Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary: Portland, CT (4/29)

When I got back to Connecticut, Shannon and I took a trip over to Helen Carlson for the afternoon. I was hoping that we'd find the Spotted Turtles that I had discovered the week before. But, even though it seemed like it was good basking weather, we only found Painted Turtles.

As for other Herps, we did spot two Northern Water Snakes. The first was coiled up in a bush getting some sun. The second was swimming in the bog looking for something to hunt. I'm guessing that he was after some of the frogs in the shallow water. They were abundant and called incessantly. I identified at least one as a Green Frog but there may have been other species as well.

We walked down the trail where I'd found the Spotted Turtles and stopped where the trail was flooded. Looking for a way to cross, I saw a pair of eggs in the water. I'm guessing that they were Wood Duck eggs since I've seen these a couple of times while working on the nesting boxes at Broad Meadow Brook. Also, there was a nesting box in the area that the eggs could have fallen out of. It was sad to see, but hopefully the female Wood Duck will lay some more eggs before the end of the season.

Hindered by the water, we turned around and made a partial loop thru the sanctuary. We encountered many of the same birds as I found the week before. The standouts were a couple Palm Warblers, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and an immature Cooper's Hawk. We spooked the hawk from his perch on one side of the bog and watched him fly across the water. Later we got a better look at the same bird closer to the road.

As for butterflies, we had a couple of Spring Azures and a Mourning Cloak. Unfortunately not many flowers were in bloom.