Nature Notes from Earthshine
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September 2007
The Black ratsnake egg that I have been incubating in the office has hatched!! The tiny little snake can be seen in the photo below as it begins to push its way out of the egg.
I will release the tiny snake nearby after it sheds its natal skin, eats its first meal and I get a couple of photos to post here for you to see.
In mid September I found a 3-4 year old Box turtle crossing my driveway during the rains associated with the remnants of tropical storm Humberto. Some of you may remember the turtle if you attended a special evening program Mo and I hosted during the second week of September. When it came time to release the turtle back into the wild I decided to relocate it a few hundred feet away from where I found it to a safer location deeper in the forest. Take a look at the video below of what it did when I released it.
Here is a photo of the young turtle and Tiny. Tiny is on the right, you can tell that they are very close in age.
Update on "Tiny" the turtle.
In early September I took "Tiny," the injured young Eastern Box Turtle, to my friend the turtle guru Charlie Green for a "check up." Charlie informed me that Tiny's injuries are so severe that "he" will have to spend the rest of "his" life in captivity.
This is so because whatever creature attacked him removed a large portion of his shell and damaged the bridge--the connection between the top half (carapace) and bottom half (plastron) of his shell. This bridge is the hinge that allows a box turtle to close up entirely inside its shell and it also helps to give the shell its amazing strength. Since Tiny is missing some of his protective shell and part of the bridge he is very vulnerable to attack from predators. Please ask about Tiny when you visit Earthshine and we will be happy to let you meet him as well as our other resident box turtles.
While visiting with Charlie he showed me another Eastern Box Turtle that had been severely injured and had lost the majority of its shell! How it survived this terrible injury I do not know.
Looking at the photos you would think that this turtle must be in terrible pain but Charlie says it acts like a "normal" turtle, eats, moves around fine...but it is just is missing most of its carapace so it is also a turtle that will have to spend the remainder of its life in captivity.
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
September 2007
The Black ratsnake egg that I have been incubating in the office has hatched!! The tiny little snake can be seen in the photo below as it begins to push its way out of the egg.
I will release the tiny snake nearby after it sheds its natal skin, eats its first meal and I get a couple of photos to post here for you to see.
In mid September I found a 3-4 year old Box turtle crossing my driveway during the rains associated with the remnants of tropical storm Humberto. Some of you may remember the turtle if you attended a special evening program Mo and I hosted during the second week of September. When it came time to release the turtle back into the wild I decided to relocate it a few hundred feet away from where I found it to a safer location deeper in the forest. Take a look at the video below of what it did when I released it.
Here is a photo of the young turtle and Tiny. Tiny is on the right, you can tell that they are very close in age.
Update on "Tiny" the turtle.
In early September I took "Tiny," the injured young Eastern Box Turtle, to my friend the turtle guru Charlie Green for a "check up." Charlie informed me that Tiny's injuries are so severe that "he" will have to spend the rest of "his" life in captivity.
This is so because whatever creature attacked him removed a large portion of his shell and damaged the bridge--the connection between the top half (carapace) and bottom half (plastron) of his shell. This bridge is the hinge that allows a box turtle to close up entirely inside its shell and it also helps to give the shell its amazing strength. Since Tiny is missing some of his protective shell and part of the bridge he is very vulnerable to attack from predators. Please ask about Tiny when you visit Earthshine and we will be happy to let you meet him as well as our other resident box turtles.
While visiting with Charlie he showed me another Eastern Box Turtle that had been severely injured and had lost the majority of its shell! How it survived this terrible injury I do not know.
Looking at the photos you would think that this turtle must be in terrible pain but Charlie says it acts like a "normal" turtle, eats, moves around fine...but it is just is missing most of its carapace so it is also a turtle that will have to spend the remainder of its life in captivity.
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
I will release the tiny snake nearby after it sheds its natal skin, eats its first meal and I get a couple of photos to post here for you to see.
In mid September I found a 3-4 year old Box turtle crossing my driveway during the rains associated with the remnants of tropical storm Humberto. Some of you may remember the turtle if you attended a special evening program Mo and I hosted during the second week of September. When it came time to release the turtle back into the wild I decided to relocate it a few hundred feet away from where I found it to a safer location deeper in the forest. Take a look at the video below of what it did when I released it.
Here is a photo of the young turtle and Tiny. Tiny is on the right, you can tell that they are very close in age.
Update on "Tiny" the turtle.
In early September I took "Tiny," the injured young Eastern Box Turtle, to my friend the turtle guru Charlie Green for a "check up." Charlie informed me that Tiny's injuries are so severe that "he" will have to spend the rest of "his" life in captivity.
This is so because whatever creature attacked him removed a large portion of his shell and damaged the bridge--the connection between the top half (carapace) and bottom half (plastron) of his shell. This bridge is the hinge that allows a box turtle to close up entirely inside its shell and it also helps to give the shell its amazing strength. Since Tiny is missing some of his protective shell and part of the bridge he is very vulnerable to attack from predators. Please ask about Tiny when you visit Earthshine and we will be happy to let you meet him as well as our other resident box turtles.
While visiting with Charlie he showed me another Eastern Box Turtle that had been severely injured and had lost the majority of its shell! How it survived this terrible injury I do not know.
Looking at the photos you would think that this turtle must be in terrible pain but Charlie says it acts like a "normal" turtle, eats, moves around fine...but it is just is missing most of its carapace so it is also a turtle that will have to spend the remainder of its life in captivity.
