A pair of snapping turtles; snouts and shells covered with the fresh sand they've been digging in.
About 2 feet off the pavement and 20 feet from the lake.
Just googled gestation and it says 9-18 weeks! It is temperature dependent! Looking end August or so before hatch. They don't have much time before they have to hibernate!
@karenann@lynnb@groovygirlrn@hollandcrew@bardejov@betsyg@lyno
It will be interesting to see if anything comes of these nests. In past I've seen these roadside nests just die. I suspect the road salt they mix with the sand every winter may be what does it. I'll mark my calendar for 8 weeks and start monitoring the nests daily. Stay tuned.
@photos222@grannysue@mandyj92
Thanks, All! For some reason it's been a great "turtle season" all around, right Amanda? I've seen more snappers this year, and the painted turtle population on the ponds has exploded.
It will be interesting to see if anything comes of these nests. In past I've seen these roadside nests just die. I suspect the road salt they mix with the sand every winter may be what does it. I'll mark my calendar for 8 weeks and start monitoring the nests daily. Stay tuned.
Thanks, All! For some reason it's been a great "turtle season" all around, right Amanda? I've seen more snappers this year, and the painted turtle population on the ponds has exploded.
Thanks, anoeska. Next step is to do some tests on the sand to see if there's a significant amount of salt mixed in. Hope not!