Candid camera at Spring Lake Islands

Wildlife cameras let us observe from afar the places we restore and protect.

This year, we've trained one camera's eye on our turtle nest protection area in the Spring Lake Islands Wildlife Management Area near Rosemount. We want to find out if mother turtles indeed laid their eggs in the nest enclosure. We even hope to see their offspring hatch. (We did last year!)

What we found in our wildlife camera's footage (so far)

Interns are diligently working through this season's frames. Until we have news to share about turtle hatchlings, we thought we'd share some of our favorite captures from this spring.

All systems go!
 

The turtle nest enclosure is meant to keep out turtle predators like racoons, foxes, coyotes, possums and otters. While deer aren't predators, it looks like this deer skirts the outside of the enclosure anyway.
 

A turtle enclosure can't keep out birds though...
 

And this juvenile eagle could certainly snack on baby turtles.
 

With up to 80% of turtle nests lost to predation, we're still hopeful the enclosures can provide some relief.

Project partners

Thanks to funding from SeaLife Minnesota and support from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for this project. And of course, thanks to our our members who make all FMR’s work to improve water quality and restore critical habitat possible.  Become a member today!