Starting the journey

  

Sharing another terrapin photo and a short video clip (below).

In the photo above you can see this hatchling's egg tooth.  If you look closely at the very tip of the snout, you can see a pale sharp point.  The egg tooth helps the hatchling break out of the shell.  Later the egg tooth will fall off.

We also have a short video clip of the turtle as it starts on its journey from the nesting area to the salt marsh.  You'll see the turtle blinking, breathing, looking around, and pushing through the sand.  [If you can't see a video player in the e-mail message, click on the title of the post to go to the NHBH website.]

Good luck, little one!

P.S.  With thanks to Eric for editing the video clip! 

Along the edge of the pond

  

I can't take any credit for this post.  Melissa spotted these wonderful hatchling Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus) and Eric took some great photos.  I just get to share them with you!

Above, a hatchling swimming over the sandy bottom of a coastal plain pond on Cape Cod.

Next, a closer view under water:

 

 

 

And a close-up where you can observe some important features.  I hadn't seen a musk turtle hatchling before, so I didn't know their facial stripes were more prominent than in adults.  Also note the short pointed snout, the webbed feet, and the yellowish spots along the edges of the marginal scutes.  

 

 

 

Eastern Musk Turtles are small turtles.  The hatchlings we observed today had shell lengths of only about 2.5 cm (1 inch). 

 

It's been years since I've seen this species.  Thanks again to Melissa (and Squashy and Smokey) for sharp eyes and local knowledge and to Eric for the camera skills! 

 

P.S.  For more info about musk turtles, click here.

  

Terrapin station

  

Had some luck on a late afternoon walk on Cape Cod today (22 September 2025).  We crossed paths with a couple of beautiful Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchlings.

I'm running out of time tonight, but I couldn't resist sharing a couple of photos.  These are small turtles, with shell lengths of only ~3 cm long.

 

 

Curious?  You can learn more about these salt marsh turtles here.

 

Watching and waiting

 

 

Sharing a few photos of a Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) from Walpole, MA, last week. 

 

I was impressed with the turtle's patience.  I watched it for quite a while, but it stayed very still almost the entire time...waiting...and waiting...and waiting for the fish to swim close enough:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following the path

  

While walking in Wellfleet, MA, yesterday (29 September 2022) every now and then we noticed these tracks crossing the sand.  

I had an idea about the animal responsible for them and I was hopeful that we might find one, but for a while we just keep running across more tracks:

 

 

We were just about to give up when we finally found the individual that made some of the tracks:

 

 

Yes!  I hadn't seen one for years, but this is a Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchling.

These turtles live in salt marshes on Cape Cod and the young turtles emerge from nests at this time of year.

Here's a view of the hatchling from the side:

 

 

And another view from above, this time with a ruler for scale.  The turtle's shell is only ~2.5 cm long:

 

 

Turtles are one of the groups of animals that led me down the natural history path, so I was glad to spend a few moments with this little terrapin.

Between showers

It was a rainy day on the Outer Cape, but we had a few interesting observations between showers:

 

Salt marsh near Boatmeadow Creek in Eastham, with Cape Cod Bay in the background

In the late afternoon, we walked the edge of a different salt marsh near Uncle Tim's Bridge in Wellfleet.  Along with the beautiful colors of the grasses in Duck Creek, we came upon the following:

 

Juvenile Mud Fiddler Crab (Uca pugnax)

 

 Egg shells of a Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

 

Hundreds of small, silvery fish at the upper edge of the marsh.  Perhaps they were stranded by the high tide?  

Here's a close-up:

 

My best guess on the identity of this fish is a juvenile Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) — growing up, we called them Pogies.  If you can confirm, or have a different guess, let me know.

I didn't get any pictures, but we also had nice views of terns, jaegers, shearwaters, and Gray Seals off Lecount Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.

Not too bad for a stormy September day!

Am I in Mexico?

Early this morning I saw a Blue-footed Booby fly by Bodega Head, and then later this afternoon some beachwalkers alerted us to the presence of this animal stranded on Salmon Creek Beach:

 

With the exception of Leatherback Turtles which have a more northerly distribution and are observed swimming and feeding offshore in this area occasionally, most other sea turtle sightings in this part of California are rare and involve dead stranded animals.

I think the turtle in this photograph is an Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).  It's carapace was ~62 cm long.  Although I'm not completely familiar with their status in this region, it sounds like there have been at least 4 local records since the late 1980s: one at McClure's Beach on Point Reyes in January 1987, one offshore of Marin County in October 2001, one in Tomales Bay in November 2002, and one at Stinson Beach in November 2009.

There's a short article about central California sightings in this Marine Turtle Newsletter.  And more general information about Olive Ridleys is available on this National Marine Fisheries Service web page.

If you happen to find a stranded sea turtle, it's best not to move it, but to contact stranding experts at either the California Academy of Sciences (415-379-5381) or The Marine Mammal Center (415-289-7350).

Missing turtles

Yesterday I mentioned that I miss toads.  I miss turtles, too!  

While in New England, I hadn't realized how lucky I was to live in an area with such high turtle diversity where many species of turtles were relatively easy to find.

We would find Spotted Turtles sunning themselves in red maple swamps, assist Snapping Turtles trying to cross roads during nesting season, watch Eastern Box Turtles eating slugs in oak woodlands, and spot Diamondback Terrapins cruising salt marsh creeks.  Occasionally we might be lucky enough to see a Musk Turtle along the edges of a kettle pond or to happen upon a Wood Turtle near a sun-dappled stream.  (I also assisted with sea turtle strandings and necropsies on Cape Cod.)

Eastern Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) are one of the most common turtles in New England.  We spotted a few basking in the sun while we were sailing and kayaking in southern New Hampshire this week.  Note their smooth shell and striking red and yellow markings.  You can also see their strong, broad hind feet (they're fast paddlers!).

 

 

 

I haven't seen many turtles since moving to California.  One day I was very excited to find a Western Pond Turtle on the side of the road near Salmon Creek just outside the town of Bodega.  I think I've also seen a few at the Chanslor Ranch pond visible from Highway 1.  Have you spotted turtles in other locations on or near Bodega Head?