Mara Crawford

August 26, 2024

On a summer morning, Painted Turtles can sometimes be observed in the small meadow pond at Eliza Howell Park. By afternoon, they are often out of sight. Perhaps the shallow pond warms sufficiently throughout the day to provide the turtles with a comfortable enough environment that they do not need to rely on direct sun to stay warm.

Painted Turtles are handily identified by their bright red and yellow markings. At Eliza Howell, this pond is flanked by two gravel embankments. While arguably less attractive than the turtles, they have likely been constructed to provide ready hibernation habitat for reptiles in the park to wait out the winter months.

According to my Peterson field guide, Painted Turtles are not considered a particularly shy species and often bask in the sun for hours at a time. That may explain why they are more commonly sighted than the resident Snapping Turtles. Snapping Turtles are generally larger than Painted Turtles. Their behavior is uncharacteristic compared to other North American turtles in that they do not commonly bask in the sun.

Snapping Turtles have a wide range in North America. They can be found in any permanent freshwater area. These photos were taken when a resident snapper took a brief foray away from the shady Rouge River to lay eggs in a sunny area of the park’s lawn.

 At 250 acres in area, I think it is entirely possible that there are additional kinds of turtles to be observed at Eliza Howell Park. I wonder if I will ever run into one.