Best Wildlife Photos of 2016: Ornate Box Turtle

This photo is included not so much for the "quality" of the photo as it is for the rarity of the animal. The Ornate Box Turtle is listed as "Near Threatened" and to be reported when seen and not disturbed. I found it on a back road in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Arizona.

Ornate Box Turtle

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

After wandering around Arivaca Cienegas, I headed over to the main "campus" of Buenos Aires NWR. I was hoping to find some Pronghorn, but with 117,500 acres it is not always in the cards. However, I did find a few things to photograph. One was an Ornate Box Turtle. This is an endangered  turtle and well protected by the State of Arizona. So it was a nice find. Also a Scaled Quail posed for me -- as did a nice Western Kingbird:

Ornate Box Turtle

Female Scaled Quail

Western Kingbird