• Those female Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) that were sunning on early spring days at Hilton Pond Center have been crawling ashore for the past two weeks (above), driven by the urge to nest on land. Although Painted Turtles are aquatic, they dare not lay their eggs in the pond itself. For a submerged egg, gas exchange would be diminished and too much water would diffuse in, causing the embyos to drown. As an evolutionary alternative, the turtle takes its pond onto land, i.e., the leathery eggshell and shell membrane are filled with just the right amount of water, so the embryo develops in its own tiny pool--a throwback to its fully aquatic forebears. (Fetal mammals reveal similar history as they mature within highly aquatic embryonic sacs.)
  
• At laying time, the Painted Turtle female seeks out a relatively unvegetated area near the pond and uses her hind legs to laboriously hollow out a vase-shaped cavity (right); she softens the soil with her urine, creating a muddy slurry that she later uses to fill the hole and cover the nest. If--during nest-digging--a turtle is discovered by predators or even startled by a passing observer, she often abandons before laying her eggs; unfortunately, that's what happened to the female in the top photo, and that's why there aren't any eggs in the hole at right. This particular female is obligated to seek out another laying spot within a few days so she can expel the eggs from the limited space within her shell.

All photos & text © Hilton Pond Center

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Carolina Chickadee
Red-eyed Vireo
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Downy Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren

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