It's time for the turtles.

In early September, leathery white turtle eggs a bit smaller than ping-pong balls hatch in shallow nests dug into warm, sandy soil back in late May and early June.

For some species, nest site temperatures determine the relative ratio of male to female hatchlings. Eggs that incubate at higher nest temperatures produce more females and those at lower temperatures produce more males. 

Fully-formed turtle hatchlings are endearing miniature replicas of adults upon emergence with the addition of their tiny “egg tooth” on the snout and sometimes yoke sac remnants attached to their shell.

Most turtles hatch and immediately emerge by digging up and out of the nest. Some Painted Turtles hatch but don’t emerge from nests until the following spring. These small 3/4” hatchlings use some physiological mechanism to survive subfreezing temperatures in the nest during the first critical winter without cell and tissue damage. More familiar 1¼” snapping turtles hatchlings typically emerge and disperse in a day.

Researchers report hatchlings scatter. Some tiny turtles move further from nearby ponds or wetlands. Theories for random dispersal make sense because a cluster or Conga-line of marching hatchlings is more vulnerable to predators.

A researcher describes hatchlings as tentative and hesitant as they march directly away from open water or reverse direction several times. A spotted turtle hatchling was observed spending its first twelve days after emerging hiding under a log.

Turtles must “stick their necks out” in order to get ahead. Perhaps their early reticence indicates they’re already pre-adapted to sense the perils of impending adulthood immediately upon leaving the nest?