This week, we focused on trapping at a headstart release site. We found a bunch of Blanding’s there last year, and I was excited to see who we would re-trap! Javelis and I set out with 20 traps each and went to four different ponds. It was fun seeing new faces, such as Pineapple (who we ended up trapping 3 times… she couldn’t get enough of the bait!) and familiar faces, like Kawaii. Kawaii was a transmittered turtle that we tracked last year. His transmitter has since stopped working, since the small transmitters on the headstarts only have enough battery for about a year. I ended up finding him in a trap and we got him set up with a new transmitter. We hope to follow him at the site and keep tabs on where he is going and how he’s doing. He was a good sport and got freeze-dried shrimp to thank him for his trouble.
Telemetered headstart in 2023
We also stumbled on a fun spot: a rocky area tucked in the prairie that is a perfect basking spot for snakes. We saw 5 or 6 basking on a sunny morning after rain the day before. Snakes are my favorite animal (but Blanding’s are up there too!), so I loved seeing everyone out basking. Most of the snakes were also blue, meaning they were getting ready to shed their skin. The rocks also provide a nice rough area to rub their skin off, so it made sense it was a hot spot for “blue” snakes! Javelis also spotted two good sized White River Crayfish who were also out on the rocks. I didn’t know if crayfish basked like reptiles do, so I had to look it up and it doesn’t seem like they do, but their mating season also isn’t until the fall. I’m not quite sure what these guys were doing out in the open so I will need to research further. We picked them up to ID the species and they let us know that they have claws and aren’t afraid to use them!
A garter snake basking on the rocks. Notice his cloudy blue eyes!
White River Crayfish brandishing his claws
That’s it for this week. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
Marg
