Pat's Wildways: Greenway “Treasure Hunt”

It’s that great time of year again! It’s time to get out of our air-conditioned homes and take a walk on the Ron Sapp Egans Creek Greenway. Now that the weather has cooled, the storms have passed, and the mosquitos are gone, it’s a perfect time to explore this natural area. And why not explore with a goal in mind? You can count the turtles and alligators for a “treasure hunt.”

The easiest entry point to the Greenway to maybe see turtles and alligators is to take a short walk in the south part of the Greenway, entering from Sadler Road behind the Residence Inn, where there is parking set aside for Greenway visitors. The initial part of the trail follows a fenced-off retention pond where gators are sometimes seen on the far bank. This is often a good first place to check if you are looking for alligators. And as a bonus, sometimes, on a sunny day, there are scores of turtles lined up on the far bankside, too.

A bit further along, the path stretches over a wooden walkway that gives great views of the swampy ground on both sides, but there are rarely any turtles or gators visible there since it is shady and not good for sunbathing. If you are still looking for turtles, though, there are more in store for you if you continue walking down the main path beyond the bridge and keep an eye on the canal beside you. And if you walk far enough, you will come to the fencing separating you from the resident gator, some call Momma Gator, who often relaxes on the other side of the fence.

To find Momma Gator’s territory with a shorter walk, enter the south end of the Greenway from Jasmine Street. The path follows along a canal that is loaded with turtles and alligators. Turtles are often seen sunbathing along the length of this canal. The turtles are easy to see when they are resting on a bank or a log, but often if one is not quiet, they jump into the water and disappear. The water surface these days is covered with native aquatic plants like duckweed and pennywort (which we call dollar weed when it is on our watered lawns) and sometimes turtles are resting on top of the vegetation with only part of their carapace showing. When they are in the water, it is often just their heads that peek above the surface, adding more scores to your turtle counts when you manage to see them.

The alligators are even more difficult to spot. On my recent midday walk on this side of the Greenway, I walked the length of this canal and didn’t see any gators on the way in, but found three on the way back. One gator was barely visible, but as I watched, it swam over to the bank and crawled out in dappled shade -- not such a good photo op, but definitely there. The other two were maybe four feet long, maybe siblings, hanging out together in duckweed-covered water.

Sometimes you can even see turtles and gators sharing the same sunny bank. Although alligators can eat turtles, when they are trying to warm in the sun neither is thinking predator/prey. As “cold-blooded” animals, they cannot produce their own body heat, and both need the sun’s warmth just to rev up their metabolism and get going again.

Recently I went on a short walk in the south Greenway from Jasmine Street to search for Momma Gator. Momma Gator has been hanging out for years in the same area and every year or so she has a bunch of babies gathered around or on her. Although I saw only her head, well hidden in the pond vegetation, there’s no telling if there were babies around there too. Some say Momma can be identified by a missing scute (horny scale) on her tail, but I couldn’t see that part of her. But this gator was definitely in her spot.

And her spot is well marked to make finding her easy. In years past she has often taken to the path to sunbathe, to the consternation of visitors and public officials. But the situation has been controlled to protect both the gator and passersby and a long drift fence has been installed to keep her off the trail. Momma Gator is no doubt there someplace, although she may be well hidden from sight.

Searching for turtles and alligators on the Greenway can be a treasure hunt for your visitors to highlight the wild side of Amelia Island. See how many you can spot. The time is right to explore!

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. [email protected]