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
Here is a photo of the young turtle and Tiny. Tiny is on the right, you can tell that they are very close in age.
Update on "Tiny" the turtle.
In early September I took "Tiny," the injured young Eastern Box Turtle, to my friend the turtle guru Charlie Green for a "check up." Charlie informed me that Tiny's injuries are so severe that "he" will have to spend the rest of "his" life in captivity.
This is so because whatever creature attacked him removed a large portion of his shell and damaged the bridge--the connection between the top half (carapace) and bottom half (plastron) of his shell. This bridge is the hinge that allows a box turtle to close up entirely inside its shell and it also helps to give the shell its amazing strength. Since Tiny is missing some of his protective shell and part of the bridge he is very vulnerable to attack from predators. Please ask about Tiny when you visit Earthshine and we will be happy to let you meet him as well as our other resident box turtles.
While visiting with Charlie he showed me another Eastern Box Turtle that had been severely injured and had lost the majority of its shell! How it survived this terrible injury I do not know.
Looking at the photos you would think that this turtle must be in terrible pain but Charlie says it acts like a "normal" turtle, eats, moves around fine...but it is just is missing most of its carapace so it is also a turtle that will have to spend the remainder of its life in captivity.
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
In early September I took "Tiny," the injured young Eastern Box Turtle, to my friend the turtle guru Charlie Green for a "check up." Charlie informed me that Tiny's injuries are so severe that "he" will have to spend the rest of "his" life in captivity.
This is so because whatever creature attacked him removed a large portion of his shell and damaged the bridge--the connection between the top half (carapace) and bottom half (plastron) of his shell. This bridge is the hinge that allows a box turtle to close up entirely inside its shell and it also helps to give the shell its amazing strength. Since Tiny is missing some of his protective shell and part of the bridge he is very vulnerable to attack from predators. Please ask about Tiny when you visit Earthshine and we will be happy to let you meet him as well as our other resident box turtles.
While visiting with Charlie he showed me another Eastern Box Turtle that had been severely injured and had lost the majority of its shell! How it survived this terrible injury I do not know.
Looking at the photos you would think that this turtle must be in terrible pain but Charlie says it acts like a "normal" turtle, eats, moves around fine...but it is just is missing most of its carapace so it is also a turtle that will have to spend the remainder of its life in captivity.
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
While visiting with Charlie he showed me another Eastern Box Turtle that had been severely injured and had lost the majority of its shell! How it survived this terrible injury I do not know.
Looking at the photos you would think that this turtle must be in terrible pain but Charlie says it acts like a "normal" turtle, eats, moves around fine...but it is just is missing most of its carapace so it is also a turtle that will have to spend the remainder of its life in captivity.
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
Turtles are absolutely amazing!
On a happier note Charlie gave me a young male Spiny Softshell turtle that needed a new home so I brought him to Earthshine and turned him loose in the pond. Check out the photos and a short video of his release below.
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
Softshell turtles are usually very secretive and are seldom seen when they are in the water due to their great camouflage and shy nature. But if you find one out of the water they can be mighty aggressive so you have to hold them by the back of the shell...but watch out! They have a very long neck so you must be very careful!
Softshell turtles have amazing adaptations for life underwater. They have a snorkel-like nose and very long neck for getting a breath of air while they remain buried in the mud on the bottom of the ponds, streams or creeks where they like to live.
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
They have excellent camouflage that hides them very well when buried in the mud.
Softshell turtles also have webbed feet that allow them to swim very fast in pursuit of prey items such as fish, frogs and aquatic insects or to escape predators. My wife Mimi even loved this cute little Softshell that we are now calling "Softy."
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
Softy was very happy to find a new home and started foraging for food seconds after he hit the water! Check out the short video below of Softy's release into the Earthshine farm pond.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for Softy the next time you visit Earthshine!
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
UPDATE on "Softy" June 2008: I was walking along the edge of the pond in early May and found Softy in the almost exact location where I released him last fall! He looked healthy and well fed. Way to go Softy!
MISSING TURTLES and TURTLE DOGS
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
WOW!! What an amazing way to start off a new month! What's a turtle dog???
On the last few days of August Bones the Eastern Box Turtle escaped from the Earthshine turtle enclosure only a few hours before he was set to have his transmitter attached! Apparently he either climbed the fence or squeezed through a small hole that had formed during recent heavy rains. I was at a loss to his location so I called my friend John Rucker and asked him if he would like to bring his turtle retrieving dogs to Earthshine to hunt for Bones as well as other turtles for our research project. John was happy to assist and came over only two days later. Amazingly, John's incredible dogs found Bones only a couple of hours after they started looking for him! He was about 100 yards north of the lodge near the edge of the forest.
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
I can't thank John enough for bringing his wonderful dogs Buster, Sparky, Greta and Pup to Earthshine to locate our resident box turtles--and the renegade Bones. Without John and his dogs, Bones would have been lost and would not have been able to have been returned to his home and his radio tracking project would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you John and canine friends!!
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
I would also like to thank my friend Alan Cameron who assisted John and his dogs with finding Bones and several other box turtles while I had to work. Thank you Alan for all your help!!
Here is a short movie of John's dogs in action finding box turtles at Earthshine Mountain Lodge. This movie is dedicated to Buster who passed away recently. Buster was one of John Rucker's turtle dogs--he was one of the first and the best and I feel privileged to have known him.
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
We will all miss you greatly Buster.
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE
Nature Notes Page three
CLICK HERE FOR HOMEPAGE