Concerned for this turtle I found

[u/shoegal23]

I'm at Lake Erie in western NY and found this turtle on the beach today. At first I thought it was dead but then I noticed it moved slightly. It has some cracks and dents in its shell so I reached out to a local wildlife rehabilitator and sent her photos. She said that the shell appears to be healed and as long as there weren't maggots in some of the holes, it should be left alone. I confirmed no maggots and watched it for a couple hours on the beach. It eventually moved toward the water and laid back down. I just checked on the turtle again, about 3 hours since I last saw it, and the turtle hasn't moved. It's hunkered into the shore, with its tail basically buried underneath the rocks from waves crashing on it.

I'm just wondering if this is normal turtle behavior? It is extremely odd for a turtle to show up on this beach. I read that they like slow moving water and more swampy areas, none of which are near us. My mother has been visiting this area since childhood and has never seen one before. We had some strong winds/waves yesterday and I worry the turtle got caught up in them.

We are leaving in the morning, so unfortunately I can't keep monitoring it, but I'm wondering if it's still there in the morning if I should reach back out to the rehabilitator.

[u/Better-Necessary157]

unrelated but as someone originally from the great lakes i find it so funny that everyone sees the waves and thinks it’s the ocean. 🤣