Search for the Painted Turtle: Part III

After two failed searches for the painted turtle north of Courtenay, I decided to move farther south. A local wildlife photographer showed me a picture a friend of his took of several painted turtles near Port Alberni. My Dad and I decided to turn it into a camping trip. We spent nights at Stamp River Provincial Park and days around Turtle Lake and proximal bodies of water. Male Pachydiplax longipennis. Turtle Lake, near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. July 31, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200, 5.4mm, 0EV, f/5.6, 1/400.

The dragonfly diversity at turtle lake was great. This is a male blue dasher. Unfortunately, the closest wing (out of focus) was broken. I literally posed him for this photo. Male Pachydiplax longipennis. Turtle Lake, near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. July 31, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200, 5.4mm, 0EV, f/5.6, 1/640.

A Crimson-winged whiteface. The females are yellow. Male Leucorrhinia glacialis. Turtle Lake, near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. July 31, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200, 5.4mm, 0 EV, f/2.8, 1/25.

Once again, I think we have another hybrid here. If you've read my other posts, that seems to happen quite often. The brown tint seems to indicate that this guy is the progeny of both common and northwestern garter snake parents but it might just be an allusion because the roads are very dusty around the slough and he is probably due for another shed soon. Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii. Slough near Turtle Lake, near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. August 1, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200, 5.4mm, 0 EV, f/2.8, 1/80.

Bladderworts are nifty plants. This is just the flower, protruding above the surface of the water, but, beneath the layers of watershield, this is a filamentous aquatic plant. They are called bladderworts because, along the aquatic stems, there are a number of little watertight bladders. They are lined with tiny, sensitive hairs that, when triggered by the movement of some unfortunate insect larvae, spring the bladder open, causing a sudden inflow of water. It sucks the insect right in and promptly seals off the escape. The bug decays and is digested. Yes, the bladderwort is a carnivore. In a strange twist of irony, this one is infested with aphids, feeding on the plant's stem. Utricularia vulgaris flowers with Brasenia schreberi leaves behind. Slough near Turtle Lake, near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. August 1, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 200, 5.4mm, 0 EV, f/2.8, 1/640.

In conclusion, we did find the turtle. It was a mile away at the backside of the slough. No pictures. When it saw us looking in its general direction, it slipped away. I certainly wasn't satisfied with this "success." We were sunburnt and hot; it had been over 30 degrees Celsius every day of the trip. We did swim in the cool Stamp River evenings, but it was little consolation. I kept the elusive painted turtle in the back of my mind for another two years. My Dad and I tried a Victoria trip in search of turtles but without any luck. The locals told us that they used to live in the lakes, but since the invasive water mill foil and bullfrog choked out every other living thing in the lakes and houses line every shoreline, the turtles not only had nowhere to swim or breed, they were being replaced. I gave up on finding the elusive painted turtle. On a work trip with Crossland Sheds, I finally caught my first western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) at Swan Lake in inner city Victoria (Saanich). It was fitted with a radio transmitter and out of the water--an easy catch. It was clearly a female, looking for a place to lay eggs, so I let her go promptly. The transmitter means that there are researchers studying the turtles in Victoria, which is good. But there future is far from certain. Every viable egg laying site at the lakes I visited had been developed. It's not surprising that the single wild turtle I did see at Port Alberni was a large, old female. There is no next generation for the western painted turtle. It has faded out of sight and out of mind for locals on Vancouver Island and, a turtle that once had a range as far north as Campbell River, is now isolated in a single, heavily monitored population in inner city Victoria. I'm sorry to say, my search for the painted turtle doesn't have a happy ending. The picture above is my father, ever the epitome of outdoorsman-ship. Slough near Turtle Lake, near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. August 1, 2009. Canon PowerShot A430. ISO 0, 5.4mm, 0 EV, f/5.6, 1/400.