Water Chestnut Infestation
Last week while I was traveling to Connecticut and Rhode Island (I’ll be posting about this soon!), I had the opportunity to get a good look at the Hudson River in eastern New York and see first hand the water chestnut infestation that has taken over much of the waterway. When most people hear of water chestnut, they often think of the slices of white vegetables in your stir fry mix or chicken noodle soup. While that is indeed water chestnut, its not the kind that we are necessarily concerned about. Water chestnut (Trapa natans) is an aquatic plant native to western Europe, Africa and...
Read MoreFer-de-Lance (Bothrops asper)
Death through the leaves, this Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops asper) was waiting river side on RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser’s last trip in Panama. He decided to head back down later to get some photos. Sean said this shot was kind of an accident while trying to find the right angle, but became his favorite.
Read MoreProject Wild America Youth Ambassadors
Tomorrow we officially begin our summer stewards program: Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors! This summer our crew comprised of two college student leaders and six area high school students will be exploring the wild places along the Chadakoin River that flows right through downtown Jamestown. They will be studying the many species that call the river corridor home, and I’m certain we will find some incredible species as well as learn more about the species we know occupy specific niches created within this urban environment. Our students will also be connecting to the local...
Read MoreDigging Nests
Could it be that time already?! The abundant warmth and sunshine has been drawing the spiny softshell turtles out to bask, swim and now excavate! This big girl was digging away in the gravel, pitching big clods of dirt and stones with her powerful back legs working to create a safe nest hole to drop her eggs. Once the eggs are laid, the turtles will develop throughout the summer and hatch in late August and early September. Last summer we didn’t witness any little ones hatching as many of the nests were predated. But we’ve got our fingers crossed that this summer will prove to be...
Read MorePile o’ Turtles
Turtles, turtles and more turtles! That was my view of a small section of the Chadakoin River last week as over a dozen spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera) lined the exposed concrete and sandbars at the river’s edge. These girls and little boy hauled themselves out of the water and piled themselves onto the concrete debris left in the river from some form of development. While this seems like an unlikely place for these turtles to live, they appear to be well adapted to their urban habitat. We are excited to have the opportunity to begin studying these Muppet-like turtles and...
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