Scientific Name: Apalone spinifera
Common Name(s): Spiny Softshell

Left: Juvenile Spiny Softshell ©Melissa McMasters Right: Adult Spiny Softshell, BV Lakes and Parks Staff
Identification:
The spiny softshell is one of the largest freshwater turtle species in North America, with a carapace, or upper shell, length of 7-21 inches. Females are typically larger than males. Spiny softshells are easily distinguished from other turtles by their flat, leathery shell with very flexible edges. Their color ranges from a brown or yellow to olive, with males and hatchlings typically exhibiting a spotted pattern. Since they spend most of their time in the water, they have more webbing on their feet than most turtles, and each webbed foot has three claws. Another remarkable feature of softshell turtles is a snorkel-like nose they use to breathe while remaining submerged and possible buried in mud. A distinguishing characteristic between male and female spiny softshells is the number of spines on the front edge of their shells, behind their head. Adult males have many spines, while females only have a few.

Range:
Apalone spinifera has a very wide range, and are found from South Carolina, west to Texas. Their range also extends north to Montana and east to New York.
Ecology:
The spiny softshell turtle is mostly carnivorous, eating anything it can fit in its mouth if it’s in the water, including fish, insects, and crayfish. However, they will eat algae and other plant material. They are benthic feeders, which means they can actively hunt their prey or bury down in the sand to ambush prey.
They can be found in nearly any body of fresh water including ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. Sandy bottom areas are important for both their feeding strategy and nesting habitat. An interesting feature of these turtles is that they can, to a limited extent, breathe underwater. As such they prefer waters that are rich in oxygen. This is especially important during their hibernation period, as hibernating in oxygen poor waters could lead to death.
Spiny softshells don’t begin breeding until they reach 8-10 years old. Mating usually takes place in the middle or late spring in deep water. After a few months, the female will lay her eggs on a sunny sandbar or gravel bar near the water. Eggs hatch from July or September, but sometimes they will not hatch until the spring.
Due to their location, the eggs of spiny softshell turtles are often eaten by foxes, raccoons, and skunks. Even though they are quick swimmers, juvenile spiny softshells are preyed upon by raccoons, herons, and large fish. The adult spiny softshell has few natural predators, and they are most often killed and eaten by humans. Spiny softshell turtles don’t have the same defense mechanisms a normal hard-shelled turtle has, because they cannot hide in their shell. If they are in the water, they will swim away and hide under the mud or sand to avoid predators. On land, their lack of a hard shell and general clumsiness is made up for by a change in attitude: they become aggressive if threatened. If bothered on land, spiny softshells will snap at their attacker, and their bite is quite painful. They will also kick with their powerful claws.
Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, spiny softshell can be found around all the lakes and in Little Sugar. They can be friendly in the water, but do not try to go near them on land. Like most water turtles, they can be skittish, so your best bet for viewing is to keep an eye out for movement in the water or at basking spots at a comfortable distance.
Gear Garden Opens
in Mobile POA News/by BVPOASpecies Profile: Hyla cinerea- Green Tree Frog
in Species Profile/by BVPOAScientific Name: Hyla cinerea
Common Name(s): Green Tree Frog, Tree Frog
©Brian Gratwicke
Identification:
The green tree frog is a medium sized frog with long limbs and digits that have sticky toe pads. Their sizes range from 1.25-2.25 inches long. Besides being green, they have a white, yellow, or sometimes iridescent stripe along each side of their body. Males are smaller than females and have wrinkled throats, which indicates a vocal pouch.
Range:
Hyla cinerea is found throughout the southeast but is generally confined to the Coastal Plain.
Ecology:
The green tree frogs are insectivorous, usually eating flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects. These frogs prey on insects that are highly active or happen to be close enough to be caught by the frog’s tongue. Preferring to live in open forested areas with plentiful water near floating vegetation, grasses, and cattails, they are never at a loss for food, but they are subject to more predation than other frogs. They are prey to snakes, birds, and other frogs. Green tree frogs are one of the few species of tree frogs that lays their eggs in waters that have large predatory fish. Green tree frog tadpoles have few mechanisms of defense against large fish, so they are easily caught.
While green tree frogs are usually solitary, they come together during breeding season. Temperature, day length, and precipitation affect the timing of green tree frog breeding, but it usually occurs after a rain event. After mating, females lay up to 400 eggs. The ability for females to produce eggs is related to her size. The larger the female, the more eggs she produces.
Due to their small size and undemanding habitat requirements, these make great pets. Unlike many amphibians, they do not require artificial heating. One thing they do require is a large terrarium. Since they like to climb trees, the terrarium needs to be tall rather than wide. Plenty of branches and other objects need to be placed in the terrarium for the frogs to climb. Another important feature would be substrate that will maintain the humidity in the container, such as commercially shredded bark or coconut husk, and a shallow water dish. Green tree frogs have been found to live up to 6 years in captivity.
Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, green tree frogs are found in most of the forested areas, but you might find them in or near your pool. If you cannot see them, you might hear the male green tree frog make a duck like “reeenk, reeenk, reeenk” during the spring or summer before a rain event or during breeding season.
Bella Vista Charity Classic
in Mobile POA News/by BVPOACountry Club & Highlands Golf Courses
May 23-28, 2022
Beginning with the inaugural tournament in 2017, net proceeds from the tournament for distribution to local Bella Vista charities have increased year-over- year. Over the 5-year history of this event, charitable distributions over $160,000 have been awarded to the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, Bella Vista Courtesy Van, Benton County Boys & Girls Club, BV Community TV and the Rotary Club of Bella Vista (to share with their charities).
Species Profile: Apalone spinifera – Spiny Softshell Turtle
in Species Profile/by BVPOAScientific Name: Apalone spinifera
Common Name(s): Spiny Softshell
Left: Juvenile Spiny Softshell ©Melissa McMasters Right: Adult Spiny Softshell, BV Lakes and Parks Staff
Identification:
The spiny softshell is one of the largest freshwater turtle species in North America, with a carapace, or upper shell, length of 7-21 inches. Females are typically larger than males. Spiny softshells are easily distinguished from other turtles by their flat, leathery shell with very flexible edges. Their color ranges from a brown or yellow to olive, with males and hatchlings typically exhibiting a spotted pattern. Since they spend most of their time in the water, they have more webbing on their feet than most turtles, and each webbed foot has three claws. Another remarkable feature of softshell turtles is a snorkel-like nose they use to breathe while remaining submerged and possible buried in mud. A distinguishing characteristic between male and female spiny softshells is the number of spines on the front edge of their shells, behind their head. Adult males have many spines, while females only have a few.
Range:
Apalone spinifera has a very wide range, and are found from South Carolina, west to Texas. Their range also extends north to Montana and east to New York.
Ecology:
The spiny softshell turtle is mostly carnivorous, eating anything it can fit in its mouth if it’s in the water, including fish, insects, and crayfish. However, they will eat algae and other plant material. They are benthic feeders, which means they can actively hunt their prey or bury down in the sand to ambush prey.
They can be found in nearly any body of fresh water including ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. Sandy bottom areas are important for both their feeding strategy and nesting habitat. An interesting feature of these turtles is that they can, to a limited extent, breathe underwater. As such they prefer waters that are rich in oxygen. This is especially important during their hibernation period, as hibernating in oxygen poor waters could lead to death.
Spiny softshells don’t begin breeding until they reach 8-10 years old. Mating usually takes place in the middle or late spring in deep water. After a few months, the female will lay her eggs on a sunny sandbar or gravel bar near the water. Eggs hatch from July or September, but sometimes they will not hatch until the spring.
Due to their location, the eggs of spiny softshell turtles are often eaten by foxes, raccoons, and skunks. Even though they are quick swimmers, juvenile spiny softshells are preyed upon by raccoons, herons, and large fish. The adult spiny softshell has few natural predators, and they are most often killed and eaten by humans. Spiny softshell turtles don’t have the same defense mechanisms a normal hard-shelled turtle has, because they cannot hide in their shell. If they are in the water, they will swim away and hide under the mud or sand to avoid predators. On land, their lack of a hard shell and general clumsiness is made up for by a change in attitude: they become aggressive if threatened. If bothered on land, spiny softshells will snap at their attacker, and their bite is quite painful. They will also kick with their powerful claws.
Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, spiny softshell can be found around all the lakes and in Little Sugar. They can be friendly in the water, but do not try to go near them on land. Like most water turtles, they can be skittish, so your best bet for viewing is to keep an eye out for movement in the water or at basking spots at a comfortable distance.
Species Profile: Mustela vison – American Mink
in Species Profile/by BVPOAScientific Name: Mustela vison
Common Name(s): Mink
©Needsmoreritalin
Identification:
The mink differs from other similar species like weasels and stouts by its larger and stouter frame. Mink have a long, sleek body about two feet long with short, stubby legs, a long neck, small ears and eyes, and a long, thick tail. Coloration in mink vary from brown to black fur with white fur on its chin and throat. The mink’s fur is soft and thick, and it is covered with oily guard hairs, which make the mink’s coat waterproof. Since the mink spends most of its time in the water, its thin and tapered body and slightly webbed feet help it swim quickly through the water.
Range:
Mustela vison can be found throughout most of the United States and Canada.
