Tuesday:
With this week being shorter due to the holiday, we hit the ground running in Spring Bluff. We set up 22 traps total at two separate sites and tracked some of the female adult turtles in a location called Lovers Lane. We are almost to the nesting season so weekly weight checks and gravid checks are crucial! To check if a turtle is gravid, place your pinky finger above the femur and inside the shell and feel for ping pong balls.
Wednesday:
In the morning, we checked the traps and caught lots of crayfish and frogs, but no such luck with turtles; however, afterwards we tracked some of the younger turtles along with some of the scattered adult turtles throughout the southern portion of Spring Bluff. Along with finding the turtles we were tracking, we found some younger Common Snapping Turtles – these guys are mean, watch your fingers when handing them! Check out WEL’s own Kane County blog to read more about Snapping Turtles.
Thursday:
The traps were checked and we found one turtle. Next, we trackedthe last of the adult females in the area – some of the female adults were found way back in the cattails that were taller than me! After we found all of the adults, we tracked the smaller turtles for a second time that week.
Friday:
Today was an easier day – we checked and pulled all of the traps and found only one turtle who seemed to love getting himself trapped as he was found a few days ago in another trap! The rest of us finished tracking all the recently released headstarts over at Pine Dunes, and made it out with minimal ticks.
P.S. We miss our pets! On the right, Caroline’s dog Grayson. On the left, Vroom’s cat Zuko.
