Yesterday, Noelle and I completed our third survey of the season at the Fairfield County Road Mortality Hotspot. Since last week, two opossums were killed by vehicles along this road. We still have yet to observe any evidence of terrapin activity this season (nesting occurs in June and July). However, we took a closer look at debris immediately adjacent to the road and documented 13 clusters of turtle shell fragments. Most of these fragments were identifiable as diamondback terrapin based on markings, and were likely all the result of road-killed terrapins from previous years.
Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) informed me that they are in contact with US Fish & Wildlife Service staff and CT DEEP Wildlife Division to discuss potential solutions to the road mortality issue here. CT DOT also said that they will have someone look into the litter problem at this location.
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