Nothing says spring like evening choruses of spring peepers! With all the rain earlier this spring, these little trillers were reported peeping away on Nantucket in early March. But for me, spring doesn’t truly arrive until I find my first spotted turtle basking after a long winter hibernation. On Friday, March 29th, the weather finally broke on Nantucket and we had our first taste of spring! I’ve been waiting a long time for this day and I headed out in search of the season’s first spotted turtles! While it still felt cold to this warmblood, the sun was shining and it was a perfect day for this handsome old ectotherm to come out to breathe fresh air and soak up the sun’s rays:
Male spotted turtle
At this time of year, male spotted turtles are roaming in search of life’s basics: food and females! Later in the spring, the females will leave the wetlands in search of nesting sites.
On another sunny though blustery morning, Tuesday, April 2nd, I found my first garter snake basking in the sun and a red-backed salamander swimming for cover under dense sphagnum moss.
The following day at Eel Point, I heard the familiar alarm calls of Piping Plovers! They are already forming pairs and doing their amazing courtship dances for each other. The oystercatchers are being reunited with their mates as well and are already “scraping” in the sand in preparation for egg laying.
Spring..and love…is in the air for the birds and the turtles! Get outside and enjoy the sunshine folks, it’s been a long winter!