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Wicked Dark
05-03-2011, 08:41 AM
ok. that was a REALLY bad pun. :evil2: But I can't help it. This is my first ever box turtle sighting. She was a beaut, too - about a 10-inch carapace.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5189/5683126517_12a664455c_b.jpg

I found her trying to get up the steep embankment of an old logging road in a state park. Well, steep for a turtle anyway. So I helped her up it and set her by the tree. Waiting for her to stick her head out was agony because of the bug cloud encircling my own. Eventually she did though she never moved or put a foot out. Luckily I had the legacy 90mm f2 lens for some extra reach. I read that the males have red eyes so pegging her as female was easy even though I couldn't see her tail. I also read they can spend their whole lives inside an area the size of a football field, so that help up the embankment was a big one!

Iguanasan
05-03-2011, 09:14 AM
Aren't you sweet for helping a lady out ;) That's a fine looking turtle you got there.

Wicked Dark
05-03-2011, 09:59 AM
Thanks Ig. I got it wrong though and now have a correct ID. It's a much rarer Blanding's Turtle, not a box turtle. Even more cool.

Bambi
05-03-2011, 04:38 PM
where did she go? :confused::shrug:

Wicked Dark
05-03-2011, 05:10 PM
I see the photo...you don't?

Bambi
05-03-2011, 05:50 PM
I see the photo...you don't?

no, it says 'photo unavailable' but I can see it on your flickr page...

Wicked Dark
05-03-2011, 05:55 PM
I think it's fixed now.

JAS_Photo
05-03-2011, 06:19 PM
Cool sighting! I wonder though about the dangers to her of other animals and birds? Is withdrawing into her shell enough protection or can they poke at her and get at her somehow?

Bambi
05-03-2011, 08:18 PM
I think it's fixed now.

yes! there she is. Nice shot

Wicked Dark
05-04-2011, 07:45 AM
glad it's back. seems like Lightroom re-published it because I tweaked it and then flickr reassigned its url.

I think the carapace and plastron combo works pretty well. From what I've seen when turtles pull in they have extra dense shielding on their feet and heads and seal up pretty well. I think a big, determined predator could possibly kill one, but I think a lot of them just give up.

Marko
05-04-2011, 08:16 AM
seriously wonderful sharpness here!

Wicked Dark
05-04-2011, 10:04 AM
thanks Marko. that old 90mm is a corker of a lens.

Mad Aussie
05-04-2011, 03:45 PM
Very cool finding something rare in the wild. Nice work.

Wicked Dark
05-04-2011, 04:46 PM
I think it would have meant more at the time had I known. As it is I'm pretty jazzed although she's in a known population area. Maybe I'll see a real box turtle someday.

Bambi
05-04-2011, 05:12 PM
I think it would have meant more at the time had I known. As it is I'm pretty jazzed although she's in a known population area. Maybe I'll see a real box turtle someday.

only if you work on your ninja skills- you know how fast those are!! :P

asnow
05-04-2011, 05:43 PM
Wow that turtle has a very large shell. Is that why it is a so rare?
I've attached a picture of a turtle I took last summer. Is my turtle much more common and what kind is it.

Wicked Dark
05-04-2011, 06:08 PM
that my friend, is a snapping turtle. stinky, ornery and they will bite anything you get near their mouths. much more common than a Blandings. I see at least 1 a year if not more. the babies hatch at the end of summer and we had a whole bunch in the neighborhood. I had to ferry them to safety to keep them from being run over. here's one of them -
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3980688271_f7345cd331_z.jpg

Wicked Dark
05-04-2011, 06:14 PM
Oh and I don't really know why they're so rare other than the usual - us. Polluting water, destroying habitat, running them over with cars, introducing newer fiercer predators etc.

and her shell isn't really that big, it's only her nose poking out, not her whole head. they have biggish heads and long necks.

asnow
05-04-2011, 06:23 PM
Thanks for the identification. I guess it was a good job I didn't try and get too close to him. Mind you, I think I may have been maybe 5 or 6 feet away at the closest. I suspect he can move fast if he wants to. When I took his picture he was probably moving only at maybe 10 feet per minute.