A New Generation of Cooters...Hopefully!

  While out picking figs, I noticed a large "blob" down the hill near the wild persimmon trees.  This blob was doing a slow wobble back and forth which meant only one thing...this was a female turtle digging a hole with her hind legs.  I eased my way down the hillside to get a better look. Sure enough, a female Cooter turtle was in the process of creating the perfect nest for her eggs.  The soft mulch had been pulled aside and she was now digging in the sandy soil beneath.  She stopped for a moment to see if I was a predator.  I slowly edged around her a good thirty feet away so as to not unduly disturb her.  After making a wide circle around, I headed back to my chore and left her in peace.  As I picked figs, I had a good view of the turtle's choice spot.  Even though she hesitated for a few moments when she noticed me, she resumed her goal of egg-laying.  It was not long before she had completed the task at hand and turned to head back into the marsh.

  I am not certain that the name is correct but these have always been Cooter turtles to me.  Pop first mentioned the name when we had the turtles in the huge pond on the old farmplace.  The back of the Bayou is filled with such wonders as these turtles and they make their way up the hillside to lay eggs.  I am always impressed that any of the eggs ever hatch since so many predators are eager to dig the nests. Raccoons, fox, bobcats, rats and even crows will dine on the eggs given a chance.

  *Little known fact about Cooter turtles!  Are you aware that these turtles cannot swallow when out of the water?  They mostly eat aquatic plants but will catch insects and small fish when available.  Regardless of their meal, they have to go underwater to swallow it.  Now you know...sort of interesting at least to me.  

  Since I know exactly where this nest is, my aim is to keep watch.  If no predators raid the spot, perhaps the little ones will make it back down the hill to the marsh.  They will go from one predator-filled spot into another.  Hopefully, they will survive and another generation can be seen sun-basking on the marsh mats of the Bayou.

The Nursery!

   It has been hot here.  Usually, the heat does not bother me but it sure bothers my plants.  Even though it has been raining a lot, the ground is parched.  Potted plants are extremely in danger of being dried by the heat so, each morning, I drag the water hose about the place and give things a drink.  This morning, I was surprised by a critter in the Small Gardens.  Just a few feet from my old wicker chair, a mama pond slider had dug her hole and was laying eggs!  Babies will be born in the Small Gardens in a few months!

I had not expected the turtle to be so near the house.  In fact, I was not being watchful at all and almost stepped on the poor critter.  She never budged.  After all, she was busy!  When I noticed her, the watering stopped and I vacated the area so as to not disturb her any more than I already had.  Mama turtle finished laying the eggs and covered her nest.  She, then, started making her way back to the marshes.  She will never know her little ones as turtles do not "mother" their offspring. Once she lays the eggs, she never looks back. A lot of the nests are raided by coons, possums and coyotes.   After hatching, the little tykes are on their own in a world filled with predators.  Just about any hungry critter can overpower a tiny two inch long turtle. 

  The feeling of "mothering" overtook me.  Since these eggs (and baby turtles) are basically motherless, I needed to do something to make ME feel better about their safety.  Several bricks were spaced around the nest and a heavy, ornate cast iron grating was placed on top.  The bricks elevated the grating enough that the tiny turtle can dig out from their nest but will provide some protection from digging predators.  Hopefully, the tiny turtles will hatch and survive!  Personally, I wish they would stay in the Frog Pond or Puddle Pond!  How fun would that be?