A Snapping Turtle in the river Part One

Early this morning I received a telephone message from a neighbor locally known as 'Turtle Man'. Turtleman told me he had seen a snapping turtle in the river! This is the time of year when these giant rock-like looking ancient fortressed creatures are on the move laying their eggs in holes that they dig in the earth (sand.) often their nests are located near the railroad tracks.The place where we often view snapping turtles in the river is from standing on the footbridge above which is attached to the railroad bridge shown above. This is from where Turtleman ( David Olive ) had seen the snapping turtle in the river from this morning.. After listening to the voice mail message I immediately got my camera and walked down to the railroad bridge. Once on the bridge I looked down into the river and "yes", sure enough, there was a turtle in the river below

Often when seeing a turtle in the river you first see its head sticking out of the water. This is what I had first seen this morning on my first trip to the river. The turtle was moving around in the water changing locations. A couple of times I thought it might leave the river and come out of the water as I was watching. But it didn't happen while I was there. Ii did not see it fully out of the river this morning on my first viewing there.

This was a good turtle viewing location but the nearness of the water was also a good location for mosquitoes as they gathered around me biting. I did not stay at the river long.

However: I did return later to find a turtle nest dug in the sand and I also found a snapping turtle on the hillside nearby. Pictures of this sighting will be posted tomorrow in my next post titled:Snapping Turtles PART TWO

All together I made 5 trips to the river today and on each trip I saw a Snapping Turtle!