Young snapper, Henne

For a variety of reasons, I wasn't going to have a lot of walk time today, so, in the interest of efficiency—I try... I really do...—I headed over to the nearby Henne Preserve to do something fast and useful: check on the nestling status of the Osprey. The pair has clearly tried to nest, and the female seemed to be on eggs. But there was no sign of hatchlings last weekend, so maybe today... Maybe yes. With the scope, I counted, finally, three, but they were too weak to raise their heads above the rim of the nest long enough for a decent shot, so documentation will have to wait for next weekend. Another youngster—a fine-looking Snapping Turtle—made my record-keeping easier. I'm not good at aging reptiles, but this one is clearly not a newborn. Given its size, which is in the less-than-a-foot (snout to tail) range, and how big they can be, I'm guessing it's in the five-to-ten year range. It has plenty of growing to do, and I hope that it avoids cars, humans, and other predators, and under the watchful eyes of the Fish Hawks, prospers in the Henne wetlands.