Wildlife · Salt marshes, tidal creeks & harbor edges
Diamondback Terrapin
Malaclemys terrapin
The world's only turtle that lives in brackish water (salt marshes, tidal creeks and shallow harbors). Look for heads bobbing at the surface or turtles basking on mud banks; females come ashore in early summer to nest. Seatuck's Terrapin Watch maps nesting sites and hazardous road crossings.
Best months
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Best time of day
- Morning
- How to see
- Scan calm harbor water for small bobbing heads and check exposed mud banks on sunny mornings. In June-July give nesting females crossing to upland sand a wide berth; report sightings to Seatuck's Terrapin Watch.
- Who films them
- @seatuckenvironmentalruns the programs
- Age
- All ages
- Accessibility
- Shoreline viewpoints
- Responsible viewing
- Never move a nesting female; if one is crossing a road, let it continue in its own direction.
- Weather / sea state
- Sunny, calm mornings for basking and surface activity.