Canoeing Greenbo Lake State Park in Kentucky...with two little stinkpots...

Last weekend, Rick, Matty and I, my parents, and my brother, sister-in-law and niece headed southeast for an autumn adventure at Greenbo Lake State Park in Kentucky. Every year we take a fall trip together to relax, hike and create memories. I think we've been to just about every state park with a lodge in Kentucky now. Next year the kids go off to college (sniff), but we made a pact to keep our autumn adventures going. Wherever the kids end up, we are going to take one weekend every fall and go somewhere together. This year was another perfect trip. The weather was wonderful, the hiking fun, and lots of memories were added to the memory vault...

The kids canoeing on Greenbo Lake in Kentucky. The temps were crisp and the leaves were already showing gorgeous autumn color. Being in the woods with my family is my favorite thing! (Sprinkle in a few birds, and it's icing on the cake. A female Belted Kingfisher flew right in front of us and across the lake just minutes after I took this photo.)

(Rick's the perfect canoeing partner. He always picks up the slack when I pick up the camera instead of the paddle!) Hi Rick!

Greenbo Lake is amazingly clear! You can see fish at deep depths, and you can see all the way to the bottom at least 15-20 feet from the edge. Rick and I spent a lot of time just paddling around the edges looking at fish and seeing what was on the bottom. We even saw two Stinkpot turtles (Sternotherus Odoratus) swimming and walking around...

This little Stinkpot Turtle looks like she's in shallow water, but she's in water at least 8 feet deep. This photo shows just how clear Greenbo Lake is. I'm assuming this is a female stinkpot because of the short tail; males have longer tails. She was about 5-6 inches long and was covered in algae. 

Stinkpot Turtles are new for me. I'd never seen one in the wild. Stinkpots don't do a lot of basking in the sun on logs, so you usually only see them when they are moving around in the water, and water usually isn't this clear, so we were lucky to see them. The stinkpot's head is very large and triangular-shaped with an upward pointed snout that sort of resembles a snapping turtle, but it's clearly not a snapper because two noticeable yellow stripes run from the snout to the neck. The carapace is different too because it's smooth instead of spiky like a snapping turtle's. The yellow stripes on the head reminded me a bit of map turtles also, but the carapaces were too different. I was puzzled, so I sent the photos to turtle expert, Paul Krusling, who knew immediately what they were...stinkpots!   

Stinkpot turtles aren't fast swimmers. Their short little legs produce a swimming stride that could almost be described as "lumbering," but they do move along, and I was soon pleading, "don't swim away so fast, turtle. I can't ID you yet!!"

When we got home, I pulled out "Amphibians and Reptiles of Indiana," by Sherman Minton, and started reading about stinkpots, also called Common Musk turtles. Soon all the field marks started making sense. These turtles really are distinctive once you study them. A few more descriptive field marks made the ID obvious...an elongated carapace that is smooth and domed, webbing on the feet that goes all the way to the toenails, and weak swimming. They like slow-moving water with muddy bottoms, which definitely fits Greenbo. I also read Stinkpot turtles are nocturnal, so we were doubly lucky to spot them moving around on the lake's bottom in the afternoon! As the name implies, Stinkpots (or Common Musk) turtles get their nickname from their ability to secrete a stinky smelling defensive oil through their carapace when they are under duress.

Tall pines border a good part of the lake, and when you canoe close to the shore, that fragrant pine scent sweeps over you and causes you to linger. 

My parents, Joni and Jerry, taking a leisurely pontoon boat ride with Bill and Gail. 

Canoeing on Greenbo Lake in Kentucky from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.

A very short iPhone video of our autumn afternoon out on Greenbo Lake.

Canoe race on Greenbo Lake in Kentucky from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.

...another short iPhone video of canoeing on Greenbo Lake in Kentucky...this time, a short race.

If you live in Cincinnati or Mason, Greenbo Lake State Park is only about 2 hours and 45 minutes away and is a very easy drive. We enjoyed hiking on the deserted trails and basically had the lake to ourselves. We had a lot of fun, and the food in the lodge was good too (especially the cherry pie!).

A Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle (Apalone mutica mutica) from the Little Miami River

Up where I live, the Little Miami River is speckled with rocky beaches and is held captive by cliffs and towering hills of woods and dolomite outcroppings. Near its headwaters upstream, it flows through even steeper gorges carved out by glacial meltwater. The dolomite cliffs at Clifton Gorge in Yellow Springs are so steep they create a microclimate that allows hemlock trees and white cedars (boreal relics from seeds swept down and deposited by the Wisconsinan continental glacier 10,000-15,000 years ago) to thrive in the cooler, shaded forests of the gorges. Further down the river, near me, Fort Ancient is the largest ancient earthen hilltop enclosure in the world, perched on land that rises 240 feet above the river, and its narrow rocky and muddy corridor keeps the water moving along swiftly, but after the river flows past the stretch I walk and canoe or kayak, its banks and bottom slowly start to change until mile after mile, the gorges disappear and the land flattens out. As it flows through Cincinnati and nears its mouth at the Ohio river, the Little Miami widens and the banks and river bottom become more sandy, and sandbars can be found here and there too, moving and shifting each year with the rains and currents. This newer habitat creates an ideal playground for Midland Smooth Softshell turtles...

Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle (Apalone mutica mutica)

A male Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle rests in the sand along the Little Miami River at Armleder Park in Cincinnati. Here, where the river nears its confluence with the Ohio river, the river bottom and banks are sandy and support a population of smooth softshell turtles. Paul Krusling knows where the smooth softshells live in the Little Miami, so two weeks ago I met up with Paul and Joe at Armleder to photograph this guy.

Last summer, Rick and I kayaked and canoed the Little Miami river many times always hopeful we'd see a Midland Smooth sunning on a log, but we didn't. The habitat was not right. The rocky, muddy corridors and river bottoms do not appeal to the smooth softshells. Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles, however, love the parts of the Little Miami we paddled on, and we saw well over 30 turtles. There is just enough sand mixed in with the mud for them to thrive, but two weeks ago, I finally saw my first Midland Smooth Softshell in the Little Miami (up until then, all the smooth softshell turtles I photographed were from the Great Miami River, a much larger and sandier river). Paul and Joe were heading to Armleder Park, so I met up with them to photograph the Smoothy.

At first glance, the two softshell turtles look a lot a like. They are both flat like pancakes (and are sometimes commonly called pancake turtles) and have carapaces with no scutes--thus the "soft shell" (scutes are the armored, bony plates that make up a turtle's carapace--the upper shell.) You can also see the carapace bones through the soft shell of both species, but when you look closely, differences emerge and are easily recognizable.

Midland Smooth Softshells (Apalone mutica mutica) have an apricot or peach-colored stripe that runs from the nose, through the eye, and down the neck. Eastern Spiny Softshells (Aplone spinifera spinifera) have a yellowish stripe. I was surprised at how "peach" mutica's stripe really was!

...another color to look for...blue! If you turn a Midland Smooth Softshell turtle's foot over, you'll find a blue pad. It's quite a surprise!! Here Paul held the turtle upside down so I could snap off a quick shot. The brave turtle didn't seem to mind.

...and talking about feet. Look at that webbing! Apalone mutica mutica is a very fast swimmer--the fastest swimming turtle in our area. Of course, the Spiny softshell has webbed feet too, but not quite as extensive. The Spiny Softshell turtle can bite and is more aggressive than this Smooth Softshell turtle. Maybe being just a little faster in the water makes up for the more passive nature of the Smooth Softshell turtle, which doesn't bite. Another noticeable difference...Smoothys have less noticeable markings on their legs.

A very visible difference between the two species relates to their namesakes! As you can see here, the Smooth Softshell turtle has no spines or ridges at the edge of the carapace. It's smooth! The Spiny Softshell turtle has spines and bumps (click here to see the spines of a Spiny).

...and last but not least, the carapace pattern visible on males and young Midland Smooth Softshell turtles is much different than the pattern that shows on Spiney Softshells (click here for the Spiney Softshell carapace pattern of dark circles called ocelli). Smooth Softshells have dots and dashes. This is an older male Smooth Softshell so his pattern is a bit faded (click here to see a very visible pattern on a baby Smoothy). The females of both species develop a similar pattern. Sherman Minton, Jr. in "Amphibians & Reptiles of Indiana" refers to the pattern as "lichenoid," which perfectly describes the blotchy, lichen-like look (click here to see a female softshell turtle's carapace pattern).

I have more photos of this fellow and a video of him swimming away in the water too. I'll work on getting them posted soon.

Baby Midland Smooth Softshell Turtles bury themselves in the sand, finishing with a shimmy...

…along the banks of the Great Miami River herpetologist Paul Krusling found several baby Midland Smooth Softshell turtles (Apalone mutica mutica). I videoed them burying themselves in the sand, capturing the little "shimmy" they perform when they are finished digging. When they decide it's time to go underground, they move fast...

