Our head-started diamondback terrapin were released on Saturday, to an enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers.  One of last summer’s internship programs was to study these elusive turtles. They live in brackish water, and come ashore to lay eggs.  Intern Chrissie Lanzieri studied them and discovered some interesting new facts about our terrapin population and when they nested.  She marked their nests and the turtles who came ashore.  She even had females who came ashore multiple times to lay eggs.  Each nest was protected, and when the eggs hatched, a few were sent to the nature center for observation and education.  They lived in the nature center over the winter, eating and growing.  Their nest mates would have hibernated over the winter, so they will be substantially smaller and possibly more vulnerable to predators.

Diamondback terrapin play a vital role in the marsh ecosystem, feeding on periwinkles (small snails in the marsh grass) and glass shrimp.  One study removed crabs and terrapin from a marsh, and in six months all the grass was gone.  The population is in danger from loss of habitat in terms of nesting sites– terrapin get run over on roads when they come ashore to nest, and from a danger posed by crab pots.  Terrapin can get inside and drown, and if a breeding female gets in a crab pot, she may attract nearby males and an entire creek’s worth of turtles may be wiped out.  (There are neat devices you can put on your crab pot to prevent this from happening!  Ask about them in the nature center!)

We are still a favorite nesting site, because we provide great unpaved surfaces for laying eggs.  During the summer, check under your golf carts at the ferry causeway for nesting terrapin– terrapin come up the barge ramp and seem attracted to the shady spots under golf carts.

The youngsters made their way slowly towards the water through the marsh, while onlookers watched their feet and wished them well.