Backyard Nature: Close encounters of the toad (and deer and turtle) kind

by Marlene Berlin

Thanks to our proximity to Rock Creek Park, we see a lot of wildlife in the neighborhood. And thanks to their proximity to humans, some wildlife isn’t exactly wild.

Some deer don’t even flinch when you walk right up to them. Often they just stare. But even by that standard, this midday deer encounter in late June was out of the ordinary.

First a fawn, then Mom, and then another fawn crossed from the Soapstone Park side of Albemarle Street to the lawn of the house next to the former Polish ambassador’s residence at 3101 Albemarle.

Docile deer on Albemarle Street. (photos by Marlene Berlin)

A car stopped and honked for the second fawn ambling across the roadway. It had no effect. Once they were all together, they munched and patiently posed for photos.

My critter encounters have continued this month. On July 10th I went on an evening stroll to Broad Branch Stream. My goal was to listen for frogs (the result of a “FrogWatch” workshop I attended in the spring). I heard quite an orchestra of cicadas, crickets and katydids. But no frog songs or calls penetrated this cacophony. So I headed back near sunset and just after crossing Brandywine, I came across this American toad smack in the middle of the sidewalk.

Then while walking the Ridge Trail in Rock Creek Park on July 11th, a turtle was stopped in path.

Murtle, is that you?

The turtle reminded me of the missing pet box turtle we wrote about in 2012. Murtle the Turtle had escaped the confines of its home and the community even organized a search party to help find it. As far as we know, no one ever did.

What wild creatures cross your path when you’re out in the neighborhood?