It’s always such a treat to see an Eastern Box turtle on Cape Cod. We watched this one while he crossed the road just to make sure he made it before a car came by. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
Unlike pond or marsh turtles, Eastern Box turtles live entirely on land, frequenting dry and moist woodlands, thickets, and sandy coastal regions. Their high-domed shells feature distinct, fingerprint-like yellow, orange, and brown starburst patterns which you can see in the photos.
Yesterday morning was a bit chilly but a gorgeous morning just to be outside in nature. We decided to have an early picnic breakfast at Fort Hill and then a nice walk. Perfect! (Click on blog link for other photo.)
As we headed down the trail, we saw this beautiful White-tailed Deer enjoying his breakfast in the woods. A birder, that we had bumped into, said that he had seen 7 of them out grazing in the meadow as the sun was coming up. What a special place…
It’s always fun when you do a double-take walking down a trail wondering if that is really an animal up ahead. And then, as you get closer, you realize it’s just a piece of driftwood washed ashore. But so much fun when you first see it and your imagination takes over!
It was low tide when Phil and I took a walk from Doane Rock to Coast Guard Beach. When we stopped over the bridge to photograph some shorebirds foraging around in the mudflats of Nauset Marsh, I noticed these tracks in the mud under the bridge. What animal had made them? Hmmmm…
When I got home, I got my Animal Tracks book out and did a little research. Were they raccoon tracks? That was my best guess with those long toes.
I texted my friend, Stephanie who is the Executive Director at Wild Care Cape Cod and asked her for her expertise. Yes, in fact, it was a raccoon who made those tracks. Thank you, Stephanie! You came to my rescue… again! I wonder what that raccoon was looking for…
Wild Care is a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation center on Cape Cod that rescues, treats, and releases sick, injured or orphaned animals.
It’s always fun to see the seals along Coast Guard Beach. They were all lazing in the water about without a care in the world. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
And then, every once in a while, there would be some commotion and they would all scramble about and dive underwater… was there a predator nearby?
We were hiking along the trail when Phil stopped to look at something on the side of the trail. I had totally missed it! There, camouflaged by the leaves, was a toad perfectly hidden in the leaves. Can you see it?
You can see Red Squirrels on just about any trail around here on the Cape. This little guy was playing hide and seek on the White Cedar Swamp Trail in Wellfleet. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
Cute, little guy!
This Coyote was just rambling around the salt marsh the other morning… probably just looking for something for breakfast. He stopped to look at me, so I got my camera out and took a photo of him!
This female Box Turtle spent over an hour roaming about our yard, probably looking for that perfect spot to lay her eggs. (Click on blog link for other photos.)
She walked around the back yard and the side yard and then the front yard, having to climb over the paver stones on the driveway to get there.
She finally found a spot and start digging a nest with her back legs. After about 15 minutes, something must have spooked her, and she left and went to hide under a bush. We saw her again the following morning but she disappeared into the woods.
We had a Box Turtle lay her eggs in our yard a few years. It was so much fun calculating the day they might hatch and then watching all five of the little hatchlings make their way in this new world to them. So sweet…
I was out for an early hike at Fort Hill when I saw this White-tailed Deer on the boardwalk munching away. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
She looked at me and I told her it was a beautiful day to be on the trail. She just continued eating away as I walked by. She wasn’t bothered by me at all.
