With our recent warm weather, turtles have risen from the mud at Huntley Meadows Park. Sunning turtles are now vying for space on logs that are more crowded than a mall parking lot on Black Friday.
On Monday, a Spotted Turtle (Clemys guttata) tried a different approach. He slowly clawed his way up out of the water onto some vegetation amid the cattails and assumed an almost vertical perch.
Who needs a log?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Last weekend, I saw turtles galore. I don’t know much about them, especially when it comes to identifying species, but I did see a couple of red-eared sliders in the water, and a something-or-other covered with duckweed. I’ve never seen a vertical turtle, though. It’s a neat photo.
This one is easy to identify–nothing else has spots like this one. Spotted Turtles are pretty rare. According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, Spotted Turtles populations are declining and “extinction or extirpation is possible.” http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/turtles/spotted-turtle/spotted_turtle.php
It’s all about the sunshine, wherever and however you can get some.
I’ve heard that the snakes have come out too to warm up, but haven’t yet seen any myself.