Friday: 12 October 2012
I’ve found so many box turtles this year that I’m now beginning to run into lookalikes, at least at first glance.
Last year the last turtle I saw was on October 13th. I’m not sure how extensively I scoped out the territory after that, so that might not be a hard last turtle date. This year my records have been much more meticulous, noting trips with both positive and negative encounters. This year, we’re having about the same general daytime temperatures, but last year’s nighttime temperatures were just a bit lower, so we might get a few more days out of turtle season.
I noted here, at the end of last year, that in all of 2005-2011 I had only 39 turtle encounters in the study area. This year alone I’ve had 65 encounters, so this year marks a huge performance jump in observing.
Here’s my 65th observation, this year, compared with an old friend lookalike, Ivan, taken earlier this year:
It’s rare for me to encounter truly spotted box turtles, such as Ivan, on the left in all these photos. When I saw the box turtle on Tuesday, I immediately thought of Ivan, even though this turtle would have been pretty far afield of Ivan’s usual haunts. I took a quick glance at the photos and decided he was Ivan. At the time I didn’t notice that Ivan has a few nicks on his tailgate.
The following photos of Ivan were taken last year in October, reference by the above link:
As it turns out, Tuesday’s boy was not Ivan. This is a new turtle and although not as thoroughly spotted as Ivan, he’s more so than any other turtle I’ve found.
I should have taken a good look at the plastron. That would have told me for sure:
Update: I should have taken a good look at the plastron. That would have told me for sure. It’s Corey. Originally discovered July 20, 2009, and seen a total of six times this year. That tells you how good I am at instant recognition, not very!
Last year the last turtle I saw was on October 13th. I’m not sure how extensively I scoped out the territory after that, so that might not be a hard last turtle date. This year my records have been much more meticulous, noting trips with both positive and negative encounters. This year, we’re having about the same general daytime temperatures, but last year’s nighttime temperatures were just a bit lower, so we might get a few more days out of turtle season.
I noted here, at the end of last year, that in all of 2005-2011 I had only 39 turtle encounters in the study area. This year alone I’ve had 65 encounters, so this year marks a huge performance jump in observing.
Here’s my 65th observation, this year, compared with an old friend lookalike, Ivan, taken earlier this year:
It’s rare for me to encounter truly spotted box turtles, such as Ivan, on the left in all these photos. When I saw the box turtle on Tuesday, I immediately thought of Ivan, even though this turtle would have been pretty far afield of Ivan’s usual haunts. I took a quick glance at the photos and decided he was Ivan. At the time I didn’t notice that Ivan has a few nicks on his tailgate.
The following photos of Ivan were taken last year in October, reference by the above link:
As it turns out, Tuesday’s boy was not Ivan. This is a new turtle and although not as thoroughly spotted as Ivan, he’s more so than any other turtle I’ve found.
I should have taken a good look at the plastron. That would have told me for sure:
Update: I should have taken a good look at the plastron. That would have told me for sure. It’s Corey. Originally discovered July 20, 2009, and seen a total of six times this year. That tells you how good I am at instant recognition, not very!
