{"id":149016,"date":"2025-06-19T03:36:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T08:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=149016"},"modified":"2025-06-19T03:39:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T08:39:18","slug":"ouachita-map-turtle-on-the-arkansas-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/19\/ouachita-map-turtle-on-the-arkansas-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Ouachita Map Turtle On The Arkansas River"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"OuachitaOuachita Map Turtle on a stump at Sequoyah NWR<\/span><\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t looked closely at the photos I took of this turtle on that day until now, and I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

I uploaded the image to iNaturalist<\/span><\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see my reptile and amphibian photo galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13973,16532,13974],"tags":[14023,16537,16536,13136,165,5113,7945,7946,3996],"class_list":["post-149016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-ouachita-map-turtle","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-arkansas-river","tag-graptemys-ouachitensis","tag-ouachita-map-turtle","tag-reptiles","tag-spring","tag-stump","tag-turtle","tag-turtles","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ouachita-Map-Turtle-Arkansas-River-mia-mcpherson-0351.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-CLu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":166199,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/12\/27\/christmas-day-great-blue-heron-and-turtle-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":149016,"position":0},"title":"Christmas Day Great Blue Heron And Turtle At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On Christmas Day I photographed a Great Blue Heron and a turtle in Miner's Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Yes, a turtle in winter!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron and turtle on Christmas Day at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/great-blue-heron-turtle-christmas-day-mia-mcpherson-3601.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136640,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/10\/roadside-mississippi-mud-turtle-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":149016,"position":1},"title":"Roadside Mississippi Mud Turtle At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Better late than never? I photographed this Mississippi Mud Turtle in spring at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, and I\u2019m sharing it today.","rel":"","context":"In "Mississippi Mud Turtles"","block_context":{"text":"Mississippi Mud Turtles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/mississippi-mud-turtles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Roadside Mississippi Mud Turtle, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mississippi-mud-turtle-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-2429.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mississippi-mud-turtle-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-2429.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mississippi-mud-turtle-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-2429.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mississippi-mud-turtle-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-2429.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147999,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/09\/three-toed-box-turtle-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":149016,"position":2},"title":"Three-toed Box Turtle At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I\u2019m sharing two views of a Three-toed Box Turtle I photographed early last week at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frontal view of an adult Three-toed Box Turtle, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/three-toed-box-turtle-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9361.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/three-toed-box-turtle-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9361.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/three-toed-box-turtle-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9361.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/three-toed-box-turtle-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-9361.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114091,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/02\/three-toed-box-turtle-photos-from-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":149016,"position":3},"title":"Three-toed Box Turtle Photos From Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am showcasing four Three-toed Box Turtle photos that I took while I visited Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Three-toed Box Turtle glowing in morning light, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/three-toed-box-turtle-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-7238.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/three-toed-box-turtle-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-7238.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/three-toed-box-turtle-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-7238.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/three-toed-box-turtle-male-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-7238.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133569,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/02\/urban-three-toed-box-turtle\/","url_meta":{"origin":149016,"position":4},"title":"Urban Three-toed Box Turtle","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I was enjoying my coffee outside yesterday morning when I spotted this Three-toed Box Turtle walking through the dew-covered grasses. Yes, I had to take photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban Three-toed Box Turtle in September, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/three-toed-box-turtle-september-mia-mcpherson-6014.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/three-toed-box-turtle-september-mia-mcpherson-6014.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/three-toed-box-turtle-september-mia-mcpherson-6014.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/three-toed-box-turtle-september-mia-mcpherson-6014.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":136017,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/28\/judas-bush-in-bloom-with-seeds-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":149016,"position":5},"title":"Juda\u2019s Bush In Bloom With Seeds At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While wandering on foot yesterday at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Steve Creek and I found some blooming Juda\u2019s Bush to focus on and photograph for a bit.","rel":"","context":"In "Juda\u2019s Bush"","block_context":{"text":"Juda\u2019s Bush","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/judas-bush\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blooming Juda's Bush with seeds, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/judas-bush-mia-mcpherson-4263.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/judas-bush-mia-mcpherson-4263.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/judas-bush-mia-mcpherson-4263.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/judas-bush-mia-mcpherson-4263.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}