Baby Midland Smooth Softshell turtles bury themselves in the sand. You can identify these as Midland Smooth Softshells (Apalone mutica mutica) by the dot and dash pattern that shows in the carapace.

For photos of Apalone mutica click here.

An Eastern Box Turtle among a flurry of autumn leaves...

Thursday afternoon found me along the Little Miami Bike Trail. Trees were dripping with water from an earlier shower, and the pavement was wet. Each gust of wind that raced through the branches brought down a flurry of golden-colored leaves, and the crisp energy of Autumn danced everywhere...

Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina

Amid the tumult and excitement of our first "autumn-y" day, this male boxer lumbered across the paved bike trail oblivious to the dangers around him. When I spotted him I said, "Hurry up little guy. A biker isn't going to see you hidden in these leaves!" I barely saw him, and I was walking slowly, limping along with my flat-tire of an ankle. He was partially obscured by one of the recent leaf flurries, and although he seemed to feel secure, he was a disaster in the making--for himself and any biker who ran over him!

When I picked him up and moved him to the woods on the other side of the trail, he pulled back into his shell and partially closed his hinged plastron (lower shell). This defensive move is how he got his name. A simple "Boo!" on my part would probably have been enough to make him completely draw up the hinged parts of his plastron and securely "box" himself in.

...leaves scattered across the Little Miami Bike trail blended with the boxer's shell and hid him from view.

The carapace (upper shell) of an Eastern Box Turtle exhibits classic camouflage patterns...cryptic (invisibility by blending in), disruptive razzle-dazzle (eye-catching colors that confuse size, shape and number of objects in a group), and even countershading (lighter colors that appear in normally darker areas and vice-versa, distorting depth perception). Click here for a Wikipedia entry on the theory of camouflage.

...stay safe boxer man!

Scripta elegans...

Scripta elegans is the species and subspecies name of the Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). You don't need to speak Latin to get the gist of those two words...elegant markings, but I looked it up in Matty's Latin dictionary just to make sure, and for good measure I also checked "Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America," by Ellin Beltz, here. Scripta is Latin for "written or marked" and probably refers to the beautiful markings on the carapace (shell). Elegans is Latin for "elegant" and probably refers to the lovely and colorful red stripe that runs behind the eye. This little turtle's name says it all...

Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Although T. script elegans is the most common species of turtle introduced into nonindigenous ponds and rivers (due to pet releases worldwide since the 1930s), this little turtle was found near the mouth of the Great Miami River and is therefore probably part of an indigenous population (click here for the USGS map showing their native range). Do you remember the 60's children's book, "Let's Get Turtles," by Millicent Selsam. I had that book, and if I remember correctly Red-eared Sliders were the stars (but that's just a guess, I need to find a copy and check it out). We didn't keep a pet turtle, but lots of friends did. I wonder how many of those "dime store" pets ended up in local ponds when they outgrew their little round glass aquariums?

Here in the southern-most part of south-western Ohio, we are lucky because we also have a small native population of "yellow" Red-eared Sliders. I learned about the yellow form on a canoe trip while photographing turtles with Paul Krusling, a local herp specialist and turtle lover who has studied them since the 80s. Probably descended from an ancient population, the yellow form can be found near Shawnee Lookout Park and around the Oxbow area. I haven't seen one yet, but hope to. My best bet is probably at the Oxbow. Thank goodness a small group of nature lovers stepped up years ago and saved the wetland. With the yellow form, a bright yellow or cream stripe replaces the dominant orange or red stripe.

The "elegance" of T. scripta elegans is probably part of the reason the species has spread far and wide. Who can resist the charm of a beautiful little turtle with a bright red stripe on its face? To add to its appeal, when the turtles are babies they are bright green, making them even cuter. I clearly remember seeing mobs of the tiny little turtles in dime store aquariums and pet shops when I was a kid in the 60s. They were always a temptation. I guess beauty really can be a curse...

...see ya later, T. scripta elegans--you little cutie with your elegant markings!

Baby Snapping Turtle--an armor-plated cutie!

Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentine) are often thought of as aggressive and cantankerous biters, but this little fellow is nothing but a cutie...

...even though this little armor-plated turtle is going to grow up to be a fierce Snapping Turtle, he really is a CUTIE now. Just like the softshell turtles in this post, Snapping Turtles cannot pull back into their shells for protection, so to survive predatory attacks, they have to be fierce, quick in the water, and be able to inflict significant damage with a bite.

