SOFO

EXHIBIT FIELD GUIDE

Find Life in the Coastal Plain Pond

BE A NATURALIST! LOOK to OBSERVE life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND Life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND

LOOK for animals in the coastal plain pond.

American Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana

Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina

*Model Life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND

What is a Coastal Plain Pond?

A Coastal Plain Pond, GLACIER unlike a Vernal Pond, reaches down to the water table and does not completely dry up. Coastal ICE CHUNKS LEFT IN THE GROUND Plain Ponds, also known as kettle hole ponds, were formed after the last Ice Age when large chunks of ice, buried in the ground, melted and left deep KETTLE HOLE PONDS depressions.

�� SAG HARBOR COVE These ponds, which �� �� dominate The Long �� Pond Greenbelt, are ROUND POND globally rare. They LILY support a rich variety POND LONG of plants, some of which LITTLE

LONG POND POND thrive when the water

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D I R the water-table. B OAD D RAIL R SOFO MUSEUM and G ISLAN LON NATURE CENTER POXABOGUE COASTAL PLAIN PONDS, OR KETTLE HOLES, POND FOUND IN THE LONG POND GREENBELT. Life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND

Look for the water turtles. You can tell that the Common Snapping Turtle is a water turtle because of its webbed toes. They live most of their lives in Coastal Plain Ponds and are generally not aggressive in the water. COMMON SNAPPING TURTLE But because she cannot withdraw her head and limbs into her shell like other turtles, the female snapping turtle can be very aggressive when SNAPPING TURTLE EGGS she leaves the pond to find a place to lay her eggs. SNAPPING TURTLE Snapping is her only means of defense.BEAK Raccoons and other mammals often dig up snapping turtle eggs and eat them. SNAPPING TURTLE HEAD The Painted Turtle is also a water- dweller. It frequently comes to the surface of Coastal Plain Ponds, where you can see it basking on floating logs. Basking turtles get ultra-violet rays from the sun, which they need for PAINTED TURTLE healthy shell growth. You can tell the Painted Turtle from the snapping turtle by the red markings under the edges of its top shell and the red stripes on the legs. Life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND

Look for a large frog. The Bull Frog is the largest frog in North America. It got its name because its deep groaning call is said to sound like the bellowing of a bull. The webbing between the Bull Frog’s back toes helps it swim FEMALE BULL FROG rapidly. Both male and female Bull Frogs have circles behind the eyes called “tympani,” but the male’s tympanum is larger than the female’s and the vocal sack under his chin is yellow, while the female’s is white and MALE BULL FROG spotted.

What's unusual about the Stickleback fish? The Stickleback does not have scales. Instead it has narrow bony plates along its sides, which enhance its shiny appearance, STICKLEBACK FISH and spikes along its dorsal spine. The male Stickleback fish makes the nest, a small round depression in the sand. Here the female lays her eggs. Then the male fertilizes the eggs, chases away the female, and guards the nest and the young that hatch. Life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND

Look for plants in the pond.

The Fragrant Water Lily is the largest and showiest of Eastern Long Island water lilies. As its scientific name, Nymphaea odorato, says, it has a very strong fragrance. FRAGRANT WATER LILY Pickerel Weed has a fleshy stem, arrowhead shaped leaves, and a purplish-blue flowered spike made of individual flowers. PICKEREL WEED Plants at the edge of the Coastal Plain Pond.

The familiar Narrow-leaved Cattail often forms extensive stands in marshes. Its stems are topped by cylindrical heads of minute flowers.

NARROW-LEAVED CATTAIL Buttonbush is an apt name for this deciduous shrub, as the flower heads look like rounded buttons. BUTTONBUSH The fruits of the Sweet Pepperbush resemble peppercorns, but are sweet, not hot. The flowers are very aromatic and highly attractive SWEETPEPPER BUSH to bees and butterflies. Life in the COASTAL PLAIN POND

Who else lives at the pond edge?

The Muskrat is a large brown rodent with a flat, brown, hairless tail. Muskrats use marsh grasses to build cone-shaped houses in shallow water. MUSKRAT The Belted Kingfisher is a medium- sized blue-gray bird with a prominent crest and a large bill. This bird eats fish. It plunges into the water head-first to catch its prey. BELTED KINGFISHER The slender Eastern Ribbon Snake is distinguished by three bright yellow stripes against a dark body. It is semi-aquatic and often eats salamanders, frogs and small fishes as it moves in and out of the water. EASTERN RIBBON SNAKE