Snapping turtle

I was walking down in Vale on Sunday, and it was bright and sunny.  Despite the draining and construction on the pond down there in the fall and winter, the wildlife seems to be doing fine.  This snapping turtle was sunning itself near the bank, and I walked very slowly until my 100mm equivalent lens had a decent chance of capturing it.  Even still, I could see its eyes watching me, so I ended up cropping this image so the turtle was more prominent.  I estimate the shell is between 18 and 24 inches from front to back.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f1.4
F Number	4.0? (didn't record it)
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/2000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Snapping turtle

At Five Rivers in Delmar, but these guys are found in almost every lake, pond and slow moving river around here. Their scientific name is Chelydra serpentina and they are as common today as they were in my youth, which is a good thing because these guys are Mother Nature's cleanup machines.

This fellow was enjoying the warm water at the top of the pond on a coolish day.