Hey, everyone! It’s been a super busy past couple of weeks, as we’ve been in the field quite a bit, tracking our own ornate box turtles and helping out with the last week of Eastern Box Turtle Team! Just wanted to pop in and give some updates on what we’ve been up to.
Last week and the previous, we were doing our monthly telemetry tracking of ornate box turtles and we had quite a bit of adventure this time around! As the heat index was reaching 110 degrees F at the first sites we visited, the turtles had to get resourceful and many were sheltering under dirt and leaves to keep cool. Telemetry tracking can be hard in itself, but when the turtles are hiding, it can sometimes seem impossible. We really had to keep our eyes peeled to find them this time around. Take a look at the picture below and see if you can find the camouflaged turt! (Hint: He’s almost dead center next to the black seed pod.)
Can you spot the hidden turtle?
Poor little fella
As you may know, a storm called a derecho swept through Illinois and the midwest last week. At the first site we tracked last Sunday, there was a lot of flooding, as the site neighbors the Mississippi River. With the flooding, a lot of critters were out and about and we wanted to share some pictures of our favorite non-turtles we spotted last week! Not five minutes into our hike, we saw a baby field mouse that had been drenched by the storm. Don’t worry, we scooted him over to a sheltered area so he could dry off and go about his life.
Cutie hognose!
Mr. Muskrat
Next up is a baby hognose! These snakes are one of Maddie and I’s favorite species to encounter out on our hikes. However, this was by far the smallest we’ve seen so far! Also, I know this is crazy, but neither of us have seen a muskrat before, so we were in awe when we saw our first out here. We all froze and had a stare off with each other!
Find the bullfrog!
Old wise one
The bullfrogs were out in full force, enjoying the high waters. We saw and heard tons while tracking. Lastly, we spotted a praying mantis right next to an ornate that we tracked. This is the first time Maddie has seen one in the wild! Can you believe it?
The adventure wasn’t over, yet! After a long day of tracking and discovery, Maddie and I were starving. We headed to the most recommended restaurant in the small town we were staying in, which was a biker bar named Poopy’s and all I can describe it as is an interesting experience. If you’re ever in Savanna, IL, check it out for yourselves! The next night, the storm decided to start up, again, and this time we had to shelter in our hotel while a tornado passed. Again, it was interesting time. However, we finished tracking our turtles for the week and everyone got home safe!
This week, we’ve been busy finishing out the eastern box turtle field season with our amazing turtle team volunteers! We finished out the season finding one of the smallest eastern box turtles of the summer. Huge shout out and thanks to the students who volunteered time during their summer break to help us on our mission to save turtles! Everyone was so eager to learn and help. We couldn’t have asked for a better group to help us out this summer!
Tiny turtle tax picture!
