The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Turtles and frogs found in the bogs
More than 70 people made their way to the Great Swamp to learn from experts about the kind of things that live there.
CANASTOTA, N.Y. >> More than 70 people of all ages made their way out to the Great Swamp Conservancy to learn about turtles and frogs in the bogs.
“I expected this event to be good with a lot of interested people, but I didn’t expect this kind of turn out,” said GSC intern Talon Abrams, a SUNYMorrisville senior. “Not many people know about frogs and turtles and we saw this as a unique opportunity for the public to learn as well as experience science first hand.”
The “Turtles and Frogs in the Bog” program at the Great Swamp Conservancy on Tuesday, July 9, featured Eric Difenbacher, a professor of herpetology at SUNYMorrisville. He and Abrams held a lecture first, going over common facts and misconceptions about frogs and turtles. But a trip to the Great Swamp isn’t complete without a trip into the wetland itself, so traps were set up the night before to give people a firsthand look at just what called the Great Swamp home.
Abrams said Difenbacher, his former professor, pulled the traps up and showed off what was inside to “discuss neat facts and teach how to identify the animal.”
“From these traps, we caught a large green frog, green frog tadpoles and a very large bullfrog,” Abrams said. “I helped Diefenbacher pull the traps and release any organisms that were within them while he taught about the animal’s ecology, calls and more. The crowd was amazed by this.”
But those were just the frog traps. Abrams said two turtle traps were set up as well, baited with sardines. The first trap pulled up held a small painted turtle, Abrams said, which Diefenbacher identified as male due to its size and longer claws.
At the end of the event, Abrams said he and Diefenbacher answered any and all questions the people had.
Abrams said he was happy to have this unique opportunity to teach the public and hoped to have more programs like this at the Great Swamp Conservancy in the future.