baby
A small baby turtle slowly climbing out of the water onto a log, hoping for that nice quiet piece of sunshine to bask in.
Keep climbing! You’re almost there, that nice spot in the sun. You can slow down and relax once you get there. Just keep hanging on for now.
The first look down on the little Snapping Turtle hatchling.
Snapping Turtles in Virginia dig a nest and lay their eggs in the May to June time frame. Hatchlings emerge from these nests in late August. This year my father and I were very fortunate to stumble upon a lone hatchling at a local park.
We were on our way out of the park, walking along a paved section of trail when we both saw something small on the pavement. It looked like a tiny turtle. I started leaning forward and questioned if it was real. I’d been fooled in the past by little toy animals left on the trail. But this ones eyes occasionally blinked, so we quickly realized it wasn’t a toy.
I only had my wide angle zoom lens (16-35 mm) with me so I bent down very close to the turtle to create a photo from above. Then I got down on my hands and knees to get closer to the turtle’s perspective, which was difficult considering how small it was. At first I placed the lens right in front of the hatchling. All this time it just sat there, only blinking. But after I set the lens in its face it began quickly moving forward, right towards me and the camera. Maybe it saw itself in the lens? Maybe it was just the movement or close proximity that spurred it on.
Good morning, little hatchling. As I lay down in front of the Snapping Turtle it began moving quickly towards me.
I moved beside it then and began creating some profile shots. It was a fairly cloudless day, so the sun was creating strong shadows, as you can see in the first couple photographs. I asked my father to try standing in front of the sun, casting a little shade on the hatchling. This helped eliminate the extreme contrast of sun and shadow, as can be seen in the next couple photos. And who knows, perhaps it also gave this tiny turtle a little respite from the blazing sun.
A profile look at the baby Snapping Turtle as it quickly moved along the pavement. We shaded it from the sun for a bit.
We encountered the Snapping Turtle on pavement, but it was very close to the edge of the wetlands. So my father and I stayed with the turtle, letting it move on its own, but walking beside it until it left the pavement and moved past a small fence line closer to the water. There were a number of folks walking the trail, some with pets, some jogging, others with baby strollers. We didn’t want anyone to inadvertently crush the baby turtle. Hatchlings odds of survival are fairly low, but hopefully we increased its chances just a bit that day.
I created my favorite photograph of the Snapping Turtle hatchling after it left the pavement and rested in a more natural environment.
After escorting the hatchling off the trail we started looking around for other hatchlings. We didn’t see any, but very close by we did find the remains of one or more nests with scattered egg fragments. It appeared at least one of these nests had been dug up by something, perhaps a fox, coyote, or raccoon. There was an interesting smell right at the nest site, but I’ve no clue if that was turtle, predator, or something else entirely.
A look at a Snapping Turtle nest with shell fragments scattered around. It appears something may have dug up the nest.
Another look at the Snapping Turtle nest area, where a hole has been dug in the upper right, likely by a predator. Egg shell fragments are scattered about in front of the hole.
The nests were located in a very small stretch of land between the pavement (newly laid) and a black fabric fence to separate the construction area from the woods beyond. A thin layer of straw had been laid on the ground to encourage grass to grow. The nests appear to have hatched after this. I’m curious when the nests were dug, whether construction had yet begun or had it already completed?
A wider view of what might be multiple Snapping Turtle nests. You can see holes and shells at the bottom, around the middle, and again near the top.
This photo shows the interesting location of the Snapping Turtle nests. The paved trails is on the left. On the right is a fabric construction tarp separating the trail construction area from the woods beyond. Straw has been laid on the ground to encourage grass to grow. The nests in this photo extend from the middle towards the upper right of the image.
Finding this little Snapping Turtle hatchling brought back memories of growing up in Massachusetts near a river where each year we’d find lots of baby turtles crossing the road between the housing area and the hill leading down to the river. I very much enjoyed getting to see this sight again, even if it was just a single hatchling. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see more next year. I’ll certainly keep my eyes open for them.
To learn more about Snapping Turtles, especially in Virginia, head over to the Virginia Herpetological Society. They have lots of great info on all sorts of reptiles and amphibians in Virginia.
I stopped by my folks place one day in early June, and was walking around behind their house when I saw my mother through the deck window waving her arms to get my attention. Then she began pointing at a spot on the deck. I had no idea what she wanted me to see, but I walked further around to look where she was pointing. It didn’t take me long to spot this small, newly fledged, bird resting quietly atop a box of sproutlings.
A young, newly fledged, Mourning Dove resting atop some sprouting plants.
The baby bird didn’t move as I walked around it, up the deck stairs, and inside. My mother gave me her camera and I went back out to see if I could capture a few images of this amazing little bird. It never moved as I approached, slowly and cautiously, not wanting to frighten it or draw the ire of its parents. I could see it following me with its eyes, but it stayed quiet and still. My mother had said it had been there for a while now, and that a Robin had landed beside it and she thought it had actually pecked at the little bird’s head. Interestingly, a nest of Robins directly overhead had just fledged the week before.
A side view of the baby Mourning Dove, seen through the sproutlings. Notice the red patch on the back of its neck.
If you look closely at the photo taken from the side and slightly to the back you can see a red spot on the back of its head. I’m not sure if that’s the result of the Robin or if it was already there.
I didn’t spend long photographing it. I didn’t want to draw the attention of any predators that might be attracted to a defenseless baby bird. There are outdoor cats in that neighborhood and any one of them would just love this little bird as a snack. I went back inside and began researching what it could be. Though a Robin had approached it, it looked nothing like a Robin to me. I thought it had the body type of a Mourning Dove, and when I researched online that is, in fact, what it was.
A parting shot of the young Mourning Dove resting atop the box of sprouts.
We waited and watched through the window, hoping to see it fly away or a parent return to care for it. Several times it stood, moved in circles, and stretched it wings, but then sat back down. We thought perhaps it was just resting and gaining enough strength to fly. Eventually an adult Mourning Dove flew into a nearby tree. That was all it took. The fledgling stood, stretched, and flew up into the tree beside its parent.
We never saw the bird again, at least not in its fledgling state. Who knows, perhaps it’s now one of the many Mourning Doves who frequent my folks yard. I cherish moments like these, when you have the opportunity to witness something special, something you don’t see every day. My folks had the same experience with the Robins when they fledged. Beautiful moments.
You don’t always have to travel to witness the wonders of wildlife. Keep your eyes open in your own neighborhood. You never know what you might see.
