A Perfect Ten — Eggsactly!

A Perfect Ten

Friday afternoon reaped the first painted turtle eggs of the 2013 season in our SouthCoast wetlands.  At the end of our rounds, we had collected ten perfect eggs from two nests for protection under a predator excluder cage.

Rufus with Her Discovery (Painted Turtle and Eggs)

As Turtle Journal’s Sue Wieber Nourse and Don Lewis scoured a local wetlands, it was actually Rufus who found the first nester.  A young, smallish female painted turtle lay hidden in tall grass, invisible to mere mortals.  Rufus assumed her “pointer” pose and stubbornly refused to join us until we had confirmed her find.

Sue Wieber Nourse, Rufus and First Painted Nester

Excavating the dug and re-covered nest, Sue harvested four pink and perfect painted eggs which had been laid by this young mother turtle.  Rufus proudly protected her discovery.

Second Painted Nester and Six Eggs

About a hundred feet further into the wetlands, Sue noticed a larger female, resting in exhaustion after her nesting feat.  Don excavated the nest and recovered six pink painted eggs.

A Perfect Ten — Eggsactly

At the close of our afternoon rounds, we returned to Turtle Journal headquarters with ten perfect painted eggs, which we secured under a predator excluder to incubate in safety.

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