Back in May I found a male box turtle near my tool shed. (Box turtles are easy to sex - males have red eyes, females have brown.) Early in June we saw a female, right next to our front walk. She came back five days later. And again on the evening of June 15 when she dug her nest. It took her about 4 hours. I only took one picture as I did not want to disturb her with flashlight. I put a crate over the site, weighted with a concrete block in case raccoons came looking for a midnight snack. I would remove it in the daytime, cover at night. Called around for information. Was told I could relocate hatchlings no more than 2 football field distance. Figured the marathon crawl across our lawn and possible drop over retaining wall could be an issue. So relocation to a brush heap would improve odds of success. There would be - potentially - 4 to 6 eggs. Those at the upper, warmer portion of the 5 inch deep, flask shaped nest would hatch as females, those at the lower, cooler portion of the nest would become males. Global warming issue concerns, anyone? Very few hatchlings survive to maturity. Those that do live for 40 to 80 years, baring road accidents. I have seen three different individuals on our property this year, so my assumption is that there is a good population. Concerned that the tiny hatchlings might fit through the milk crate openings I gave my husband a bulb crate and he fastened a "skirt" of flattened gutter guard around the perimeter. Alas, I should have butted up patio blocks around the outside, because on the morning of Sunday, September 15 I noticed the hole in the second image. The hatchlings are so tiny they were able to wander forth under the irregularities between crate and ground. What have I learned? Box turtles hatch at night. And that I am now concerned about mowing the grass. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus/ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Box Turtle_2019-06- digging nest.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 210752 bytes Desc: not available URL: <http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/pipermail/pbs/…> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Box Turtle Stuff_2019-09_exit hole from nest.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 209871 bytes Desc: not available URL: <http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/pipermail/pbs/…> _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…
