Probably the most common turtle in the Times News region is the box turtle. I bet most everyone in their lifetime has seen one and many I’m sure even asked Mom and Dad if they could bring one home and keep it as a pet. The box turtle has a rather domed carapace (top shell) and a hinged plastron. (the bottom shell).

The eastern box turtle usually reaches a maximum length of 6 inches. The carapace and plastron are basically black in color with a wide range of color patterns on the shell. As the turtle ages the carapace gets duller in color. An adult the box turtle has few effective predators.

Its ability to almost entirely pull its limbs into the shell keeps it rather safe. Farm and lawn mowers can and will break the shells, and in areas closer to man this is one threat to them. Getting “run over” by vehicles may be their biggest threat. Males almost always have a red eye, and this can also be used to identify them.

Box turtles are true hibernators, and they will either seek out the mucky bottom of a pond/slow-moving stream, crawl under a rotting stump, or crawl into a woodchuck burrow. Hibernation begins in late October and they’ll emerge in April. Partly because of this long hibernation, box turtles regularly live 30, 40 or more years.

Turtles mate soon after emerging in spring, and in June or July the female usually finds soft soil, often on the south side of a bank, and excavates a depression a few inches deep to lay up to seven or eight eggs. Like the snapping and all other turtles, there is no parental care and the warmth of the sun hatches the eggs. I typically find them laying eggs along some old railroad beds that I frequent in my birding outings. This past June on one such day, I found three nests dug up by predators (probably raccoons) and only the white, leathery shell fragments remained. Apparently enough nests remain undiscovered because the box turtle population seems to remain stable. Depending on soil temperature and humidity, the eggs can hatch in late summer or early fall. I have only found two newly hatched turtles. Ironically, I found one box turtle and one wood turtle hatchling a day apart that same year.

Box turtles eat plant and animal matter. As a younger turtle they feed more on carrion, insects and worms. As they age, their diet may consist more of berries, fruits, etc. They do not like excessive heat, and as expected I didn’t “bump into” any box turtles this July or August. I suspect as the temperatures cool you may see a few more before they hibernate again. In the excessive heat they often go to springs or spring seeps to settle into the muck for a few weeks.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: True or False: In general the insect-eating birds, such as warblers, that migrate late in September rather than late August overwinter closer to the U.S.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Tree swallows, often only migrating to the Maryland or Virginia shorelines, will eat bayberries.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.