Turtles

Happy National Reptile Awareness Day!

By |2023-10-26T08:46:39-05:00October 21, 2023|Categories: National Wildlife Refuges, Oklahoma, Reptiles, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Turtles|Tags: , , , , , , |

Wildlife photographer blog post celebrating National Reptile Awareness Day with a photo of a box turtle from the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Eastern River Cooter On Gravel

By |2022-12-24T05:02:50-06:00May 17, 2022|Categories: Turtles|Tags: , , |

This Eastern River Cooter on gravel was on the auto tour road located at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Eastern River Cooter On Gravel
Eastern River Cooter On Gravel

Gear Used:

  • Camera: Canon EOS R5
  • Lens: RF100-500 mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM

Technical:

  • Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
  • Date and Time Taken: May 13, 2022 (09:25 A. M.)
  • Exposure Mode: Manual
  • Aperture: f9
  • Shutter speed: 1/2000
  • ISO: 1600 (Auto)
  • White Balance: Auto
  • Metering Mode: Evaluative
  • Back-button Focus
  • Animal Eye Single Point Auto Focus
  • Exposure Compensation: 0
  • Focal Length: 500 mm

Mississippi Mud Turtle Crossing Road

By |2022-12-24T16:54:01-06:00April 17, 2022|Categories: Turtles|Tags: , |

I photographed what I think is a Mississippi Mud Turtle crossing the auto tour road at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. I sat down in the road to get this shot while hand-holding my camera and lens.

I made sure this turtle made it safely across the road.

Mississippi Mud Turtle #2
Mississippi Mud Turtle #2

Gear Used:

  • Camera: Canon EOS R5
  • Lens: RF100-500 mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM

Technical:

  • Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
  • Date and Time Taken: April 3, 2022 (10:32 A. M.)
  • Exposure Mode: Manual
  • Aperture: f8
  • Shutter speed: 1/2000
  • ISO: 500 (Auto)
  • White Balance: Auto
  • Metering Mode: Evaluative
  • Back-button Focus
  • Animal Eye Single Point Auto Focus
  • Exposure Compensation: 0
  • Focal Length: 500 mm

Large Snapping Turtle Crossing Road

By |2023-01-01T16:17:33-06:00June 18, 2021|Categories: Turtles|Tags: , , |

I photographed this large Snapping Turtle at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Large Snapping Turtle
Large Snapping Turtle

How I Got The Photo:

This Turtle came out of the Arkansas River and was crossing the road to an area called Tuff Pond.

I parked my pickup and got out to photograph this turtle. I was hand-holding my camera and lens.

Gear Used:

  • Camera: Canon EOS R5                            
  • Lens: Canon EF 800 mm f/11 

Technical:

  • Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
  • Date Taken: June 4, 2021 (7:41 A.M.)
  • Aperture: f11
  • Shutter speed: 1/1250
  • ISO: 2000 (Auto)
  • White Balance: Auto
  • Exposure Mode: Manual
  • Metering Mode: Evaluative
  • Back-button Focus
  • Continuous Auto Focus
  • Exposure Compensation: 0
  • Focal Length: 800 mm
  • Processed With Luminar

Related Posts:

  1. Snapping Turtles Mating

Box Turtle Crossing Parking Area

By |2023-01-27T13:57:51-06:00May 14, 2021|Categories: Turtles|Tags: , , |

This Box Turtle came out of Goss Slough into the asphalt parking area located at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Box Turtle 5821-3606
Box Turtle In Parking Area

I placed my bean bag on the ground and used it to support my camera and lens to get this photo.

Gear Used:

  • Camera: Fujifilm X-T3
  • Lens: Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II (attached with a Fringer EF-FX Pro)

Technical:

  • Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
  • Date and Time Taken: May 8, 2021 (06:55 A. M.)
  • Aperture Priority
  • Aperture: f5.6
  • Shutter speed: 1/320 (as determined by the camera)
  • ISO: 3200
  • White Balance: Auto
  • Metering Mode: Multi
  • Back-button Focus
  • Single Point Auto Focus
  • Exposure Compensation: 0
  • Focal Length: 400 mm
  • Processed With Luminar 4

Related Posts:

  1. Box Turtle With Dried Earthworm
  2. A Box Turtle Hurrying Across A Road
  3. Colorful Three-toed Box Turtle
  4. Three-toed Box Turtle Close-up
  5. Moving Turtles From Road

Red-eared Slider Crossing Road

By |2023-02-05T14:58:00-06:00August 13, 2020|Categories: Turtles|Tags: , , |

This Red-eared Slider was crossing the auto tour road at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. I made a blog post twice before regarding reasons these turtles are out of the water. The first blog post I made, I thought could be a Red-eared Slider Searching For New Habitat and the second post was of a Red-eared Slider Laying Eggs. This time I think it was looking for a new habitat.

Red-eared Slider Crossing Road
Red-eared Slider Crossing Road

Red-eared Sliders leave the water and travel across land for several reasons, including:

  1. Basking: They need to warm themselves under the sun to regulate their body temperature and metabolism.

  2. Nesting: Female Red-eared Sliders will leave the water to find a suitable location to lay their eggs.

  3. Exploring: They may leave the water to explore their surroundings and search for food or mates.

  4. Fleeing danger: They may leave the water to escape predators or adverse conditions in their aquatic habitat.

  5. Thermoregulation: Red-eared Sliders will move between sun-exposed and shaded areas to regulate their body temperature.

These are just a few of the reasons why Red-eared Sliders might leave the water and travel across land.

Gear Used:

  • Camera: Fujifilm X-T3
  • Lens: Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM (attached with a Fringer EF-FX Pro)

Technical:

While driving the auto tour road [Read More…]

Box Turtle With Dried Earthworm

By |2022-12-27T04:12:55-06:00June 24, 2020|Categories: Turtles|Tags: , |

I spotted this Box Turtle with a dried Earthworm crossing an asphalt road here in Arkansas. I see Earthworms on the roads early in the mornings and when the sun rises some Earthworms don’t survive. This Turtle must have picked this one up as it was crossing the road.

Box Turtle With Earthworm
Box Turtle With Earthworm

How I Got The Shot – Box Turtle With Dried Earthworm

I was out for a walk at Vache Grasse Park near Lavaca, Arkansas when I spotted this Turtle. This was back in June 2008. I was hand-holding my camera and lens.

Technical:

• Location: Vache Grasse Park (Arkansas)
• Date Taken: June 8, 2008
• Aperture: f9.0
• Shutter speed: 1/400 sec.
• ISO: 400
• Exposure Bias: 0 EV
• Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
• Focal Length: 400 mm
• Lens: Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
• Camera: Canon EOS 40D

Here are a few more Box Turtles I have photographed:

Early Spring Box Turtle
Colorful Three-toed Box Turtle
Three-toed Box Turtle Close-up
Three-toe Box Turtle Walking On Rocks
Moving Turtles From Road