Friends of Murphys Point Park

This week’s #SpeciesOfTheWeek is the largest turtle species found in Ontario, the Common Snapping Turtle! This turtle was found creating her nest along the gravel/sandy sides of a road, a common nesting place for turtles. Unfortunately, road mortality is a significant contributor to the decline of a variety of turtle species. Did you know all 8 species of turtles in Ontario are federally recognized as species at risk? Unlike most turtle species, Snapping Turtles are not able to recede into their shells as they do not have a plastron, which makes them especially vulnerable to predators on land. As such, snapping turtles have developed a different protection mechanism of utilizing their strong jaws to snap. However, while they are swimming Snapping Turtles are generally very calm; they are a top predator in water bodies, so they do not feel vulnerable. In fact, seeing a snapping turtle in a water body is a good thing as they help improve the water quality of the water body they call home as they remove dead fish and frogs.

This week’s #SpeciesOfTheWeek is the Northern Watersnake! Sometimes mistaken for Gray Ratsnakes, watersnakes are common at Murphys Point Provincial Park. One way to tell them apart is their colouration – ratsnakes are black with beige or white blotches and a bright white chin, while watersnakes are brown, with faint reddish bands. They can often be found swimming in lakes and rivers, hanging out by the shores of wetlands, or sunning themselves on rocks and logs. We often spot them at the Black Creek Marsh on the Lally Trail (where this one was spotted), or under the bridge by McParlan House. They’re good hunters, preying on fish and amphibians near shore. In the winter, they hibernate underground in rock crevices or in muskrat and beaver lodges. They breed in the spring and unlike Gray Ratsnakes (which lay eggs), watersnakes give birth to live young! Have you seen any Northern Watersnakes this summer?