reptiles

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By JL Neighborhood and Eagle nest report post all the rain! 6 photos
First Nest’s neighborhood in the aftermath of all the rain
 
That is mom Kate on the lower branch and dad Petruchio on the upper one of a tall pine at the edge of their cove.
As the surrounding areas have drained, Jordan Lake is doing what it was created to do: control flooding.
In September 1945 the Homestead hurricane came up the coast from Florida and flooded eastern North Carolina.
Cities on the Cape Fear River were severely impacted by flooding. The state of NC set out to control any future flooding. 
The Haw River and the New Hope River were dammed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Lake filled by 1983.
During rain events, as the lake fills with waters from further inland and the rains above, the lake spreads out and floods it’s shoreline.
Better the shoreline gets flooded and not the downstream cities and towns.
Once enough drainage has occurred east and south of us, the Army Corps will open the gates of the dam and begin letting the extra water out.

Coffee is grumpy! Nothing about the lake looks right to her at all, but both she and HC are within sight of their parents.

The red arrow is pointing at where I was standing, against the trunk of the tree, yesterday afternoon about 3:30 PM.  
As you can see the lake has traveled well in land (probably 30+ feet) – I took this photo today at about 9:30 AM.
BTW the mirror reflection makes my eyes cross when I look at it!
This tiny least sandpiper has walked down about 4 feet on one of the concrete ramps where he reached water.
Normally he would have had about 4 times that much walkway.
Notice all the debris that is already washing up against the ramp.
This pair of critters seem very happy for the extra living room…
How can there be a day at the lake without a squirrel stretched out at a full run past the top of one of the flooding ramps?!

By doc ellen and the queen snake

While out at the lake yesterday, a friend spotted a snake.
We soon had T. J. Hilliard there to identify the long thin snake that I am holding.
It is a queen snake Regina septemvittata.
It is nonvenomous, is a water snake, and a native species.
The queen snake has very specific living requirements.
It is only found where there are clean running streams and water sheds.
The presence of the queen snake can help us know that the condition of Jordan lake is great!
the photo is curtesy of T. J. Hilliard

TJ2_9017-2

By turtle rescue and release
My friend and I realized this turtle was not moving through the water.  It was tangled in fishing line, hooks and sinkers.
The turtle couldn’t break free from the tangled mess.
Taking some discarded fishing line, a couple of hooks I found in the trash along the shore line and some sinkers we also found, my friend made a “fishing rig”.
Then he quite expertly hand cast the line past the turtle and hauled the line in with the turtle snagged in his rig.
After wading ashore my friend and I worked the fishing lines off and removed the hooks and weights.
We sat the turtle down at the edge of the water and waited.
The turtle poked his head out and up.  The right front foot reached out and then the left front foot.  Soon followed by the hind feet and tail.
Realizing he was free the turtle scooted into the waves and was gone.  We were glad to see him go!  See the video below the photo for the turtle  release.
turtle rescue

By shiners and shadows

When the lake is still and the sunlight is just above the horizon
the clay that often occurs in the lakebed reflects and tints everything with a burnished brassy hue.
These shiners and their shadows clearly stood out as they slowly swam past the point.

WALK2129 May 29 2015 @ 10-43-41 New Hope Shiners shadows

By detail

WALK1008 Apr 22 2015 11-42-11 Haw River Water snake detail

detail of the keeled scales of a brown water snake
amber, gold, brown and bronze jewels
a marvelous sight this morning at the river