The temperature today feels so frigid—right about the freezing level—that it is hard to remember that only this past Monday it was sunny and 60 degrees (16 degrees C). While I was enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I photographed these sunning turtles, a relatively rare sight in December.
I did not get a good enough view of the turtles to be able to identify them with any confidence, but I think they may be Eastern Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) or possibly Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
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I’m always amazed at how they are able to get out of the water onto a rock or a log.
Wow, that is an amazing sight for December, but maybe not so much where you live. Ours are long asleep under the mud.
Hi Mike, I like the colors and patterns of their shells. I love how nature gives us inspiration in art making. Sounds a bit chilly to me to be outside… I’d be sunning myself too! 😃