The baby Terrapin turtles are hatching along the beaches and trails at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. You can see the nests which have been marked in the photograph below with a cage to keep predators out. The blue tape lets the staff know that the incubation period is right around that time.
Staff at the sanctuary make 2 trips a day out to all of the nests to see if there are any hatchlings. The baby Terrapins cannot survive by themselves in the first hours of their life due to many factors which include ants, maggots and dehydration from the sun.
After they have absorbed their yolk and regained their energy back at the sanctuary, they are then set free out by their nest. They do not need to eat for quite a while. They never seen their mothers again and will spend most of their life in the water.
The story of the Terrapin turtle is quite fascinating and so interesting to learn about!
If you want to see Monarch butterflies, go to the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod. They are are abundant and gorgeous.
There is a garden right outside the Visitor’s Center when they love feeding on the Butterfly plants. What a treat! I hadn’t seen too many of them yet this year.
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is a great place to bring the whole family. There is so much to do for everyone!
We were hiking along the Silver Spring Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod when we saw a little movement in the trees down by the water. After watching for a while, we saw this beautiful Green Heron perch on the branch overlooking the water.
Gorgeous bird, don’t you think? I love the lighting on him.
I got so many cool photographs of this Painted Lady butterfly at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary last weekend. He just flitted from flower to flower while I clicked away. I got so many different angles.
This is my first one. What do you think?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a butterfly this close up. Have you?
I kept hearing this Bullfrog in the water by Silver Spring Trail, but I couldn’t see where it was until I used my binoculars and saw him amongst the Lily Pads. With his camouflage coloring, he was quite hidden in there.
This Bullfrog is about 4 and 3/4 ” and the female lays up to 20,000 eggs. Yikes! That is a lot of eggs!! It takes 1-3 years for the tadpoles to develop into adults. Interesting…
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
