It was two years ago today when I photographed what I believe is a Ouachita Map Turtle on the Arkansas River at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.
Ouachita Map Turtle on a stump at Sequoyah NWR
I hadn’t looked closely at the photos I took of this turtle on that day until now, and I’m not really sure why. That was a rough time for me. It was during the period when I was losing my mother and I was dealing with her hospice care.
I opened this file yesterday and tried to figure out what kind of turtle it was. My ID landed on Ouachita Map Turtle, partly because of the black stripe through the eye, the geographic location, the habitat, and the vertebral spines on the carapace.
I uploaded the image to iNaturalist this morning, and within minutes one member there agreed with my ID. It appears that my research had me on the right track for identifying this turtle. This is a “lifer” turtle for me.
I’ll be looking more closely at basking turtles on the river at the refuge now! I’d like more photos of this riverine turtle species.
Life is good.
Mia
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Interesting shot. I love the composition of this pic. I didn’t know turtles could climb. Very cool. Congrats on the correct ID and achieving another “lifer”. Thanks Mia.
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Nice to have a positive memory from that difficult time.
What a gift to be so observant, and what a gift to your followers that you are so diligent and generous with your findings.