Spotted Turtle in March

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Spotted Turtle in March

March 13, 2020 by Mike Powell

As our weather continues to warm up, more and more creatures are reappearing, like this Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) that I spotted yesterday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. As you can see from the photo, the turtle was on dry land, in a wooded area with pine trees, rather than in the water like most of the other turtles that I saw yesterday.

Spotted Turtles are relatively small, about 3.5 – 4.5 inches in length (9 – 11.5 cm), according to the Virginia Herpetological Society website. The website also notes that this species is seen primarily in the early spring, but seldom beyond the month of June. Spotted Turtles enter into a state of dormancy (technically it is “aestivation”) during the warmest months under vegetation and during the coldest months under mud. During those periods they are inactive and their metabolism rate is lower, but their physiological state can be rapidly reversed, and they can quickly return to a normal state.

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, turtle, wildlife | Tagged aestivation, Canon 50D, Clemmys guttata, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Spotted Turtle, Tamron 180mm | 9 Comments

9 Responses

on March 13, 2020 at 8:17 am | Reply Reed Andariese

Nice Mike! Not long before we see Dragonflies!!
on March 13, 2020 at 11:13 am | Reply Dan Antion

What a cutie 🙂
on March 13, 2020 at 5:02 pm | Reply mitzybricker

They are wonderful! 😄

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on March 13, 2020 at 6:53 pm | Reply Eliza Waters

What a sweet thing – even though they are apparently in our state, I’ve never seen one.
on March 13, 2020 at 9:17 pm | Reply Birder's Journey

Really fascinating information about these turtles! Thanks so much for enlightening us.
on March 14, 2020 at 7:57 am | Reply Molly Lin Dutina

Yesterday we saw a painted turtle (I believe) during our walk at Harsha Lake, Eastfork State Park. I told it “Welcome back!” After the weird almost no winter we had.
on March 14, 2020 at 8:21 am | Reply Ellen Jennings

Great capture with his eye, Mike!
- on March 14, 2020 at 8:59 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ellen. As you can probably tell from the shot, I got down pretty low to capture the image–not quite eye-level, but from a low angle.
on March 14, 2020 at 5:03 pm | Reply nliakos

That’s weird. I wonder where they disappear to in June.
I was thrilled to see a pair of ring-necked ducks on Clopper Lake the day before yesterday. I had never (knowingly) seen that species before. I happened to have my little binoculars with me (usually I forget them) and noted the male’s showy white side patches and the white stripe on the bills of both male and female. With the naked eye, I could only see that they were ducks.