glawrence21's Identifications

A mute swan on a nest in New York State is not exactly a welcome site, but this one intrigued me because the nest was covered with turtles. There must have been at least 20. In the second photo, which was taken at closer range, you can see that several of the turtles have yellowish spots on the carapace, suggesting that they are spotted turtles. In the second photo, the swan's mate has joined it on the nest and apparently driven or scared away some of the turtles.