Snapping Turtles can smell decomposition in the water and will eat dead fish and rotting plants (like vultures of the water!). Because Snapping Turtles include carrion in their diets, they really help us out by keeping the stagnant ponds and slow moving rivers they live in clean. It's even reported that Snapping Turtles have such a strong sense of smell they have been used by the police to find drowning victims in ponds and rivers (source: Manitoba Herps Atlas). I wonder if that is really true. I should call the police and ask them because I can't picture a Snapping Turtle tethered on a leash...

...although fighters on land, in the water most Snapping Turtles are shy and will simply dive under or head the other way if they encounter a human.

...still coated in mud from where he was buried, this baby Snapping Turtle clearly shows that he cannot pull his head into his small carapace (shell). Like the softshell turtles in this post, Snapping Turtles also have a very small plastron (under shell); however, being fast swimmers with aggressive personalities more than makes up for their inability to lock themselves up in a shell for protection.

Snapping Turtles have three prominent dorsal keels (ridges) on their carapaces. The keels are more pronounced on young Snappers like this one and tend to fade or smooth out as the turtles grow--and they can really grow! Snapping turtles are the largest turtles in Ohio (source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources).

Snapping Turtles also have the longest tails of all the turtles, and their tails are scuted (meaning they have bony protective plates). You can see just how long a Snapper's tail is here...its nearly as long as the carapace. As this baby gets older and his shell grows, the tail won't look quite as long, but it will still be impressive. As Snappers get older, their scuted tails become more serrated and the three rows of spikes become more prominent. (Source: "How to Tell How Old a Snapping Turtle Is")

In the above photo, see how this Snapper's tail drags in in the mud as he walks into the water? This is a good sign to look for when trying to find turtles. They leave footprints and tail prints behind just like any other animal. If you study the sand or mud along a pond, lake or river, you probably will start to notice these little tracks. I have lots of photos of turtle tracks. They are really fun. I'm going to put a little post together on them soon...

(We found this little fellow in a small pond near the Great Miami River on July 10, 2011.)

Northern Map Turtles on the Little Miami River

Rick and I saw a lot of Northern Map Turtles along the Little Miami River while canoeing last week. They were a little more wary than the Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles from this post, but they still did a fair amount of posing for the camera...

...a female Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica) lounges on a log in the Little Miami River. A cloud had just passed in front of the sun, and she seemed a bit miffed, wondering "Where's the sun?"

...look at the size and shape of that noggin! Female Northern Map Turtles have much wider heads than males. As a result, females have a slightly different diet. The larger crushing surface of their jaws allows them to eat larger molluscs. They also eat crayfish and insects. Males eat smaller molluscs and insects. Another difference between males and females--females have smaller tails. In this photo we can see a small tail and a broad head...must be a female!

...a green-haired sea monster!

...or maybe just a male Northern Map turtle who has been busy accumulating moss.

Notice the yellow triangle behind his eye? That is a distinguishing mark for the Northern Map Turtle. It can be triangular, oval or even heart-shaped. Another Map Turtle, the Ouachita Map Turtle (Graptemys ouachitensis), has a more rectangular or crescent-shaped yellow mark, and the False Map Turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica) has a much thinner mark.

...a young Northern Map Turtle still shows a clearly defined dorsal keel. This little guy allowed us to come in pretty close before plopping into the water.

...and talking about plopping, Northern Map Turtles are wary little beasts. This is the usual view of them...the big plop into the water. I was lucky to capture her mid-splash here. Usually I just capture the splash...

For more information on Northern Map Turtles, click here.

Now that's a spiny softshell...

Rick and I ducked out of work a little early yesterday to go canoeing...and turtle hunting! The Wednesday before we canoed the Little Miami River and saw dozens of turtles, but I didn't have my camera with me. This time, I brought my camera...

Look at the spikes on that leathery-soft shell...they really put the "spine" in spiny!

It's easy to identify this Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera spinifera) because her spines are incredibly obvious. Her smarmy little "smile" made me laugh, and I could see a word bubble over her head with "you like those, babe?" printed in it.

We rented our canoe from Morgan's Canoe Rentals and set off from Fort Ancient. We did the 6-mile run, going as far as Morrow. It's the fourth time I've been on the Little Miami this summer--two other times with Rick and once kayaking by myself. Birdwatching and turtle watching from the water is incredible. I know I'll be in the market for a canoe or kayak one of these days. Yesterday we saw a Spotted Sandpiper fly right past us and land on the rocks bankside. I was amazed. It was the first time I had seen a Spotted Sandpiper go bob-bob-bobbing along on my favorite river, and it made me happy! I doubt I would have seen the bird from the trail. Being able to drift down the river silently and at the low angle offers a new perspective on birding...and is the only way to turtle watch.

