Time for the Turtles
I made a claim in my last post in regards to the timing of the snapping turtles nesting and the full moon. With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps I was a little presumptuous in that assertion, or maybe I was correct in that it was the full moon that triggered the initial nesting. Anyway, as always it was awesome to see the snappers out and about and here is one more photo from that morning and an explanation of why I now believe I may not have been completely correct.
A few mornings have come and gone since the snapping turtles left Shoemaker Lake and made their walk up the bank to nest. There were, unfortunately no more sightings of the snapping turtles since that morning. I'd taken an assortment of photos during that time: A series of shots of a great blue heron as it lifted itself clear of the lake.
And also this beautiful little killdeer feeding; taking full advantage of the waterlogged ground at the base of Shoemaker Lake.
Then a storm hit us on Tuesday night. I remember the radio station cutting out at work during some really heavy rainfall. There was an almost instantaneous jump in heat and humidity, and on Wednesday morning I was second-guessing myself if I should or shouldn't go to Lakeside Park. I'd accrued so many photographs that I still had to sort through and the cloudy wet weather was the perfect excuse to stay home and process those images, including some I'd taken of the killdeer with an assortment of strange-looking prey items.
A moments thought of perhaps missing out on something unmissable persuaded me out of the door, juggling with my boots and camera in one hand, and my bag and car keys in the other. As soon as I arrived, the tone was set; the first walker that I saw excitedly gave me her description of large turtles further down the path, and as I headed off on my way along that path to the first turtle, a cyclist also stopped to tell me of two more turtles she'd passed on Stirling Avenue and sadly, one dead one that had been run over.
The first snapping turtle that I came across was laying her eggs, she'd already found a soft area of ground to dig into beside the path.
I walked further, to the road, but could not see any turtles on Stirling Avenue from where I was, so I headed back, all the way up the path to the main nesting area. Another lady walker stopped me on my way, she was also very excited. She told me that she grew up close by and is very familiar with the wildlife here, but this is the first time she's actually seen the turtles nesting!
In another similar position to the first turtle, this snapper was on the edge of the path and still in the process of digging, using her hind legs to scrape out a hole.
Digging into the ground can be a mucky business, as can be seen from the next turtle who was already making her way back down the bank after nesting.
As she set off down the bank she was frozen by my camera's shutter. She appeared to be sprinting, and perhaps she was in turtle time, but their movement is quite slow and deliberate to our eyes.
As I mentioned in my previous post, they are really impressive when you see them for real, up-close!!
A walked a little further up the path and came across another snapper making her way back to Shoemaker lake. She was slowly descending down the bank from the children's play area. She appeared to be carrying a good chunk of the playground back to the lake with her. Actually snapping turtles put their faces into the soil to sniff for suitability. They do not always use the hole they have dug but will continue searching and digging until they find the perfect location.
I then decided to head into the undergrowth from the top edge of Shoemaker Lake. There were no turtles there at all, just a bunny sitting in the shade of the pine trees.
Their impressively clawed hind feet make short work of the soft soil. Their front legs are used for stability as they dig. If the turtle is content with the hole she has dug, her eggs will be deposited and she will then backfill the soil over her eggs. And hopefully, her eggs will stay safe.
If I could take a moment to ask commuters on the roads close to the lake, particularly Stirling Avenue, to please drive with caution at this time of the year. I understand that time is precious in this day and age, but have a care for a creature that has survived on this planet since before the time of the dinosaurs. Turtles simply cannot move out of your way.
Death in nature is never without waste though, it is also always an opportunity to sustain life, and the vultures were already gathering overhead.
I cut off Stirling Avenue and onto one of the rough trails on the far side of Shoemaker Creek and into mosquito country. The visual of the dead turtle still foremost in my mind, when I happened upon more evidence of nesting further up on the far side of Shoemaker Lake. This was probably not the best location, but I could see lots of scrapings in the sandy soil beside a firepit. Who uses the firepit, I have no idea, but it is there and is used frequently. One snapping turtle was still nesting.
The mosquitoes were worrying me, so I didn't stand still for too long. I started making my way further along the rough path and was soon surprised; it was not just the large snapping turtles who had made their way up out of the lake. My first ever viewing of a painted turtle nesting. It was a really small painted turtle and there she was nesting at the edge of the trail!
This was a day for people who would perhaps not normally be that excited by nature to become completely enthralled by the magnificence of the turtles. As I made my way up the rough trail around the top of Shoemaker Lake, and back to the main turtle nesting area, I observed a young man taking a selfie of his foot placed as a measure beside one of the snappers. Probably not one of the smartest things to do next to a creature with a notable bite, but who can fault him for his enthusiasm.
A truly memorable morning for everyone who walked past Shoemaker Lake. The lake has so many turtles, but their presence is not always so obvious.
Last year I was lucky enough to have a ringside seat at the base of the lake as I watched two massive male snappers battle over territory.
I also got my feet well and truly wet when I took the plunge to help a female mallard whose foot was locked in the grip of a snapper's jaws.
But my most memorable memory from last year was when I carried a baby snapping turtle to the water's edge.
And who knows what this year has in store for me?
I was going to close my post at that point, but I returned a few days later to the area on the far side of Shoemaker Lake, to find that the nests there had become a source of nutrition for other creatures living in the wild. A telltale paw print signed this photo.
