The New Jersey SOS team explores some seemingly deserted places. We seldom see another person hiking the same trails, and were definitely the only ones wading through salt marshes. When there is a pause, our footsteps slow, upon closer inspection these wild free places are teeming with life under the umbrella of Animalia. This post is a dump of the pictures of all the beautiful creatures that stood still long enough to snap a picture. Enjoy.

 

Terrapene carolina carolina

Eastern box turtle hiding in their shell. Found em munching down on some Opuntia humifusa fruit.

Danaus plexippus

Monarch caterpillar doing their thang, munching down on Aslepias syriaca

Uca tangeri

Fiddler crab dabbin on ya.

Argiope aurantia

Writing spiders were a common sight around wet tall grass prairie. Their striking colors and zigzag pattern made it easy to ovoid getting caught in their webs.

Pandion haliaetus

Majestic osprey soaring with a fish clasped in their talons.

I don’t know who this is, but dang. Keep rocking those primary colors dawg!

Notophthalmus viridescens

Red-spotted newts were crawling all over this mountain!

Ardea alba

The most widespread and elegant bird encountered on the coast, the great egret.

Tetraopes tetrophthalmus

Red milkweed beetles.

 

Odocoileus virginianus

White-tail deer inhabit all ecosystems in New Jersey. Here’s a doe posing on the beach.

Malaclemys terrapin

A diamondback terrapin mama laying her eggs! She covered the nest so well I couldn’t even tell where it was after she left.