Saturday, June 2, 2012
Black-bellied Plover
On our last trip down to the St. Marks Refuge, it began to rain off and on. But it was not hard to spot this lone wading bird that was larger than its puddle-mates.
I had to do a little searching to find that it is a Black-bellied Plover. It is possible that this is a female. Males have much more contrast in their feather colors or it could just be its seasonal look. Still, its color pattern was quite striking.
S - I noticed a while back that B was using rubber gloves to handle the box turtle in your yard. We get turtles often, and I like to move them to the woods so that our dogs don't torture them -- our Higbee likes to flip them up in the air and although it was funny the first time, I'm certain the turtles don't think it's all that humorous. I usually just pick them up and move them -- am I hurting them at all or am I hurting me by not wearing gloves? Sending you good thoughts always.
ReplyDeleteTurtles and tortoises sometimes have sharp claws and some can bite painfully and you don't want to be punctured but we think more in terms of the salmonella and leeches that they can carry. I also would not be surprised if they do not carry the liver flukes that snails carry. What I tell my students is that they have their germs and we have ours and it is better just to look and not touch so that we do not make each other sick.
ReplyDeleteAlso musk turtles are notorious for giving off a disgusting slime as their defense.