{"id":13855,"date":"2014-03-21T19:28:59","date_gmt":"2014-03-22T00:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=13855"},"modified":"2014-03-21T19:48:40","modified_gmt":"2014-03-22T00:48:40","slug":"first-spotted-turtles-of-2014-on-southcoast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=13855","title":{"rendered":"First Spotted Turtles of 2014 on SouthCoast"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Male Spotted Turtle Basks in SouthCoast Pond<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A brisk 44 degrees\u00c2\u00a0intensified\u00c2\u00a0by a fresh\u00c2\u00a0ocean breeze chilled the\u00c2\u00a0Massachusetts’ SouthCoast.\u00c2\u00a0 Nevertheless, the Turtle Journal team decided to explore\u00c2\u00a0a protected pond in East Marion\u00c2\u00a0for spotted turtles.\u00c2\u00a0 We had observed the first basking turtle at this pond three days ago, but we had not yet\u00c2\u00a0held one in our hands to see how\u00c2\u00a0well they had\u00c2\u00a0fared during\u00c2\u00a0this long, hard winter.\u00c2\u00a0 As we approached the pond, a flock of “guard” ducks took flight and quacked warning to two spotted turtles hugging the bank.\u00c2\u00a0 They dove for the mucky bottom of leaves, twigs and swampy debris.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sue Wieber Nourse Examines Two Male Spotted Turtles<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Undaunted by the challenge, Turtle Journal’s Sue Wieber Nourse plunged into the swamp and scooped up the surprised turtles with her bare hands.\u00c2\u00a0 They both were\u00c2\u00a0adult male spotted turtles; one was marked and the other was a first time capture.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Male Spotted Turtle #11 (First\u00c2\u00a0Marked in 2007)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Turtle Journal’s Don Lewis had first captured the marked turtle (#11) on April 20th, 2007 in the same location.\u00c2\u00a0 Within the last seven years, his measurements have not varied noticeably.\u00c2\u00a0 However, Spotted Turtle #11 weighs in at 185 grams today, ten grams heavier than his weight in April 2007.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The second turtle, now marked #13D, is an 8-year-old male who weighs 178 grams.\u00c2\u00a0 He is missing his left front limb, an injury that is well healed.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0He marks the second male spotted turtle\u00c2\u00a0in this small pond\u00c2\u00a0that we have\u00c2\u00a0documented with a missing limb.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Spotted Turtle #11 Released Back into the Wild<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

After examining and documenting the two males, the Turtle Journal team released them back into the pond while the sun was still high enough to offer basking opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

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IF YOU HAVE AN iPad & CAN’T SEE VIDEO: CLICK HERE<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Male Spotted Turtles Released Back into Wild<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The two lads sprinted across the grass and slid into the swampy pond.\u00c2\u00a0 Turtle #11 swam for deeper water in the center of the pond, while #13D hid near the bank among limbs, leaves, duck weed and debris.\u00c2\u00a0 You may spot his head\u00c2\u00a0at the end of the video, but I warn you that these turtles are incredibly camouflaged.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Two Male Spotted Turtles<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This handsome duo\u00c2\u00a0proved healthy and they seem to have weathered the long, endless winter quite\u00c2\u00a0well burrowed deep under the mucky bottom of the pond.\u00c2\u00a0 Hopefully within the next few days we’ll see some of the gorgeous ladies who frequent this wetlands, too.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Male Spotted Turtle Basks in SouthCoast Pond A brisk 44 degrees\u00c2\u00a0intensified\u00c2\u00a0by a fresh\u00c2\u00a0ocean breeze chilled the\u00c2\u00a0Massachusetts’ SouthCoast.\u00c2\u00a0 Nevertheless, the Turtle Journal team decided to explore\u00c2\u00a0a protected pond in East Marion\u00c2\u00a0for spotted turtles.\u00c2\u00a0 We had observed the first basking turtle at this pond three days ago, but we had not yet\u00c2\u00a0held one in our hands to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13855"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13855"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13895,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13855\/revisions\/13895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}