Turtle Journal

Female Eastern Box Turtle @ Outer Cape Cod

Curt Smith of Wellfleet and Boston discovered this beautiful Eastern box turtle on a nesting run in Wellfleet on Outer Cape Cod June 6th.  He kindly alerted Turtle Journal of his find and sent us these photographs, which he authorized us to post for your enjoyment.

Eastern Box Turtle Nest @ Outer Cape Cod

Curt observed this box turtle digging a nest, depositing her eggs and disguising the spot after she finished.  Fortunately, Curt took a photograph immediately afterwards, so that we can see the outline of the nest highlighted by discoloration of the soil caused by the moisture of upturned dirt.  Within an hour or so, the nest would have perfectly blended into the background, and would have been impossible to detect.

Protected Eastern Box Turtle Nest @ Outer Cape Cod

With predators in the area, foxes and skunks and raccoons, Curt protected the nest with a double cage of chicken wire and a chicken wire blanket stretching out from the nest.  Before emplacing this protective shield, Curt confirmed the presence of eggs in the nest by gently probing the egg chamber.

Eastern Box Turtle Mating in May

While clearly not the same female box turtle seen nesting on June 6th, this photograph that Curt snapped two weeks earlier shows the amorous activity that leads to nesting.  If April showers bring May flowers, then surely May necking yields June nesting … for turtles in the Great White North.

Turtle Journal thanks Curt Smith for his bold action to save the world, one turtle at a time. 

 

Female Diamondback Terrapin #299 (Stumpy)

One of Turtle Journal’s favorite terrapin ladies returned to nest on Thursday morning.  This sweetheart, Terrapin #299 whom we have been monitoring for nearly a decade, has lost both front limbs below her wrists.

“Stumpy” Missing Both Front Limbs below Wrists

We first observed Stumpy in July 2005 as she came ashore to deposit her second nest of the season.  We watched as she laboriously dug her nest and carefully placed 16 eggs in it.  We harvested those eggs and relocated them to a protected area as part of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to conserve threatened diamondback terrapins.

Turtle Journal Offers a Helping Hand

Turtle Journal has seen her nearly every year since that initial 2005 encounter, probably because her handicap increases her nesting time on land.  Even with that challenge, Stumpy is a reliable nester and we’ve been proud to give her a helping hand by protecting her eggs and her offspring.

Stumpy Heads Back to Buzzards Bay

Stumpy crawled back across the tidal flats to return to Buzzards Bay.  Hopefully, we’ll see her again in a few weeks as she comes back ashore to deposit her second clutch of the year.

Diamondback Terrapin #821 and Her 19 Eggs

Michele Zollo discovered the first nesting terrapin at her Broad Marsh (Wareham) turtle garden on Wednesday morning, June 5th.  Terrapin #821 is an overachiever and it’s hard to imagine how she can find room for all those eggs.

First Broad Marsh Terrapin Nester of 2013

We first saw this young lady in June of last year when she was only nine years old.  Even then she already exceeded expectations with a 17-egg nest.

Nineteen Terrapin Eggs Weighing 127 Grams

Today’s 19 eggs hit the scales at 127 grams.  They are a bit on the small size with an average weight of only 6.7 grams per egg. 

Nineteen Terrapin Eggs in Protected Turtle Garden

Terrapin #821’s ninteen eggs were relocated into a protected turtle garden, where Don Lewis sculpted the sand into a perfect simulated turtle nest.  Michele and Louis Zollo created this turtle garden to serve as protected nesting habitat for diamondback terrapins in the Broad Marsh area of Wareham.  They placed a predator excluder cage above the nest and encircled it with an additional chicken wire barrier to protect it from voracious predators.

Eastern Box Turtle and Diamondback Terrapin

By Tuesday morning, June 4th, all Massachusetts SouthCoast turtles were on the move in nesting sites.  At dawn, we encountered snappers and painted turtles digging near wetlands.  As the sun rose, we found diamondback terrapins at Buzzards Bay nesting sites and Eastern box turtles nesting in the same general location.

Female Eastern Box Turtle on Nesting Run

This lovely lady crawled just upland of the Aucoot Cove barrier beach as she scratched the ground for a suitable nest.  She sported the most dazzlingly bright yellow carapace.

Female Diamondback Terrapin on Nesting Run @ Cove

We spotted female Terrapin #70 scratching the compacted, graveled path at  The (Hammetts) Cove private dock.  The marginals along her entire front quadrant had been broken in an earlier encounter with a vehicle.  During our longitudinal study of terrapins on the SouthCoast, we learned that this pathway had once been a dense nesting area for threatened diamondback terrapins before it was compacted and graveled by The Cove.  Since then, terrapins have largely been unsuccessful in penetrating this hardened surface.  Each year the number of viable nests at the Cove decreases.

Nesting Diamondback Terrapin @ Aucoot Cove

Back at the Aucoot Cove barrier beach for a second morning patrol, the Turtle Journal team discovered a 13-year-old female nesting a few feet upland of the nursery salt marsh.  Terrapin #68 had not been observed previously and was unmarked.

Female Diamondback Terrapin on Nesting Run @ Aucoot

As Terrapin #68 headed back into Buzzards Bay, she paused to survey her barrier beach, hoping that the sign hovering over head truly does mean that this fragile spit will be preserved as a wildlife refuge for this threatened species.

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Rufus Shows How to Herd Terrapins

An integral member of the Turtle Journal team, Rufus ensures that turtles are protected while on land and they make it back safely into the bay.  She notes that almost any dog can herd sheep or cattle, but it takes a special canine to herd turtles.

Diamondback Terrapin Nesting Run Tracks

The Turtle Journal team patrolled a SouthCoast Buzzards Bay nesting site early this morning in hope of finding signs that nesting for threatened diamondback terrapins had begun.  Along the full 1/2 mile length of this barrier beach, Sue Wieber Nourse and Don Lewis discovered several fresh terrapin nesting tracks, indicating that the hot weather and pre-dawn high tide had enticed these turtles to kick off the nesting season on June 1st.