Ecology:
American mink are known to be fierce predators, and they defend themselves from other predators like coyotes, bobcats, and birds of prey. They have developed ways of avoiding predation such as their secretive nature, coloration, agility, and limiting most of their activity between dusk and dawn, when their coloring makes them less visible. The American mink is a carnivore that feeds on smaller rodents, fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and birds. It kills vertebrate prey by biting the back of the head or neck, leaving canine puncture marks. The American mink often kills birds, including larger species like seagulls and cormorants, by drowning. In its natural range, fish are its primary prey.
After mating in winter, female mink give birth to litters around April or May. The litter size can range from one to eight, with each newborn weighing less than half an ounce. Young are weaned at six weeks, but they do not become independent until ten weeks. Staying with their mother until fall enables the young to learn how to escape predators and catch prey. Once the young leave, they must establish their own territories, because mink are solitary and territorial animals.
Although American mink are hard to catch, they were among the most frequently trapped furbearers. They are also commercially farmed. Mink are legally trapped from early November to early April, when their pelts were in their best condition.
Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, mink are common and can be found around all our lakes and along Little Sugar Creek. They can be seen frequently along the shores of Loch Lomond, and near the walking bridge of Little Sugar near the Walgreens.
Species Profile: Pseudacris crucifer – Spring Peeper
in Species Profile/by BVPOAScientific Name: Pseudacris crucifer
Common Name(s): Spring Peeper
©Peter Paplanus
Identification:
The spring peeper is a small tree frog that ranges from 0.98 to 1.5 inches in length at maturity. Their coloration ranges from shades of brown to dark gray, but temperature and other conditions can cause this coloration to vary. A distinct X-shaped pattern on their back makes this species easy to identify. Female spring peepers tend to be slightly larger and lighter in color than males. Males have a flap under their throat where the vocal pouch is located. This flap can be darker during the breeding season, when the males are calling to attract mates.
Range:
Pseudacris crucifer is native to eastern North America, and they can be found from Manitoba, Canada to Florida.
Ecology:
The spring peepers are carnivorous. They eat small insects and other small arthropods (i.e. ants, beetles, ticks, mites, and spiders). When spring peepers are in their tadpole stage, they graze on algae or decaying plant material in ponds and pools. Due to their diet, spring peepers play a strong role in forest ecosystems by controlling the insect population. Since they require ponds and pools to breed, they live in forests near wetlands.
As their common name implies, males make a chirping call in spring to attract a mate. Spring peepers are among the first frogs in the region to vocalize in the spring. Females lay between 750 and 1300 eggs. The eggs are laid in small clusters under vegetation in a wetland. Once the tadpoles hatch, they take 2-3 months to transform into a frog and move out of the aquatic habitat into the forest.
Spring peepers start breeding after their first year. Females are attracted to males with a certain volume and speed of call. Older and larger males have faster and louder calls, which are considered more attractive by females. Some males called “satellite males” do not make calls but position themselves near calling males to intercept females. Not all calls made by spring peepers are for mating. They also vocalize when fighting, after rain, and before hibernation.
Spring peepers are active from the end of winter until late fall when they dig into the ground to begin hibernation. They hibernate under logs and debris. In the northern reaches of the spring peeper’s habitat range they come out of hibernation before freezing temperatures have ended. Their bodies tolerate subfreezing temperatures down to about 18°F.
Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, spring peepers are the first frogs we will hear in spring. You might think you are hearing sleigh bells or car alarms, but when you hear the telltale “Peep peep!”, it means the spring peepers have come out of hibernation and spring has arrived.
Species Profile: Sceloporus undulatus – Eastern Fence Lizard
in Species Profile/by BVPOAScientific Name: Sceloporus undulatus
Common Name(s): Eastern Fence Lizard, Prairie Lizard, Fence Swift, Gray Lizard, Northern Fence Lizard, Pine Lizard, Horn-billed Lizard
©Daniel Schwen
Identification:
The eastern fence lizard is a member of the spiny lizard family. The lizards can range from 4 to 7.25 inches in length, including the tail. The scales on the lizard are rough and pointed. Its coloring is usually grayish but can range from nearly black to brown. During the summer season, male fence lizards can have bright blue patches on their throat and belly, while female lizards often have a black horizontal pattern on their back throughout the entire year. One could mistake a western fence lizard as an eastern fence lizard, but they have a slightly different pattern, number of scales, and range of distribution. The western and eastern fence lizards are separated by the Rocky Mountains.
Range:
The eastern fence lizard is found as far north as New York and as far south as northern Florida. They are found as far west as Arizona and Utah, and they are separated from the western fence snake by the Rocky Mountains.
Ecology:
The eastern fence lizard eats a wide variety of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. Most of the time fence lizards are arboreal, meaning tree-dwelling, and move between trees when approached. They prefer dry, open forests or glades with stumps and logs to escape predators, such as the ratsnakes. Being relatively small, the fence lizard itself is often prey for birds, larger lizard species, snakes, and domestic cats and dogs.
