I got to the park around my usual weekend time this Saturday morning. My last couple of visits have been somewhat boring, resulting in only 15-20 photos per visits.
I was expecting more of the same today but could not have been more wrong. In the end I took 72 photos in one visit and saw some great things that won't even make this post; including a Bald Eagle, flowers and lots of other birds. To start off, I spotted a Doe up ahead of me on the south side wood chip trail. She was curious and stood still for lots of great closeups before a fawn came out to join in. The fawn was obviously a bit older with barely a hint of white spots on it's hind quarters. I looked for a second fawn but never saw one.
Then on the north side I spotted another Doe busily munching away. She only looked up at me a couple of times but all the while was eating her fill of green leaves. A short while later I came up to the northeast side where I'm now pretty much expecting to see fawns laying in the thin brush just outside the trail. Sure enough all three where there again, two fawns and the mother just lounging in the sun. I was pretty sure before that there are in fact
two sets of fawns in the park this year, and now I'm positive of it.
These two were obviously smaller in size and with tons of white spots trailing down from behind their ears, across their back and sides. This one was very close to the path and sitting among all these tiny white flowers making for a good photo. Later on the south side I took a different trail to avoid the standing water that's been on the normal trail due to recent rains. I noticed a guy and girl with some pretty fancy camera equipment out near the edge of the ball fields. He was pointing his camera upwards and I was trying to find out what he was taking photos of.
I scanned the sky without seeing anything but then noticed something out in the corner of the ball field. I was so far away I thought it was a woodchuck so I zoomed in as far as I could with my camera in order to see. Then I knew it had to be a HUGE Snapping Turtle! I went over and talked to the couple to ask if they were taking pictures of the turtle and he said "What Turtle?"
We all headed in that direction and sat down, taking some incredibly close photos of the biggest Snapper I've ever come across. His shell alone was about 2' long. He let us get very close -as close as I'd dare anyway. After a while he poked his head out quite a ways making him look even bigger. I really wanted to see him get up and walk but he never moved anything but his head.
I was a bit worried about how obvious of a place he picked to catch some rays. I sure hoped no one would bother him the rest of the day. There was a small pond about 50 feet away so maybe that's where he came from -and might go back to later. Near the end of my walk I spotted a late season Monarch and snapped just this one photo -and a decent one- before it flew off towards Mexico for the winter.
I was expecting more of the same today but could not have been more wrong. In the end I took 72 photos in one visit and saw some great things that won't even make this post; including a Bald Eagle, flowers and lots of other birds. To start off, I spotted a Doe up ahead of me on the south side wood chip trail. She was curious and stood still for lots of great closeups before a fawn came out to join in. The fawn was obviously a bit older with barely a hint of white spots on it's hind quarters. I looked for a second fawn but never saw one. 
Then on the north side I spotted another Doe busily munching away. She only looked up at me a couple of times but all the while was eating her fill of green leaves. A short while later I came up to the northeast side where I'm now pretty much expecting to see fawns laying in the thin brush just outside the trail. Sure enough all three where there again, two fawns and the mother just lounging in the sun. I was pretty sure before that there are in fact two sets of fawns in the park this year, and now I'm positive of it. 
These two were obviously smaller in size and with tons of white spots trailing down from behind their ears, across their back and sides. This one was very close to the path and sitting among all these tiny white flowers making for a good photo. Later on the south side I took a different trail to avoid the standing water that's been on the normal trail due to recent rains. I noticed a guy and girl with some pretty fancy camera equipment out near the edge of the ball fields. He was pointing his camera upwards and I was trying to find out what he was taking photos of. 
I scanned the sky without seeing anything but then noticed something out in the corner of the ball field. I was so far away I thought it was a woodchuck so I zoomed in as far as I could with my camera in order to see. Then I knew it had to be a HUGE Snapping Turtle! I went over and talked to the couple to ask if they were taking pictures of the turtle and he said "What Turtle?" 
We all headed in that direction and sat down, taking some incredibly close photos of the biggest Snapper I've ever come across. His shell alone was about 2' long. He let us get very close -as close as I'd dare anyway. After a while he poked his head out quite a ways making him look even bigger. I really wanted to see him get up and walk but he never moved anything but his head. 
I was a bit worried about how obvious of a place he picked to catch some rays. I sure hoped no one would bother him the rest of the day. There was a small pond about 50 feet away so maybe that's where he came from -and might go back to later. Near the end of my walk I spotted a late season Monarch and snapped just this one photo -and a decent one- before it flew off towards Mexico for the winter.
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