A little rain…

…brings a lot of turtles! Box turtles kick it up shortly after a rain. And after a couple of weeks without rain, the boxies really want to move. Whether it’s to find a mate or a nest site, they will begin crossing roads with a purpose. Tuesday afternoon was no exception. 

The radar began to look promising for rain by mid-afternoon Tuesday. Sure enough, turtle patrollers Bob and Marti texted me about  the first road crosser of the day!

Bob and Marti started the afternoon

 
I arrived home to pick up the mail, where I found ABV headed to the woods behind the mailboxes… 

ABV is a new turtle to the study

After ABV was measured and marked, we went out to release her where she was found. I put her in the leaves, turned around, and…

Damaged so much that she could not be marked

 

…we found another one making its way up a muddy bank. She had healed from such extensive shell damage that she couldn’t be marked. Back to the house to log it in! But wait!

The truck had hardly dropped into gear than THIS GUY walks out into the road! Meanwhile, patroller Greg moved this one from the road near his house.

Neighborhood patroller Greg made sure this one was out of the road

The day wasn’t done, though. Rick & Jan called to report spotting yet another female in their driveway at almost 9 p.m.! What happened? We suspect it was a combination of rain after an extended dry spell and the peak of the turtles’ annual nesting drive.

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