I hope to get back to longer posts soon but for now, here is a quick glimpse of life at the Rattray Marsh in Mississauga in summer.
There were four young Painted Turtles basking near the boardwalk. Each was only a bit larger than a Loonie. Unless they had a very poor winter, spring and early summer, they were too small to have hatched last year. They looked like at least one of this year’s nests have escaped predation by raccoons long enough for the eggs to hatch and and the tiny turtles to tumble off into the marsh.
I was a bit surprised that they were basking so close to people and dogs although one did slide into the water when the boardwalk got a little too busy. But perhaps their chosen logs were actually safer than I thought.
Further down the boardwalk, I spied this Great Blue Heron stalking through the rushes and reeds. If it had seen my little Painteds they would have been gulped up in seconds. But the Rattray herons are not very tolerant of people and are very intolerant of dogs at close range–so the Turtles were probably safe for now: I think it very unlikely the Heron would venture into their territory.
I hope not as the Heron has a wide-ranging appetite which includes many common creatures–but we don’t have a lot of Turtles left these days.
Hopefully, I’ll see some of these same turtles in future years laying their own eggs!
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