Western Pond Turtle

I photographed this native Western Pond Turtle sunning its self during a window of sunshine we had yesterday morning at the Row River Nature Park in Cottage Grove.  We stopped to bird at this park while on our way to Henderson's Alignment in Grants Pass to have the rear Sumo springs replaced on our Winnebago View. The park is one of our all time favorites and we make it a point to stop here every time we pass through.  Yesterday was our highest number of observations at 33 different species.  You can see our list here.  Ironically, even though we saw a record number of birds, my best photo of the day was not a bird but a turtle.  However, seeing a Western Pond Turtle always puts a smile on my face. This native turtle is having a tough time being crowded out of its natural habitat by the invasive Red-Eared Slider.