Long Point Biosphere monitors, protects turtles

The roads of Norfolk are filled with turtles emerging to lay their eggs. Their preference to lay eggs in roadside gravel often brings the mother turtles close to dangerous cars. 

Leah Bauer

Advocate Contributor

It’s turtle egg-laying season

Turtle egg-laying season is underway, and local populations of Map, Blandings, and Snapping turtles have begun to emerge to lay their eggs all across Norfolk County.

For Lauren Nightingale of Long Point Biosphere Reserve this means that she is ‘living off of coffee’ as she works long days to ensure turtles inhabit our local ecosystems for decades to come.

Nightingale directs the Turtle Recovery Program of the Long Point Biosphere Reserve. During egg-laying season, Nightingale works tirelessly to conserve and support eggs, as well as adult turtles. Lauren does not act alone, she has volunteers throughout Norfolk County that aid her in protecting and monitoring turtles in hatching season.

Local turtle populations are threatened by habitat loss as well as by being hit on the road by automobiles. The loss of an adult turtle can have major repercussions for turtle populations. For reference, a snapping turtle must be around 20 years old before they are able to reproduce. The slow breeding of turtles makes it highly likely that a turtle will die before being able to reproduce.

\According to Turtle Guardians (a helpful online resource), a snapping turtle will have to produce 1,000-1,500 eggs in order to replace itself. In other words, only one out of 1,000-1,500 snapping turtles will live to adulthood.

Long Point Biosphere Region partners with Long Point Eco-Adventures and Eco-Kare International to improve the odds with their Turtle Hatchery program. The goal of the turtle hatchery is to reduce turtle nest mortality through egg incubation.

Nightingale, a trained professional in turtle recovery, does not advise that everyone attempt to interfere with turtle eggs, hatchlings, or adult turtles.

“If you see a turtle, while you may want to do something with it, the majority of the time it is best to leave it alone.”

Nightingale said it is common to see turtles crossing the road, and in these cases she advises concerned community members to prioritize their own safety.

“You can save a lot more turtles when you are alive and well as opposed to risking your life on the road to save just one.”

In most cases she advises ‘allow the turtle to cross under their own power’ but she said, “if you have a snow shovel, and the confidence, it could be possible to guide the turtle in the direction it is going.”

For hatchlings, Nightingale advised that if they are any bigger than a toonie, then leave them alone, and don’t intervene any more than simply getting them across the road like you would with an adult.

“If they are about the size of a toonie, this is a hatchling that is trying to make it to water for the first time, and they do not know where the water is. It is possible that you can give them a hand to a nearby water area, but do not drive them, and ideally the water would be within a kilometre.

“Ideally, it would not be open source water. It would be preferable to bring the turtle to somewhere with vegetation so the turtle has a chance to hide from predators. Water with vegetation such as bulrushes, lily pads, or even just muck gives them a better chance at survival.” 

Nightingale noted that the Front Road area is the most heavily populated with turtles and hatchlings, however turtles can be spotted anywhere.

“Anywhere along the lakefront is a huge hot spot, but it could be anywhere in Norfolk County. Turtles will be moving between irrigation ponds, so it could be in the middle of only farm land, and you can see turtles crossing the road.”

When you see an adult turtle in circumstances such as this, she says that “the turtle has lived there, that turtle will know where all of the ponds are. You don’t have to help them, just get them across the road in the direction that they are headed.” 

Nightingale is almost at capacity for the eggs that will be a part of the 2026 turtle hatchery program at Eco-Adventures. While she cannot accommodate every turtle egg in the hatchery, she recommends placing a nest protector cage over the nest once the mother has finished laying and has left the eggs. This protects the eggs from predators, and thus gives them a better chance at survival.

Turtle egg-laying season will continue for the rest of June, and hatching is likely to begin in August. When you come across a turtle on the road, on your property, or in public, it is important to be mindful of both your safety, and what is best for the turtle.