Northern Red-bellied Cooter Laying Eggs

A couple months ago I was on Fox Hollow Lane at Duke Farms and I saw a Northern Red-bellied Cooter who apparently laid her eggs on a cleared patch of ground. (I don't know if the vegetation was removed to make it a better location for turtle eggs or if it had another purpose.)

Unless she was an outlier, she laid 5-17 eggs. They're supposed to incubate over 80 days, so they're scheduled to hatch around August 16. I may try and visit around that time, though:

  • Duke Farms is closed to the public (Su+Mo) on August 15 and 16.
  • We've had a fairly hot summer; it's possible that will speed up the hatching.
  • My impression is that many predators find and eat these eggs; it's unclear there will be anything to see.

May 28, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 133214583, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

The mother lays her eggs and buries them. It'll initially look like a small muddy patch, though I'm sure that dries up pretty fast.
Buried turtle eggs
Photo 133214742, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)





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