Spiny Softshell Turtle Female
Sure, now that our Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors are not trying to capture them for tracking and research purposes, the Spiny Softshell Turtles, like this female, can hang out on the edge of the Chadakoin River. They are such smart and savvy creatures! In case you missed their work this summer check out RTPI’s PWA Youth Ambassadors efforts on their website.
Read MoreSpiny Softshell Turtle Male
Here we have one of those tiny Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) males blending in so perfectly as it rests on the side of the Chadakoin River in downtown Jamestown, New York. As Elyse and I observed this individual I snapped off a few photos, but we never noticed something else going on here. Have you? There is a second male facing the camera also basking in the sunshine, looking like some of the jagged shore. He was a cool editing surprise! Our work in monitoring the species will continue through the autumn season with more to come in 2016. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation...
Read MoreProject Wild America Wrap Up
It’s 7am and about 55° on the morning of our last turtle trapping day with our Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors. I roll up to the Riverwalk to find all our students ready to give things a final go. All of us are beat from a long couple weeks of intensive trapping efforts and exploration of various sites along the Chadakoin River. However, we each feel accomplished with how many different species we have found and the impact we have made on the local community through the sharing of our findings and experiences. There is a dwindling optimism as we deploy our 35 foot seine net,...
Read MoreDigging Nests
Could it be that time already?! The abundant warmth and sunshine has been drawing the spiny softshell turtles out to bask, swim and now excavate! This big girl was digging away in the gravel, pitching big clods of dirt and stones with her powerful back legs working to create a safe nest hole to drop her eggs. Once the eggs are laid, the turtles will develop throughout the summer and hatch in late August and early September. Last summer we didn’t witness any little ones hatching as many of the nests were predated. But we’ve got our fingers crossed that this summer will prove to be...
Read MorePile o’ Turtles
Turtles, turtles and more turtles! That was my view of a small section of the Chadakoin River last week as over a dozen spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera) lined the exposed concrete and sandbars at the river’s edge. These girls and little boy hauled themselves out of the water and piled themselves onto the concrete debris left in the river from some form of development. While this seems like an unlikely place for these turtles to live, they appear to be well adapted to their urban habitat. We are excited to have the opportunity to begin studying these Muppet-like turtles and...
Read More