Turtles really do run the gauntlet until they reach adulthood, but they must be doing something right as they have outlived so many other creatures on this planet. Turtles first appeared in the fossil record of the Triassic period. That's an incredible 215 million years ago!
A few mornings have come and gone since the snapping turtles left Shoemaker Lake and made their walk up the bank to nest. There were, unfortunately no more sightings of the snapping turtles since that morning. I'd taken an assortment of photos during that time: A series of shots of a great blue heron as it lifted itself clear of the lake.
Then a storm hit us on Tuesday night. I remember the radio station cutting out at work during some really heavy rainfall. There was an almost instantaneous jump in heat and humidity, and on Wednesday morning I was second-guessing myself if I should or shouldn't go to Lakeside Park. I'd accrued so many photographs that I still had to sort through and the cloudy wet weather was the perfect excuse to stay home and process those images, including some I'd taken of the killdeer with an assortment of strange-looking prey items.
The first snapping turtle that I came across was laying her eggs, she'd already found a soft area of ground to dig into beside the path.
I walked further, to the road, but could not see any turtles on Stirling Avenue from where I was, so I headed back, all the way up the path to the main nesting area. Another lady walker stopped me on my way, she was also very excited. She told me that she grew up close by and is very familiar with the wildlife here, but this is the first time she's actually seen the turtles nesting!
In another similar position to the first turtle, this snapper was on the edge of the path and still in the process of digging, using her hind legs to scrape out a hole.
Digging into the ground can be a mucky business, as can be seen from the next turtle who was already making her way back down the bank after nesting.
As I mentioned in my previous post, they are really impressive when you see them for real, up-close!!
A walked a little further up the path and came across another snapper making her way back to Shoemaker lake. She was slowly descending down the bank from the children's play area. She appeared to be carrying a good chunk of the playground back to the lake with her. Actually snapping turtles put their faces into the soil to sniff for suitability. They do not always use the hole they have dug but will continue searching and digging until they find the perfect location.
The search for a soft area of ground is essential for the laying of their eggs and for whatever reason, the snapping turtles were avoiding the area set aside for nesting and were instead preferring the very edge of the path. This snapper was the furthest along the path that I could find.
I then decided to head into the undergrowth from the top edge of Shoemaker Lake. There were no turtles there at all, just a bunny sitting in the shade of the pine trees.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, perhaps my prediction of the full moon being the reason for the turtles nesting was not fully correct, as there were many more turtles nesting on this morning than on the morning after the full moon, but perhaps the full moon may have been the trigger. I'll attempt to make the same prediction next year with the full moon in June.
Whatever the initiator, when the time is right, female snapping turtles will search for a suitable location and then excavate a deep enough hole.
Their impressively clawed hind feet make short work of the soft soil. Their front legs are used for stability as they dig. If the turtle is content with the hole she has dug, her eggs will be deposited and she will then backfill the soil over her eggs. And hopefully, her eggs will stay safe.
I journeyed on, all the way back down the path and this time went further up Stirling Avenue, where I was sad to confirm what the cyclist had told me at the start of my morning.
If I could take a moment to ask commuters on the roads close to the lake, particularly Stirling Avenue, to please drive with caution at this time of the year. I understand that time is precious in this day and age, but have a care for a creature that has survived on this planet since before the time of the dinosaurs. Turtles simply cannot move out of your way.
Death in nature is never without waste though, it is also always an opportunity to sustain life, and the vultures were already gathering overhead.
I cut off Stirling Avenue and onto one of the rough trails on the far side of Shoemaker Creek and into mosquito country. The visual of the dead turtle still foremost in my mind, when I happened upon more evidence of nesting further up on the far side of Shoemaker Lake. This was probably not the best location, but I could see lots of scrapings in the sandy soil beside a firepit. Who uses the firepit, I have no idea, but it is there and is used frequently. One snapping turtle was still nesting.
The mosquitoes were worrying me, so I didn't stand still for too long. I started making my way further along the rough path and was soon surprised; it was not just the large snapping turtles who had made their way up out of the lake. My first ever viewing of a painted turtle nesting. It was a really small painted turtle and there she was nesting at the edge of the trail!
This was a day for people who would perhaps not normally be that excited by nature to become completely enthralled by the magnificence of the turtles. As I made my way up the rough trail around the top of Shoemaker Lake, and back to the main turtle nesting area, I observed a young man taking a selfie of his foot placed as a measure beside one of the snappers. Probably not one of the smartest things to do next to a creature with a notable bite, but who can fault him for his enthusiasm.
A truly memorable morning for everyone who walked past Shoemaker Lake. The lake has so many turtles, but their presence is not always so obvious.
Last year I was lucky enough to have a ringside seat at the base of the lake as I watched two massive male snappers battle over territory.
I also got my feet well and truly wet when I took the plunge to help a female mallard whose foot was locked in the grip of a snapper's jaws.
But my most memorable memory from last year was when I carried a baby snapping turtle to the water's edge.
I was going to close my post at that point, but I returned a few days later to the area on the far side of Shoemaker Lake, to find that the nests there had become a source of nutrition for other creatures living in the wild. A telltale paw print signed this photo.
Turtles really do run the gauntlet until they reach adulthood, but they must be doing something right as they have outlived so many other creatures on this planet. Turtles first appeared in the fossil record of the Triassic period. That's an incredible 215 million years ago!
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