While birding last weekend, my friend and I remarked on the unusual number of turtles we were seeing. As we walked along a marsh boardwalk, this very large snapping turtle swam alongside us. It was about 2 feet long from nose to tail which means it’s probably a male.
His shell is kelly green because it’s covered in algae.
Snapping turtles are the largest turtle that live in our state. They eat both animals and plants and can do so while completely submerged.
That day we also saw many painted turtles sunning on rocks and logs, but this brave one decided to come out of the water to say hello to us.
Painted turtles are much smaller than snapping turtles (4 to 9 inches). They eat things like insects, frogs, fish and snails.
We also saw a turtle crossing a busy highway. We were able to go around it, but I didn’t have the heart to look in the rear-view mirror to see if all the other vehicles behind us missed it too.