Six Baby Snapping Turtles at Nest Site

Posted by Mark Picard on Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:06 pm

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After finding one baby moving along on the ground, then another, it hit me that there was a hatching going on somewhere nearby. After searching for a few minutes, I found the nest hole where I witnessed 53 babies emerge from the hole in the gravel. I didn't realize they hatched so late (late Sept., early Oct.) They are quite small, and are about the size of your thumb. They all made it to the wetlands that was about 10 feet away from the hole. Usually either Coyotes or Foxes get to the eggs first without any successful births, but this nest had complete success! Northern Maine

D2X, 200-400mm, ISO 200, F11 @ 1/60th sec.

Mark Picard
Website: http://www.markpicard.com
Maine Photography Workshops

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by Carol Clarke on Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:12 am

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This must have been an amazing sight with so many hatchlings emerging from the nest site Mark!

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by Buckmaster on Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:47 am

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That is an amazing photo, Mark! 53 babies, I would never have believed that.. It's great that you can come to
this site and see GREAT photos, and also learn a lot about nature also! It also sounds like you learned something, also, first hand.

Thanks,
Bob

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by SMB on Thu Oct 08, 2015 4:26 pm

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Great image of a natural wonder.
Came across the same thing in Acadia Me. A Snapper nest half exposed by a predator contained multiple eggs with a few hatched but listless turtles. I put the hatchlings in the water and within a few minutes they swam away. Later learned that these little ones will likely bury in just a few days and start hibernating.
Nice find.

Stan

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by jeff Parker on Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:21 pm

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What a cool find!

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by john on Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:52 am

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Great capture and a great experience too I'm sure!

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by Missy Mandel on Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:13 pm

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How exciting! What a beautiful and well documented nature story Mark!

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