Common Box Turtle

I'm not the fastest walker in the world these days, but I met a hiker on a trail that's even slower than me; it's a Common Box Turtle. I suspect that this is a female since the eyes of most males are red. 

When I see most (suspected) female turtles on land, I normally think they're looking for a place to lay eggs before retreating back to the water. But our box turtles are different, spending most of their time on land [1]. Still, May to July is when the females lay eggs.

Box turtles can live a long time; they've been known to live over 130 years. I don't remember this individual being especially large though, so I doubt she's especially old.

June 23, 2023 at Washington Valley Reservoir
Photo 301112364, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] My understanding is that box turtles can swim if they have to, but they prefer not to.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Muskrat

Image
I almost forgot that I've got Muskrat pictures; here's one that I met a little over a month ago. I saw these guys splashing around in the canal by the Raritan River Greenway, but photography opportunities were limited since they were moving a lot, including swimming underwater. Then this little fella climbed out of the canal and began eating a few feet away from me. Another one came out and did likewise, albeit a little further away. I was suspicious they might be young Muskrats who didn't know they should stay away from the humans. Though associated with (and sometimes mistaken for) the North American Beaver , and despite "rat" being in their name, they're not particularly closely related to either beavers or rats. Their closest relatives are lemmings and voles. (All these species are rodents though.) May 10, 2021 at the Raritan River Greenway Photo 128959337, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

The Hermits of Sourland

Image
Last year in mid-April I met Hermit Thrushes at Washington Valley Park; this year I met (presumably other) Hermit Thrushes at Sourland Mountain Preserve at about the same time of year. My resources ( All About Birds and 2 field guides) suggest I might be seeing them as they migrate through my area [1]; their maps imply their breeding range starts at northern NJ and continues northward [2]. It's a little unfortunate that Hermit Thrushes generally can't be heard without venturing into the woods; they're considered to be some of the best singers out there.  April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272130180, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272130437, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] My title of "The Hermits of Sourland" might suggest more permanence than is warranted if the birds are just passing through. [2] It's possible my field guides are getting to be out-of-da...
Read more

Tree and Shrub Planting

Image
I talked about some of the conditions at a Chambers Brook tree planting ; today I thought I'd discuss the tactics. First there are the issues common to both trees and shrubs: Most of the time an auger had dug the holes so there was no question about where to plant the tree/shrub, and things like rocks and roots are essentially irrelevant. While I recognize that the pre-dug holes are a time-and-labor saver, there are a couple downsides. First, the auger was digging holes deeper and wider than needed for our trees/shrubs, necessitating some refilling of the hole before planting. Second, sometimes the soil was a clay that, after a day or two, would harden into something difficult to break up when refilling the hole. When we had to dig our own holes, sometimes you could easily dig a hole but in other situations rocks and/or roots made life quite a bit harder. And while I wore hard-soled boots/shoes that let me hop on the shovel, some others had softer shoes that could have made diggin...
Read more