Over the weekend, we saw three different turtles near our house. We have photos of only two; Jim didn't have the camera with him when he spotted the third. (Click on thumbnails for a larger view.)
This is a painted turtle. It was quite shy and only stuck its head out when the camera wasn't focused on it. The painted turtle has a couple of red stripes on its head and yellow stripes on head and neck.
This is the plastron, the bottom part of the shell (the top is called the carapace). Jim handled the turtle gently (needless to say) and righted it once the photo was taken.
This snapping turtle came into the back yard and began digging in preparation for laying her eggs. She didn't succeed in this particular spot, but later when Jim was mowing the lawn, he saw several places that had been dug out. Perhaps she succeeded in subsequent attempts--we just don't know.
A snapper's carapace is often covered with algae, like this one. Snappers are formidable fighters on land. They cannot withdraw into their shells as the plastron doesn't cover them underneath, so they aggressively attack, and their bite is said to be very painful.
The turtle that got away ... Jim was bringing in the mail, camera-less, when he saw what we now think (via process of elimination) was a Blandings turtle digging a nest right next to the driveway. He marked the spot, and we walked down later to check it out. A little digging (and the turtles do really pack the soil back in) revealed eggs. They are soft-shelled. If you look, you can see another egg buried in the soil to the left. We saw a total of four eggs, and there may be more.
We'll be watching for more nesting activity, since 'tis the season. It would be soooo cool to see hatchlings! The odds are against us, but we'll keep an eye out.
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