Green Futures

ACTIVITY ALERT - ANNUAL TURTLE WALK

JUNE 7, SATURDAY, 8:00 A.M. We will meet at Mill Brook Bogs Wildlife Management Area, within the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve, Freetown, MA.

June, in our neck of the woods, is when female turtles come ashore and walk about searching for the ideal location to dig a nest hole and lay eggs. If we're lucky, we may view this springtime activity. If not, we at least have a springtime walk in the woods.

This eastern painted turtelette (Chrysemys picta) hatched in late summer/early fall from an egg laid in June.

Walk as little or as much as you like. Insect repellent is a good idea from April to November. Water and snack good to have on a walk. Rain cancels walk.

For information on our Massachusetts turtles and the survival difficulties they face, go here - https://www.mass.gov/.../guide-to-helping-massachusetts...

Directions to Mill Brook Bogs Wildlife Management Area (WMA) parking:

From Exit 11 on Route 24 take Route 79 north, approximately 2 mile, to Forge Road. Right on Forge Road, approximately 1/4 mile to Howland Road. Right, east, on Howland Road approximately one mile and a quarter to the wildlife management parking area on your right. If you get to the Freetown /Lakeville town line you've gone a little too far. Turn around and return west on Howland Road to the entrance to the parking area which will now be on your left.

ACTIVITY ALERT - Turtle Walk

Annual June TURTLE WALK to see if we can find a local turtle, out and about, searching for the ideal sunny and sandy location to dig a nest hole and lay her eggs.

Momma snapping turtles prefer to lay their eggs in the early morning or at night after a few hours spent finding the ideal location and then laboriously excavating a nesting chamber with the toenails of their back feet. Then come fifteen to fifty, or more, ping-pong ball shaped eggs dropped one by one into the nesting chamber as you see in this late night photo.

June 7, Saturday, at 8:00 a.m. We will meet, hopefully, where some turtles are laying their eggs. Not sure exactly where we will meet in the sadly much abused Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. It is up to the turtles. Watch for location and direction info in an Activity Alert the last weekend in May.

Approximate length of walk 1 mile. Insect repellent is a good idea since it is just about summer and mosquitoes sometimes like to accompany us on our walks at this time of year. Water and snacks are also good to have on a walk. Rain cancels walk.
Turtles have been around since the Triassic Period 230 million years ago. We, Homo sapiens, have only been around for a few hundred thousand years. The way things are going, at this point in time, we may not be around for many more.