A Box Turtle in My Backyard

3:30pm, the last Saturday of April. It has been an unusually harsh, wet, and long winter. In spite of that, the start of this weekend has been delightful with the sun shining brightly in my backyard and air temperatures up near 70 degrees. It was a perfect time to take inventory of any damage the winter snow, wind, and ice may have caused to tree limbs and shrubs on my property.

As I started to clear brush, prune, and clip away the invasive, non-native plants, I soon started to realize I was not alone. I had just put the feeder out yesterday when I looked up and saw a Ruby-throated hummingbird sipping some homemade nectar. Nearby, I could hear the persistent drumming of Downy woodpecker, and the buzzing of a queen bumblebee, as she flew in a zigzag course close to the ground searching for an abandoned mouse hole to start a new colony.

(A male Box Turtle recently found in the author's backyard)

Down below, while walking in the woods behind my house, to my surprise, I noticed a male Eastern Box Turtle on the forest floor. This was not the first time I've seen one behind my house, but this was the first Box turtle I have seen this year. April offers up many delights and surprises. None so wonderful as those you find in your backyard.

With increasing daylight and rising temperatures, the warming of the soil makes forest life stir. Quietly, a Box turtle has emerged from its underground winter sleep in my backyard to forage on land for insects, small fruits, fungi, and carrion.

Most of the time, I can tell the sex of a Box turtle by its eyes, The male has orange-red eyes and bright colors on its legs and shell, whereas the female tends to be duller in color. This time, however, the recently surfaced turtle must have been alarmed by my company. Boom! Before I could get a good look at the eyes or legs, the little reptile withdrew its head and feet inside its shell and closed the upper and lower halves of the shell. The little critter wasn't coming out now.

Gently picking it up and turning it over, I could tell it was a male turtle. Its lower shell had a concave depression so that it can fit on the back of a female's shell when mating.

Yet, I had to be sure. It is a good thing I can have staying power when needed. I just sat down and sat very quietly and still for five minutes, then 10 minutes, next 20 minutes, followed by 40 minutes, and after that by another 20 minutes. Over an hour and half later, the turtle was confident to open up his box and let me take a few pictures.

I really can't blame this little Box turtle for being scared. It is not easy being a reptile nowadays.

Like quite a few other reptiles living close to the Jersey Shore, the Box turtle has become scare due to the loss of their deciduous forest and field habitat, the pet trade, and too many close encounters with speeding cars.  Probably because they are small, slow moving, and look so endearing, Box turtles have been hit hard by the illegal collection for the pet trade. This has put pressure on remaining populations to seek a mate and not disappear by people taking them.

Mortality by road kills and habitat loss are also serious. Some roadways act as barriers to Box turtles attempting to move within a certain range, fragmenting their natural habitat into isolated patches. Those brave Box turtles that do attempt to cross roads are often struck by vehicles. Compound the problem with new construction, overdevelopment, and further road development and this can leave turtles isolated, stressed, and more vulnerable to predation in a fragment of their former woodland habitat.

What will happen next to my little backyard Box turtle friend? If he survives, most likely he is off to feed and perhaps seek a mate for the summer. Eggs are usually laid in June and the young hatch late in the summer. Yet, even though a female Box turtle may produce 200 eggs over her lifetime, only two or three of those eggs will survive to become adults that in turn will produce offspring. So, it may take decades for an individual Box turtle to produce its own replacement.

(By tenderly picking up a the Box turtle, you can tell the sex. If the lower shell has a concave depression, then it is a ,ale Box Turtle)

This is perhaps one of the most important reason to protect land turtle habitat. A hale and hearty Box turtle population depends upon adults residing in one place to have multiple opportunities to reproduce, and having large areas of good-quality habitat.

So, I wish my little backyard Box turtle friend well. He will need it! He is a wild animal and he belongs in the wild. Regrettably, many people in recent years have removed much of the wild out of the Jersey Shore.

Yet, I share a little something with the cold-blooded Box turtle. I too will stay relatively close to my home or habitat in Atlantic Highlands and near the Jersey Shore, ever watchful for the natural patterns that define this ever changing sandy, seashore and forest landscape of New Jersey over time.