One of our most visible groups of wildlife found at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve are freshwater turtles. On cool, sunny days, large numbers of turtles can be seen warming themselves in the sun on logs. In late spring, visitors might also stumble upon a female turtle as she slowly makes her way across the land in search of a place to lay her eggs.
In the southeastern US, turtles are particularly important members of freshwater ecosystems, and there are more species here than almost anywhere else in the world! Turtles form a living link between the water the land, spending time in both places. Land predators depend on turtle eggs and hatchlings as a source of food, and adult turtles in turn feed on all kinds of plants and animals.
But the number of turtles in Georgia is declining rapidly, almost entirely due to the human impacts such as habitat loss and pollution. One of the biggest threats to turtles are roads, which often form dangerous obstacles to turtles trying to get from the water to their favorite nesting spots. Everyone can help to make their neighborhoods safer for turtles by not disturbing nesting turtles, leaving turtles that you find in the wild, and keeping your neighborhood free from trash.
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At Blue Heron, we are trying to learn more about our turtles so we can better protect them. We are conducting a survey of the turtles at the Preserve by marking each turtle with a unique tag or notch and recording its species, gender and size. The survey helps us to figure out what routes our turtles take to nest and how we can provide them safe passage between their water homes and their land nests. In the future, this will help us to create better habitat for our turtle residents.
Musk Turtle (Sternotherousodoratus)
This small but feisty turtle gets its name from the strong odor it produces when it feels threatened.
Painted Turtle (Chrysemyspicta)
This strikingly-colored turtle gets its name from the beautiful red, orange and yellow stripes on its neck and patterns on its shell.
Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydraserpentina)
The second-largest freshwater turtle in the US, the snapping turtle gets its name from its long neck and powerful bite.
Slider Turtle (Trachemysscripta)
This turtle is one of the easiest to spot at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve because of its love of basking in the sun; but if you make too much noise, you will find that this turtle gets its name from the way it quickly slides into the water.
Mud Turtle (Kinosternonsubrubrum)
As their name suggests, mud turtles are brown in color to match their preferred habitats of waters with a muddy bottom.
