The only turtles we’ve seen here are Common Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina).

There was one living in our neighbors’ pond for many years.  Every few years it would disappear and then it, or another individual, would reappear 6 months or a year later in the same pond.  This photo is from one of the times it left the pond and we saw it walking along our driveway.  We wonder if it made its way to the creek – maybe to find a mate?  In about 2010 it disappeared and hasn’t come back.  In the last few years that pond hasn’t had water in it most of the time, so that may be why they haven’t come back.

5/12/2003  Snapping Turtle – the first time we saw it leaving the pond

 

5/12/2003

 

5/30/2005  Back again

 

5/11/2008

 

6/13/2009  leaving again

 

5/23/2010

 

6/15/2013  We found one baby snapping turtle crawling on our driveway.

 

After that we didn’t see any more turtles in the neighbors’ pond or on the driveway.   But on 8/15/2024 we got a video from a trail camera of a snapping turtle crawling across a beaver dam in the creek – so they still come by once in a while.