An Egg-citing Wednesday Morning!

In my last blog, I posted a photo of a Snapping Turtle with deer flies on her skin.That same turtle is shown above, digging a hole for her eggs. It was determined that the eggs in the nest she had just laid were in a high traffic, high impact area. As a result, it was unlikely the young turtles would survive. I witnessed the expert excavation of the nest today. Removing eggs from a nest requires training and a permit. These eggs will be incubated in a lab in London and returned to the exact spot once they hatch in 80-90 days. 

A mussel shell was used as an excavation tool. Metal, pointed objects cannot be used as they are likely to pierce the egg shells.The dirt was removed layer by layer until we could start to see the first ping pong ball sized egg.

The slow process eventually revealed many more eggs dug into the side of the hole.

One by one, each egg was placed in a dirt filled container. It is imperative to not rotate or turn them as the embryo can break away from the shell and the turtle will not survive.

We had to be careful that the eggs didn't roll whenever one was removed from the pile.

Room for one more egg in this container. A total of 45 eggs were collected and sent to the lab in London.

Watching the process was a real learning experience for me! Last week a nest was excavated near the parking lot at Wawanosh Wetlands. 84 eggs were extracted! We're not sure, but it could be a record for Ontario. Despite the large number of eggs being laid by this species, only 1, out of the approximately 2500 eggs she may lay in her life time is likely to reach sexual maturity. They should be nesting through June so keep your eyes open and perhaps you will see one of these prehistoric looking turtles laying eggs.