Coggshall's Creatures
Every morning around 10:30 we go for a walk in a small nature preserve/park in Fitchburg called Coggshall Park. It is easily one of the nicest places in Fitchburg to hang out. There is just enough wilderness that you get a sense of being away from things without so much wilderness as to be a pain to get to.
Anyway, Isaac, Bianca and I have been paying close attention to our animal friends during our hikes and we have seen a bunch of different kinds of animals.
On our first day there we saw an Eastern Box Turtle.
Later we saw a Common Snapping Turtle. A few days later we saw a baby Snapper.
We also saw an Eastern Ribbon Snake.
We saw geese, ducks, and four beautiful swans.
We saw a rabbit.
We also saw a tiny, and I mean tiny, toad.
We saw a bunch of fish I can't identify.
We have seen about a million chipmunks, including a pair that chased each other for about twenty minutes while we watched.
We saw an Eastern Gray Squirrel with enough red that I thought it was a Red Squirrel, until I realized they are from Eurasia only.
Last week we saw something pretty amazing. It was a turtle, but unlike the Snapper and the Box Turtle this guy had a blazing red shell. Some internet research found that it was a Northern Red-Bellied Cooter. It was so distinctive that we couldn't forget what it looked like. Further research shows that the Cooter is Endangered in Massachusetts and once lived throughout central Mass, but now is confined entirely to Plymouth County. EXCEPT WE DON'T LIVE IN PLYMOUTH COUNTY! We live in Worcester County. Looks like a comeback, thanks to good preservation efforts in Massachusetts. How cool is it that Isaac saw one of those?
Finally, and most spectacularly (though the Cooter was pretty cool), we saw a Great Blue Heron. While not endangered or even rare, this was AWESOME. It glided across the water, unfurling its 4 foot wingspan, and silently touched down on a log. Everyone was amazed.
Pretty impressive, eh?
Anyway, Isaac, Bianca and I have been paying close attention to our animal friends during our hikes and we have seen a bunch of different kinds of animals.
On our first day there we saw an Eastern Box Turtle.
Later we saw a Common Snapping Turtle. A few days later we saw a baby Snapper.
We also saw an Eastern Ribbon Snake.
We saw geese, ducks, and four beautiful swans.
We saw a rabbit.
We also saw a tiny, and I mean tiny, toad.
We saw a bunch of fish I can't identify.
We have seen about a million chipmunks, including a pair that chased each other for about twenty minutes while we watched.
We saw an Eastern Gray Squirrel with enough red that I thought it was a Red Squirrel, until I realized they are from Eurasia only.
Last week we saw something pretty amazing. It was a turtle, but unlike the Snapper and the Box Turtle this guy had a blazing red shell. Some internet research found that it was a Northern Red-Bellied Cooter. It was so distinctive that we couldn't forget what it looked like. Further research shows that the Cooter is Endangered in Massachusetts and once lived throughout central Mass, but now is confined entirely to Plymouth County. EXCEPT WE DON'T LIVE IN PLYMOUTH COUNTY! We live in Worcester County. Looks like a comeback, thanks to good preservation efforts in Massachusetts. How cool is it that Isaac saw one of those?
Finally, and most spectacularly (though the Cooter was pretty cool), we saw a Great Blue Heron. While not endangered or even rare, this was AWESOME. It glided across the water, unfurling its 4 foot wingspan, and silently touched down on a log. Everyone was amazed.
Pretty impressive, eh?