Category Archives: Breaking news

Common Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are large turtles that can grow more than a foot long and weigh up to 35 pounds. Common snapping turtles have long tails and necks and rough shells. Snapping turtles are found throughout eastern North America including all of Georgia. In Trinity Lakes, the mud bottom ponds with lush aquatic vegetation are especially favorable. While snapping turtles are often thought of as aggressive predators, these turtles, in fact, are omnivores whose diet consists partly of plant matter. Snapping turtles spend most of their time underwater waiting for their next snack to float by. They are not aggressive animals, but like any wild animal, they will defend themselves if they feel threatened. The common snapping turtle is not protected and is considered locally abundant in Georgia. In some areas, it is harvested for food.

When sounds of their “honking” fill the air, hunters and wildlife enthusiasts look to the sky in search of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis). These remarkable birds have become more common in Georgia. Although Georgia has established a hunting season for Canada geese, these birds are a protected species under state and federal law and can only be hunted according to Georgia's migratory bird regulations. Canada geese fly in a distinctive V-shaped flight formation, with an altitude of more than 3,000 feet for migration flight. The front position is rotated since flying in front consumes the most energy. The maximum flight ceiling of Canada geese is unknown, but they have been reported as high as 29,000 feet. Each summer, in late June and early July, geese go through a molting process during which they lose their ability to fly until they grow new flight feathers. The lifespan in the wild of…

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Yellow-Bellied Slider Turtles (Trachemys scripta scripta) are among the most abundant of all basking turtles and native to Georgia. Any time the weather is mild and the sun is out, slider turtles rest on logs, stumps or rocks. Slider turtles are abundant in the ponds and streams of Trinity Lakes and can subsist on a vegetative diet, but are not normally able to capture healthy fish. Sliders can live more than 30 years in the wild. In Trinity Lakes, it’s common to see them sunbathing in a group or even on top of one another and, if you get too close, they’ll slide back into the water with a splash.