| Snapping Turtles in May | June 23, 2019 |
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Over the years here, in State College, Pennsylvania, I've photographed mom snapping turtles wandering about and digging nests, but this year is the first time I witnessed the social gathering that precedes the walk-about. In late May, snapping turtles converged about the large pond in the Toftrees game land. |
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| In addition to the meet and greet, some of the snappers were plain silly (although finding a dry place in the pond is always recommended). | |
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| After an intervening day of rain, the female snappers began their walk-about and nest digging. | |
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| Here's what I call an interesting snapper face. | |
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| One of the surprises was encountering a very young female snapper, whose carapace (or shell) was only about 6 inches long. Apparently, it takes a female snapper 10 years to reach that size and become sexually mature. | |
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It was a pleasure seeing old and new generations of snapping turtles on the move.
Photography note: The photos were taken with a Pentax K3-II and the SMC-A* 200mm macro lens in late May 2019.
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