 Sunshine Lover - Painted Turtle
Painted turtle along the edge of a gravel driveway. Photo by Jocelyn Hubbell.
Last week I noticed a Painted Turtle on the edge of my gravel driveway moving away from a nearby small pond. I took the photo above and left it to proceed on its journey. Several days later, I saw the same turtle - easily identifiable by the unique yellow markings on its carapace (the upper shell). It was in the middle of a two-lane paved road about a ½-mile from where I first spotted it and headed toward a large pond less than ¼-mile away. I helped the turtle on its journey by moving it across the road in the direction it was walking, again leaving it to its journey. Now I am left pondering… was its journey successful? Was it a female looking for a nesting location? I suspect it was a female but did not do the necessary examination. Female painted turtles mature to a shell length of approximately seven inches, slightly larger than the males. The claws on the front feet of females are shorter than the males, and the anal opening on the tail of the female is inside the shell margin; in males, the anal opening is outside the shell margin.
On this cloudy and cool day, I am musing on their sun-loving habit of basking on logs and rocks, frequently en masse, giving them the nickname "sun turtles". I've best observed them in sunning mode while canoeing, being careful to give distance and just drift. Otherwise, they quickly slide into the water and out of sight.
Learn more about Painted Turtles and Maine's other turtles:
Wishing you sunshine and time everyday to explore nature,
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