Shayna Hartley Wildlife Photography

The Marsh (Pt. 2 - Turtles)

In this post I will be talking about the two main species of turtles in a local marsh, Painted Turtles and Snapping Turtles. Over the past couple of months I have seen more and more turtles laying eggs… ‘tis the season.

To start off I will talk a bit about the painted turtle.

There are two types of painted turtles in Canada, the midland and the eastern. In this blog I will only be covering the midland as that is what is living in the marsh, although both the eastern and midland are very similar in appearance and habits. Painted turtles can be found in marsh and swampy areas, as well as in larger bodies of water often basking in the sun on top of a rock or a log. An adult female can reach sizes up 10 inches long and 18oz while males are somewhat smaller. Midland painted turtles have an olive to black carapace (top shell) with light markings, and a yellow to red-ish plastron (bottom shell) with dark markings. The head, neck, legs, and tail are dark with yellow and red stripes. They are omnivorous and their diet consists of aquatic plants, earthworms, small fish, crayfish, and frogs. The sexual maturity of a painted turtle does not come for quite some time. Males do not reach maturity until 2-9 years old whereas females take quite a bit longer at 6-16 years. This is one of the reasons why turtle populations are increasingly becoming diminished. Habitat loss and human interference is hindering these creatures ability to grow to sexual maturity and reproduce. Painted turtles have been recorded to live older than 55 years in the wild. For more information about painted turtles please visit this website: http://www.ont-woodlot-assoc.org/sw_turtles_of_Ontario.html

Female painted turtle laying eggs in gravel. For this shot I used the ‘almost-eye-level’ technique and laid on the ground, holding my camera up and angled slightly downward in order to see the gravel dug up behind her.

Now I will talk about the other species of turtle found in the marsh, the Common Snapping Turtle.

The common snapping turtle is the largest species of turtle in Ontario growing up to 20” long and weighing up to 35lbs. Snappers are commonly found in marshlands, and larger bodies of water, floating along with only their carapace exposed. They have very distinctive features including their ridged shell, long snake-like neck, and large mouth. Snapping turtles are omnivorous and are known as scavengers but can be quite active hunters. Their diet consists of fish, aquatic plants, invertebrates, and the occasional waterfowl chick. Female snapping turtles are able to hold the sperm from a male for a number of seasons using it when necessary. They will travel over miles of land in order to find the correct “nesting” area. While turtles do not look after their young, they do ensure that the eggs are placed very neatly and safely in a well dug hole known as a “nest”. The lifespan of the snapping turtle is recorded at an average of 30 years although some have been found to have lived over 40 years. For more information about the Common Snapping Turtle please visit this website: http://www.ont-woodlot-assoc.org/sw_turtles_of_Ontario.html

Snapping turtles brutal mating ritual (note the blood on the nose). I was very fortunate to view these two snapping turtles mate as it is a very rare occurrence to see in the wild. The male would force the female under with his jaws and muscular legs allowing her to come back up for air only twice during their 15 minute encounter.

The third and final part of ‘The Marsh’ series of posts will be a lengthy post about the many species of birds at the marsh. Stay tuned!

- SH

The Marsh (Pt.1 - Groundhogs and rabbits)

I’m not really going to apologize for not posting lately since anything I would have posted would not have been interesting, so instead I will say “you’re welcome”. 

Spring has been full of babies so far, from geese and ducks, to rabbits and groundhogs. It seems they are everywhere and I am loving it. Justin and I have found an excellent little marsh near by that is home to an abundance of wildlife including turtles, herons, geese, rabbits, and much much more. We have been walking for 2.5 hours every night because there is just so much to see in one little area. I will share some photos from the area and explain how I got each one.

This shot was taken while I was on my way to the marsh, in some old abandoned train rails. I spotted something moving inside and slowly made my way over to them. To my surprise, I saw this little guy looking up at me. He started making his way through the rails so I laid down at the end and waited for him. Of course, as soon as he saw me he stopped in his tracks. But he quickly made his way toward me and through the end of the rails.

To get a POV (point of view) like this, you need to get eye level with the subject. In this case I had to lay down on my stomach, in the dirt. I was pleased with the outcome and it seems as though I am another groundhog looking at him rather than something much larger looking down on him.

These little guys have been some of my favourite species at the marsh. They are so fun to watch because they are very curious and playful. There are three babies that live in this den along with their mother (see photo below). To get this shot (and the one below) I spent about 35 minutes sitting in front of the main hole of the den, about 6ft away. They would slowly poke their heads out and look at me, and I would make slow movements to get them used to me moving to get different angled shots. After about 25 minutes they were jumping in and out of the hole, paying no attention to me at all. The light was vanishing and location was not favourable, but these were the best shots I could get.

There are many baby rabbits (and adults) in the area. During a single walk we count as many as 12. Some are very skittish, and others.. not so much. We see this guy in the same spot every night around 7:00pm, dining on the new sprouts of grass coming up through the gravel. To get this shot I spent a few minutes on the ground, 10ft from him and just watched as he ate the grass. I slowly made my way toward him and within 5 minutes I was just 6ft from him. I grabbed this shot just as the sun was going down and was casting a nice light on his left side.

This concludes my “Marsh” post Part 1. Over the next couple of weeks I will posting more about the wonderful species in the marsh and I will also be writing a “Tips” post since I have been getting questions about how to get certain shots, where to look for certain species, etc.

And remember, there is a spot on this blog where you can ask me anything you would like to know so feel free to do so. :)

Hope you are all having a fantastic Spring!

- SH