We see a lot of turtles at the lake and they love to lay their eggs in my yard. We often get up in the morning and see freshly opened holes littered with broken egg pieces after baby turtles hatched the night before. On occasion we even find the baby turtles crawling through the grass, slowly making their way to the lake.
But last week we finally got to see something we've never gotten to see before - a turtle actually laying her eggs.
First she found a nice spot and slowly dug out a huge hole with her back legs, piling a small mound of dirt behind the hole....
When the hole was to a depth of her liking, she quickly starting plopping out eggs. After she laid each egg, she brushed a small layer of dirt over it with her back flippers....
When she was finished laying the eggs she brushed the remaining dirt over them and crawled away. Looking at this spot, you'd never suspect that it held a bunch of turtle eggs, would you?
Does this make me a grandmother??
Hi! We've had a box turtle in our yard for years. One day our son came in and said she laid eggs. By the time I got out there you could hardly tell where she had been! We made a cage out of large chicken wire to keep the critters out. We were thrilled when the babies hatched and were crawling across the yard. Instinctively they went right into the woods and found their new home!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how they know which way to go. Thanks for coming by!
DeleteWow that is amazing that you get to see that. And so awesome you are so close to a lake. My dream is a cabin on the shores of a lake.
ReplyDeleteOur lake house is a dream come true - it's needed a lot of work and is still a work in progress. But that's half the fun sometimes.
DeleteWow, that's really cool to witness a turtle laying her eggs. You'll have to try and catch the little ones hatching.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see these hatch. I'd want to keep one... :-)
DeleteOh, this is really something! I had no idea how turtles laid their eggs! Mother Nature is amazing! Now who is that pretty gal with those hot legs! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for tips about the porch cover. I'm making notes of all of these tips.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
It was so cool to get to see it. I'd love to see a sea turtle do that in Florida.
DeleteSoo cool! Neat to watch too... it's not and animal that can run away from you all that fast ;-P
ReplyDeleteThey actually move a lot quicker than I thought they would once they were finished.
DeleteVery cool! If you are now a grandma does that mean I'm an aunt? ;)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! :-)
DeleteReally amazing!
ReplyDeleteHow amazing to witness that ritual, Kim! Gives me goose-bumps, and here I'm just observing from cyber-space.
ReplyDeleteKnowing they're right there, gosh. Are you feeling super protective?
....If not a grandmother (lol), definitely a God-mother.
Hugs,
Myra
How amazing! You'll have to do like they do at the beach and put some stakes around the eggs so they don't get mowed over! What a neat thing to watch! WOW, Grandma! heeheehee!
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