Spotted turtle question

[icex19]

Hey fellow herpers :cool: ,

I was just wondering where one would find spotted turtles in the toronto area, and any place 3-4 hours away, like a provincial park, or any other area. Apparently we have them here, but i've yet to see one. I was thinking they may have them at Rondeau provincial park, but I'm not sure.

Also, where do you guys usually find turtles? I go to local marshes :) But only see lots of painteds, and some snappers. Anyone seen stinkpots or wood turtles?:confused:

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. It's always interesting to find out where some cool local turtles are :)

Thanks,

Peter :D

[Orryll]

Spotted Turtles and Wood Turtles are on the Endangered species list. They are VERY hard to find. I know that they are in Algonquin Provincial Park. I have found a couple of each but that was a while ago. There are spots around peterbough where ther are blandings turtles I have seen a few of those here.

[icex19]

Wow, Blandings. That's really cool, then maybe they'll have Blandings in Durham too, who knows? :)

I'm aware that Spotteds and woods are hard to find, unfortunately :( , but I enjoy the challenge of searching through the habitat :)

Thanks for the heads up :cool:

[Orryll]

Same here, I met a guy that goes camping up in Algonquin a lot mostly in Lake of Two Rivers campground. he saw a dozen spotted turtles right by the shore near where the boats lanch. But that was awhile ago. Aye Blandings are cool, they get big! one was spotted dead on the side of the road. back in 1984, thats the only official sighting. a pair of spotteds was spotted near Mew lake in 1974, that was the last official sighting that was reported to the rangers. If only my friend who saw the spotteds told the rangers

[Jeff Hathaway]

Orryll,

Having met many people in Ontario who have misidentified herps, and knowing that there are few places in the province where one could find a dozen spotteds in a whole day, and that they don't bask conspicuously on logs all that frequently, especially at times of year when people would be camping in Algonquin, I would have to think that your friend was mistaken. Spotteds are actually quite rare in Algonquin, as are most other herps. The climate is quite cold there due to the distance from the great lakes and the higher elevation (they don't call it the Algonquin dome for nothing). You probably have better odds of seeing a spotted turtle just about anywhere else in southern Ontario, outside of the GTA.

icex19- Blanding's are occasionally seen in the marshes along the shores of Lake Ontario. You might want to check out some of the marshes in your area around the middle of May.

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[Orryll]

I am not talking about this time of year, Jeff this was a few years ago( the past) in the middle of summer and in the middle of the day. I did not say they were basking. and I do know they are rare, hence why I said that! I have been going camping in Algonquin park since I was 5 months old. No weather my friend saw a dozen or not, I guess we shall never know.

[icex19]

Orryll, that does seem quite unlikely indeed..but you never know...

I'm definately going to go check out some of the marshlands around lake ontario from spring-the end of summer. There are two huge marshlands in my area. One in Whitby (Lynde shores), and one in Oshawa (Unsure of the name, but it's right beside Darlington) , and I'll just use a small rubber dingy to get around in there.

[icex19]

Btw, I saw a dead adult painted beside darlington a while back. It wasn't fully grown, and it was in the water. Quite strange...no lacerations anywhere either :(

[icex19]

I read a sign at the toronto zoo saying there's eastern spiny softshells around lake ontario...but I find that hard to believe

[Jeff Hathaway]

icex19- the one near Oshawa is Second Marsh, I believe. Eastern spiny softshells used to be found in Lake Ontario and its rivers. In the 1800s they were harvested as food from the Humber. Currently, there appear to be very low numbers present in Hamilton harbour/ Cootes Paradise.

As for spotteds, the only time you are likely to see them conspicuously is in the early spring. By midsummer they are usually estivating, and are very rarely seen. The NHIC map shows only two pre-1984 sightings in the Algonquin area.

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[Orryll]

aye

[icex19]

Yes, i'm pretty sure that it's second marsh that i'm talking about. Hopefully I can find something there. I'm just tired of only finding snappers and eastern painteds, you know? Thanks guys, I'm going to go all out with herping in the early spring, and throughout the summer.

I'd also like to point out a couple of the great things about this forum...1- The people, and their willingness to help, and 2- Alot of people from Ontario, so we can share local info :D

Thanks again :)