Give tiny turtles a hand this fall

I live and work in Concord so most days I commute to work on my bicycle.  It’s a lovely ride that takes me by Horseshoe Pond every day.  Most days I get to do a little wildlife watching as I bike by.  There are always birds, and sometimes I’m lucky enough to see groundhogs or deer.  Unfortunately, with the road so close to the pond, I also see wildlife that’s been struck by cars.  Finding their bodies on the road always makes me sad, and they’re very hard to ignore when you’re on a bike instead of in a car.  I make a special effort in the warm weather to watch for the turtles.  In June and July, painted turtle moms are crossing the road to lay eggs.  I always do what biologists advise – help the turtle across the road in the direction she’s going.  It’s hard to help them get to the commercial side of the road, where they will continue to run a gauntlet of cars, people and lawn mowers before they can dig a nest and lay eggs.  It’s very easy to help them get up the curb to return to the pond, knowing they’ll be much safer on that side of the road for another year.    

Last night while riding home, I noticed the smallest bump on the pavement.  I stopped and found the tiniest snapping turtle I’d ever seen.   It was heading toward the pond, but it was still in the middle of the street.  I scooped it up.  It was barely moving.  It didn’t struggle or try to bite.  The only sign that it was still alive was the slow curling of its tail as I carried it to the pond.   It seemed exhausted, so I carried it right to the edge of the pond and set it down with its tiny toes in the water.  Then I went back to the road to search for siblings.  I found just one, which sadly had made it farther across the road, right into an area frequently passed over by car tires.   I could barely recognize it as a turtle it was so badly smashed.   Finding no live siblings, I went back to the pond to check on the little turtle.  It was gone. I fervently hope it revived enough in the cool water to swim away.   A turtle that size has a long upward battle to survive to adulthood.  Most beings who find it will see it as a tasty snack, not as the struggling baby I saw.   But at least this one made it to the pond.  That’s all I could do to help.  If your commute takes you by a pond every day, please keep an eye on the roadway in the warm weather.  That rock you see is probably a turtle.  Please stop and help it on its way.    You’ll be glad you did.