...this spiny softshell is easy to identify too. You can see the little spines sticking up from the front of the carapace...and the feet are heavily marked with yellow and black spots and streaking.

...sacked out in the mud (and still sporting a clump of sand on her back from being buried earlier), Mrs. Spiny watches us slowly drift by. I love the posture she's in because it reminds me of a crocodile with her head and eye nearly hidden in the mud. (Her little friend resting on her back seems to like the posture too!)

...I see your little spines, Spiny! ...and your distinctive ridged nose...not to mention the yellow and black spots on your legs and feet...and the two lines behind your eye...

Rick and I were hoping to find a Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle (Apalone mutica mutica) yesterday. They are documented on the Great Miami River, and they've been spotted on the Little Miami too, but from a distance it's hard for me to tell them apart. When I first saw this big softshell I didn't see any spines, and the coloring looked different. I was hoping, hoping, hoping we had a Midland Smooth, but on closer inspection, I could see the heavily spotted feet characteristic of the spiny softshells (smooth softshell turtles' feet are not heavily spotted or streaked). Even the ocelli (dark spots) of a spiny softshell are visible if you look carefully. I really want to find a Midland Smooth Softshell so I can compare it with an Eastern Spiny Softshell.

...definitely an Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle.

...here you can see the distinctive soft white plastron (bottom shell) of a softshell turtle. You can also see just how pliable and leathery a softshell turtle's carapace is by the way it drapes over the log.

...this one made me chuckle...looks like she's testing the temp of the water!

I can't wait until the next time we get to go out on the river! For an earlier post on spiny soft shells from the Great Miami River, click here.

Since this post, I was able to photograph Midland Smooth Softshell turtles, click here for photos.

Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles in the Great Miami River

Being a birdy kind of girl, when I'm out hiking, I'm usually looking for birds. I listen for small chips, chirps, seeps and other birdy sounds often staring into the treetops, the bushes...or on the forest floor searching them out. Over the years, I've added wildflowers, insects, and snakes, into the mix, but other than box turtles, red-eared sliders, and snapping turtles, I was oblivious to the variety of turtles living in the ponds and rivers of our area, but now that Rick and I have started canoeing, a whole new world has opened up...

Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera spinifera)

...would you guess this little trumpet-nosed creature conceivably masquerading as a character out of a Dr. Seuss book lives in our local rivers? He does...

His carapace (shell) is leather-soft and as pliable as rubber. Males retain the dark circles (ocelli) on their shells, but females loose the defined pattern and the circles turn into drab splotches.

The Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle gets its name from the small, conical bumps or "spines" (tubercles) that protrude from the front of the carapace.

Spiny Softshell Turtles may look cute and adorable, but watch out!

I don't think he's as vicious as a honey badger, but he's as aggressive as a snapping turtle and can also bite (not with teeth, but with razor-sharp edges to his jaw). He's also a very strong swimmer, which offers him a degree of protection from predators and helps make up for his carapace's lack of bony plates (scutes).

The adult male's carapace feels like sandpaper, but the female's is smooth. Young Spiny Softshell Turtles resemble males in color and pattern, but their shells are smooth for the first couple of years.

...another unique ability of a softshell turtle is its ability to "breath" underwater. How? The turtle can exchange gases through its skin by pumping water in and out of its mouth and pharynx where surface blood vessels pick up oxygen from the water and expel carbon dioxide. They can stay underwater for up to five hours, but usually remain submerged for only twenty minutes.

Sources:

Ohio Department of Natural Resources - "Ohio's Reptiles" (a free guide from the ODNR Division of Wildflife)

HerpNet - Iowa Reptiles and Amphibians

These photos are from July 7, 2011 while I was canning the Great Miami River with Paul Krusling (click here for a post about Paul). Yesterday, Rick and I canoed the Little Miami River, and we spotted over 12 Eastern Spiny Softshell turtles! They were everywhere and we got so close to them. I'm about 95% positive we also saw a Midland Smooth Softshell Turtle. We were about 10 feet from it and could seen none of the spiny tubercles that identify the Spiny Smoothshell. I didn't bring my camera, but I've created a few sketches, and am going to work up a painting or two...

For a post on spiny softshell turtles on the Little Miami River, click here.

To compare this Eastern Spiny Softshell turtle with a Midland Smooth Softshell turtle, click here.