Monday, August 19, 2013

Other nature of Prospect :a turtle

Quiet day today. Not much to report except a few wrens. In lieu, a turtle takes front stage in today's post.

Last weekend, Adam Welz snapped these photos of an interesting turtle basking on a rock near one of the islands. It turns out after inquiries to a herpetologist that the species is a SPINY SOFT-BELLIED TURTLE,  common in New York State.  It looks to be somewhat larger than the nearby red-eared sliders, so it is most likely a female (which could grow much larger, up to 19 inches).  Adult females are usually more than twice the size of males.


It's good to see a native NYS species in the lake.