There is something about the word turtle that calls out for French numbers.
My fellow turtle watchers had updated me that the eggs were laid in a sort of shallow nest of mud then buried, and we certainly didn’t want to disturb. Good instinct, as it turns out the embryo attaches to the shell and turning it can kill the tiny turtle inside.
This morning I was back over that way, stopped near the rescue site and on close inspection saw an egg–we are assuming there are others buried but just one is visible. Within two feet of the road. Smaller than a chicken egg, sort of elongated ping pong ball, and more translucent than the photo indicates. It had a luminescent quality, like if I peered closely enough might see a little creature inside. Don’t know if it worked its way up to the surface or had help.
If you look closely at the second photo, center bottom you can see the little egg and the general nest area. The pond is maybe 20 feet further.
Though we are rightly concerned about disturbing them, it seems that the eggs should be covered to protect from predators; they take nearly three months to hatch. So will go throw some grass over the little guy.
To be continued…