Yesterday I heard three Chorus Frogs calling from a half-frozen marsh. Today I watched a female Midland Painted Turtle basking and also a Red-Eared Slider floating in a lake that just cleared of ice last week. Temps in the upper 50s under a sunny sky.
If the weather holds, I plan to check a Blanding's Turtle pond near where I live to see if any of those are up yet. Midland Painted Turtles are North America's most cold-tolerant reptile, with adults occasionally observed while they are moving around in a lake under skin ice in early spring. Today's sightings are the earliest I've seen herps around here, but it's only my third spring in the Mitten. Can Blue Racers be far behind?
