August is a good time to sneak up on Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) to see these natives basking. They’re usually very shy and will disappear under water if they see or otherwise sense your presence at a distance.
I’ve found it best to approach them slowly while keeping a screen of cattails or other vegetation between us; usually there are small openings through which you can peer when you get close. That’s what we did yesterday to “catch” the young fellow above.
Painted Turtles have existed for at least 15 million years, according to fossil records. They reportedly evolved into four subspecies during the last glacial age, which ended almost 12 thousand years ago. Our subspecies, shown here, is the Eastern Painted Turtle (C.p. picta); it’s the only subspecies with shell segments (“scutes”) that occur in virtually straight rows and columns. (Brooklin, Maine)