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| Ephemeral pond on the Little Willamette |
John is on the board of
Greenbelt Land Trust, a superlative local non-profit given to protecting and connecting sensitive habitat and open areas in this part of Oregon. One of the many things they do is sponsor guided walks on the lands for which GLT is the custodian.
Last Saturday was a beautiful day, and we decided to tag along on just such a trip to see
Western Pond Turtles, a species listed as "critical" on the Oregon sensitive species list. We walked through open areas, down to a slough of the Willamette River where we would be likely to find them sunning on a log. Because they are shy creatures, there was a blind to hide behind. We were glad that beavers hadn't destroyed this blind, like they did the previous one.
We were in luck! There were 4 turtles enjoying the sunny morning. Western Pond Turtles get to be 40 years old; none of these are youngsters.
The hope is that they will be able to lay eggs on this nearby slope, recently taken out of grass seed production and now a safe place for turtles. Maybe sometime soon there will be baby turtles scurrying down to the river from here.
This area known as the Little Willamette is lovely and I'm so glad to see it under the care of the land trust.
Do you have a land trust in your area? I wonder.
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| Fringe Cup |
I hope that you do. It's a a really good way for land owners to work out deals that benefit their property and the ecosystem it encompasses.
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| Purple Martin houses on the Little Willamette |
It's also a nice way for the public to have access to special habitats and learn about the creatures that live there.
We passed a place in California that had a protected turtle habitat and had to laugh at the 8 ft. fence that surrounded it. Must have been for jumping turtles:)
ReplyDeleteWell they can get away on you!:) That's a serious fence, sure to keep out turtle rustlers and the like.
Deletewell, you know I like turtles. we have protected habitat areas around out state. not just for turtles or even for turtles specifically. I like that second picture where everyone is crouched behind the blind looking at the turtles except for that one guy. and the fringe cup is an interesting plant.
ReplyDeleteI was very excited to be told to crouch and sneak up to the blind, like a spy. A turtle spy.
DeleteAnd I know you have your private turtle reserve in your very own back yard, which I think is amazing and one of the things I love about you, Ellen.
that's awesome. the past couple of years, a well-to-do family donated part of their ranch land for a natural water treatment area (collection, natural filtration by water plants, then a pump station to pump it to cities that need it). part of the area is a wildlife observation and education area. really nice to see the effort made...
ReplyDeleteHow cool is that? When one family decides to do such a thing, it often catches on. Hopefully others will follow suit; I've seen it happen here.
DeleteBeautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteAwww, turtles. What is not to love. Am imagining baby turtles running down the hill. May it be so.
Happy mother's day, friend. Cheers!
Me too! I'm imagining them on that hill, a perfect thought for Mother's Day.
DeleteThank you, Reya. :)
oooh, i love me some turtles!!! it the time of year when we see the box turtles crossing the roads, so i am extra vigilant, ready to stop and help them quickly on their way...i even managed to find turtles in israel, of all places, hanging out in a garden in Nazareth. !! i love the turtle spy crouch you all are doing...
ReplyDeleteTurtles in Israel! Can't wait to hear of your adventures.
DeleteI have put myself at risk more than once, helping turtles cross the road. You be careful, ok?
Kerry, I love the pic of the purple Martin houses. It's scratching at something at the edge of my memory and I can't figure out what. Someone wrote an entire post on these birds or something.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter would have *loved* to see those turtles sunning on a log. And I'm glad, too, that the beavers didn't destroy the blind line. Such a delicate balance with all of the eco-participants.
Also, if you have the chance, I gave you an award. Check it out if you like. http://subliminalcoffee.blogspot.com/2013/05/i-scream-social.html
The martin houses were kinda weird and fascinating, like camo-fake-gourd condos for birds.
DeleteAbout 30% of the folks on that hike were under 14 years old, awesome.
Oh I will have to check out what you have anointed me with...hmmmm:)
Oregon has purple martins? In Mississippi, people used to put up huge apartment houses for them. Here, whenever I put up any kind of house, the damned starlings move in, and I end up taping over the opening shut so as not to give them any assistance in dominating the bird world. When they appear to have moved out, I un-tape the opening in the hope that squirrels will move in, which they usually do.
ReplyDeleteThey mentioned a purple martin colony nearby, but at the moment there are swallows in these houses. And now I'm imagining a whole neighborhood of squirrels living in them...
DeleteWe have terrible luck with bird houses in our yard; even the squirrels won't live in them. Wasps, maybe, but nothing else.
I love wasps and built a house for solitary wasps. For a long time, I would destroy wasp nests that appeared in my shed because I was afraid get too close and be stung (the shed only being head high), but after practically mashing a few nests with my head and never getting stung, I concluded that Oregon wasps are a pretty mellow lot, so I started leaving them alone.
DeleteI don't know if they're called land trusts but we have thousands of acres dedicated to conservation. Some of them are private donors and some federal land. I'm glad we live in a world where there are people that care deeply about this sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteThat's the bottom line, isn't it. People need to care.
DeleteGreat write-up and photos, Kerry! I, too, had a wonderful 'Turtle Walk', and it was such a joy to see so many youth really interested in the goings-on of wildlife.
ReplyDeleteTurtles are fascinating - something dinosauresque about them. It's like we have to sneak up on them because they really belong in another, prehistoric, world ... and they don't like to be caught living in the twentieth century.
Jessica
Hi Jessica! You always do such a good job organizing these walks; thank you so much for that. This is such a busy month for you.
DeleteI'm fond of turtles. If I were to have an animal totem, it would probably be a tortoise or a turtle:)