To attract female lizards, the male lizard will perform “push-ups” to attract mates and to keep other males from invading their territory. Fence lizards’ mate in the spring and lay 3-16 eggs in late spring or early summer.; eggs hatch after 10 weeks. Young are left to their own defenses after they hatch, so there is a high mortality rate.
In the past century, some eastern fence lizards have adapted to have longer legs and new behaviors to escape the non-native fire ant, which can kill the lizard in under a minute. Fire ants also occupy nesting habitats used by eastern fence lizards. Studies have found that fence lizard nests are vulnerable to fire ant predation. In geographic areas where the fire ant has not invaded, morphological and behavioral changes in fence lizards have not occurred.
Special Notes:
Here in Bella Vista, fence lizards can be found in most of our forested areas, but they are well camouflaged. They are also often seen along fences, as their name implies, as well as wood piles and the sides of houses.
Berksdale Golf Course Recognized for Environmental Excellence
in Mobile POA News/by BVPOABELLA VISTA, ARKANSAS – Berksdale Golf Course has achieved designation as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. Wendy Barnes, Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, completed the effort to obtain sanctuary designation on the property. Berksdale Golf Course is one of over 900 courses in the world to hold the title of Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.
“Berksdale Golf Course has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property,” said Christine Kane, CEO at Audubon International.
“To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas,” explained Kane. These categories include: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management. Berksdale Golf Course’s accomplishments include:
Wendy Barnes says, “Audubon International gave a framework for building on our vision of the course as an integral part of the local ecology. The guidance they provided allowed Berksdale to focus on priority projects, such as increasing buffer zones around waterways. AI’s resources aided in identifying additional practices easily integrated into our maintenance routine, like leaving brush piles undisturbed for wildlife cover. The challenge of achieving certification has been exceptionally educational and rewarding.”
The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, endorsed by the United States Golf Association, provides information and guidance to help golf courses preserve and enhance wildlife habitat and protect natural resources. Golf courses from the United States, Africa, Australia, Canada, Central America, Europe, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia have achieved certification in the program.
Berksdale is uniquely situated as one of Bella Vista’s seven popular golf courses, as well as connecting with the burgeoning trail system in Northwest Arkansas. Berksdale evolved throughout the certification process, moving from an 18 hole to 9-hole course after extreme flooding of Little Sugar Creek. The North Nine has been restructured, lending a more historical ambiance to the game, while the South End invites casual recreation. The native diversity of flora and fauna has thrived under Audubon International’s sanctuary guidelines, enhancing the outdoor experience for golfers and other lovers of nature.
Audubon International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Troy, NY. In addition to golf courses, Audubon International also provides programs for businesses, schools, communities, and new developments with the purpose of delivering high-quality environmental education and facilitating the sustainable management of natural resources. For more information, call Audubon International at 1-844-767-9051 or visit www.auduboninternational.org.
E. Fay Jones’ Bella Vista Country Club Recognized on National Register of Historic Places
in Mobile POA News/by BVPOAThe POA is proud to announce the Country Club building has been designated on The National Register of Historic Places. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, protect America’s historic and archeological resources and help qualified historic properties receive preservation benefits and incentives. The BV Country Club is the work of famed architect E. Fay Jones, an Ozarks favorite son known for his fascinating, stunning, and recognizable organic approach to design of cathedrals, homes, and other buildings throughout Arkansas and beyond. Although often mentioned as a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright, Jones was, from when he was young, an artist with his own voice.
The Bella Vista Country Club is an excellent example of the passion and meaning Jones brought to his craft–a building hewn from the stone and timber of the Ozark Mountain plateau, seemingly sliding effortlessly into it’s environment, while elevating the human experience of just being in the space. The Country Club is nestled into a low rolling hill so typical of the Bella Vista terrain. The approach to the building is ceremonial and a bit mysterious, down and then down again before opening up to a huge sky and vistas of the Country Club golf course as it continues to spill through the Ozark hills. As is evident in many of his designs, the Country Club explores Jones’s lifelong fascination with dark and light, caves and tree tops.
If you are not yet a fan of architecture or specifically the work of E. Fay Jones, the Bella Vista Country Club is a great introduction to one more dimension of Arkansas’ “natural beauty.” And here, you can play 18 holes of golf and stoke up with an excellent lunch and a cocktail or two in the BV Bar and Grill.
Bella Vista Country Club
98 Clubhouse Dr., Bella Vista, AR
Golf website | Restaurant website
Winter Weather Delays and Closings
in Mobile POA News/by BVPOANOTICE: The POA facilities/offices will be closed today, Wednesday, February 10.
We received a text from the City of Bella Vista that their offices are closed, 2nd dose vaccines canceled, plan to come at same time Thursday or Friday.