I spent a bit of time last weekend watching for turtles. I was by a lake, near a sandy section that is a fairly popular turtle nesting spot, trying hard not to move so they would maybe crawl up on the beach.
Turtles seem pretty picky about where they choose to bury their eggs. For an animal that comes out of it’s regular habitat, digs a hole, lays eggs, then walks away, paying absolutely no attention to what may happen to their offspring, they seem very careful about what is happening before they leave them behind.
It took me a while to notice, but turtles like to inspect a beach very closely before they walk up on it. You see a turtle head poke up out of the water and they will watch for a while. If they spot any movement, the head disappears for a while. The turtle will wait for a bit, then try again.
It is pretty interesting behavior. Especially when you think these same animals will crawl up a bank, cross a busy highway while dodging speeding cars, then dig a hole, lay eggs and dodge traffic on the way back. But crawling up on a section of beach, they won’t do that if anything moves within their sight. I’ve never quite been able to figure it out.
I saw three different turtle heads pop up during the short time I sat on this little piece of beach. I think they all spotted me, since none of them seemed inclined to join me, sitting in the sun. In one case, I was very happy with that, because the head in question was well over three inches across, which made it one of the largest snapping turtles I have ever seen.
But I like turtles, so I sit and watch for them. If you’re really lucky, you might find a bunch that are hatching. There was one day I found several little tiny snapping turtles, digging themselves out of their nest. By the end of the day, I had thirty-eight little snappers lined up at the water’s edge, guarding my little section of beach.
This time of year, you have to watch for turtles. Every year I see stories about people who have their cars struck by flying turtles. The turtle tries to cross the road, gets hits by a car and somehow becomes a flying object.
If only they watched out for our cars as much as they watch for anything moving on a beach.
