarity of my old 4500, sigh.