While our 4 children had a wonderful time finding over 200 eggs in the house and the 2 acres of land, easter eggs are not all they found! This adorable turtle, little bigger than an egg himself, was found in the yard!

I couldn’t identify him right away. I grew up playing in the wood and with parents that are very close to nature, but that was in New England. Not in Georgia! This little guy wasn’t familiar to me. Indeed I felt rather sheepish when the kids asked me if he was a turtle or tortoise like a boxed turtle an I couldn’t even tell them for sure, beyond I was sure it was not a boxed turtle. We desided we needed to move the little thing a few feet away. This I knew though could be an issue. Turtles tend to have territory area and moving them can be a danger to them. A few feet though shouldn’t be an issue. I dared put him on the side of a fence that we could be sure he could get to water if that is what he needed.

What kind of turtle is this?

I am very glad we did so as checking out the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory site for turtle identification for Georgia helped us identify this little guy. He is a Eastern Mud Turtle! Not a turtle one would find in Massachusetts so I feel a bit less bad about not knowing what he was! Still, this is a great time for some outdoor learning for the whole family. Half the reason we moved to the country, so far from where my husband works, was because we want to be closer to nature. What a great way to celebrate spring! I am reminded of the red eared sliders that would travel so far from the pond to nest in my mothers strawberry garden.

Finding Turtles On Easter!

While on facebook I was surprised to see another family, one so very far away in Texas had their own little turtle find while egg hunting! Go see what kind of turtle BlogWithMom and her kids found on Easter!