What leads you to believe that's a male box turtle? Never knew how to tell male from female.. Like the pics rock ledge is really cool.(not many rocks in my Illinois creeks lol)
Male box turtles tend to have more intense coloration while females are more subdued. Males have a a flatter shell as opposed to a more rounded shell females have. Males tend to have bright orange or red eyes where females have a dull orange or tan eye color. Probably the most sure fire way to sex them is to look at their plastron(bottom of the shell). In males it is slightly but noticeably concave, wheres with females it flat. I guess the concave shape helps the boys get on top of the girls so they can get business done... HAHA
Here's a photo of a female box turtle I found chowing down on something in the creek.
Notice the differences...
Wow! Those are great pictures!
In your spare time, how about starting a fish I.D. reference "book" using pictures? Something along the lines of what Kelly Duffy does with plants?
I'm sure it will come in handy and you run across quite a number of different species of fish.
I have given a lot of thought into a fish ID key of some sort. I am looking into different ways of photographing fish uniformly. Would like to purchase a macro lens for this purpose but they are quite pricey, so for now I am still in the planning stages.
Nice photo's CJ, I'll bet the photo's you'll take on the job won't be as purdy.
Where's the Monkey flower photo?
You have no idea the things my camera has already taken pictures of at work! HAHA
Yes, I should get some photos of the famous monkey flower!
Nice pics. The filter helps for underwater shots.
Yes, having a polarizing lens filter made a huge difference and they aren't that expensive. I was using a 50-300mm zoom lens, so I could stand back and really zoom in on the fish. This will definitely become a new hobby!
Thank you to all who enjoyed my photos. This was some of the most relaxing enjoyment I've had in some time!
