Help Us Protect the Blanding’s Turtle in Oakland County

Have you ever seen a turtle in your backyard digging a hole to lay eggs? Maybe it was one of these: Snapping Turtle Painted Turtle Box Turtle

Or perhaps it was this one: This is the Blanding’s turtle. It is a Special Concern Species which means it is particularly vulnerable, and could easily become, an endangered or threatened species if we don’t help to protect it.

Here is the list of Species at Risk titles in the order of least critical to MOST critical: Special Concern - A special concern species is any species that is particularly vulnerable, and could easily become, an endangered or threatened species. Threatened - A threatened species is a species likely, in the near future, to become an endangered species within all or much of its range. Endangered - An endangered species is any type of plant or animal that is in danger of disappearing forever.  Extinct -  If a species, or type, of plant or animal dies out completely, it becomes extinct.

Females will lay their eggs between late May and early June in moist sand in a sunny spot. Female turtles lay their eggs in small cavities dug into the sand, then bury and leave them on their own. Many eggs become food for other species, but some survive to hatch into baby turtles a couple of months later. 

The biggest threat facing these turtles is nest predation, particularly by raccoons. Raccoons are currently overpopulated in the state and they have learned how to easily track down turtle nests and often eat all of the eggs. This means very few juvenile turtles join the population. 

One way we can help the Blanding’s Turtle is by protecting the eggs with a nesting box like this one. Notice the long metal flap along the front of the box. This creates a door from which hatchlings can emerge but prevents predators from reaching into the box.

If you spot a Blanding’s Turtle laying eggs in your backyard, let Mrs If you spot a Blanding’s Turtle laying eggs in your backyard, let Mrs. Lyon know, and she will get a turtle nesting box for you. Leave some sort of marker on the site so you don’t forget where it is (a stick or rock) but be sure NOT to disturb the eggs. Click on the link below to learn how to identify the Blanding’s Turtle. This video is narrated by our very own Brandon Schools graduate, Phillip Reed. http://www.nohlc.org/blandings-turtle.html

Credits: http://www.nohlc.org/stewardship-notes.html http://kids.britannica.com www.allaboutanimals.org https://wildsidemi.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/michigan-turtles/ http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/ch_article_main_image/articles/BlandingsAdult.JPG