Painted turtles are one of the most widespread turtles in the North America, and are fairly common throughout Massachusetts.  They prefer shallow bodies of water that offer places to haul out and bask in the sun, such as exposed rocks or fallen, partially submerged logs. They have a rather smooth shell, with red patterns along the outer edge, a yellow spot (sometimes elongated) behind their eye, and yellow stripes on their head and neck. There is a useful identification sheet here for distinguishing between the different turtle species found in Massachusetts that shows pictures of both adults and hatchings of each species.

Although they can grow to be approximately 8 inches long, I have recently encountered a number of hatchlings that are only about 1.5 inches long.  The turtle pictured here was one of four hatchlings that I have recently found while monitoring the vernal pools at MassAudubon’s Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary in Falmouth.  Most turtle species in Massachusetts are just digging nests and laying eggs around this time, with hatchlings typically emerging from the nest cavity between late August and early October.  However, hatchlings of some species, like painted turtles, may overwinter in the nest cavity and emerge in early spring. This would explain their occurrence at Ashumet Holly in early May.