The Painted Turtles are laying their eggs now at the marsh. This occurs in the evening hours. Some friends who walked the marsh on the evening of June 12th noticed three females digging holes along the sides of the old railbed, which forms the SE portion of the trail. The next afternoon, I discovered that one of the nests had already been raided and the eggs devoured, probably by a raccoon or a skunk (see above photo). All that remained were the leathery egg shells. It's the fourth nest I've seen dug up so far this season. The second photo is of a female laying eggs at the side of the trail on June 13, 2008. I really shouldn't have gotten so close to her, as sometimes, if disturbed, they will move away.
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