Eastern Mud Turtle - Heron Pond - Belknap, IL - Turtle Crossings on Waymarking.com

I've spent many many hours in the outdoors and was very excited to discover this Eastern Mud Turtle. They are uncommon in Illinois and are limited to the southern part of the state.

The eastern mud turtle may be found in the southern one-third of Illinois. It lives in shallow water with a soft bottom such as in marshes, ditches, swamps and sloughs. The common mud turtle is aquatic but often leaves the water.

Located in Little Black Slough Nature Preserve is a wonderful piece of wetlands landscape unique to Southern Illinois: Heron Pond, located near Belnap, Illinois, and part of the Cache River State Natural Area. Heron Pond is home to over 100 endangered and threatened plant and animal species on the Ohio River flood plain. These wetland locations are an important resource for migrating birds and other unique plants and animals and are a prime location to view nature at it’s finest.

Species Link: [Web Link] How often turtles cross: Months most seen crossing: Spring

Visit Instructions:
Describe what happened. Example
"Mother Blanding had made her nest between the goldenrod and bluestem outside my window late last June.
By chance we were sitting on the porch when we noticed little blandings in the same location we had seen the mother take 2 months earlier."

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