365 Urban Species. #172: Painted Turtle

Female laying eggs. Photo by cottonmanifesto. Location Riverway path, between Brookline Ave. and Parkway Road, Boston/Brookline line.

Urban species #172: Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta

If you see a turtle basking on a log in an urban pond, chances are good that it's a painted turtle. Painted's are the most common pond turtles in eastern North America, and among the most lovely. There are different subspecies showing slight variations in color across the continent, but all have yellow and reddish markings of some form, earning them their name.

Painted turtles are usually seen basking on a log or other object in the water, soaking up solar energy before foraging. They are omnivores, eating aquatic plants, snails, insects, and carrion. Their habitat requirements are modest: water with basking sites, some food from the aforementioned list, and well-drained soil to lay eggs in. They are tolerant of polluted, stagnant, and even slightly salty water. Hatchlings are eaten by herons, raccoons, and bullfrogs, but fully grown turtles are good swimmers and too well armored for most predators to bother with.

( some close-ups and others )