We are never more conscious of the summer sun than while struggling to unpack a trap full of turtles, watching with resignation as the wind slowly drags us and our kayak across the marsh. We are in Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago. We visit these wetlands two weeks per month during the field season, which runs from May to October.
One by one, we wrestle each muddy, squirming turtle out of our minnow trap. We use a small saw to carve notches into their shells. These markings don’t hurt the turtles but allow us to keep track of how many are making repeat visits to our traps. Once we’ve marked them, we measure their shells and weigh them.
We methodically process 10 painted turtles – a common species in this marsh – then turn our attention to the two turtles we’re most excited to see. These are Blanding’s turtles, easily recognized by their bright-yellow necks and speckled shells. Unfortunately, they are endangered in Illinois. Neither of these two has been marked before, so we know we can add them to the dwindling population total.
Continue reading at University of Illinois.
Image via Andrea Colton and Emily Sunnucks.