Saturday, June 13, 2015

Painted Turtle

 Painted turtle crossing a dirt road

During May and June,  many female turtles in Ontario cross roads to lay their eggs. This one was slowly walking over a dirt road from a watery marsh to reach a grassy ditch and farmer's field on the opposite side.

Head pulled in

Luckily we stopped before we hit her! I picked her up and took her the other side. I hope she made it back after she finished her task.

 Turtle cage

"Smarter" turtles lay their eggs on a path closer to the water. Sounds dangerous, but a park worker after seeing evidence of digging and burying, places cages over the area and then ties a colourful ribbon and marker on the cage and places a colourful plastic flag nearby.  I hope these cages keep marauding raccoons out!

Partially crushed

OOPS!  You'd think pedestrians would see the cages or at least the markers, wouldn't you? (Especially since there's a sign at the beginning of the trail asking everyone to be careful of the cages.)

I am linking to Saturday Critters HERE.

39 comments:

chica said...

Linda tartaruga e fotos! bjs, ótimo fim de semana! chica

The Cranky said...

A post that is both beautiful and educational, thank you for sharing!

Andy said...

At one time it used to be a common sight to see turtles crossing the road. I used to think it was because of increased road traffic. Now thanks to your post I realize it because of nincompoops treading on the turtle's nest.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Wonderful pix as well as knowing they are being helped!!...:)JP

eileeninmd said...

Great post and info on the Painted Turtles. I am happy to see they are being helped with the cages. Great shots. Thank you so much for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

Revrunner said...

Got to look out for one another these days.

Gayle said...

All these turtles crossing the roads are getting ahead of the chickens ;)
Interesting about the cages.

Kathy said...

That's a great idea to help protect the eggs from predators!

MICKAN from QUEENS FIELD¸.•°`♥✿⊱╮ said...

That is very kind to do a thing like that.
Well, I don't think I come over today :)

Nice picture.

Jackie McGuinness said...

That was good of you to carry her across, I hope she is safe and sound.

MadSnapper said...

the sad thing about the cage is they might have stomped it on purpose. and also a lot of people do not stop to assist them across the road. we always watch for wild life, but a lot do not.. super shot of this pretty guy/gal....

BasiaW said...

Great post and info on the Painted Turtles- thank you.

Sylvia K said...

Love your photos of the Painted Turtles!! I do hope the cages work for them! It's sad to know that some seem to have been purposefully destroyed! Wishing you -- and the turtles a wonderful weekend!!

Anvilcloud said...

I hope a bunch of the new turtles make it.

TexWisGirl said...

your northern turtles are so clean. ours are usually gunked up with algae. :)

Small City Scenes said...

I always feel sorry they have to travel so far and so slow to lay their eggs. Thanks for the park worker to help
MB

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Interesting about the cages. I hope it works. In the deserts, young tortoises fall victim to crows and ravens.

Linda W. said...

Cute pics of the turtle!

William Kendall said...

The turtle stands out so well!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I've never seen a turtle cage before. Lots of turtles cross roads in Oklahoma also. I've stopped and moved them before also.

Ruth Hiebert said...

The world of nature is so difficult.Seems each critter is exposed to so much danger,it is a wonder the species survive.The cages sounds like a great idea,hope they work.

21 Wits said...

It's a rough road out there for many critters, Godspeed for them all. I just adore your first photo, wow, very pretty.

RedPat said...

She is a cutie, EG! I'm glad they put the gages out - too bad some fool doesn't feel the same way.

Taken For Granted said...

Good to know that the baby turtles are getting some protection.

Stephanie said...

Lovely to see the painted turtles. What happens to these guys during your cold winters?

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I haven't seen many at all this spring trying to cross the road. I did have one in the yard- have no idea where he was off to. That is neat that they have protective cages for them, and so typical of meanies who would crush them.

Anonymous said...

Great shots of the turtles. I hope many of the young survive.

Gill - That British Woman said...

never heard of or seen a turtle cage before. Something new for today.

Rose said...

That is so cool that they do that!

Jack said...

In Naples, many people volunteer to help loggerhead turtles cross the road. Cars and turtles don't get along.

Aimz said...

I'm so glad you picked her up, what a lovely thing to do :-)

Randy said...

Handsome little turtle.

Jeevan said...

A pretty colorful turtle and you done a nice job leading her out of road/danger.
I also liked the way of protection with cages on the buried eggs.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Lovely turtle, good luck mom!
~

Lowell said...

We have a similar problem here on the east coast of Florida with our sea turtles...they lay eggs in the sand which are often smashed. And sometimes the hatchling get distracted by street lights and instead of heading to the ocean, head toward the lights and, of course, are smashed there.

Anonymous said...

So glad the turtles have human helpers (at least the ones that keep their eyes open).

Unknown said...

Cute turtles! I hope the cages will keep the eggs safe.

Indrani said...

That is a very thoughtful protection for these cute critters.

Silver Parrot said...

What a pretty turtle and how nice of you to give her a "lift" to her destination!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.