The Halton Hills Turtle Guardians have taken their crusade to protect the half-shelled to the next level - this time excavating three turtle nests in high-risk areas to safeguard the eggs within.
After receiving special permission from the Province, the local group was joined by the Heart Lake Turtle Troopers in Acton on Sunday to perform the delicate operation.
In total, 78 eggs were extracted and temporarily placed in incubators at Scales Nature Park in Oro-Medonte. The hatchlings will later be brought back to Acton and released in the areas where their mothers nested.
“It was an incredible experience,” said Peter Duncanson, who heads up the Halton Hills Turtle Guardians. “We had to get permits from the MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) to excavate these nests, and the people doing the excavation had to be licensed by the MNR.”
The nests were all located in areas that left the eggs at risk - on the infield of a ball diamond at Prospect Park, a Main Street boulevard and a dirt bike trail located near the Mill Street trail.
Duncanson said since the baseball diamond eggs were laid on June 14 by a snapping turtle, his group had been following the diamond’s schedule to temporarily remove a nest protector during ball games and reinstall it afterwards.
The protectors - essentially a wood frame with wire mesh over top - are made by local volunteers and the Town of Halton Hills to keep turtle eggs safe from predators after they’ve been laid.
Meanwhile, a protector placed over the Main Street snapping turtle nest was stolen twice since June 16, leaving the Guardians group feeling they could no longer properly protect the area.
“All of Halton Hills turtles are either classified as species at risk or endangered under both the federal and provincial Endangered Species Act,” explained Duncanson. “As such, any tampering with them or their nests is strictly forbidden.”
It’s unknown which turtle species laid the dirt bike trails eggs, but it’s quite obvious they were in harm’s way as well.
The Guardians group is made aware of nesting females around town and watches over them during this process before placing a protector over the area.
The nest protectors have openings so that the baby turtles can get out once they hatch, typically leaving the nest in mid-September.
Local residents who see a female turtle nesting can contact the Halton Hills Turtle Guardians through their Facebook group, or by calling 311.
