Western Painted Turtle in Wascana Creek

Regina, Saskatchewan: A wildlife treat at lunch today — a Western Painted Turtle swimming in Wascana Creek. These pictures of this colourful, long-clawed prairie turtle are taken from the little bridge not far from Albert Street.

This turtle looked about a foot long, and was completely invisible once submerged in the algae in Wascana Creek.  (The bits of algae are sharp in the images; without my telephoto lens, they blurred to solid green.)

For more about these turtles — and a glimpse at their wonderful painted lower — see the Western Painted Turtle post from earlier this spring, when I located the spot in Regina where they like to sun.

(And yes, for the record, I still love their name: Chrysemys picta bellii. Bella belly, indeed!) 

Western Painted Turtle in Wascana Creek
—  check out the claws!   © SB

Verde, que te quiero verde... Verde agua...
How green can it get! And the turtle, too. © SB

What is this? Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta bellii

Location: Wascana Creek (west of the Albert Street Bridge), Regina, Saskatchewan.

Photo date: July 9, 2012.  

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