Pseudemys nelsoni
Carr, 1938
Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. March 22, 2001.
Photographing water turtles from a moving canoe is a dubious enterprise at best. Even in Okefenokee’s slow moving waters it can be difficult keeping the subject in focus while you’re trying not to breathe in a drifting canoe…this is as close as I could get before the Red-belly decided to shove off. I did take the time beforehand to observe the turtle through binoculars, because you never know how long they’ll tolerate your presence. I saw several more the next day, on our way out of the swamp. This was the last year that I shot strictly film, and I was happy to leave that medium behind. The second photo is from the Everglades in 2017.
My Flickr album for this species is here.
HerpMapper records for this species are here.
