May 27, 1962 - Diamondback TerrapinDiamondback Terrapin
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh
You who have followed the
column know all to well how
have expended on the thrills o
s p r i n g. First there were t
thaws of winter, then the hints
of green, the new arrivals from
the south and so it went. But
to my boy, Peter, the true sign
of spring was when he found, a
few weeks ago, a box turd
just digging its way out of the
soft ground in . our woods.
"Come down and, see, Daddy."
he said. "You can see right
where he came out!" And sure
enough there was the }dole deep
enough to protect him from wria`
ter's killing frost.
Of course, we should all under-
stand that to keep a box turtle
in New York State is defn:tely
against the law but it's pretty
hard to convince a nine- _vearoid
th -nt. holding a turtle for 'obser-
vation" is frowned upon.
I am sure we have all seen
the box turtle as he slowly pods
along through the woods and
fields but I wonder how many of
you have picked one up and ex.
amined it closely. I was fors
nate to get one of my favorite
pictures of Peter and his sister,
Peggy, d o i n g just that. (T h e
Close-up shows the bright red
eye of the male turtle which
distinguishes it from the female
who has a grey -brown or red-
dish -brown eye.)
They found that turtles don't
bave teeth but have a son of
b e a k -1 i k e structure that cuts
chunks of food to then be well
digested by the strong juices of
their stomach. Of course, when
they started poking around Mr
Turtle he simply went indoors
and stayed there until things
quieted down a little. Most tur.
tles have this ability but many
can only partially withdraw them-
selves.
Of course, our dog Flicker has
little interest in such lowly crea.
tures as the turtle and yet my
sister's dog, city -bred, will spend
hours barking and dancing about
a turtle. To him this is the
greatest of all mysteries that the
woods of Long Island afford.
All turtles lay eggs and I
chuckle when I think of what Dr
Edgar M Riley, Curator of Zoo-
logy at the New York State Mu-
seum says concerning this sub.
ject. "Fertilizing takes place in-
ternally. From the shape of most
turtles this would seem like a
somewhat impossible task. We
have noted, however, that turtles
have been around for 200 million
years. and so it's apparent that
turtles aren't bothered by the
shape they're in!" I think this is
precious and couldn't be said bet-
ter.
Food for the box turtle can be
just about anything that suits
his fancy. A delicate strawberry,
a luscious insect, a soft wood
snail, a slimy slug or a deli-
cate mushroom all make up his
diet. It is interesting to note a-
bout the latter that even the
poisonous mushrooms tha t are
deadly to humans are quite pala-
m table to him without any appar-
t eats ill effects.
Next in line as would -be pets
and. these are legal to keep. are
the painted and spotted turtles
we fund in our local ponds, lakes,
and rivers. The only p r o b l e m
.nth keeping these is that they
must be provided, in contrast to
the box turtle, with an aquatic
enyiornment. Many of these tur-
tles that live in our ponds and
streams must go below water to
eat and therefore without ther
head under water some literally
would starve to death. Also, same
provision must be had for sao-
sing and resting out of water.
As the name implies, a spotted
turtle is a dark bluish -black tur-
tle with yellow spots and like
'he painted, being aquatic, mou
of its food is related to the wa.
ter On a warm sunny day both
turtles can be seen sunning thenn-
selves on a bog or log. Sometimes
as many as four or five wall
c r o w d for basking privileges,
only to slip lazily into the water
as you approach. As soon as the
apparent danger is over, they
be out again.
Both these turtles, like the
box, lay their eggs in early sum-
mer. Usually the nest is in the
ground or bog nearby the pond
and as soon as the eggs are
I" and "tucked away" to their
satisfaction, they become no fur.
ther concern of theirs. The hest
of the sun on the soil acs as
an incubator plus the heat
of any possible decaying matter
Most turtle eggs are white and
leathery. When one sees the la-
borious digging and laj ing pro-
cess
they must admit this is an-
other of nature's closely hidden
secrets.
All the turtles mentioned so
far, and there are over 20 in
New York State, are relatively
small in size. In counting the
ocean turtles probably the nett
largest would be the s n a p p e r,
who truly looks like something
out of the prehistoric dark. He
not only looks mean but is mean.
Contrary to popular belief he
cannot bite a broom handle in
half but this says nothing of his
a b i l i t y with fingers. This fer-
ociousness is only true of the
turtle when out of water. W hen
found in his natural habitat, the
snapper's only thought is escape.
Many turtles will grow 10-20
pounds in our local waters and
there is a record of one being
"fattened in a barrel" to the gi-
gantic proportions of 84 pounds.
These turtles do some harm de-
stroying young ducks, fish, etc,
but considering their traits as
scavengers and realizing the im-
portance of the balance of nature.
by Paul Stoutenburgh
s the true conservationist must ac-
cept him. Like other turtles, the
snapper hibernates in the soft
mud of our marshes and ponds.
And yet he has been found
roaming late in winter. So late
that I can recall as a boy skat-
ing on the ice and seeing him
move about below.
The least known probably of
our local turtles is the diamond -
b a c k terrapin shown in the
sketch. The reason for this prob-
ably is due to the fact that he
is found in or tidal waters
which are larger and provide a
more elusive hiding place. Yet I
have often seen them in our
creeks while out "fire lighting"
in the summer. This is the fam-
ous "turtle soup" turtle and is
the delight of the epicure.
At one time in Beaufort, North
Carolina these turtles were rais-
ed extensively for the market.
A 7 inch shell brought $7 and for
every additional t/2 inch another
dollar was added. This delicacy
has decreased lately and perhaps
accounts in some measure for the
,ac ease in our local waters. No-
tice the interesting webbed foot
'a the sketch which provides for
has aVhty in the water.
Is Ck&ng. turtles generally
barnt ink economic importance
bog tiler esthetic value can nev-
er be denied- A pond would not
be a pond without its sunning
turtles and the woods would not
be complete without the plodding,
slow- moving relics of the past.
(Note: Roy Latham of Orient
reports 2 Diamond -back Terrapin
on May 18).
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
Harold Evans reports:
Northville - May 16-18
Cattle Egret
Orchard Oriole
Northville - May 17
Bobolinks
Laurence Ernest reports:
Southampton - May 12
Broad - winged Hawk
Mecox - May 14
Spotted Sandpiper (4)
Laughing Gull (2)
Southampton - May 15
Ruddy Turnstones
Water Mill - May 15
White- crowned Sparrow
Red -eyed Vireo
Blue- winged Warbler
West Mexoc - May 18
Cattle Egret (8)
Southampton - May 18
Red - tailed Hawk
White -eyed Vireo (2)
Crested Flycatcher
Shinnecocit - May 18
Bonaparte Gulls
Springs, East Hampton - May 19
Merlin {
Field Sparrow (2)
Gray -blue Gnatcatcher (2)
Northwest East Hampton - May
19
Pine Grosbeck (8)
Hay Grand - May 19
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