Blanding’s Turtle, photo by Nick Scobel
One of the most popular posts on Michigan in Pictures is Know Your Michigan Turtles where there’s now 6 of Michigan’s 10 turtle species profiled. For all those folks who come by to hang with our hard-shelled friends, here’s the latest installment in the series!
The University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web entry for Emydoidea blandingii (Blanding’s Turtle) says that the Great Lakes region is currently a stronghold for this species:
Blanding’s turtles are found in and around shallow weedy ponds, marshes, swamps, and lake inlets and coves most of the year. They prefer slow-moving, shallow water and a muddy bottom with plenty of vegetation.
Blanding’s turtle are medium sized turtles with a carapace length ranging from 15.2 to 27.4 cm. These semi-aquatic turtles have moderately high, domed carapaces. They are elongate and smooth, lacking keels or sculpturing. The carapacial scutes display distinct growth annuli most prominently seen in juveniles. Coloration between individuals is highly variable. The carapace is black or gray with any variation of scattered light yellow or whitish flecks or dots. The light spots and flecks predominate in some individuals while others are almost solid black. The plastron is yellow in color with a dark blotch in the outer corner of each scute, and has a V-shaped notch near the tail.
Blanding’s turtles, like most other turtles, emerge to bask on sunny days. Basking sits include logs, grass clumps, sloping banks, or high perches near the water. Although these turtles are quite tolerant to cold, the summer heat may restrict their activities to early morning and evening or possibly a more nocturnal lifestyle. In the event of their habitat drying up some individuals will opt to migrate to new bodies of water while others simply burrow into the mud and aestivate until conditions improve. Blanding’s turtles generally hibernate from late October until early April, but quite often they can be seen moving slowly below the ice.
Blanding’s turtles are omnivores. Their favorite food items are crustaceans but they also feed on insects, leeches, snails, small fish, frogs, and occasionally some plants. Food is captured with a rapid thrust of this turtle’s long neck, similar to the feeding actions of the snapping turtle (Chelydra). Feeding mostly occurs underwater and food seized on land is generally carried to the water for swallowing. Prey is either swallowed whole or if it is too large it is held by the jaws and shredded into smaller pieces by the front claws.
The Michigan DNR notes that Blanding’s Turtle is protected as a species of special concern in Michigan and also has a map of occurences of Blanding’s Turtle.
View Nick’s photo bigger and see a lot more of his photos of Blanding’s turtles on Flickr including this shot of the turtle’s amazingly long neck. Nick also runs the Herping Michigan Blog, a great resource to see a lot of reptiles and amphibians in the wild!
Love your site. Enjoying the marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage
LikeLike
Found a Blanding’s turtle on our drive in Indian River…we live on 20 acres and have a small creek nearby…she appeared to be digging in the drive…? ready to lay eggs…we relocated her back near the creek…very pretty, long yellow neck
LikeLike
Good work!! Turtles definitely need our help at times – our world isn’t always built for them so feel OK to relocate them before they lay eggs and to stop and help them across the road.
From the same article I link to above:
Blanding’s turtles reproduce through internal fertilization with copulation taking place in the water. Mating can occur between April and November but is most concentrated in April and May. Less than half of the adult female population will reproduce in a give year. Mostly in June, females may travel considerable distances from the water to find suitable nest sites to lay their eggs.
They prefer open, sunny spots in well-drained but moist sandy soil, but when lacking preferred areas, lawns, gardens, or gravel road edges will be used. Females dig a nest cavity approximately 17 cm deep and 7 to 10 cm in diameter at the mouth using alternating movements of the hind feet. They lay 6 to 21 flexible, elliptical shaped eggs measuring about 3.6 cm long. Most hatchlings will emerge 50 to 75 days later, depending on the temperature and moisture in the nest, in August or early September.
LikeLike
Helped a big one cross the road last night :)
LikeLike
Found a big one going across my Dads driveway. He has swamps and a creek on his property. Must have been a big female looking for a place to lay her eggs. For as long as my parents owned this farm it was the first one I seen! What a treat!
LikeLike
This was in Imlay City. 4 miles north of town
LikeLike
This was in Imlay City. 4 miles north of town on my Dads property! 20 acres of swamp! Every biologists dream!!!
LikeLike
A Blandings turtle is is walking up our drive in Clarkston Mi. This is my first siting. We have shallow ponds on both sides of the property and a large pond in the middle so it seems like perfect habitat for them. thanks for the website. (June 22, 2019)
LikeLike
Helped a big blandings turtle cross the road this afternoon, on Divine Highway near Lyons Mi.
LikeLike
Cool!! I’ve never seen one in the wild!
LikeLike
Found one In Milford Twp on the walk way laying eggs in flower bed.Been here over 40 years first time seeing one. Painted turtles , snapping and box turtles. Looking forward to the hatch in 6 to 8 weeks.
LikeLike