Eastern Box Turtle Searching for a Nesting Site

Nikon D7100, Nikon 200-500 mm 5.6 lens at 500 mm. 1/400 sec., at f/5.6, ISO 800

This image was captured in 2017 of a female Eastern Box Turtle scouting for a location to lay her eggs. I have been documenting this ritual since moving to the property in 2007. Every year she appears late May through early June when she marches around looking for the prefect location. Inevitably, she chooses the same approximate spot year after year. This turtle is one of several box turtles that appear every spring to mate in my yard. They are rarely seen after the first week of July. The hatchlings dig out in about 90 days leaving only a small hole in the ground about 1.25 inches wide.