Herp loving Tweeters:

On Wed, 29 May 1996, John Sidles wrote:

> > Painted Turtle - caught it walking from the north field back to Shoveler's
> > pond: question for Kelly: do these turtles lay eggs in the fields? Seems
> > to be the only explanation for it being on the footpath.

Now is the time to expect female turtles to be walking about looking for a
good place to dig a hole and deposit a clutch of eggs. The females seek
out open exposures (good sun) and usually dig where there is exposed dirt or
at least not too much vegetation to claw through. They will nest in some
really rocky ground. On May 20, 1995 I got a call from a woman who watched a
painted turtle lay eggs in the freshly tilled soil of her front yard, which
sloped down to a small lake south of Lacey. I don't have my notes on the
second clutch, but several weeks later, a painted turtle (probably the same
female) dug a hole and laid a clutch just 6 to 10 feet from the first one.
Unfortunately, I do not know the outcome of these nestings. I would question
any definitive statements about whether the hatchlings overwinter in the
ground or not. In Oregon, I have been told that western pond turtle
hatchlings always overwinter in the nest while, here in Washington, they
appear to always emerge in September and trundle back to the ponds. Perhaps,
it is variable in painted turtles as well.

I am convinced that painted turtles did not exist in the Puget Sound lowlands
100 years ago. The literature and collection records suggest that this turtle,
which is common in eastern Washington, probably was native to the vicinity of
the Columbia River, extending downstream as far as at least the Vancover area
but was likely introduced to other parts of western Washington. They are now
well established in much of western Washington. So, too, are red-eared
sliders, the common aquatic turtle sold in many pet stores. During a short
bout of turtle trapping in Lake Washington last summer (prompted by
suggestions of a few relict western pond turtles), 58 sliders, 2 snapping
turtles, a beaver, some carp, and a bunch of bullheads were caught. Obviously,
the red-eared slider is very well established in Lake Washington. It is
curious that painted turtles were not caught during this project.

There may be one of two western pond turtles alive in Lake Washington. There
have been some reports by reliable observers in the past 5 years. However,
an old slider can look alot like a western pond turtle. There was a definite
western pond turtle picked up crossing the highway in Redmond in 1987. The
City employee who picked it up, photographed it and released it at Marymoor
Park in Lake Sammamish. It may be out there somewhere. I would very much like
to know if any exist. I would like to see these last few remnants of a dying
population brought into the captive breeding program at Woodland Park zoo so
that south Puget Sound genetics could be propagated and used to attempt to
restock selected ponds in the region.


> ...we came upon a small, shaded pond in the Alpine Lakes area last week
> which had *many* of what I presume were salamander egg clusters.

In the Alpine Lakes area, I would expect clusters of amphibian eggs to
represent either Northwestern salamander (Ambystoma gracile), Long-toed
Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum), or Cascades Frog (Rana cascadae).
Northwestern Salamanders attach their very firm egg clusters around the stalk
of a plant or on a stick. They are apricot to grapefruit in size and would
bounce if thrown down on a wrestling mat. Long-toed salamander eggs are single
or in small, kiwi fruit-size clusters and very snotty. They are usually
attached to something and they splat when thrown on the mat. Cascades frog's
egg masses are often laid in communal piles, unattached and among grasses or
sedges in shallow water, right at the surface. They have black embryos
(the salamander embryos tend to be more brown or tan) and crystal clear jelly.

Kelly McAllister